First Fish For My Friends

I had the great privilege to experience the first fish for two of my friends on the same day.  I got to teach my friend Israel how to fish because he never had anyone to fish with and I got to see my friend Kai land his first largemouth bass.  I also got to catch 2 porker bass on the fly rod.  It was a great day.  


On a side note, my wife and I are heading to Minnesota for vacation for the first week of June.  We will be heading to a graduation for my sister-n-law and then camping in southern Minnesota.  I am going to do my first trout fishing trip.  I never thought this day would come.  I expected to be this weirdo fly fisherman from the midwest who never even tossed a fly at a trout.  I was ok with that, but my luck has changed.  I will be chasing some brown trout in the local streams and creeks.  I may come back with my first trout ever, or I will continue my streak at being a non typical fly fisherman.  Who knows, but either way it is going to be great times spent in the outdoors with my wife.  

To fish and to teach

I fly fish city ponds in my not so outdoors urban surroundings. I get a lot of stares and questions like, "they have fish in there?". I battle traffic and people jogging to get to my weekday getaways. I do this to sneak in a couple hours of fishing after work to feed my addiction. City fishing has it's ups and downs as well as random surprises.

I have fished this new pond for about 2 weeks now. I am becoming a regular to the setting. Without fail, I have encountered a kid doing her best to catch fish each time I visit the pond. I have to say that she always catches more fish than me. She takes her butterfly net and quietly waits with it in the shallows until a bluegill gets within reach. Simple yet effective. One day she wasn't catching anything so I called her over and gave her a length of fishing line to tie on her net handle and I tied on a pheasant tail nymph for her. She was thrilled to say the least. She asked so many questions about what the nymph was and why fish eat the things they do. As I would catch a bass she would run over and inspect every detail of the fish. I taught her how to release the fish And she wanted to release every fish after that. The greatest thing was that she said thank you to every fish before she let it go.

That little girl reminded me of why I fish. For most it is a hobby, but for some it is part of them. That kid connected with fishing and the outdoors just like I did as a kid. I didn't catch many fish that day, but I thanked God for fishing and that kid.

My First Catfish & The Backstabber Fly AGAIN!

I had an unexpected surprise while getting some fly fishing in after work yesterday.  I landed my first Catfish on the fly rod! I got him on the backstabber carp fly developed by Jay Zimmerman.  I have been doing great at a local city pond catching bass on the backstabber.  My hope was to get a carp with the thing, but I haven't seen any to cast to.  However, on this short outing, I landed the catfish, 3 bass and a bluegill all on a black and olive size 6 backstabber.  I love this fly. 

Click Here to  learn how to tie the fly.    

Landing the catfish took some work.  I am guessing it was about 3lbs ish.  It fought hard too.  That was the hardest fish I have ever tried to land.  It would take these long runs and bull dog me.  I had a 9lb leader and 4lb tippet on.  I am not real familiar with how hard this stuff can be pushed, so I was worried to say the least.   

I also made a pvc rod holder to protect my fly rod in the car.  Easy to make and cheap.  Check out this blog for instructions on how to make your own.  

I still have hopes of getting a carp on the fly and I am still trying to go after gar on the fly rod.  I know I am not your typical fly fisherman, but I live in the St. Louis Metro East area.  I have to fish for what is around.  

Backstabber Fly And A New Fishing Spot

The rain some days to cold the next is balancing out and settling nicely into sunny days. I took advantage of the off days to tie up a few new flies. I found this great article about carp fly fishing and dreamed of landing a carp asap. (Check Out The Article). This dream keeps nagging at my thoughts all through the day at work. To top this off, I found a great little city pond that has several carp in it and I have been pulling quality bass out of the water. As an added side bonus, it is right next to my wife's job. That means everyday could be a quick fishing day right before I pick her up after work. Oh life's little sweet treasures! Anyways, Jay Zimmerman developed a great fly out in Colorado for Carp called the backstabber. Check out a video how to tie it. | Buy the backstabber here.

I tied up a couple backstabbers as best I could with the random materials I had laying around in a size 6 black pattern. Mine definitely don't look as good as Jay's, but they worked! I set out to catch the carp in the pond, but didn't see any when I was there. However, I got 5 bass to take the backstabber. This is the first submerged fly that I feel comfortable fishing. It feels strange to fish a fly below water as a newbie. I am just unsure how to do it, but this made sense. I highly recommend this fly. It was easy to tie or you can buy some from a great fly shop in Colorado. I hope to post some pictures of a carp that I catch on the backstabber. Until then, enjoy the bass photos.

Fly Tying

My attempt at a bead head pheasant tail nymph

I found it surprisingly easy to start off tying my own flies. Tying flies is fascinating to me and it is rewarding to catch a fish on a lure that you tied yourself. I am working on my tying skills and learning new patterns all the time. Right when I feel pretty good about my skills, I see a video of a guy tying up an amazing looking fly in less than 1 minute. His fly should be in a museum and mine are a sparse resemblance to the bug I tried to imitate. None the less, I catch fish on flies that I tie and I find great enjoyment in gathering materials and making lures that fool fish. What else are you going to do when you can't be on the water?

If you have never tied a fly, give it a go.