Showing posts with label Streamers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Streamers. Show all posts

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Featured BlogBuddy - Dave From Fishn' Dave

Well, here it is August, and, July is gone!  Colorado had some definite rains come during the month so fishing was hit and miss for me.  A couple of hours here, a couple more hours there, and so it went. Trying to get out in the best time of day for fishing the ponds is tough enough, but, when you are fighting the thunder storms and lightening strikes, that is whole other thing all together.

Anyway, time for me to give a salute to another of my BlogBuddy friends who make this blog a fun place for me to hang out when I am not fishing.  Say hello to Dave from Fishn' Dave.

I have been an avid reader of Dave's blog for quite awhile now and have really spent some quality time on his site reading and learning more about warm water fly fishing.  I have commented on Dave's blog regularly, and he in return, has been very willing to share information on fly gear, fly patterns, and fish species, or whatever questions I may have.  I have never met Dave personally, but, think I would sure like too.  We have a lot in common as far as our approach to warm water fly fishing.  Dave's blog focuses on the fish and waters/ponds of Iowa that hold Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Catfish etc.

Enough already, right! Dave certainly had had a great season of warm water fly fishing to this point in time.  It is easy to see how Dave's has become one I look to reading as soon as he publishes a new post.  

Dave is also a fine fly tyer also.  I have picked his brain on fly patterns for awhile.  From Streamers for Crappie and Bass, too, Poppers for surface fishing for Bass and Bluegill.
Here are a couple of patterns I have picked Dave's brain about.


               Let me wrap up this post by saying I am proud to feature Dave as my
 Next time that you are checking out other blogs stop on over to Dave's Blog and let him know that the Pond Stalker sent you his way.  If you like warm water fly fishing you won't be disappointed.




Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Featured BlogBuddy - Alan From Small Stream Reflections

Spending some time giving a new look to my blog with some different features.  One of the features I am going to kick off with is a Featured BlogBuddy series.


It is my intent to share the work of as many of my BlogBuddies as I can with this series.  They all work hard and spend considerable time on their own blogs in writing about, primarily, their takes on fishing and other matters in their area of life that they enjoy.  I know that whatever success I have had on my blog, and, the motivation to keep writing my blog, comes from the great support I have had from these BlogBuddies.  Their continuing visits and willingness to leave comments on my posts and share their insights with me are invaluable. I am all about making Pond Stalker Blog a place that feels like community and sharing the loves of my fellow BlogBuddies.   I hope that you take the time to visit all the blogs listed on my Blogroll as you have time, but especially, the featured BlogBuddy and their blogsite.  I wouldn't mind if you let them know that the ol' Pond Stalker said hello!

Alright, let's kick off this series by featuring a BlogBuddy that has one of the best blogs going in the blogging world today.  My thanks, to Alan at Small Stream Reflections, is long overdue! 


Alan's blog is one that many of you may have already visited and read many times.  I know I have and loved every minute of it.  If you haven't allow me to say "SHAME ON YOU"!  
Alan writes about the beautiful area and waters of our great Northeast.  Preferring to fish small streams is Alan's forteit.  Chasing the beautiful Brook Trout, and occasional, Brown Trout with Drys, Nymphs, Streamers, and Soft Hackle.  Alan does it all.  His readers are blessed with beautiful pictures of the area, beautiful colored fish, and, as much information as you would need to fish these waters.  You are only left feeling envious and wishing you go on stream with Alan to enjoy the experience.  His blog is also a model for any blogger to look at when it comes to the "community" concept.  His blog posts are often commented on by many others expressing themselves on his current post.  That is how comfortable it is to know and love this blog.

Alan, also, enjoys some preparing of food and tasty meals.  Here is an example:

Just kidding here, Alan, if you are hungry you had better eat before you see some of Alan's work or you are going to be hungry real quick.

Before I forget, and certainly a fine accomplishment, Alan, also is an author and offers his great book on fishing those "Thin Blue Lines"





'Nuff said, get on over to Alan's blog and say hello from the ol' Pondstalker.

 

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Confidence On The "Fly"

STAYNER DUCKTAIL

Many of those of us who tie flies seem to be always tinkering at the vise.  Working on coming up with that "Hot" new pattern that all the fish will just go nuts on this year out on the water.  Be honest now, if you have tied much or for sometime anyway, invariably, this has run through your mind.  Or, perhaps you just want to modify a certain established pattern a little bit.  That will make it a new fly right and all your fly fishing friends will credit you with be the creator of a great new pattern.  Especially, if it catches fish, and, you give them a handful to try!  Well, ya' know, you know the story from here.  There truly is probably not a snowball's chance in Hell that somebody, somewhere hasn't already thought of that or tied that pattern up during a session at the ol' vise.

