Warm Water Fly Fishing is Heating Up

 

Iowa Smallmouth Bass on the Fly

 

When the water temperatures are getting warmer all over the country, it's great to give our trout friends a break.  Warmer water contains less oxygen than colder water.  As temperatures rise and dissolved oxygen decreases, trout begin to experience more stress.  Yes, we can still catch them, but the chance that they recover diminishes significantly because simply, there isn't enough oxygen in the water.  When the water temperatures get north of 67 degrees, it's best to move on to other species.  In most places, this still gives us an opportunity to fish early mornings, as the water temperatures will fall over night however.  

 

Little Smallie on the Fly

 

The good news is that there are amazing warm water species all over the country that are very easy to take on a fly rod.  I had a small window of time mid July to get out on a great little stretch of water near home that has been very difficult to fish because of very low water.  We had some great rainfall in the last week or so, so I decided to give it a shot, and I was rewarded.

 

El Jefe with an Iowa Smallmouth Bass

 

I hiked down to the river armed with our new El Jefe Saltwater series Rod and reel combo, set up with seven weight fly line, and couple of boxes of flies I tied up this past winter.  My first plan was to toss one of my hand tied carp flies, which is a simple rendition of the Befus Carp fly in a rust color.  This is my go to carp fly, but also works great for smallmouth bass.  When I got to the water I could instantly see that there was a lot more water flowing than my last visit.  I could also see plenty of happy carp circling around and feeding.  This was going to be a great day!

 

Carp on the Fly

 

It was amazingly funny that the first eight or ten fish I caught were accidental smallmouth bass.  I'm basically sight fishing for carp, and these smallmouth bass would pound my fly before their ten to twelve pound carp competition would eat.  It was a killer problem to have.   As most of you know, smallmouth bass on the fly are big fighters and have incredible aerial displays while trying to throw the fly.  

 

Iowa Smallmouth Bass on the Fly

 

After about ten to fifteen minutes of accidental smallmouth action, I hooked into my first carp of the day.  The fast moving water made fighting these beasts even more tricky and rewarding.  The first one took around ten to fifteen minutes to bring to net.  After a couple quick photos, it was released. 

 

Large Fly Caught Carp

 

The next few carp seemed to increase in size rather quickly.  These fish were pounding this fly today.  If you have ever fished for bonefish or redfish in saltwater, this is definitely the closest thing to that in the midwest.  First, you get to sight fish.  Second, you get to watch the take.  Nothing will make you a better fly caster than sight fishing for cruising fish.  If you miss your cast, you don't hook up, period.  

 

 

All in, I landed roughly forty to fifty smallmouth bass today, and five carp, the largest was probably close to twelve pounds.  All of this occurred in the middle of the day in less than two hours.  It's pretty amazing to land three fish in less than a minute multiple times, when they're eating, they're eating.  Don't forget about warm water species this summer, they are an absolute blast on the fly rod!

 

Bluegill on the Fly

 

Until next time my friends, tight lines!

Jeff