Ditch report 5-22-2005

[David Lee]

Hit the local canal again - One 10-inch Largemouth landed and a nice Carp lost - both on a #6 beadhead Olive bugger .

Interesting things , those Carp ... They were buried in weedmats , pokin' their silly carp-heads out of the water and sucking the scum on top of the mats .

I'm not kidding .

At times , it looked like an Onion-ring hatch on top of the weeds - Those crafty fish were hard to target in that mess . The nice part was they were not spooky , for a change !! They ranged in size from 2 to about 12 lbs. (the one I lost , on the first run , was around 8 lbs.) and didn't seem to want ANYTHING but the foamy crap on top of the weedbeds . Go figure

Quite warm for boots and heavy pants , too many star thistles and sticky-plants out there to go au-natural . Vis. was 10 inches , didn't feel for a temp. - THAT'S ALL , FOLKS

D,D,D,David

[Darian]

Hey David,.... Olive Beadhead Wooly Bugger indeed . What type materials would be necessary to tie a ...."foamy crap pattern" What about tying a doughball or elderberry pattern :P :P :P

[David Lee]

Hi D. - How's it going ??

I couldn't really tell just WHAT those evil Carp were eating ..... There was a mass of wind-blown crap hanging on top of the weedmats . Scum , white fluffy stuff , maybe midges or something buggy , ....I'm not sure .

The Carp were happy - pretty tough to spook 'em (with a stiff breeze today ... I had plenty of chances to muck-up casts ) . I'd guess I got 70 or 80 casts into a small pod of four fish before one of them got my number .... Then his pals figured out what was going on one by one ..... Another 10 or so casts and then , there'd be 3 fish .... 15 casts later , 2 .

The one I lost bolted like mad through the weeds as he pulled loose - I love to watch 'em panic like that , just wish he would have stayed on the fly .

I'll try some different spots on the same canal and let ya know how it goes .... David

[Hairstacker]

70 - 80 casts? So maybe try tying a white fluffy stuff pattern? Sounds like you were having a good old time though. "Ditch" -- might need to come up with a more elegant name for the place. How about "Diche Creek"?

[David Lee]

Hi Mike - I'd rather use a multi-species fly , thank you .

Lots of fun w/ 3 or 4 BIG fish 15 feet in front of you .... I was fishing off a bridge , on my knees - Those have to be the dumbest/least fished Carp ever , they didn't mind me flopping cast after cast into the middle of their little party .

The Bass ate as I watched the Carp .... the fly was sinking , and I saw the line-butt twitch . Didn't fight for beans , though .

David

[Hairstacker]

Oh, hey, I know, did you try that #6 Black Ghost Zonker you used on the last one you caught there?

[David Lee]

Mike - Nope , I didn't try the B.G.Zonker , was moving fast looking for fish , instead of casting blind .

Actually , I'm thinking about putting fresh line on my wifes spinning rig and taking out a box of Rapalas , Mini-Jigs , and Power worms .......

Just so I can see what's really in there .

David (gear-fishing SAVAGE )Lee

[Darian]

Ya know David,.... That canal may be polluted since it's where the cops dragged those two bad guys out with the K-9 corps last weekend... :P :P :P .

You know, those guys who robbed a bank in Redding and then fled south to Frye's.... Didn't seem to bother the carp, tho

[Hairstacker]

David, why stop there with the savagery? Might as well throw a really big live nightcrawler on there. Then you might REALLY find out what's in there. . . .

[MSP]

I never would have thunk it, David's favorite fly is an Olive Beadhead Bugger! By the way you are fishng in my backyard! Watch out for the Dog!