Another Round with a Balsa Popper Fly

Another round with a Balsa Popper Fly this evening at Bethany Lakes.  Caught six Bass, there was a Bass #7 but it came off the hook, and then out my hands when I picked up.  It got away! Had a fun time, liking the jig hook on the popper fly!


Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

Balsa Popper Fly This Round

Made it out this evening to try the Balsa Popper Flies tied using jig hooks. Caught a few, missed a few, even lost a Balsa Popper Fly. Popper was easier to "pop" with the jig hook and the movement was erratic like a wounded bait fish! Also, used an airbrush to paint the popper bodies this time; much better paint job then the paint brush!



Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

Balsa Popper Flies...

Stocked up on more Balsa Popper Flies. Tried a larger hook as well as used a jig hook having run short of hooks.  Will have to see how these work on the local Bass!

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

Tough Go This Round!

Had a tough time today. Only managed a few Bluegill and Sunfish. Did video of a Gar lurking in the water. Lots of weeds and algae since we were here during the Winter Trout Stocking in February.



Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

Happy Early Fathers Day!

Here is one we like... early Happy Fathers Day - an article about "Lessons Learned While Fishing With Dad".  Check it out some time!

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

Only One is Time

Tough go this round; had a hard time setting the hook.  Too many missed strikes.  Only one this time.

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

More Fun Fishing

Fished Bethany Lakes this evening. Brought the Five Weight Fly Rod but this time replaced the reel with a 4/5 Weight Echo Ion. Liked the 8/10 Weight for the Switch Rod; decided to get the smaller size reel for the Five Weight!  Liked it, too!

Started fishing with a Foam Damsel Fly and caught Bluegill, Sunfish, and Bass.  Did lose one to a decent Bass that broke the tippet.  Later, switched to a Tube Popper Fly.  Missed several nice looking fish; too slow on the hookset.  But, did get two Bass!

Fun stuff!


Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

COAF Guadalupana, Balsa Popper Fly, and then a Foam Damsel Fly

Fished Bethany Lakes this evening.  Started out catching Bluegill using a COAF Guadalupana by the Waterfall. Then, worked the Main Pond; two missed strikes else no fish.  Began working the Back Pond and lucked into a bed of Bluegill; caught a number of them with a Balsa Popper Fly.  As the evening progressed, noticed the Dragonflies and Damselflies hovering about... switched to a Foam Damsel Fly and caught four Bass before calling it a trip.  Fun stuff... out of Foam Damsel Flies though; Bass really beat them up this time. Good thing they are an easy and fast pattern to tie!

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

Another Round This Evening

Went back out for another round of fishing this evening.  Decided to give a Foam Damsel Fly a try at Kroger Park Pond.  Slow action with little bluegill nipping at the fishing fly but no hook ups. Then, started working pockets in the algae and caught two Bass.  Then, worked the shoreline and got one more Bass to take.  Afterwards, switched to a Tube Popper Fly and hooked a Bass!  Fun stuff!

Here is a picture of the last Bass and video of the action:

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

Summer Pattern Setting In...

Looks like the Summer pattern is setting in; time to fish early morning and evening.  Fished Bethany and Sonic Pond with only one Bluegill to show for it.  Went mid-day in the heat; saw virtually no activity save for a couple of little Sunfish and a Bluegill.

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

Damsel Flies This Round

Brought the Switch Rod and fished Plano East Senior High School's catch and release ponds. Slow action this time but did manage to hook up with four fish.  First one was a little Bluegill that went for a Purple COAF Damsel Fly.  Second one was a Sunfish that also went for the Damsel Fly. Next, was a Catfish that went for a Tube Damsel Fly in purple marabou.  Last one was a Bass that took the Purple COAF Damsel Fly as well.  Took a quick measure of the Bass; went just under 15"!  Fun stuff!

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

HubPages Article - "Balsa Popper Fly"!

Here is a new article - "Balsa Popper Fly" to check out.  Hope our Readers find it useful when fly fishing in the their area!

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

Homemade Green LED Fishing Light: How Long Will a 9 Volt Battery Last?

