Fly Fishing

psc_wildboy · Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 9:03 pm Post subject: green leeches and smallies

Is this where we put fishing stories?

Anyway this summer, I got into bass fishing, mostly river run smallies. The local shop had no bass flies, although I caught a few on stonefly nymphs. I really wanted to use something bigger to catch something bigger, so I dusted off my mom's old vise and and started tying. It was pretty bad at first, I was pretty embarassed. Anyway I finally made one that looked as if it would work. Everyday before and after work I was waist deep in the river with no luck. On the way back upstream towards my car I would toss a small Adams out into this small pool and catch some creek chubs. you know just to keep me sane. Well one day, I watched a chub slurp my fly and as I set the hook saw a nice big shadowy figure a few feet behind it. I pulled that poor chub in at mach five and tied on my homemade, bright green, 7 inch, leech, and tossed it to the otherside of the pool just upstream of the shadow. I had barely started to strip in line when all hell broke loose and i was in heaven.
Line went flying off my reel and water went everywhere! I probally looked like the biggest fool ever with that huge grin strapped to my face. Either way I finally landed that nice 22 inch, 5 pound smallmouth. I think I kept smiling for the rest of the summer. After that things only got better and those river smallies fight a lot harder than any I ever caught in a pond or lake. I would have to say two things one; catching a fish on a fly you tie yourself is something special, second; all you guys who tie flies deserve a lot of credit, it is truely an art.