7-20-2011 - Auglaize River

To tell you the truth, I'm not sure which was hotter today, the fishing action or the weather. I was out and about doing my rounds, (Restocking my flies at some local bait stores.) and I had no intention at all of going out again because it was so hot out. Well, it cooled off a little in the evening, and against my better judgement, I decided to head out to the old hydroelectric dam on the Auglaize River. I packed up my 8 weight and took plenty of water with me because it was still pretty hot out. I wasn't thinking and grabbed my spare reel by mistake which has my patched up line on it and I had just realized it once I had gotten all the way to my spot. I was kind of bummed out because I really wanted to test out my new line.

The river was up a little bit more from the last time I was there because there was some rain and stormy weather down south (Upstream) a few days ago. I had one of my new Mud Bugs on and started casting towards the dam where there was some moving water. I immediately had a sharp take and hooked into a small 2-4 pound carp. After several runs and a surprisingly long fight, I had finally gotten the carp worn down and he was ready to land. Unfortunately, I also had forgotten one important thing. The net! So, I took a leap of faith and tried to grab him, but he came off of the hook and I had to watch him swim away. I hate it when that happens, but I'll get another one sometime.

I will admit I was a little disappointed losing a nice carp, but the channel catfish kept me plenty busy. (I will tell you right now, if you've never caught a good sized catfish on a fly rod, you're really missing out! The same goes for carp. Actually, any "rough" or "trash" fish for that matter. Buffalo, quillback, drum, and gar are amazing fighters as well.) Keep one thing in mind though when it comes to fly fishing for catfish; they tear flies up. Their small sandpaper-like teeth and strong jaws can tear apart feathers, chenille, and dubbing, so check your fly often.

I ended up catching 5 nice sized channel catfish and a bluegill. Strangely, the bluegill was hooked through the nose. I must have got him right when he was going after the fly or something. I ended up calling it a day after being soaked with sweat and getting attacked by gnats and other small and useless bugs.

I look forward to my next outing because I'm working up several more patterns and I've got a great feeling about them as well. So far, the Dubbin' Craw and the Mud Bug have definitely earned their keep in my warmwater fly box. I'll leave you with some pictures for now and until next time, tight lines!

The Mud Bug strikes again!

Channel Catfish taken on a Mud Bug. He did not want to let go of it either!

Bluegill taken on a Mud Bug.

A very greedy channel cat.

7-15-2011 Maumee River - Independence Dam

Wow, what a great day of fly fishing! I went out to the river for about two hours this evening to do some more fly fishing. When I arrived, I did not expect to get anything because the water was a bit higher and a little more murky. I decided to wade out to my favorite spot and try it out anyway. I tied on one of my new prototype flies called the Mud Bug. After several casts, I had a solid hit, but missed it. Several more casts resulted in a small, but feisty freshwater drum who put a nice bend in my 8 weight. I made a couple more casts with no luck, so I decided to start casting towards another area. I had a nice sized channel catfish that immediately smacked the Mud Bug after just a few twitches of the line. Shortly after, I had another hard hit and set the hook. I thought for sure that I had hooked a nice smallmouth bass because I seen a brownish colored fish leap from the water. (Even this far upriver, they're still catchable.) It turns out, it was a channel cat who was pretending to be a bass.

My arm was starting to get tired from heaving the giant 8 weight around, so I decided to call it a day. As I was heading back, I decided to make a few casts to some fish I seen surfacing. I believe they were some carp-like fish. (Buffalo, quillback, etc.) After casting, I let the fly rest for a second because I had to check my phone. I went to make a cast and set the hook into something. I thought I was snagged on the bottom until the snag started fighting back. After an awesome fight, I found out my "snag" was a very hefty channel catfish who fell for my Dubbin' Craw I had just tied on. It was an excellent day to fly fish. Plus, I had the pleasure of speaking to a gentleman who informed me of a great unknown spot where buffalo like to swim. I might be getting out there soon....

Until next time, tight lines!

Freshwater Drum taken on a Mud Bug.

Channel Catfish taken on a Mud Bug.

The Channel catfish who thought he was a bass. Taken on a Mud Bug.

My "snag."

Quite a hefty channel catfish! He fell for the Dubbin' Craw!

Dubbin' Craw now available!

I just wanted to post a quick update to let folks know that the dubbin' craw is now available for purchase through our website. It comes in size 8 and your choice of olive and black, or rust brown. Both are great additions to your warmwater fly box. I personally tested these patterns alongside several other local fly fisherman and have posted the successful results. Thanks for viewing and tight lines!

