Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk AL Fishing Talk I almost forgot...

...what it is like to hold a fly rod and fish. With a wedding coming up in about 5 months, I have been pretty busy trying to be an adult. I had no idea how much work goes into a wedding. It's almost enough to make us elope somewhere. Anyways, this is about a break from all of that.

I decided that I needed a break and this past Saturday morning was the perfect time to go ahead and wet a line for the first time in months. Since moving to Birmingham, I don't have anywhere near the variety of options I once had close by. However, I am perfectly located to pursue my favorite warmwater fly rod target. Many of you have seen my numerous posts about the redeye bass. There's just something truly special about this fish. The creeks that they live in are almost trout-like in their wildness and beauty. The kinds of stream you could just wade around and take pictures of and be content.

So I set out early Saturday morning and tied on the only fly you should fish on warmwater creeks in the only color you should use.



My first cast into a pretty nice run yielded my intended quarry.



After that I decided to really work over the beginning of the creek to see what I could find.

After the first redeye, this was all I could find:



Not that I was complaining, because red breasted sunfish are a pretty fun fly rod fish. I caught quite a few of them before I snapped out of it and remembered what I was after was further upstream.

Now this is more like it:



Once I got into more rocky water, I spotted a fish out on the middle of a shoal in the sun. I put the popper right next to him and the take was as violent as it was exciting. He completely launched out of the water on the take and gave me multiple jumps. That moment is what I love so much about the redeye bass. They hit a popper so well, fight so hard, and are a real treasure to look at once you get them in.








After snapping a few pics, I got him back in the water and watched him swim off. My day had just been made.

I fished for a little longer, and caught a few more fish. I stopped taking pics and just enjoyed the smells and sounds of a small Alabama creek, and the feeling of being in cool water on a hot day doing what I love.



I also caught one of the next generation. I don't think they understand how small they are. They're like the honey badger of black bass. They don't care, and that's why they're great fly rod targets.



Once I got back and uploaded the pictures, I realized it was almost a year to the date that I last fished this gem of a creek. It's kind of odd to think how much has changed in the last year. I was in a pretty bad place this time last year, and right now I couldn't be happier. Glad it could all come full circle with the fish that got me through the last summer of change and confusion.

Awesome....I love wading creeks and such fishing. Is it a requirement, that you have to take really good pictures to fly fish?

cool

I catch those guys waaaay up the Flint River in New Market area. The Flint up there is like a mountain stream and its pretty awesome to visit ... Nice pics

I used to wade fish creeks all the time. Great fun! Appreciate the recap.

nice

Those little red eyes are fun. We floated the cahaba yesterday and we're having a blast catching spots and redeye up to maybe a pound then this guy decided he wanted to play

Nice spot!

With that popper do you pop it or just let it float??

Fish all you can for the next 5 months. Wedding planning is just a precursor to all the crap she's gonna have you doing. I wish I was kidding.

Oh yeah, stellar report as usual bum.

great pics! Cant beat the fight that a healthy fish puts on

You know, it really depends on the fish. Some times the fish are kind of skittish and like it to dead drift. Other times they are aggressive and like it constantly popping across the water. I usually start with an occasional pop. Pop it once, wait until the ripples disappear, then pop it again. If that doesn't work I try a dead drift, and then finally constant popping.

Thanks I hooked him deep or I wouldn't have kept him. Those swift water spots are as strong as it gets in the bass world. I thought he was going to flip my kayak when he was digging beside it.

Beautiful pics. I really miss fly fishing. I haven't waded a stream with a fly rod since I left Pennsylvania.

I know where you are!! I used to go out there all the time with my fraternity bros and fish/float. Is that gnarly looking slide still up? It worked when I was a kid but I know it has been shut down for some time.

It's still there but they have it closed down. The old man told me you could hit 28mph coming down that slide on an air mattress

Nice.

War Eagle!

Yeah I had nightmares about going down that slide when I was a kid. I never did it but I did see someone get some airtime that almost sent them to the rock wall accross from it. Might be exaggerated a bit but I was young.