Bass on the Fly Tournament

June 10, 2010

Today Granny and I teamed up for the annual Bass on the Fly tournament at Ririe Reservoir near Idaho Falls, Idaho. This is a really fun fly fishing only contest for smallmouth bass. I have been in all three previous contests with my regular teammate, Weldon Jones. Weldon is out of town so I was glad to bring along the wife who can certainly sling a bass bug as good as anyone.

The weather predictions were less than perfect. We expected heavy rain and strong winds. I’m sure this kept a few teams from showing up. I wouldn’t think of missing the event for weather as all anglers are on the same playing field no matter what. We actually lucked out and it was warm sunny and calm till about 11. Then, overall it was cool not cold and mostly cloudy with only a light rain shower in the afternoon. The wind became an issue at times, but I brought along a deadly lake fishing tool, my windsock, which slowed down our drifts substantially. We also took turns rowing in order to keep within casting range of the rocky banks.

The way this contest works is, each team is allowed to bring in five smallies 12” or over for the end of the day weigh in. They must be alive in and well for weigh in or weight is deducted from your score. To win, you must have the heaviest healthiest five bass. Things started off fantastic for Granny and me. Within ten casts I put a 12”er in the livewell. For those who chase smallies regularly, 12” doesn’t sound like much. But in Ririe, Idaho, the growing season for these non-natives is so short that they rarely pass the 16” mark. It is actually difficult to catch five smallies over 12” for the weigh in.

By noon Granny and I had four fish in the livewell including two that were 13”. Things were looking very good. We were fishing deep throwing my Ross 7-weight and a Rio Deep 7 line. Dredging down deep is often the recipe for catching smallies during cool temps. Smallmouth can be very fly color oriented so I change flies constantly until I find the magic bug. There was no doubt that most the bass we caught were on the streamer called the Screamer. Although we fished Screamers in black, yellow and olive, it was the badger hackled Screamer with a gold cone head in a size 4 that was best.

Fishing got tough in the afternoon because of high winds. I was saving a couple favorite spots for last where I planned to catch a few fish of size, but these places are exactly where the wind was strongest creating the biggest whitecaps. We tried our best to hit the locations but even with the windsock and oars in the water we could not fish the areas effectively.

Exploring new water is not advised in a tournament but that’s exactly what we did the last hour of the contest because the wind drove us from my usual haunts. To our disbelief, Granny and I could not get that fifth12”er even though we had the first four by noon. We ended up releasing three bass of 11½”. We had some excitement turned disappointment four times. We basically had on quality fish that three times ended up being nice cutthroats. I know many of you would love to catch three nice cuttys, but when it’s a bass competition they just don’t make me happy. Our most disappointing moment was when I fought what felt like a huge bass for several minutes down deep only to net a huge sucker that I snagged in the side. Man did he fight and man did I think we had the big fish pot. Normally I’m one of the rare anglers who loves to catch a sucker, but not today.

Weigh in took place at 4 pm. There were at least five teams that had their five bass. That knocked Granny and I out of contention immediately. Our four fish weighed 4.98 lbs and the winning team of John Gendall and Curt Hamby had at least 8lbs. Curt also caught the big fish which was over 3lbs – a trophy on Ririe Reservoir.

As expected, the 2010 Bass on Fly Tournament was great fun. Many thanks to the host and originator of the event, Kevin Brazell. Kevin is one of the few hardcore bass anglers from the Yellowstone region. The event was well organized and I look forward to next year. As for the near fishing future - the Ranch section of the Henry’s Fork opens on Tuesday June 15th.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing web site

Kayak Bivouac for Bonito and Bass

Whenever I’m on the road I always try to wet a line if I have time. I don’t know why more traveling folks whether it business or pleasure don’t try to do the same. It takes little to pack a rod and reel. I guess most people just assume there’s not much to fish for. Like me down here in Southern CA today, what in the world would I bring a fly rod here for? Duh! How about the ocean?

On October 30th, I ventured out with an old friend, Rich Garrett, who generously took time from work to take me fishing. Rich and his gal Mary Lou hooked us up with their friend, Mike Allen, a pro for Hobie Cat, and we sea kayaked outside Newport Beach.

