Bugs Awaiting Making

A big part of me really wishes I'd brought my tying vice on this rip. Punisher Craft Hair has a tremendous amount of movement in the water, and I believe some of the colors I picked up on my trip will make really pretty and productive Ugly Bugs. I'm eager to put the new hair to work, at the vice and in the creek.

But then again, maybe it's just as well that the vice stayed home. I'm getting done writing that really needs to get done as I stage between the Dale Hollow and Rend Lake parts of my trip, and having the vice and all that pretty craft hair could create a serious distraction. Plus, when I do tote the vice, I only bring a sample of other materials, and if I got to tying, I'd probably find myself wishing I had a certain color of feather or package of dubbing for the bug I found myself wanting to make.

Doesn't matter. Vice isn't here. I can only envision now and go to work on new Ugly Bugs once I'm home again.

Dale Hollow Night Play

FLW Tour Pro Scott Canterbury shows off an
after-hours Dale Hollow smallmouth.

Photo days on writer trips are mighty full for pros, but that didn't keep FLW Tour pro Scott Canterbury from want to slip out after dinner for at least a little bit of Dale Hollow night fishing. Canterbury does a lot of after-hours fishing around home, and the first half of November is one of his favorite time periods for night fishing.

Stephen Headrick of Punisher Lures agrees, so when he heard that Canterbury was going out, he jumped on the chance to ride along. Of course, if anyone is going fishing, pretty much any time, and I can go along, I do. Plus, I wanted to see the Punisher Lures Cast & Glo Super Light, which Canterbury had been telling me about, and to feel the thumping blades of Punisher's Flame Nighttime Spinnerbait. Fellow writer Brad Wiegmann also joined the night party, but with camera only in hand.

We probably only fished a little more than an hour, and we only caught a couple of smallmouths, but I'd have to say that was my favorite hour of the Dale Hollow visit. There's something about getting out in the quiet darkness and fishing by feel that I simply enjoy. I lack the equipment and the knowledge required to get really amazing night photos, but I got some photos that would help illustrate a night-fishing story, so I was also getting work done while we played!

Trout Toys

Punisher Lures float-and-fly hair jigs and feather jigs (flies)  mostly get used under floats for winter smallmouths, but I plan to introduce them to some trout (maybe today), drifting and swimming them with no float.
I'm eager to see both the craft hair jigs and the feather jigs in the current. I sort of think they'll look super good and that the trout are going to really like them. 
I'm not sure how much I'll end up fishing, but I'm at least going to go look at a couple of rivers and take some photos, and I'll most likely do some fishing while I'm at it. And I may end up doing more tomorrow. Plans are forming as I go. If I do fish and find them, I'll post a report.