Fishing the local bass resevoir (a first post)
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First post up on this board. I figured the best way to introduce myself was via a trip report. I have been “lurking” around for a month or so and have finally jumped in. The main reason i came was the awesome photo froum. Unfortunentally did not take the dslr out with me this time(don’t have a waterproof case yet) just took the p&s. Sorry for some of the crappy pics. the lens was a little wet from when i got soaked in the storm.
Fished the occquan resevoir today. The weather report looked spotty at best with scatterd thunderstorms throughout the day. But decided to take a chance since i really wanted to get out and fish. Packed the gear and threw the kayak on the car.
immediatly paddled out to my favorite area on this part of the resevoir.
threw the popper around a bunch to try for my favorite topwater bite but had none to be found. swithed it up to some subsurface flies but still to no avail. I turned around the shoulder to find this and decided it was time to haul butt and get the heck out of there.
it is a small crossing to get back to the launch ramp but the wind immediatly picked up and the small crossing that takes 2min became about a 5-10min crossing with whitecaps and going head into a heavy wind. the pictures don’t do the justice.
got back just as the thunder started up and pulled the kayak up. I decided to wait it out for about 45min and then got back on the water.
explored a new area and threw the popper around a bit and landed this one near some weeds in the water. the topwater stike nearly threw me off the kayak while i was standing up.
about 5min later then i was thowing the popper around near a fallen tree in the water that looked really fishy and landed this fish.
figured it was really small for the spot so next cast a threw the popper back in and landed this fish. my biggest bass on the fly so far which was huge for me. Just starting to figure out bass on the fly.
overall it was one of my better days bass fishing so far. just starting to get the hang of it.
Love the redfish man. Great to see somebody else out there enjoying the fun of warm water fly-fishing. I didn’t know you could stand in a redfish though it doesn’t surprise me, Heritage and Native make some awesome kayaks. If I were you I might have to tie up a deceiver to match the color of the local sunfish population.
I hope you post up a few more reports, here are a few of my flys I use for bass.
http://www.itinerantangler.com/cgi-bin/board/YaBB.pl?num=1299854121
Love the redfish man. Great to see somebody else out there enjoying the fun of warm water fly-fishing. I didn’t know you could stand in a redfish though it doesn’t surprise me, Heritage and Native make some awesome kayaks. If I were you I might have to tie up a deceiver to match the color of the local sunfish population.
I hope you post up a few more reports, here are a few of my flys I use for bass.
http://www.itinerantangler.com/cgi-bin/board/YaBB.pl?num=1299854121
nice flies.
heres two from last summer at the james river proving that you can stand up in a kayak with a little pratice.
Very nice. I sold my Native Ultimate 14.5 last Fall. Thinking about buying a 12 soon, but then again I do like the Heritage Featherlite 12.
First post up on this board. I figured the best way to introduce myself was via a trip report. I have been “lurking” around for a month or so and have finally jumped in. The main reason i came was the awesome photo froum. Unfortunentally did not take the dslr out with me this time(don’t have a waterproof case yet) just took the p&s. Sorry for some of the crappy pics. the lens was a little wet from when i got soaked in the storm.
Fished the occquan resevoir today. The weather report looked spotty at best with scatterd thunderstorms throughout the day. But decided to take a chance since i really wanted to get out and fish. Packed the gear and threw the kayak on the car.
immediatly paddled out to my favorite area on this part of the resevoir.
threw the popper around a bunch to try for my favorite topwater bite but had none to be found. swithed it up to some subsurface flies but still to no avail. I turned around the shoulder to find this and decided it was time to haul butt and get the heck out of there.
it is a small crossing to get back to the launch ramp but the wind immediatly picked up and the small crossing that takes 2min became about a 5-10min crossing with whitecaps and going head into a heavy wind. the pictures don’t do the justice.
got back just as the thunder started up and pulled the kayak up. I decided to wait it out for about 45min and then got back on the water.
explored a new area and threw the popper around a bit and landed this one near some weeds in the water. the topwater stike nearly threw me off the kayak while i was standing up.
about 5min later then i was thowing the popper around near a fallen tree in the water that looked really fishy and landed this fish.
figured it was really small for the spot so next cast a threw the popper back in and landed this fish. my biggest bass on the fly so far which was huge for me. Just starting to figure out bass on the fly.
overall it was one of my better days bass fishing so far. just starting to get the hang of it.
WraySinclair, nice introduction and thank you for sharing your trip report. I have been trying to go to occquan resevoir but did not have any chance yet. Hop it will be soon! Nice photo you shared! Any more photos please share those too here!
Excellent work and welcome Wray. I myself am a flat water bass nut and I appreciate your post.
I myself split my time between a fly rod and conventional gear when bass fishing, but there is no time better spent fishing topwater on summer mornings or evenings
I am holding out for someone to develop a fly that has the action of a zoom super fluke
that would be a deceiver with over sized epoxy eyes. I was shocked by how close it mimicked the action. I got the best action by kind of copying the hang time. It is money.
that would be a deceiver with over sized epoxy eyes. I was shocked by how close it mimicked the action. I got the best action by kind of copying the hang time. It is money.
Interesting! do they dart erratically like an unweighted fluke?
Dave,
admitted the kayak is not best for every situation. i would rather have a pontoon for floating rivers. but kayaks are great for stillwaters if you need to cover distance. I surf launch my kayak in north carolina to chase bluefish one thing that might be tricky with an inflateable pontoon. For me a kayak seemed like a good all around option at the time. Still being in highschool i can’t afford every boat i want(i wish i could) and i [s:2ndilkrc]waste[/s:2ndilkrc] deposit my extra money into photography. If i could i would own some awesome wooden drifboat like the ones you just made, a flats boat, and a deepsea boat. The other reason about the kayak is that you can put it on most cars when you cant trailer a boat because i am still using my parents car. :'(
I agree, kayaks are great for lakes and salt, where you want to cover distance and it is easy to hold them still.
Good to see another Northern VA member. I’ve been surprised with the amount of decent fishing within 20 miles of DC.
Re the advantages of kayaks:
1) no trailer
2) no boat ramp
3) no one else needed to row/pole
4) no gas
5) no need for a shuttle (paddle up and float back)
6) use anywhere (lakes, ponds, flats, surf, rivers, creeks)
7) moves relatively quickly for self-powered craft
8) inexpensiveThey may not be the best in every situation, but they pretty good almost anywhere you can float. The main drawbacks I see are comfort, space, not being in the same vessel as fishing partners (not always a drawback), and difficulty fishing fast moving water (true for most craft- exceptions being drift boats/rafts with someone else at oars).
Dave,
Wouldn’t the oars on the WaterMaster be at least as much trouble as a paddle? Both will catch line, but it’s pretty easy to use my paddle one-handed to modify my drift while continuing to fish (something that seems difficult to do with oars).But was Wray says, we all need a fleet of boats – including one of those sweet wood drifters (and a jet sled…and a flats boat and a …).
Jason
Jason,
Watermaster has the open floor where you wear flippers, propoel yourself with your feet, hands free.
I find that for fishing solo in fast running water a kayak is the way to go. I have been using them to fish in fast rivers for years.
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