Panther Branch Hoppers

It seems that around this time of year I start thinking of warmer weather, bluegills, and top water hoppers. My home pond has some Largemouth Bass that can't resist a tan hopper, and the California Bluegills are all over them no matter the color. This year I decided to tie up some Panther Branch Hoppers. Ive followed panther_branch_bugs on instagram for a couple years now, and I have to say that his hoppers have always intrigued me. (Don't get me started about his hair bugs) After doing some searching on the web I found a Fiberglass Manifesto post that had a step by step, and decided to give 'em a try. They're awesome little bugs, and the River Road Creations cutters that I got for Christmas made consistency easy. If you have any questions make sure to hit Brandon up at bailebr3@gmail.com I'm sure he'll be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Carp on the Fly

A quick trip to Trinity County left us with about an hour to fish in Redding. We went to a little bluegill pond I know of in hopes of catching a couple in the heat. As soon as I walked to the edge, I saw a few gills milling about. I flipped a white simi-seal leech out in front of me and this carp came barreling in from deeper water. It didn't even hesitate, it sucked in my fly and the fight was on. It was quite a battle on my little Eagle Claw Featherlight. The gills didn't want to cooperate much but I managed one bluegill, and Kayla got a sweet bass, her first on a fly! Not too shabby for an hour of fishing.

More Spring bluegills.

I took another trip to Redding recently to do some more bluegill fishing. The weather was pretty crappy again, but this time it really affected the bite. I caught very few fish compared with the last trip, and they were very picky. I needed to let my fly sit a long time to get a strike. I still managed to get a few though.