Seaducer and the BGW

It was pretty hot today. After being gone to SLC all week it was good to be home. I got to spend most of the day with Tracy which is always a good thing - especially after being out of town.

We all regrouped for supper and I cooked up a big batch of chicken & veggie fried rice.

The Braves game came on after we ate so I knew where Tracy would be - knitting and watching baseball. I decided to try to catch a bass on the fly rod and headed off to Evans Lake for a while before dark.

I hooked on a new Clouser Minnow that was colored to look like a sculpin or a crawfish.

I tied it on to a 4X tippet and on the first cast I hooked a stick on the bottom of the lake and broke it off. Not so great a start....

I tied on a chartreuse and white Clouser and fished half-way around the lake before deciding to try a weedless Seaducer. I had not fished these too much and had heard the salesman at Orvis say that this was his go-to fly for redfish. I tied the red and white fly directly to my leader and began casting. It is basically just a hook with a brush of webby hackle and some long saddle hackle feathers training off with some flash. It is unweighted and stays up top or is slightly submerged in the water column making for an enticing presentation.

I had no trouble punching it through the light wind with the 7wt line and my 9' rod.

I had made my way around the lake to the spot I call the "Corner Pocket" where the swimming hole begins. The bank hooks in to meet the concrete wall making a small protected cove that is a perfect place to expect a bass to be holding.

I dropped a nice cast right in the pocket and was immediately rewarded with a take by a decent fish. I let him head out into open water before performing a strip-strike. This bass put up a good fight before coming to hand but I suspect I wouldn't have as easy a time with a slot red.

Fish On!


Tricked By The Seaducer


Fly Rod Bass

I fished the "duce" the rest of the way around the lake but couldn't seem to find the fish. I decided they must be off the bank and switched the fly rod for the UL and the BGW. I worked the entire lake - close in and far out - fast and slow but thought I was going to have to settle for one fish.

I finally came back to the point directly opposite the parking spot and dropped the BGW right next to a big girl that was laying less than a foot off the shoreline.

I was fishing with 4lb test mono and a small snelled hook so again I got to practice my patience and let the fish carry the worm out into the open water a long way before setting the hook. I almost forgot how much fun landing a heavy, healthy bass on light tackle can be.

Big Mama


Back to the Deep to Fight Another Day

Both fish were in great shape and the lake level is still up significantly higher than this time last year. I hope these fish have short memories...I want to see them again soon!