# 7/8/12 LMR first smallie on the fly rod!



## zachxbass (Jun 23, 2011)

Went out to the LMR the other day from about 2pm- 6pm, probably the worst time for smallies but it was the best time for me . Anyways, i waded and fished many different spots, looking for anything that would bite.

First spot; a fast riffle with a few deeper little holes. Caught a few creek chubs of some sorts, the shiny silver minnows. All were small, 5-6" max (probably smaller )

Second spot, a deep hole just below a little riffle. Caught a few bluegills, a few warmouth (i think) and saw some decent suckers that ignored my fly (size 10 or so dragon fly nymph looking thing i tied) What kind of flies work best for them this time of year?

Third spot, big deep hole in front of some old bridge supports. Saw tons of bluegill, large suckers (maybe redhorse suckers?), some massive carp, and quite a few smallies.

Tied on a crayfish pattern i tied, cast around for a little bit, caught a few bluegill, then the magical moment happened.

I saw 2 decent smallies hanging out a few yards out from where i was casting. The current was a little quick for such a deep hole, so i cast my fly a few yards upstream, and let it drift towards the holding fish.

As the fly drifted into the slack water where my target was swimming i saw her slowly turn and watch my fly drift just inches from her face. I made one tiny twitch, moving the fly maybe 1/2" or so. That's all it took.

The fish casually sucked up my fly, i saw the mouth close, and set the hook.

The fish fought very hard and made a valiant effort to get away, several jumps, and a very tense moment when she dove under the pile of trees that were blocking half the river. I put the pressure on her and drug her out before she made it too far. I'm sure i was within the limits of what my 7.8lb line could handle. I was going to lose her if she made it into that log jam, so i risked snapping her off to pull her free. I was rewarded by a few more jumps, and a splash of water to the face. 

Then, finally, i was able to lip her and removed the fly. I snapped a quick pic with my phone, took a quick measurement (about 13", big for me), and held her in the water to recover. A few moments later, and another face full of river water, and she was gone.

Being able to see her casually inhale the "crayfish" was an awesome sight. I hope to see that again real soon.

P.S. Can someone tell me the easiest way to load pics from my Android phone to here? Or give me a link to a post that has this info, couldn't find it, although i admit i didn't try too hard either.


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

Very nice. The first fish of any species on the fly rod is always special. 13in is a decent river smallie, and I'm sure it faught like it was 20! 

About the suckers, for the most part I found that they are harder to catch than carp, but then there's those weird moments where you'll catch multiple ones in a day by accident. Last year one day I caught 2 on woolly buggers. Hooked right in the mouth, and they hit hard. The other day I caught 2 suckers(actually fishing for them and carp), one of them hit a tiny crayfish fly(well, more like a nymph, too small for a craw) and the other hit a small glo bug. I caught a few carp as well, which I found were easier if they're feeding. The suckers you saw were most likely redhorses. 

To upload pics, first take the pics off your phone via usb cable, then once they're on your computer either downsize(I use Microsoft Picture editor or something) them and attach them to the post, or just upload them to a hosting site(Photobucket, etc) and link them to here, you don't need to downsize.


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## zachxbass (Jun 23, 2011)

Thanks for the help with the pics.

I'm gonna tie up some different nymph patterns for the Redhorse. Any particular insects I should mimic for redhorse?

Maybe just some small crayfish patterns as well? The carp/ smallies should like them even if the suckers don't. Do suckers like more realistic flies?

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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

Just experiment with some different nymphs and see what works best. They are pretty picky fish, I haven't really unlocked the secrets yet. The only flies I seem to catch them consistantly(well, a fish or two in a few hours if I'm lucky) on are small glo bugs(eggs) and this nymph/crayfish fly, not really sure what to call it. The fly is in the pic(it has a short marabou tail which isn't shown). I've caught 2 suckers on it before, some carp, green sunfish, gills, and crappie. I have also caught carp on "normal sized" brown woolly buggers, but for the most part I get carp on light colored egg flies. I tie up some other crayfish flies that work great for smallies.


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## imalt (Apr 17, 2008)

The red horse and carp are really stacked up in the lmr in the loveland area but I haven't had any luck with getting them interested anything. I haven't tried glo bugs yet I will have to give that a try. What color glo bugs do you have the most luck with.


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

Usually light pink or light yellow, and around size 12 and even 14 in size. It really helps if they're feeding. Carp much easier to catch IMO.


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## zachxbass (Jun 23, 2011)

Thanks for the tips... ill see what I can tie up. I don't have any egg-yarn, or egg foam, whatever that stuff is called. Im sure I can come up with something.

Ill also keep trying different nymphs, maybe some 2 fly rigs to experiment faster.

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