A couple of years ago I picked up a 3wt TFO fly rod. I went trout fishing with it and had a good time. Well last year I bought another heavier TFO fly rod for bass fishing. I have had it out a couple times but haven't really given it an honest chance. I would bring it with me but it would play second fiddle to the conventional style fishing rods. Well, today was different. I told myself I would take ONE rod and it was only going to be a fly rod.
My 8-10 MINI-MAG it was to be. I really enjoy casting with this rod but just haven't gotten into larger bass with it. Today I decided to do things a little differently. I left the kayak at home and hit the bank. I set off to a new area of Ray Roberts that I haven't explored before. It was out on the main lake with rocks and moss as the primary cover for bass.
A lot of the shoreline was covered with small pebbles and drift wood.
I found an old concrete structure that appeared to be what was left of a an old storm cellar.
Also some substantial stairs leading down to it. I'll have to remember the location for when the lake isn't 9' low like it is now.
I also saw these formations in the rocks. Not sure if some were fossils or just from erosion.
The first bass came pretty quick all be it small.
I looked down to see this guy swimming up to me. I guess he thought I might share my catch with him.
It was hard to ignore the mayfly hatch at times. They too seemed to like hitching a ride.
I even had a few dragon flies landing on me and hanging around while I fished.
I'll have to remember this pattern if I ever get good enough at tying flies.
As the day progressed I caught a handful of these little guys,
I even managed to catch a crappie too.
The sunfish had built a lot of spawning pads and were busy doing their thing.
It's been awhile since I walked the bank to fish. I did pretty good finding lost baits along the way.
Well, towards the end of the day I managed to hook up with one decent bass. This guy put up a great fight and reminded me what a blast catching a larger bass on the fly rod really was. All and all I considered it to be a good day. I got to see some pretty cool terrain I hadn't seen before, lots of wildlife out doing their thing, and was blessed to catch a few fish on the fly. Today I fished by myself and really connected with God and his creation. You know, I really had a good time fishing with the fly rod again. I need to do this more often....