How many fly patterns does an angler need to carry with him or her for a day of fishing? Well, that is a topic for another post sometime, somewhere else.  The point I would like to make here is that it really is a matter of confidence when you tie and fish a fly that works for you.  Both, at the vise, and, on the water, if you have confidence in that fly you will concentrate more when tying them and fishing them.  Why? Because you know they work and you have been rewarded with many a memory of a day{s} on the water when you caught fish after fish on that fly.  Call it what ever you want, but you know, that "Fly" is going to produce more times than not.  You have confidence on the water and confidence on that "Fly" It has become one of your favorite flies that you know you can always lean on when the weather, or the fish, or both are playing hardball with you!  Now, that is a lot said in order for me to introduce you to one of those "Flies" for me.

The Stayner Ducktail was made popular by Ruel Stayner of Twin Falls, Idaho, back many years ago.  Ruel, designed this fly to imitate Perch in the local stillwaters in Idaho.  Little did he know at the time what he really had on his hands with the creation of this pattern.  This pattern went on to become extremely popular in the stillwater fly fishing circles.  I was a member of the "Float Tube Navy" out of Boise, Idaho area.  The Float Tube Navy spent their time learning the concepts of stillwater fly fishing from a float tube and fishing many of the great lakes of the Rocky Mountains. The Stayner Ducktail became the go to fly for many of us back in the day.  It was fished with a sinking line of some sort and fished very well for Trout, Bluegill, Crappie, Bass etc. etc.  It became legendary! Now, I will add to this, that it not only became a legendary, local pattern, but a pattern whose success goes far beyond that.  The Stayner Ducktail has been fished on the rivers in Russia, on the big ponds of New Zealand and Australia, and, for the the giant Rainbows that reside in the lakes of Argentina.  Sadly, not by me, but I have seen many photos of big fish from these waters from friends who made trips to these magnificent waters.  Please bare with me as I recall a story once told to me by my fly fishing mentor, the late Ken Magee of Boise, Idaho.  Ken and several friends from the Boise area had made the trip to Russia and paid for guides to fish some of the great rivers.  He said that they had a really difficult time understanding what the Russian guides were saying, and, particularly what patterns they should use.  None of them had any of what they needed!  So, the group decided they will just fish with Stayner Ducktails.  A Rainbow Trout is a Rainbow Trout, right?  Long story short, Ken and the group had a terrific trip fishing Stayner Ducktails for big, Russian trout!  

There are more stories I could tell, but, let's refocus on the tying of the Stayner Ducktail.  Now, I might be able to tie Stayner Ducktails with anybody, but, I don't shoot video.  Being the subject just gets me all discombogulated!  So, I have done a You Tube search and found a very good fly tying video for you to watch and learn how tie the Stayner Ducktail.  Hope you enjoy watching and tying this great pattern.  Beware warm water fly fishers of the guy fishing the Stayner Ducktail!


Sunday, May 4, 2014

Rocks In My Pockets

Let me take the time here to tell you about my take on "Rocks In My Pockets".  Some folks who are dealing with Depression often talk about it as a way of unloading their worries by discarding the rocks in their pocket so to speak.  Others use it for various ways of symbolizing something weighting on their mind.  Others will...............................................
Let me tell you about my Grandpa.  He used to tell me, "Son, slow down a bit and enjoy each day, you got plenty of time! Go now and put some rocks in your pockets.  That will help you stay grounded.  Especially, on a windy day!"

This past week has Tornado's ripped through the South, my Grandpa's voice could be heard.  "Son, make sure you got some rocks in your pockets if your going out on a windy day."  This last few days have been full of thoughts and prayers for my friends from the South.   Hope that all of you managed as well as you possibly could and know that Prayers are coming your way.

This last week also had several days of very high winds here on the Front Range in Colorado.  Just being outdoors was a struggle at times, let alone, any ideas of going fishing.  I would have needed a bunch of rocks in my pockets on those days! I was content to spend my time indoors and knocking out a few more flies for my fly box, doing some blog work, and surfing the net.  Now, before I get away from rocks in my pockets, let me say that I often use rocks in my pocket to symbolize a hodgepodge of things I have going on in my mind or things I have decided to give some thought, too.  So here, I will toss out a few Rocks In My Pockets:

**Came across a new site too me Mountain Brook Fly Rods.  Now they offer an interesting line of fly rods, reels, rod cases, etc.  This custom rod case really caught my eye.  Now, is this not beautiful.
Now, I have seen one from these folks with a Bluegill sketching on the Faux Bamboo Rod Case.....

