Caney Fork Trout Fly Fishing - Caney Fork Trout Guide

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Striper, Trout, Smallmouth, and Musky, guide trips in the Nashville area. Our home waters are Cumberland and Caney Fork River and our specialty is fly fishing for Trout and Stripers.

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Author Topic: Not what I wanted, but fun nonetheless...  (Read 3146 times)

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mrl0004

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Not what I wanted, but fun nonetheless...
« on: April 28, 2012, 09:20:32 PM »
My goal was to catch rock bass, that's right I said rock bass. I have never caught one, but I hear stories that it is the fish that most people can't keep off their hooks. Naturally, that meant I would struggle. Got on the water around 6am, on a Saturday  :evil: in hopes that I would beat the redneck crowds to this area. I get to the first spot and find a nice rope swing/ewok village.


I started casting around the submerged structure, bud light cans, old flip flops, and some things I couldn't identify.

Pulled this little guy out pretty quick.


Nothing after that fish. The water is surprisingly cold. The fish are definitely not active. Regardless, I decide to head farther away from the redneck footprint.

I arrive here, to nice water...


Found a nice pool just downstream.


Saw a spotted gar cruising, but he wouldn't play. I kept casting hoping to at least annoy a fish into biting. I see a red flash and I'm hooked up....


I like red breasted sunfish, probably one of my favorite panfish, but I have caught so many in the last year that I wouldn't mind a break from them.

I head back upstream and come to a some shallower water in the sun. Maybe the fish will be more active in there?


Oh, you again..



Please, something other than a redbreasted sunfish hit my fly!

Oh, well, I asked for it.


I see a nice little eddy off to the side that had some foam on top and looked to be deeper than the surrounding water.


Hmmm....well at least I caught something....

I fished down maybe a mile, then made the trek back. Caught another redbreast. :roll:



Any of you amateur botanists know what these two plants are? They were everywhere...



It was a nice morning. I caught fish, can't complain. Maybe I will get into the rock bass when it warms up some. I did see a few mr. no shoulders which made wading through grassy areas a little unnerving. I seem to have bass kryptonite every time I fish creeks or rivers. Panfish however, love me.
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"Often, I have been exhausted on trout streams, uncomfortable, wet, cold, briar scarred, sunburned, mosquito-bitten, but never, with a fly rod in my hand, have I been in a place that was less than beautiful."

TheYiman

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Re: Not what I wanted, but fun nonetheless...
« Reply #1 on: April 29, 2012, 12:27:19 AM »
Those are some pretty sunnies.  The top plant is a Mountain Laurel.
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MikeA

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Re: Not what I wanted, but fun nonetheless...
« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2012, 08:38:34 AM »
The Rock bass usually hide out under rock shelves and undercut banks. You can jig them out easily but casting to them sometimes means you have to cast with precession to get it into their liar and away from the sunfish. This isn't always the case but a good rule of thumb. There wil often be large Rockbass in some surprising places. It's like an easter egg hunt as you go from rock to rock in search of them. They remind me of Grouper the way they hide and ambush prey.

We also saw some of those flowers in the Sequatchie Valley this weekend.


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Bfish

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Re: Not what I wanted, but fun nonetheless...
« Reply #3 on: April 30, 2012, 09:12:27 AM »
minnow and craws for rock bass rather than topwater seem to work better for me. Usually they are very tight to cover, especially rocks (duh)
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Plateau Angler

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Re: Not what I wanted, but fun nonetheless...
« Reply #4 on: April 30, 2012, 09:30:32 AM »
Nice report and pictures!  Those are some good looking sunfish.  You're right about most people being unable to keep the rock bass off their hooks.  I catch more than I know what to do with when fishing the local creeks here on the Plateau...
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dbradyh

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Re: Not what I wanted, but fun nonetheless...
« Reply #5 on: April 30, 2012, 10:15:45 AM »
Nice report! The second flowering plant looks like privet.
Good luck with the rock bass...
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Steve H

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Re: Not what I wanted, but fun nonetheless...
« Reply #6 on: April 30, 2012, 10:20:17 AM »
Nice report and pretty pictures. Nice work.
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bd

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Re: Not what I wanted, but fun nonetheless...
« Reply #7 on: April 30, 2012, 09:15:50 PM »
Mike is right.  If you want rock bass, get rid of the popping bug and put on a superbugger or a crawfish imitation.  Bounce the bottom.

Look for areas with big root balls that are shaded with a deep undercut bank.  Shaded root balls are rock bass magnets.

bd
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mrl0004

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Re: Not what I wanted, but fun nonetheless...
« Reply #8 on: April 30, 2012, 09:30:39 PM »
I have some crayfish patterns that I will try next time. Just hope I don't lose them all on the first stretch. Me and subsurface, we ain't exactly mates.  >:(
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"Often, I have been exhausted on trout streams, uncomfortable, wet, cold, briar scarred, sunburned, mosquito-bitten, but never, with a fly rod in my hand, have I been in a place that was less than beautiful."

MikeA

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Re: Not what I wanted, but fun nonetheless...
« Reply #9 on: April 30, 2012, 09:53:21 PM »
I remember as a kid going with my grandfather to the Stones behind where I live now and catching them. His tactic was to use a yellow eagle claw 9' fly rod with an automatic reel of some sort. His fly of choice was a black marabou jig. If that wasn't working to his satisfaction he would switch over to live craws  ;D. Yea, he was a purist too. I'll never forget those days watching him finesse those fish out of the rocks and the joy he got from doing it.

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Alas, all the evil of the twentieth century is possible everywhere on earth. Yet, I have not given up all hope that human beings and nations may be able, in spite of all, to learn from the experience of other people without having to go through it personally. The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956

mrl0004

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Re: Not what I wanted, but fun nonetheless...
« Reply #10 on: April 30, 2012, 10:18:56 PM »
I'm a far cry from a purist (amongst flies anyways). I just am not very good fishing below the surface. I have fished clousers and whitlock's crayfish with some success, but I prefer the top if I can.
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"Often, I have been exhausted on trout streams, uncomfortable, wet, cold, briar scarred, sunburned, mosquito-bitten, but never, with a fly rod in my hand, have I been in a place that was less than beautiful."
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