Fly Fishing For Sunfish

Catching sunfish and fishing for sunfish are two entirely different things. Most anglers catch sunfish. Often the bycatch when fishing for larger species like bass, these round relatives of the more popular sportfish strike voraciously at flies that don’t even come close to fitting in their mouths. But perhaps in a similar manner that the lowly carp has received a surge of popularity in the fly fishing community over the past decade, panfish will finally receive broader recognition for their value as a targeted species.

Often referred to by to some general name according to one’s region, bluegill, pumpkinseed, green sunfish, redbreast sunfish, rock bass and other species of sunfish can put up quite the fight. Moreover, larger specimens aren’t pushovers. Particularly in the southeast, there is a devoted and fanatical angling community that specifically seeks these bruisers. Once these fish get to a foot in length, you can throw all of your cane pole, corn kernel misconceptions out the window.

Once again, catching sunfish and fishing for sunfish are not the same thing. And you will very likely not catch a trophy sunfish unless you are fishing for them.

Late Spring (post-spawn) and summer sunfish fishing can be incredibly dynamic. Although there are plenty of four and five-inch exceptions to the rule, most panfish will stay around cover. Rocks, stumps, and weeds are very likely places that you’ll find them. Expansive weed beds and larger submerged trees are ideal spots for larger sunfish. True, these are the main locations that bass are targeted. The bass are there for the exact same reason you are: sunfish are the objective. Although they have similar behaviors, are both predatory, and are even related; they are very different. Thus, the warmwater fly angler has to adapt in order to chase trophy sunfish.

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Last Cast of the Week, 4/28/2017

Most Fridays on Casting Across are  devoted to other people’s contributions in the fly fishing community. Articles, pictures, social media accounts, videos, podcasts, products, and more will be featured on The Last Cast of the Week.

Today, I’m sharing items from  Orvis News, BeerAdvocate, & Life Magazine Archives.

If you’d like to be featured in the Last Cast of the Week, or have seen something that others might be interested in, use my contact form or shoot me an email (matthew[at]castingacross[dot]com). Also, be sure to subscribe to Casting Across to never miss a post.

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Orvis News – Ask the Experts

Have you ever sat through a lecture or debate,  just waiting for the (more) exciting Q&A session at the end? Orvis News puts one of these out every once in a while. Guides and pros from all across the country have been asked: “What are one or two things that most fly fishers don’t do that they should?” As you can imagine, there are some diverse answers – but all are beneficial.  This post features some good information about cleaning line, mending, and paying attention.

BeerAdvocate – Brewing for Beasts

If you fly fish and have ever been to a restaurant, bar, or grocery store, you know that there are plenty of beer labels adorned with illustrations of fish. The fact is that the craft beer culture and the outdoors culture have a lot of common ground these days. Most notably, a conservation ethic. This article explores some of the breweries – large and small – that are involved in preservation and protection of wildlife. “Whatever the reason, your next pint could be contributing to the health of your local ecosystem—so drink up, and toast the fish, snakes, and birds that, in a small way, you’re helping to save.”

Life Image Archives

Want to kill an hour… or afternoon? Life magazine (that was a thing, once)  has a great selection of their photography up on the web, and it can be accessed via a Google search option. Sports, celebrities, and politicians – they’re all in there. Just putting in “fishing” provides some amazing vintage images of people angling from Canada to Cuba. If you are into history, aesthetics, or daydreaming, you need to check out this consolidated collection of high quality photos.

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Fly Fishing Gear Review: 2001 Subaru Forester Rear Bumper

There are pieces of fly fishing gear that I leave at home from time to time. They are important, but they aren’t invaluable. Engaging in this lifestyle for nearly two decades, I’ve amassed quite the collection of rods, reels, and miscellany. Many of the various bits of tackle are uniquely created for use in a certain body of water, a particular season, or a specific fish. Those fly boxes and leaders might get pulled out for a month, then packed away for the rest of the year.

However, there is one necessary armament in my angling arsenal that I literally never go fishing without.

The rear bumper of my 2001 Subaru Forester.

I know, I know. It hasn’t been featured in any magazine or blog’s “best of” articles; nor are there any young, attractive, social media personalities posting super cool photos of their neatly disheveled adventures in front of one. But I have to tell you: this thing is indispensable.

