How, When And Where To Fly Fish Lakes
I wanted to post this here because apparently it can no longer be found on the Internet. It's what really got me into fly fishing because it made me realize I could do it locally rather than having to drive three-plus hours to the nearest trout waters. I would add that I'd recommend a 5wt graphite rod rather than an 7wt fiberglass as a starter rod, and furled leaders over pieced-together mono, but if you follow his advice as written, you won't go wrong.
How, When And Where To Fly Fish Lakes
Bob Brunsell (3 May 1917 - 12 March 2001)
One summer afternoon years ago, a youth sat in a rowboat on a sun-drenched pond. A steel casting rod projected over the side and a bobber marked where a worm dangled. Staying well out from shore to avoid getting snagged in those "confounded weeds", he had also avoided snagging any fish.
Late in the afternoon another boat anchored a short distance away. The two men in it lifted long rods and proceeded to cast towards shore. Their lines rolled out across the weeds. Leaders turned over as if in slow motion and placed tiny lures on the surface.
Nearly every cast produced a strike. The weeds would bulge, a rod tip lift and a splashing bluegill would come sliding across the top.
The boy stared incredulously. Never in his life had he seen anything so close to magic, nor for that matter, such bluegills. They dwarfed those he was accustomed to catching. He wouldn't have believed there were any like that in the pond.
While he watched, one of the casts was greeted by an electrifying splash. The men had to row over to extricate this one from the weeds. "A black bass!" the dazed youth exclaimed. He was to see this repeated twice as the evening progressed.
This happened more than 40 years ago, but the scene is still indelibly engraved in his mind. The youth became a fly fisher and remained one all his life. He considers himself blessed indeed to have discovered the sport at such an early age, and doubly so to have learned at the beginning how well it works for fishing lakes.
I know all this because the pond was a small lake near my home town and I was the youth.
Many anglers associate fly fishing with trout and use their gear only for that. It saddens me to think of the fun they are missing.
We sometimes hear it referred to as an elitist or a rich man's sport. On the contrary, a novice can get started fly fishing less expensively than any other kind of angling. To my way of thinking, if there actually are elitist fishers, they would be found mong those whose sport require equipment like power boats, trailers, electronic depth finders, fish locators, and treble-hooked hardware.
Most of us live within easy driving distance of lakes or ponds that contain bass, bluegills and crappies, all made-to-order fly rod quarry.
Fish in most lakes frequent the shallows during evening hours, about the only time many of us are free to go fishing. They move in to feed on the insects, crustaceans and bait fish that fly rod lures imitate so well.
Some fly rodders have never seen a trout stream. Others would rather spend an evening on a bass or bluegill pond than on a trout stream.
The sport requires no elaborate gear. Rods can be purchased in the same price ranges as spinning or casting rods of comparative quality. For this kind of fishing all a fly reel has to do is store line. A cheap single action one is quite adequate. Weight forward lines will allow longer casts but cheaper level ones are still widely used. Modern fly lines last for years.
In the evening, wading will get you within casting distance of fish on most lakes. If not, a canoe or inner tube surely will. Casting from shore often works where bottoms slope too rapidly for wading.
As the evening progresses, bluegills, bass, crappies, and sometimes even walleyes frequently forage right next to shore. The splash as casting or spinning baits hit the surface can alarm fish in such shallow water, while the more gently alighting fly rod lures may even attract them.
If you already are a stream trout fly fisher, the chances are your outfit is fine for lake fishing. If not an 8-1/2 foot glass rod that calls for a seven-weight line is pretty hard to beat for still water fishing. It will also work well if you decide to take up trout fishing.
There are of course, a lot of different rod actions and lengths, many of them designed for specific kinds of fishing. What I am recommending here is what I consider closest to an all-around fly rod. It will be ideal for most lake fishing and usable for all.
Your first fly line should be a floating one. They are easier to handle and will fit 90 percent of your fishing.
A nine foot leader tapered from around .022 of an inch diameter down to .008 together with a spool of .008 tippet material to carry in a pocket works well. Larger flies and lures will require cutting the tippet back to a bigger diameter, and a couple of feet of .008 can be tied back on to fish smalI flies again.
A leader that wants to half-hitch around the fly when cast is a pretty good sign that the tippet is too fine for that fly.
Once a novice realizes the difference between a fly rod and other rods and reels, casting becomes ridiculously easy. Remember the rod is throwing the weight of the line instead of the lure. To energize the rod the line must bend it backward, then as you move the rod forward, it unbends and throws the line.
Remember to keep the back cast high. Pick up briskly and try to stop the rod as near to perpendicular as you can. Thinking to yourself that you are going to throw the line straight up in the air will help. It won't go straight up, but this will insure a high back cast.
Pause, then move the rod ahead against the line straightening behind you. Don't drop the rod tip until the line is moving well forward. Fly casting is fun. The feel of the line in the air is exhilarating and this increases as you become more familiar with your equipment.
Catching fish is fun too, so since many lakes are big it is necessary to learn to identify promising spots and how and when to fish them.
Early morning and late afternoon through evening are the best times for large bluegills. A sunken fly worked slowly in and around weeds is always good. Bee, black gnat and ant imitations are excellent early season patterns. Peacock herl nymphs with brown hackle and wooly worms are good anytime. Hackle should be soft and full. You won't go wrong with size 12 hooks.
Fish them with short pulls and pauses. Try varying the length of the pauses. Watch the line closely. At the slightest twitch or draw, set the hook fast!
Small poppers and floating bugs are deadly from early evening until dark. Fish them also with starts and stops, along weed edges and shorelines. Pay special attention to pockets and indentations in weeds. Weedy bays can be bonanzas.
Either sunken or floating, your flies are most apt to be taken while sitting, between pulls. Start and stop retrieves are effective for both bluegills and bass.
Another thing to remember is, if you have a hit on a floating lure and miss, return it quickly to the same spot.
Big bluegills (and sometimes bass) can't stand to see something that seems alive, sitting motionless above them. It irritates them no end. Even if they aren't hungry, eventually they rise and slash at it with their back fins.
If it is returned to the same spot immediately they will hit again. Keep returning it and they become enraged enough to take fairly and hook themselves.
Nearly all weed beds hold bass and frequently northerns. They take pretty much the same lures in the same way as bluegills. A size 12 popper will hold even the largest bass. They are usually hooked in the gristly part of the mouth.
If there are northerns around, a short fine wire leader between fly and tippet is a necessity. Without it, they will eat your poppers like Crackerjack.
Just after ice-out, tiny black beetle and ant imitations work marvelously well close against boggy shorelines. The bottom here almost always is dark muck and warms first in the sunshine.
Crappies are apt to be found around weeds or brush, but not necessarily close in. If you aren't successful right next to cover, try the open water a short distance away. Sunken flies are usually best except right at or after dark.
They have a habit of taking while swimming along at the same speed as the fly, then when they realize it is fraudulent, merely opening their mouth and releasing it without disturbing the line. At times their hits can be almost impossible to recognize.
I have known crappie fishers who made it a practice to lift their rod tips at 10-second intervals while retrieving, even if they saw no sign of a hit. They caught crappies too.