"Tonight you have learned the final and greatest truth of the Ninja: that ultimate mastering comes not from the body, but from the mind. " -Splinter from the 1990 motion picture "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Sometimes it pays to think outside of the box. Most topwater flies used for bass mimic insects or frogs, but …
Continue reading The Wise Master Splinter – Mousing for Bass
This is going to be a "recap" style post, to look back over my fishing trips throughout the year, document the best catches, most effective flies, methods, and equipment used, etc. Hopefully you've enjoyed the blog in its first year, and I'm looking forward to making it even better in 2023! Freshwater 2022 was definitely …
Feeling the last warm-water fly fishing opportunities dwindling for 2022 before winter sets in, I made an impromptu trip back up to the Ouachita Mountains to target Smallmouth Bass. The last trip I made up there was pretty successful (for a first-timer to the area, and targeting a new species) and I was hoping that …
The Hot Head Damsel has been my go-to subsurface fly for the last few years. I started out using the Orvis produced version (https://www.orvis.com/hot-head-damsel/5E4G.html) and then once I started tying my own flies, it was one of the first flies I tried to master and make my own. I believe the success I've had with …
Background In search of new species of fish to catch and new places to catch the, I have spent a good deal of time researching and traversing an often overlooked part of Louisiana. The Florida Parishes are located between the Pearl River and the Mississippi River, above lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas, and below the 31st …
The weather is hot, and so is the fishing on the creeks. I made it out for a quick session recently and caught my biggest Spotted Bass of the year, as well as two Channel Catfish. That’s my first time catching multiple catfish on one trip, and I’ve managed to catch 4 so far this …
Since I've been able to do alot of creek fishing so far this year, and have been catching plenty of spotted bass, recently I've been trying to make things more interesting by trying to catch one of the most elusive panfish species, the Shadow Bass. Ben Roussel has a great write up on these Rock …
Continue reading Bogue Falaya Paddle and Wade – Hunting for the Shadow Bass
The month of May has been very warm and very dry so far, meaning that the local creeks are prime for some top water action. With some rain in the forecast next week I figured I better make one more trip before the water gets high and dirty. I’ve been tying up a bunch of …
The warm and dry spring of 2022 in Louisiana has put all of the sandy rivers in the Florida parishes in good shape. The USGS water gauge on the Bogue Chitto was showing the lowest level in the last year, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to do a kayak float fishing …
Smallmouth Bass. I became really interested in smallmouth after hearing them talked about on a few podcasts I regularly listen to. They all talked about how aggressive they are and how hard they fight, how they are a native species in most places they are fished for, and how they are a great fly rod …
Continue reading Arkansas Smallmouth Trip Report – April 2022
Down South Fly Fishing 