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Fly Fishing at Night & Not Getting Bit in the Face

“Things that go bump in the night” is hardly a frightening phrase in the context of fly fishing.

The bump is precisely what you’re looking for. A fish eating your fly, responding out of the darkness, is the whole point. It isn’t as though fishing at night is the same as, say, ophiology at night. Identifying snakes in the dark is a bad idea. For one, you can recite “red to black, friend to Jack” until you’re blue in the face… because you didn’t see it was actually a venomous coral snake the whole time, and it had been biting your face. But I digress.

So, are you scared of fly fishing at night?

(Maybe you weren’t before, but you are now, knowing that you could get bit in the face by a coral snake.)

Here are some benefits:

  • You get to go fishing.
  • Fish feed at night.
  • There are fewer people fishing at night.
  • Chances are that your children and your job don’t require your attention at night.*

*Don’t leave your children alone. That is what your spouse is for.**

**This isn’t to say that your spouse doesn’t require your attention. Bring her some ice cream.

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Last Cast of the Week, 4/21/2017

Most Fridays on Casting Across are  devoted to other people’s contributions in the fly fishing community. Articles, pictures, social media accounts, videos, podcasts, products, and more will be featured on The Last Cast of the Week.

Today, I’m sharing items from Fly Fishers International, PA Fish & Boat Commission, &  IndiFly / Sight Line Provisions.

If you’d like to be featured in the Last Cast of the Week, or have seen something that others might be interested in, use my contact form or shoot me an email (matthew[at]castingacross[dot]com). Also, be sure to subscribe to Casting Across to never miss a post.

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Fly Fishers International

Ever heard of Fly Fishers International? Sure you have: it is the new name for the International Federation of Fly Fishers (IFFF).  The name change is not simply for the sake of “rebranding.” From everything that the FFI has written, it seems like they are positioning themselves for engaging with the next generation and the culture of fly fishing in the 21st century.  If you’ve only ever thought there was one major fly fishing / conservation group, then take a moment to check out the new FFI.

PA Fish & Boat App

Have you ever tried to navigate a state conservation organization’s website on a mobile device. Miserable. Between the numerous menus, options, images, and formats – formatted in varying success for smaller resolutions – the experience can run the gamut from awful to impossible. The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission has put their regulations, stocking schedules, and other pertinent information on an app. Although this is only one tiny part of the overall picture when it comes to what a state can/should do, these are contemporary moves that allow citizens to engage with their agencies.

IndiFly /  Sight Line Provisions

I learned about IndiFly through a bracelet (it is a really nice bracelet from a company you should definitely check out). IndiFly is a group that uses fly fishing to conserve fisheries and support indigenous peoples.  The injection of interest and financial investment can go a long way when it comes to placing a buffer between remote and imperiled environments and harmful change. Relationships, through fly fishing, are the key that gets the whole thing going. Want an interesting trip of a lifetime that accomplishes more than giving you a great weekend? Check out IndiFly.

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Lyme: Avoid Getting Ticked While Fly Fishing

Three years ago I was at work, sitting at my desk, when I realized something was off. I had gone for a run that morning, but it wasn’t a route that was particularly long or rugged.  Nevertheless, my ankles, knees, and hips felt like they’d been through a rough game of football.

By no means am I a hypochondriac. This, however, was not normal for an active man of around 30 years old. I did have a previously  scheduled doctor’s appointment that I was able to move to that afternoon.

“Have you found any ticks?” was her first question. I hadn’t.

“Well, we’ll run the test,” she said, “And take a few doses of doxycyclene, just in case.”

Again, I hadn’t found any ticks on myself. There was no bulls-eye rash. I was just exhausted and sore.

I went home that afternoon and slept until evening. Waking up, I felt a little better and decided to take a shower. Sure enough, there was a clear bulls-eye rash that had developed on my thigh. Within an hour, I got a call from the lab saying I had tested positive for Lyme disease.

On a positive note, I felt great the next day. I went back to work, did some chores in the yard, and even  was back to running. That was a blessing. Many people aren’t that fortunate, either due to a late diagnosis, a misdiagnosis, or simply their reaction to the bacteria.

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Outcarped

I stood there, tenkara rod in hand, and stared at the grass carp.