**I have been eyeballing glass rods of late that are affordable to someone on a (Senior Citizens Budget).  Everything from Eagle Claw Featherlight, to Cabela's CGR Series, to Echo's new glass rods that just hit the market.  However, this new series from Green Caddis Outfitters has my attention.  This is the Green Caddis Outfitters "Ruby River Glass Rod".
While I am aware that this is not an american made custom glass rod, it appears to be a beautiful rod.  It comes in two different lightweight sizes great for my style of fishing and comes with a rod case.  (4) piece rod sells for $119.00.  So it fits in the right price range for me.  I will wait to see what the early reports are before I invest.

**Ok, here is the last Rock In My Pocket for today.  Now, I have been somewhat slow to adjust to the crazy weather pattern and get out there and fish, but, I can share with you some fishing "tidbits".  I am going........................ Here is a couple of reasons why I get excited about stalking the ponds in my area.  How about a 19" Crappie? Wouldn't that make you a bit giddy?  Not a rumor!  Then there was this guy (meaning the fish) that charged out of the water just yesterday and nailed a small trout being reeled in from shore on one of my local ponds.  Fish also has been verified, no rumor!  My Grandson was fishing with his buddy, Marcos.  Marcos did it up well!
This is a 35" Pike
Looks like I had better be tying up some big ol' nasty Streamers.
This fish was released to swim again!!


Sunday, April 13, 2014

Are Bass Dumber Than Trout?

Really, or is that just propaganda?  Read on BlogBuddies and let me know what you think?  First off,
Let me explain where I am coming from.  Like many others, I am sure throughout our country, I am still waiting for the opportunity to get into some sort of regular fly fishing mode with the 2014 season.  I mean weather, well, has been really weather here on the Front Range of Colorado.  If the wind is not blowing 30 - 40 MPH, then you have weekends like this one.  Wet rain and snow! I hope the weather man is wrong, but, they had predicted 4 - 6 inches of snow in some areas.  Can we just go fishing and get on with the season for crying out loud. 

Anyway, while I wasn't fishing today, I did manage to hit my local fly tying supplier for a few things I needed to tie up some Bluegill nymphs and a few other things from my "Stuff" list.  My wife just smiles and sends me on the way.  She knows better than to debate me about "Stuff".
I better get to the point here that I am trying to make with this post.  While looking through most all of the fly tying goodies, I over heard a conversation between Employee and Customer.  It kind of went something like this:
Customer: I am looking for materials to tie up some various streamers for fishing Bass, mostly Largemouth, but, some Smallmouth, too?
Employee:  Well, you don't have to be very selective when choosing what materials to use when tying Streamers for Bass!  Heck, Bass will eat anything as long as you find them in a feeding mode.  I would not bother with anything but a Wooly Bugger in different colors and a couple of different sizes.
Customer: Really, well that should be easy enough.  I was also thinking about tying up some Marabou Muddlers or trying some of the Articulated Streamers I see in the magazines.
Employee:  I would not even bother with all that extra work and time in tying.  Bass are really stupid fish compared to Trout! With a Trout you have to be more cognizant of how you present the materials and what techniques to use.  Trout are much more keen to what is going on around them than a Bass.  Trout sometimes key on certain materials like the Enrico Puglesi fibers that you can combine certain colors to make more exact imitations than you would need for Bass fishing with Streamers.  Here let me show you some of the material I am talking about and you will see what I mean when I say Trout are much more selective than a Bass.

To make a long story short, I blocked out the rest of the conversation as they moved to another isle in the fly tying materials section.  I had heard enough reality or propaganda.  Whichever, as I paid for my supplies, I just chuckled and shook my head.  Left me wondering what all my BlogBuddies would think of this conversation and what they feel comparable intelligence levels are of a Bass or a Trout.  Chime in if you feel the need too..............................................

Monday, April 7, 2014

Fly Fishing "Damsels"

Thought I would give some time with this post to "Fly Fishing Damsels".

Ok, not this Damsel (although this is The River Damsel, Emily Blankenship)!  She is often who I think of when the words Fly Fishing Damsel are mouthed.  BTW, drop on over and give Emily a pat on the back.  She has taken up fly tying this winter and is doing well enough to have bagged some good trout with her patterns since she started.  I would have expected no less!

