Triadelphia Fairy Wand Report

[DanMarino]

[jet]

thanks for the pics, well done!

[DanMarino]

I'm terrible with the fly rod and getting blown all over the reservoir in the kayak didn't help. I missed a lot of takes due to too much slack in the line. I'm looking forward to some windless summer evenings to see if any bass will eventually take the foam spider there.

[Turtle135]

Nice! Did you dedicate the day to just using the fly rod?

[DanMarino]

Hi Dave, I brought the fly rod and a spinning rod. The intent was to fish the fly rod exclusively to see what I could catch. I brought the spinning rod as a backup because it was windy out. I fished the fly rod 95% of the time and broke out the spinning rod a few times when I got frustrated with the wind. The most excitement was having a pike swipe at my Pointer78 right beside the kayak as I was reeling it in. No hookup with the pike and unfortunately lost the lure a few casts later on a snag. I was unable to figure out where sunfish were hanging out and the bass weren't interested in the foam spider. That spider catches both sunfish and smallmouth bass at Prettyboy Reservoir, so I figured I would see what it could do at Triadelphia. I'll give it a go at Rocky Gorge too at some point.

[Turtle135]

another couple of weeks and the sunfish will start spawning, look for the honeycombs, I think if you put that bug over their heads they will be all over it

[DanMarino]

Honeycombs? Is that an area with a bunch of sunfish nests all in the same spot?

[Turtle135]

Honeycombs? Is that an area with a bunch of sunfish nests all in the same spot?

yep, and frequently big largemouth are watching those nests from slightly deeper water waiting to dine on the preoccupied sunfish

[Mark]

I think you're being hard on yourself. You nailed a couple of bluegills and that's good. Congratulations.

That's also a very nice fly. Did you tie it?

Bass may hit it but they may also be looking for something bigger.

I just made these foam poppers for an upcoming outing to Trap Pond:

B.JPG C.JPG D.JPG

Very easy to make and quite effective for largemouth. They usually want something a little bigger than a bluegill would eat.

Keep your rod tip down and pull out the slack with your retrieve hand. Activate the fly with your hand, not your rod tip. That will help you keep a taught line. When you see a strike lift the tip. The fish will do the rest to hook itself.

Use the wind to your advantage. It's hard indeed to cast into wind so try to keep it at your back if possible. But yes, some days it pays to bring the spinning gear as a fall back.

[DanMarino]

Hi Mark, I hoped you would see my report. Nope I didn't make the foam spiders. I have an old timer friend who ties them. I need to get a vise and have him show me how to tie them!
Your poppers look great! I'll need to get something similar. I'm using a 4 or 5 weight youth Cabelas fly rod I picked up off of Craighlist so I'm not sure how much fly it can handle.

[Mark]

Hi Mark, I hoped you would see my report. Nope I didn't make the foam spiders. I have an old timer friend who ties them. I need to get a vise and have him show me how to tie them!
Your poppers look great! I'll need to get something similar. I'm using a 4 or 5 weight youth Cabelas fly rod I picked up off of Craighlist so I'm not sure how much fly it can handle.

That rod is a good start but you'll need a heavier rod to throw larger poppers. I can use my 5 wt. with the poppers I made but it's more work than if I use a 7 wt. The 7 wt. line will also penetrate a steady breeze better than a 4 or 5. In one of the ironies of fishing a heavier fly rod is less tiring to use than a lighter rod in certain conditions. Wind and large flies are two of those conditions. Recently, I used a 4 wt. to catch pickerels and that was fun. Conditions were right -- Light breeze and a small popper that I made a big commotion with.

The good news is that the same casting stroke you are perfecting now with your light rod will transfer to a heavier rod.

Keep up the good work!

[manlystanley]

Very nice. I fish that lake as well. I caught a big 24 inch bass once, but in general just small stuff.