In all seriousness, it had to have been nearly four feet long. It’s back and tail were out of the water, and what was exposed of this creature was bigger than most trout I catch. I could see its mouth opening and closing from time to time. It looked like I could have fit my fist into its maw.

I made a cast to it, consciously suppressing the instinctive mental process of playing out the most likely scenarios. Many of these would result in a lost fly, a lost fish, or a broken rod.

Suddenly the line went tight. Not a slamming take like a bass, just a hard pull in the opposite direction. I set the hook and the water exploded. The carp did a 180-degree turn and sent splashes up onto the bank. However, the stimuli I was taking in with my eyes betrayed what I was feeling with my hands. The throbbing and tugging didn’t match up with the violent run I saw the carp take.

As quick as I set the hook and became very confused, I saw the sunfish surface. In hooking this panfish right in front of the carp, I spooked the much larger animal.

Upon releasing the (quite nice, actually) sunfish, I allowed the suppressed cognitive simulations to remind me that I was under-gunned and outmatched. That carp would have taken my seventeen feet of line and tippet in a direct angle away from me, and the rod would have snapped at any number of places.

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Gone Fishing: Wild


This morning I had about two hours before an appointment. Since said appointment is a fly fishing appointment, it seemed fitting that I “pre game” with some time on the water.

Driving from my home into the mountains, I passed dozens of great streams. I could have fished for early season bass. There were trout streams and ponds in a number of environments.

However, I wanted to fish somewhere wild.

It took a little longer to get there. Consequently, I didn’t get to fish as long as I’d like. And to be honest, that probably reduced the amount of fish that I caught.

But where I was, it was spectacular. Rugged cliffs, clean cold water, and I was all by myself.

I am not at the place in my life and/or fishing career where I can honestly say that I am “just about the experience.” I still want to catch trout, and big ones at that. From time to time, I do get glimpses of what fishing just for the experience is all about.

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Midges: Little Purchases that help Fishing Little Flies

Earlier I wrote a post on fly fishing midges. I mentioned some preliminary matters, general fly selection, and some important distinctive techniques. Today, as a follow up, I’d like to provide some greater detail regarding the gear and accessories that can really be helpful on the water when you’re fishing the smallest of flies.

Books

While you don’t need a book to get out and fish flies size 22 or smaller, having a comprehensive resource is going to be incredibly helpful. Midge Magic is an excellent, practical book on midges. Any of Ed Koch’s books on midges are worth reading. Patterns, leader formulas, and general tactics, when laid out in front of you on the printed page, are invaluable.

Boxes

You need to put your flies somewhere, obviously. And while any old box will work, it won’t work well for midges. In my experience, tiny dry fly hooks aren’t well suited for foam or silicone slots. Thus, compartment boxes are the way to go. Risen Fly makes a great little box that can do double-duty for midges. The covered compartments give the tiny flies security, and the sloped edges allow you to slide individual midges out. On the other half, the foam gives you a short-term drying option or space for a few larger bugs.

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Midges: The Big Deal of Fishing Little Flies

When I close my eyes and think of fly fishing, one of the most immediate images that comes to mind is a long, glassy pool. Across the surface there are intermittent dimples – sure indications of feeding fish. These riseforms come quickly, and sometimes in successive clusters. Some are larger, but most are smallish. The season of this scene is inconsequential, because the trout are rising to midges.

I am not sure if there is a certain size that a fly has to be to fall into the “midge” category. Some people think that a size 20 is small, but that is hardly a legitimate midge. Certain patterns are actually called midges, but tying that fly on a size 8 hook doesn’t keep it under that classification. Furthermore, I struggle with lumping chronomids and miniscule nymphs that are essentially tiny hooks wrapped in wire in with some of the more noble midges.

Again, this isn’t a very scientific observation. Truth be told, it probably isn’t even a good taxonomical approach to fly box sorting.

But there is just something about a delicate cast, a drag-free length of 7X tippet, and a microscopic dry fly being eaten by a trout.

Getting Started

There is a lot more to it than that, of course. “Yeah, like finding the **** things in my fly box!” you might say. Or, “giving myself an aneurysm from squinting and trying to get the spider-web-thin line through the microscopic hook eye!” I won’t argue that there are some real challenges in simply getting to the point of being able to fish size 26 or 28 flies. The tips-n’-tricks advice I have it to invest in a threader box. I don’t use one (yet) but they work like a charm.

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