Olive and Black

Rust Brown

7-13-2011 Maumee River - Independence Dam

Quillbacks are nothing but trouble. Plain and simple. I went down to the Independence Dam on the Maumee River for yet another round of warmwater fly fishing. I had a lot of strikes, but I just couldn't make many connections. I assume most of the strikes were from gar because they were everywhere around me. I saw many of them surfacing. I wish I had some rope flies with me today because I would have caught tons of gar. I did manage to connect with a nice freshwater drum. I lost another fish I never seen, and I lost another quillback. The quillback from the Maumee are very talented when it comes to jumping off of the hook. But this quillback ruined my fly line. It had some size to it and as I was fighting it, it ran my line across a sharp rock and cut into it. The core of the line is still intact and I should still be able to get some use out of it until I can pick up a new line. I wrapped some fly tying thread around it to help fill in the cut, and then I covered it with a little bit of zap-a-gap.

For flies, I used a black bead-head woolly bugger and a dubbin' craw. The drum took the bugger, but the unknown fish and the quillback took the dubbin' craw.

Freshwater Drum caught on a black woolly bugger.

7-11-2011 Auglaize River

The verdict is out! The dubbin' craw has been tested and produces excellent results!

We had some storms roll through earlier in the day and I was debating on whether or not to even try to get out. I broke down and ended up heading out to the old hydroelectric dam on the Auglaize River. I didn't stay very long because it was unbelievably hot and muggy. I threw several flies out, to see what kind of competition the dubbin' craw might have. Nothing was biting, so I tied on a dubbin' craw and WHAM! It got whacked by a nice sized channel catfish who decided to inhale it. The cat put up an awesome fight for his size. As I was releasing the catfish, I noticed a good sized carp with his head partly out of the water nibbling on scum. He was no more than 10 feet from me. The water level is literally even with the apron of the dam, so getting close to him wasn't an issue. I must have spent about 20 minutes messing around with him. He would go down, then come back up and munch some more. Finally, he was right by my fly and I gave it a few small twitches. I seen him look at it, then he slowly went over and inhaled it. I set the hook and he didn't even realize he was hooked! Then, all of a sudden the fight began. It took a very, very long time to get him in. I swear I almost lost him a few times. Landing the fish was another story. Thankfully, there was an area where the water goes about 6 inches over the ledge and I was able to get him up onto the ledge. It was a pain with no net, but I got him! I usually use an 8 weight for this kind of river fishing, and I mistakenly grabbed my 6 weight. The biggest surprise is that I had a torn up leader and a wind knot from fighting the catfish. Now that's luck! Here's some pictures from the adventure!

Channel Catfish taken on a dubbin' craw.

Carp taken on a dubbin' craw.

Not very clear, but you can definitely see the fly!

Dubbin' Craw

Well, as promised, here's my latest creation, the dubbin' craw. As I stated before, it's a fairly quick and simple tie for the beginner and expert alike. I tested it on some panfish and had promising results, but I'm very excited about getting out to the river and testing it on some carp and drum. It bears a strong resemblance to some of my most productive carp flies. First off, let's take a look at the materials needed before we get into tying instructions.

Hook: Eagle Claw model 084. Size 8.  (Just a standard el-cheapo hook that you can get at Wally World.)
Eyes: Small bead-chain eyes

Thread: Uni-Thread black 6/0
Body: Any brown dubbing fur will do nicely. I used brown rabbit.
Tail: Rust brown rooster neck feathers
Hackle: Same as above.

Easy huh? Well, tying is even easier. Just tie in your eyes, then wrap towards the bend of the hook. Take about 4-5 small feathers and use them as your tail. Tie in your hackle as well, and create a dubbing loop. Dub the body up the hook shank and stop right behind the bead-chain eyes. Wrap your hackle forward, then tie off and trim right behind the eyes as well. Next, take your thread and form a small, neat head right in front of the HOOK EYE, not the bead-chain eyes. Whip finish and cement. You should get something like this: (Sorry about the photo quality, I had to use my cell phone because my good camera is missing.)

So, there you have it. The dubbin' craw. I'll be heading out sometime to do some more testing, but I have high hopes for this little bad boy.

Tight lines!

7-8-2011 Private Ponds

I said I wasn't going to, but I ended up going to the ponds this evening. The bite was pretty slow this evening and I only landed two fish. Both of them were bluegill. The last fish was caught on a fluorescent fire orange/hot pink woolly worm. But, I was able to get out on the water and test out a new pattern I've been working on. It's also what I caught the first bluegill on. It's called the dubbin' craw. It's a fairly straight forward and easy pattern to tie. I'll post the recipe on my next update. Here's a couple pictures from today.

Bluegill #1 caught on a dubbin' craw.

Bluegill #2 caught on a woolly worm.