Mike Allen is an expert in kayak fishing to say the least and he kindly took the day and time not only to join us fishing but also teach us how to use a sea kayak. Kayak’s are great fly fishing tools and within five minutes I was sold on the Hobie. We had the option of paddling and/or pedaling for moving in these kayaks. I loved this option because pedaling freed my hands so I could cast to fish with ease.

Today was a gorgeous 85 degree day with no wind. I quickly found myself two miles out to sea rolling in huge Pacific waves while chasing a school of bonito. I’d of chased bonito all day but somehow I’d ventured a long way away from Mike and the gang. I knew as a total rookie that wasn’t such a good idea and didn’t want to worry everyone. Also, it occurred to me that a kayak could resemble a seal to a big shark! I’ve fly fished for blue and mako sharks in the nearby waters off San Diego and recently friend Jeff Patterson actually caught a great white on the fly down there! So as fast as my legs could pedal I hauled ass back near shore. There I met up with Rich, Mary Lou and Mike and dredged Clouser Minnows along the kelp beds. I have fished the surf in Southern California several times and learned the good fly’s should have some orange and gold. Therefore, the Clouser I used was orange and white with some gold on the body. Throughout the afternoon we landed a handful of handsome little calico bass and mackerel. A fantastic day!

The Clouser Minnow was originally designed by Bob Clouser to be a freshwater fly, but tied in bigger sizes, it is deadly in the brine as well. A great prospecting pattern, you can cover alot of water with this one on those rare occasions when you might not know exactly where the fish are hanging out. On the retrieve it darts like a wounded baitfish just begging to be swallowed by something higher on the food chain. This fly should be tied sparse to imitate the long, narrow silhouette of most baitfish. Since the weighted eyes are on the bottom of the fly, it rides with the point up, so you can drag the bottom with it and not get many snags.

Global Fly Fishing Web Site

No Time for Starlets, Autographs, Glitz or Glamour ... Where’s the Fly Shop on Hollywood Blvd?

The weather here in Southern California is fabulous as it is most of the time. If it wasn't for the traffic, living here would be a consideration from about January till April. The fishing here in the Pacific surf and local lakes with huge largemouth bass could keep the interest of any serious angler throughout the winter. I'm down in this neighborhood because I spoke to the Long Beach Casting Club last night. Long Beach is a large city located in Southern California on the Pacific coast. It is situated in Los Angeles County, about 20 miles (32 km) south of downtown Los Angeles. Long Beach borders Orange County on its southeast edge. The Douglas Aircraft Company (later McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and now part of Boeing) had plants at the Long Beach Airport where they built aircraft for World War II, and later built DC-8s, DC-9s, DC-10s, and MD-11s.

Founded in 1925, the Long Beach Casting Club is a fantastic group of serious anglers and casters that take great pride in their club. They have a really gorgeous facility consisting of a classic clubhouse with walls covered with unique fishing artwork and fly collections. There's even a lighted casting pond right outside the front door - it's awesome! As one of the oldest continuously operating fly fishing clubs in the country, they have a rich history of contributions to the sport, including several world and many national tournament casting champions. Two of their members are American Casting Association Hall of Fame Honorees, while ten members have been casting All Americans.

The talk I gave is called "Four Seasons of the Yellowstone Troutbum", and is one of my favorites to deliver and always draws a good crowd. Most fly fisherman have fished Yellowstone National Park a few times or if they haven't, it is surely near the top of their "To Do" list. As I always do at these presentations, I arrived early and did a fly painting while folks watched and then donated it to the club. I'm staying here a couple days with good friend Rich Garrett whom I met in Jackson, Wyoming 20 years ago. Today we are just taking it easy. We spent an hour at the club casting pond. Rich and some of the other club members practiced their spey casting while I borrowed a 5-weight from Rich and worked on some long casts across the pond. Tomorrow Rich and I are taking out the sea kayaks with Mike Allen of Hobie Cat to try and scare up a few bonito, calico bass and whatever else wants to suck in a fly. A great way to kill a day in Southern California before I head down to Baja on Sunday, November 1st.

Global Fly Fishing Web Site