Question from a Reader on how long the 9 volt battery will last in the light.  So far, this one has been on for over 54 hours.... and still counting!  This one uses the same circuit as designed in our article - Making a Simple Green LED Fishing Light - Part 1 LED Circuit.  The difference is a Sealed Glass Container is used instead of a PVC Body!

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

A Bluegill This Round....

Fished Bethany Creek Park Pond and had a missed strike.  Moved on to Bethany Lakes and fished the Lower Pond.  Caught a Bluegill but missed several other strikes.  Then, one more time back to Bethany Creek Park Pond; missed one strike before calling it a day.  Not sure why; "mojo" was not on today with so many missed strikes!  Going to try again another day.

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

Tube Popper Fly Does Well This Round!

Started fishing Bethany Lakes. Had one strike and a miss, so headed down the road to try Bethany Creek Park Pond. No bites for about a half hour, and then hooked up with Bass. Caught four Bass, missed others... going to blame it on the pretty woman in the white shorts that walked by!  Largest Bass went 15" in size!

Used a Red with White Marabou Tube Popper Fly to catch three, and a Yellow with White Marabou to catch one.  Here is a picture of the Freshwater version of the Saltwater one.  Looks like it works!

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

Tube Popper Fly Goes to School!

Posted information about the Tube Popper Fly and the Mini Balsa Wood Lathe in the Fly Tying Forum.  A member posted pictures of Tube Popper Flies used for saltwater fishing which led to the idea of making a freshwater version of one!

Here is a picture of a prototype freshwater version; it's made with Marabou and a Balsa Wood Head that has been colored with a Sharpie.  No eyes and a quick coat of nail polish instead of epoxy.  Was in a rush to test it out....

So, tested it out at Plano East Senior High School's Catch and Release Ponds, and caught a Bass before losing the popper to a nice Bass that broke the line.  Oh well, put another Tube Popper Fly on the line (not like the prototype) and was able to catch Catfish!

Going to make more of the prototype freshwater version Tube Popper Fly.  Easy to shape and easy to make, and it catches fish!  Cannot beat that...!

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

More Fishing with a Balsa Popper Fly

Quick trip this morning to Bethany Lakes.  Fished a Balsa Popper Fly and missed a Bass on the first cast.  Came off as we were landing it.  No worries... kept fishing and got a Bluegill take! Worked one bank quickly and caught a Bass before moving on to another pond down the road.

This one is by Sonic, calling it the Sonic Pond for ease of reference. Had fished one several years ago and caught mainly little Bluegill and Sunfish. Others have caught Catfish and Bass more recently.  Today, it was two Bass and one missed Bass.  All went for a Balsa Popper Fly.

Stay tuned... working on another article on tying a Balsa Popper Fly.  Will post soon as it is done!

Did get video of one missed Bass jumping out of the water; even looked like it did a flip as it went for the popper!

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

Slow Go This Round But Did Get Three Bass!

Slow action this round but did manage to get three Bass to take a Balsa Popper Fly.  Had used an Extended Body Damselfly that had a number of missed strikes but nothing solid. Switched to a Blue Balsa Popper Fly and had several good strikes but no hook ups.

Then, lost the fishing fly, so switched to a really beat up Red Balsa Popper Fly.  Missed a couple of strikes but finally hooked up with three Bass!  Stay tuned... will post a link to an article on Balsa Popper Flies in the near future!

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

Tube Popper Fly and Bread Did Well This Round!

Went fishing at Bethany this evening. Bite was good with several Bass, a Bluegill, and a Sunfish caught using a Tube Popper Fly!  Then, noticed lots of activity in an area where ducks were fed bread. Guess what, put some bread on the treble hook and left the Tube Popper Fly on the line. Hooked three Catfish; one went 23"... Good stuff!

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.

Bass Poppers This Round

Started out fishing a streamer but with so much algae to clobber the fishing fly, switched to Bass Poppers this round! Caught eight Bass and one Bluegill. Fun stuff!

Click-on Fish Bulletin Board to checkout fish caught by our readers.