But, in the case of this post, what I want to talk about when speaking of fly fishing Damsels is that ever popular sleek swimming, rhythmic, Damsel fly nymph.
Being an avid stillwater fly fisherman for many years has given me plenty of opportunity to see the Damsel fly nymph up close and personal.  I have many great memories of sitting in my float tube during the damsel fly nymphs migration near the surface working their way to shore.  These nymphs, once they make it to shore, climb on vegetation or whatever is available where they go through the beautiful phase of migrating from the nymph to the adult winged Damsel fly.  Many, many beautiful trout have been hooked fishing these Damsel fly nymphs on intermediate or slow sinking fly lines from some of the best trout lakes in the western United States.  Simply put, I love fishing and tying Damsel Fly nymphs!

Recently, I tossed my name in the hat you might say, for a selection of Damsel fly nymphs to be given away over on Facebook from the Dragonfly Angler.  Well, I happened to win the contest and in a few days had a substantial supply of well tied Damsel fly nymphs via John Wood.  Now, John ties some great looking flies.  I would like to share some of John's flies in picture form here on my blog.  John also has his own blog and a website, too!  Please take the time to check out all of his fine work.  He not only ties flies, but, makes some of the most beautiful custom landing nets I have ever seen, among other tidbits on his site.  Keep up the great work, John.   Anyway, here are some pictures of the new Damsel fly booty I now have in my boxes ready for this years Damsel fly nymph migrations.
Bright Eyed Damsel in (4) different colors

Twisted Damsel in (4) different colors

Standard (No Eyes) Damsel Fly Nymph

Yup, John's "Booby" Damsel Fly Nymph

Now, John knew that I have a passion for fly fishing warm waters species.  We talked a little bit prior to him shipping me the Damsel fly nymphs.  Well, what a surprise! When the package came in the mail, along with all the Damsel fly nymphs, John had included some great looking Bass streamers that just plain look exciting to toss for the brutes in the ponds and lakes I fish.  
 Rightfully so, these streamers are called Emotion Detectors!
Look out, big boys I am coming.

Thanks, again, to John Wood of Dragonfly Angler.  Can't wait to start getting these guys on the business end of some fish this summer!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Internet Implosion! Oh, And I Tie Pretty Flies...............

I would bet that some of you readers and lookers thought I would never get that last post off my Blog.  You tired of looking at Peyton Manning yet?  No, it did not take me two weeks to get over my Super Bowl hangover and disappointment.  What a pathetic performance.  'Nuff said!

What I do want to vent on here, just briefly, is how important good reliable internet service is for all of us that rely on our Blogs and Facebook and Pinterest  etc. for our form of communication with others about what we love to do in our spare time.  To get to the point, you pay your bill, you expect to receive the service necessary.  Granted, your computer could become a virus heaven and could crash on you.  We all live with that little thought somewhere in the backs of our minds.  What I am frustrated with is what I call Internet Implosion.  Computer works fine, no problem.  However, your local provider takes a crap............................. Just gone in about a days time.  No warning!  Wait I payed for the service.  Woe is me! I now have to find another reliable resource to use that will insure me this will not happen too me again.  Find the Provider.  Next up, scheduling the hook up.  Unbelievably, this has taken about two weeks to complete.  Hurray, I am back blogging, but, what a pain in the arse!

Now, to that pretty flies part.  Having basically no computer for anything worthwhile for two weeks gave me some extra time at the tying bench. I will share here a little of my work.  I enjoy tying simple fly patterns that don't take lots of time to tie or use material that is cost prohibitive.  That way if I leave one in the bushes like Howard over at Windknots & Tangled lines it is no problem to look in the fly box and dig out another or tie some more up quickly next time I sit at the vise.   They may be buggy looking.  That is actually what I strive for.  Pretty, they are not!  However, when my wife drops by my bench and looks at what I am tying she usually responds in this manner.  "Oh, you tie pretty flies!"  I love her support, but, I won't tell here they are not pretty....

Let's start with a bright orange leech pattern tied for Bluegill, Crappie etc.
I call it the Orange Crush Leech.
 
How about a Partridge & Yellow Soft Hackle.
Bluegill, Trout, classic pattern.
 
This is a fly I call the 'Gill Getter.
Simple, easy to tie, and catches lots of Bluegills, Crappie, and a Trout or two!
 
Picture not really clear here, my apologies.
This is another of my favorite Soft Hackle patterns.
Partridge and Orange!
 
