Hi Folks, Since returning from up north I have had the chance to guide young anglers the past two days. A young budding fly angler from a canoe last night for smallmouth bass and today Boy Scout Troop 94 from Maine for a little river spin fishing for bass. Pretty warm today and muggy today. Yesterday was beautiful coming off a cold front that arrived on Monday. Surface temperature in the lake was 71 degrees and the river temperature today was 72 degrees. Water levels are still down and we need rain!. Sun has been bright the last few days. Yesterday afternoon we had a field day with small smallmouth eating our top water offerings. A #6 frog popper and a #8 foam popper were the flies of the day. Did not see really any big fish come to the fly. We fished all sorts of cover and structure and spots where the big boys and girls hang. I think the cold front from the previous day made the bigger bass a bit fussy to come to the surface. The strikes we did receive from the numerous small fish were when the popper was being worked aggressively out over deeper water. However, at dark, there was a nice little hatch of some sort of burrowing may fly in the Hex family and the bass begin to rise to it. We caught our best fish of the afternoon right at the end at dark. Today I had the pleasure of guiding Boy Scouts. I am a Eagle Scout and I was turned on to fishing from scouting. I was able to help four of the kids earn their fishing merit badge. Every Scout caught a bass today. I did let them harvest several fish selectively and learning to clean and prepare a fish is part of the badge requirement. We drifted bass colored Senkos in 3" and 4" sizes with great success. At the end of the trip the flying ants started to appear after we were in the trucks. Have your ant patterns handy as they bring everyone to the surface. Was very nice for me to fly fish with a young man I have guided since he was 6 and who could successfully and effectively deliver the fly while siting. I was having flash backs all afternoon with the Scouts thinking about my great memories at their stage in fishing. Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home. Have Fun, Willy
