Hi Folks, Guided a double yesterday with a little river fly fishing in the morning and canoe fly fishing in the afternoon. Very enjoyable day for me as I took complete beginners in the morning and then the seasoned fly angler in the afternoon. Love the teaching facet of my job. I would like to thank everyone who hired for July as I set a record for revenue and trips as I completed 35 fishing trips. Fun time. So, yesterday morning I guided was 66 degrees and the level was up and off colored. My crew did a great job learning the basics of fly fishing. We put a fall fish clinic landing lots of the silvery big scaled chubs. No trout or bass to speak of, but did not matter as these folks were tickled to tug on fish and learn how to operate a fly rod. All dry fly fishing as we drifted large #10 parachute patterns. Was a decent #22 Trico spinner fall, but the only thing rising were fall fish. In the afternoon, I guided a long time client who can cast with the best of them. Our total focus was how to present the fly. Surface temperature was 75 degrees and there was steady north/northwest wind until dusk. We found the lee and shade. We landed 10 smallmouth bass, several perch, and had several large pickerel on that broke us off. & of the bass were solid 2lb to 3.5lb smallies that I thought might break my clients 5 wt. on a few occasions. We overloaded the 5wt. with a 6wt. bass bug tapered fly line. Makes casting wind resistant poppers much easier. The fly of the night was a #6yellow bellied frog popper with rubber legs. We found most of our fish off submerged rock island and ledges that had weed growth. The smallies like the deep side of the edge. We focused on getting out of the sun and fishing shady areas (really important.) However, the largest fish of the day was caught off a downed piece of wood on steep sloping bank. Most of the takes with the popper happen within a few feet of where the fly lands. Once again the big fish were slurping in the fly. Subtle takes. Well, off to do it again this afternoon. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