This is another Leech or Bugger type fly.
I call it a Beadhead Flesh Hair Bugger.
 
 Ok, enough for this post.  I am staying busy tying flies to fill my warm water fly boxes.  I am working on some Nymph and Streamer patterns that I really like.  Will share them in the near future with you all.
 
Is Spring coming?
 
 
 
 


 

Friday, December 6, 2013

Fly Fishing Goodness From My BlogBuddies!

'Tis the season for sharing Love, Kindness, and Peace.  Wanted to do a quick BlogBuddies shout out and the Thumbs Up award for some things they are doing over on their blog sites for the Christmas season and Blogging goals.
First off, Mike over at Dub The Thorax, has been giving in the Spirit for the past few days and continues for a few more.  Mike is celebrating (3) years on the blogging scene and has gathered some nice fly fishing related items for giveaways.  Still have time left to get over and join the fun. Here is a picture of what is being given today.  Updated 12/7/13 Hey, one never has enough good looking t-shirts to wear in warmer times. Plus, a cool new hat from Eat My Fly Outfitters!



In addition, Cameron and The Fiberglass Manifesto, is back again with his great (12) days of Christmas giveaways.  Cameron, as usual, has gone to great work to bring together some great fly fishing related companies to share the the Christmas goodness with us all.  Don't miss out on all the fun.
This great Celebration begins on Monday, December 9th.  Be sure and check out then how you can become a winner in the (12) Days of Christmas.

I will be leaving this post up a bit on the blog so if I have any other BlogBuddies that I missed that are having similar Giveaways on their blogs be sure and give me a shout and I will edit this post so as to make it current.

Have fun!

Friday, October 25, 2013

Effective Fly Patterns For Mr. Whiskers

Catfish, ala Mr. Whiskers, can be caught on a fly rod! They can be challenging, strong during battle, and, just plain fun to wrestle with if you are so inclined. Let alone good eating if you decide to fillet up some Catfish for a tasty meal. In my previous post, Fly Fishing For Cats, you were able to see a video, that with some effort and the right fly patterns, that Catfish could indeed be approachable with a fly rod on your local pond or stillwater fishery.  I ended that post by stating that I would share with you some effective fly patterns for fly fishing for Catfish.  I will be posting three well done videos here for you to consider when fly fishing for Catfish tempts you.  I might add that all three patterns are also extremely useful when fishing for Trout, Bass, and Carp! So they are Streamer patterns you should consider anyway for your fly boxes.  You can pick out one or two or all of them to watch if you would like.  Kind of like pick your poison!  Even if you don't buy into the fact that you will go fly fishing for Catfish, these patterns are well worth having around.  Let's begin with the video from In The Riffle that instructs how to tie John Barr's very successful Meat Whistle Streamer.
  Next up, let's take a look at Jay Zimmerman's very popular Backstabber pattern!
Finally, I would like to share my favorite personal Streamer pattern for the Catfish I have caught on a fly rod. This is a video done by Curtis Fry. Let me introduce you to the Stayner Ducktail!  

What a great way to start for Fly Fishing for Catfish. Let me just say that I know there are other Streamer patterns that will work. Muddler Minnows, Wooly Buggers, and their endless variety should also do just fine. Have fun and let me know if you decide to go Fly Fishing for Catfish, and, try some of these great patterns, just how you did!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Fly Fishing For Cats

As I was pondering what I wanted to talk about in this post, my mind kept drifting back to another day and time.  Time when I lived in Southwestern Idaho.  I kept thinking about a couple of unusual fly fishing experiences I had back then.  At the time, they were very unusual, in my mind anyway. What experiences I am talking about here is that of Fly Fishing For Cats!

