A Very Proud Moment

A couple weekends ago, we went to one of our favorite fishing spots.  We weren't catching anything which is rare for that spot. My husband got bored so he started to walk around the pond which resulted in him catching 2 carp & some bluegills. I usually stay in the same spot to "watch our stuff" and experiment with my camera when he decides to go for a walk along the bank. (Really, I'm afraid of finding a snake in some of the tall grass areas...or mice...or large bugs...or more snakes.) Anyway, I wasn't catching anything on a worm (not even a turtle!) and nothing was interested in any of the lures I was throwing. I decided to sit down and take a break. I watched this turtle for awhile hoping he wouldn't go after my worm because his nose looked a little sharper than the soft shelled turtle's I usually catch there. I really didn't want to catch him since my husband was on the other side of the pond at this point and I didn't feel like turtle wrestling by myself that day.

I also watched the baby bass that were surfacing. I was trying to figure out why they weren't biting anything. Usually, the baby bass in that pond go after anything, especially if it's twice the size of the bass. I watched what they were doing when they were surfacing and it looked like they were eating something. Then, I realized there were a BUNCH of white flecks in the water that I'm guessing were bugs. I started thinking "MATCH THE HATCH!" You hear fly fisherman talk about matching the hatch all the time and a few years ago my husband bought me this little container of flies.

 I couldn't figure out why he wanted me to have this when he knew I didn't fly fish. I love watching fly fisherman cast, but I get frustrated too easy and then end up in a tangled mess too fast. I've watched my husband put a fly on his spinning rod and catch trout and I have also tried with no success. I thought, "If matching the hatch works on trout, why wouldn't it work on bass?" I went to my day bag to see if I packed my flies and amazingly I did! I NEVER bring those along unless I bring my main tackle bag! I picked out a couple flies that have white "wings" and pulled out a clear bobber and put those on my casting rod.

The first cast I reeled the fly in slow and about 10 feet from shore I could see my fly and underneath about 6 or 8 baby bass rose to the surface all at the same time so I slowed my reeling almost to a complete stop. The baby bass looked at my fly for a few seconds and then 3 went after it and I caught a baby bass! I was so excited! I kept saying "I matched the hatch! I matched the hatch!" There was nobody there to celebrate with though and also nobody to help me take a picture of my matched hatch catch. A few more casts and I had to change out the fly because the original fly was waterlogged and wouldn't stay on the surface anymore. At this point my husband walks up and asks how I'm doing and I replied "I matched the hatch!" He laughed at me and told me good job. I was so excited to show him with the new fly but my excitement energy made me mess up my first cast which made the fly get too wet and I couldn't keep it on top of the water and since it was time to go home, I didn't have time to change flies again.

This story is proof that you don't have to have a fly rod to use flies. What I learned from this experience is, sometimes you have to just sit and observe what's going on in the water and then cross your fingers you brought the right equipment to "match the hatch."

Hope everybody has a fun and safe Father's Day this weekend!