Bassin' Fool....

[Flyjunkie]

I have been spending almost every week since late May fishing a local private community's lake. a good friend lives there and we've fished together all summer long. when he would go on trips He kindly loaned me the pass and i would fish solo. nearly all the Bass took Poppers in the various Lily pad fields around the lake. I tyed up the Poppers and made them weedless ,so I never did lose one in the Lily pads. I fished my 7 wt. and 8wt. fly rods with tippet strengths of 12 to 16 lbs. it is a blast slammin' the bass on the take and then hauling them out of the lilies. I even caught a 6lb. Channel Catfish - it ate the always effective Bunny Leech pattern... I have had a very fun summer and fall being a Bassin' Fool.....

P.S. = Humble apologizes to all.. further research confirmed that it was a Channel Catfish and not a Bullhead... i found the records that show exactly what was introduced in the lake once they filled it up and they only put in Channel Catfish.. (the lack of a serious indentation in the tail threw me off.).. sorry if it misled anyone.. not my intention.

[Kentucky point]

Nothing more enjoyable than catching bass like that on a nice day!

[Sugaree]

Heck yea Flyjunkie hard to beat a private bass pond. That's one big ol bullhead thought it was a channel at first glance. Hope your doing well and still getting after those Bonito!

[Hoss]

Way to go Flyjunkie you got some nice bass and a cat there.

[sneakygroundbuzzard]

nice job on them bass

cant say ive ever seen a bullhead that big,nice job
that must have been fun on a fly rod

[Flyjunkie]

Heck yea Flyjunkie hard to beat a private bass pond. That's one big ol bullhead thought it was a channel at first glance. Hope your doing well and still getting after those Bonito!

Yeah, the lake has a Catch & Release policy soo the Bullheads all grow large.. we'll see them from a distance in the shallows as we walk along the walkway that goes completely around the lake.. we quickly cut off the poppers and tie on the Bunny Leeches to go after them. the trick is to lead them as they forage along the bottom - carefully dropping the Leech 2 feet in front of them, then hop it back towards them. if you time it right you'll have your leech fall right in front of them and they will go after it. they take well enough and they give you a good fight on a 7 wt. they will almost get you into your backing a couple of times...great sport on the fly rod..
The Bonito action is still going strong locally but I have not been able to get out much this year... which is sad as i really love Bonito on the fly..

DEAN ~~~

[MidTennHunter]

Those are some nice fish especially on the flyrod. Growing up in east TN I flyfished for trout, but I have not had luck with the bass. I probably give up too quick and switch to my spinning stuff. I just need to leave the conventional tackle at home one day. I’m sure it’s a blast to have the bass explode on a popper!

[redrocks]

Nice...there's nothing like bass fishing....I get the same rush when the rod bends as I do when i walk up on a point or stone tool ...keep on keeping on... Red

[toccopola]

some really nice photos, nice size mud cat. got any photos of your baits/flies.

[Flyjunkie]

some really nice photos, nice size mud cat. got any photos of your baits/flies.

Here are the Bass Bugs I tye and fish : Wiggle Bugs, Gartside Gurglers and the big black ones are Zudbubblers..

[MidTennHunter]

In the middle picture, I use a similar Morris mouse pattern for brown trout at night with good luck. I guess I need to try it for bass.