No, not this kind of Cat you silly fool!
Nor, this one either!
Must give credit here where credit is due.  These fine looking Catfish were borrowed here from the good folks at Moldy Chum 
Back to fly fishing in Idaho.  I had on two different occasions while fishing for other fish, stumbled upon the fact, that I could catch Catfish on a fly rod.  More than one fish also each time so I had to figure that it could be done.  Complete surprise and lack of new camera technology didn't allow me to have pictures to show you so I will quickly identify with just a short note on the fishing experience.  
My first experience came while out float tubing  a lake that was filled with downed trees on a fairly shallow end of a reservoir.  I had targeted this area with some friends in attempting to find schooled Crappie.  Me like Crappie!  However, in tubing into the shallow water preparing to cast to Crappie, I viewed several Catfish lurking around.  Well, the rest of that story is that I landed several Catfish on streamer patterns that were intended for Crappie.  I was duly impressed.
Next story: I am floating a section of the Snake River down below Parma, Idaho, with a friend.  This time from a small boat.  We were targeting some Smallmouth Bass.  As we floated along preparing to fish nymphs,  fish were spotted rising in some calm water off to my right.  I am thinking Smallmouth on a dry fly now.  Off comes the nymph, and, quickly comes a Parachute Adams in a size #14.  Rest of the story: No Smallmouth, these were Catfish actually rising to take my Parachute Adams.  We had a blast fishing the slack water that midday.  I kid you not, we could not find anyone to believe our story.  But, I have the memory!
Now, that I am a Colorado resident and am focusing on writing my blog about WarmWater species of fly fishing for the most part, Catfish seem to be on my mind again.  Can Catfish be caught on a fly rod? 
You might know these two fellows if you hang around fly fishing much.  Plus, this is home for me now so I have to share this video with you all.
 

Thanks to, Jay Zimmerman and Brian Schmidt for the use of their video here.

On my next post, we will review a few Catfish flies and talk about tying them up if you are interested in Fly Fishing For Catfish!

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Fishing The Ol' Car Hole

Anyone that has ever fished with me, no doubt knows that I love to catch fish.  In particular, trout from a small stream and feisty Bluegill from my various local ponds.  Now that I am focusing my fly fishing and efforts to the local ponds and using the blog to cover my adventures, this post will be about my favorite warm water fish, the Bluegill.
 I have been a Bluegill fly fisher for many a season.  I fell in love with it as a young man on a local pond near where I lived at the time, and still after all these years, I have a deep passion for hitting the local ponds and chasing Bluegill.  I like nothing better than to be tossing a Rubber Spider of some sort or another at a school of feeding Bluegill on the surface.  Oh, yes, I will fish with small nymphs or streamer patterns for them too.   Down is where the bigger Bluegill hang out.  They are the "Bulls" as I call them!  Since we are talking about fishing "Down" for bigger Bluegills, reminds me of a time and a story from a past Bluegill adventure.

Now, I am going to ask you to bear with me for a minute while I share a picture that in a way has some relevance to this post.
This picture is a shot of the early 2000's version of Bonnie and Clyde.  Check out the Dame!
That old car had gone as far as it could go.  So what does this picture of Bonnie and Clyde have to do with catching Bluegill?  Well, imagine if you would, that this Ol' Car was submerged not too far off shore in your favorite pond.  For effect, imagine also that the roof still intact in this picture was missing in your submerged Ol' Car in the pond.  Now with that vision in mind, I will return to my Bluegill story.

It was a particular sunny day with no cloud cover.  I was walking the shoreline looking for Bluegill to be bunched up around the weed beds and cattails.  I had picked up a few smaller Bluegill, but to be honest, it was a slow day so far.  Forgot to mention that this pond was a pretty good sized pond and I had never walked the entire shoreline.  As I did on this day, I came too a small bluff that allowed me some height to look down on the water.  There I saw for the first time the Ol' Car submerged in the water.  The other thing that I was shocked to see were some really nice looking bigger Bluegill sitting or swimming I should say, I kid you naught, in the backseat of the Ol' Car.
I fumbled in anxiety the first cast with a floating line and a Rubber Spider.  Darn it, spooked them and they swam back out the door and I thought my fun was over.  However, as I sit down on the ledge and peered down into the Ol' Car, unbelievably in a few minutes, the school of bigger Bluegill came back and in through the open door of the car they came and right back into the back seat area again.  

After observing them for awhile and being very careful not to spook them this time, I decided to switch to a small dark streamer/leech pattern that would sink down into the back seat where the fish were instead of trying to force them to come up to the surface for a Rubber Spider.  Oh, so carefully, I was able to look down and cast a short distance and let the fly sink this time to the fish's level.  Fish on!  I couldn't believe I had actually pulled this off.  I landed a Bluegill that was probably close to a ten incher!  I released the fish to swim another day and sat and ate my favorite fisherman's sandwich. (Make that a Peanut Butter and Jelly).  As I sat and watched the Bluegill slowly hang in the back seat of the Ol' Car.  Occasionally, they would swim out of the area and before too long.  They would be back!  I did manage one other nice one out of the back seat area before the other Bluegill got wise to my game.

The moral to this story is true to this day.  You can catch Bluegill out of the back seat of the Ol' Car too!

Thanks for reading!