If you do a search on T.F.M. for the word "crickets", you would find at least one or two posts from each spring going back a number of years where my buddy Chris and I get our children together for an afternoon of bluegill fishing on his family's pond. This pond is just chock full of fish and we typically go home with a small cooler with cookie cutter eating size bluegills.
Even though Hadley and Finn have expressed more and more interest in fly fishing lately, this trip kicks them into a almost primal "hunter-gatherer" mindset where they want to do it the way that's been highly successful in years past, which undoubtedly means lightweight glass spinning rods and crickets. It's a good idea to bring lots of them as these fish are always hungry and it's easy to not have enough when the bite is on.
As these children get older, it is really neat to see is that both Hadley and Finn are becoming more and more independent in the outdoors. Besides getting the hook out of a bluegill mouth that took it a bit deep, they were both very much on their own. I'd offer to help only to be told they wanted and could do it.
The experience wasn't lost on me as I was able to flex the new The Wade Rod Co. Dragon Glass on a few keeper bluegills myself. This was the first time on the water with this fly rod but the quick review is that it's a really fun three weight fly rod that matched nicely with a 406 Fly Lines three weight forward line.
A couple gear notes to wrap this post up. First, the Woody Handmade Drury continues to be the perfect bluegill fillet cutter. Sharp, great size for the work and beautifully made. I like Woody's story and he builds a heck of an knife as well. Also, the FireDisc portable propane cooker has come in handy lately for both frying and cooking at camp and home. It made short work of several batches of bluegill fillets and they turned out perfect.
Even though Hadley and Finn have expressed more and more interest in fly fishing lately, this trip kicks them into a almost primal "hunter-gatherer" mindset where they want to do it the way that's been highly successful in years past, which undoubtedly means lightweight glass spinning rods and crickets. It's a good idea to bring lots of them as these fish are always hungry and it's easy to not have enough when the bite is on.
As these children get older, it is really neat to see is that both Hadley and Finn are becoming more and more independent in the outdoors. Besides getting the hook out of a bluegill mouth that took it a bit deep, they were both very much on their own. I'd offer to help only to be told they wanted and could do it.
The experience wasn't lost on me as I was able to flex the new The Wade Rod Co. Dragon Glass on a few keeper bluegills myself. This was the first time on the water with this fly rod but the quick review is that it's a really fun three weight fly rod that matched nicely with a 406 Fly Lines three weight forward line.
A couple gear notes to wrap this post up. First, the Woody Handmade Drury continues to be the perfect bluegill fillet cutter. Sharp, great size for the work and beautifully made. I like Woody's story and he builds a heck of an knife as well. Also, the FireDisc portable propane cooker has come in handy lately for both frying and cooking at camp and home. It made short work of several batches of bluegill fillets and they turned out perfect.
2 comments:
That orange reel is awesome! Who makes it?
Thank you.
Approach fly reels. Info here... http://www.yamameflyrods.com/2016/11/01/approach-genesis-mayfly-lightweight-fly-reel/
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