Droppers

One of my favorite ways to fish from late spring through fall is to rig a Rebel Micro Pop-R or Crickhopper with a fly a couple of feet beneath it on a dropper. It provides a double appeal, and I'll catch some fish on the surface lure and some on the fly. Often when a fish hits and misses my popper or hopper, a moment later the lure will dart under like a bobber, and I think it's often the same fish that spotted a simple meal hanging in front of it after having been drawn in by the surface lure. The technique works well for bass, panfish and trout.

With such things in mind, I spent a little early-hours time today tying a few bugs to take with me to New England. None are specific patterns (at least not intentionally). The main common denominators, I suppose, are that they are at least a little ugly and crudely tied. With a few, I'm hopping to suggest grass shrimp or tiny light-colored minnows. The others are generalists, simply meant to look like some kinds of aquatic insect, tiny fish or critter of some other sort. Most are streamer sorts because I move the top bait a fair amount, but I'm kind of wishing now that I'd tied a few that looked a bit nymphier.

It's hard to say if I'll even break out the bug box, but I figured it couldn't hurt to have a few dropper flies handy, and if I'm going to use a fly, I'd certainly prefer to use one I tied.

#CatchFishAnywhere #NortheastAdventure

Split Shift Pond Play

Asher and I ended up fishing a split shift on the pond yesterday. We originally only planned to fish a couple of hours because of a mid-afternoon plan unrelated to fishing; however, the bite was so good that we couldn't resist slipping back out there after we got home from the other activity to fish the final couple of hours of daylight. Our rods were already rigged with what had been working, and the cameras and other gear were likewise handy, so running back over there was quick and simple.

Fortunately, the fish were right were we had left them and acting the same way. In fact, we caught more in the evening than during the first shift. Together, by our best tally, we caught 30 fish, which is more than  Asher and I had ever caught together at the pond. Most were bluegills, with good quality overall, and we also managed to catch a handful of bass.

Asher did almost all of his damage with a Rebel Bumble Bug, which is a lure he only discovered yesterday and that now seems to be one of his favorites. He would let it rest initially after a cast and twitch it a time or two, giving fish the chance to attack it on the surface, and then reel it back slowly so it wobbled barely under the surface. Most hit it on the retrieve.

I caught almost all my fish on a tandem rig, fishing a Rebel Micro Pop-R with a Prince Nymph on a dropper about a foot and a half beneath it. I caught some on each lure, but most took the nymph. I believe, the popper draws them in and then they see that easy looking meal dangling in front of them and simply cannot resist it. Often right after one slaps at the popper but doesn't quite take it, the popper darts under like a cork. Whether it's the same fish that does both in most cases or whether the strike attracts more fish, I'm not sure. I just know it works really well.

I also know that Asher and I will be back to the ponds with the same rods rigged the same way soon. However, our next stop might be in a trout stream. North Carolina's delayed harvest streams will open to the harvest in a little less than a week, and we might just have to give a couple of them one final shot during the catch-and-release period. The #RebelTroutTrek is only seven weeks away, so we need to be well practiced with trout fishing and travel!