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Posts tagged "smallmouth bass"

Golden Bones / Carp

Posted by Ted Kraimer - January 8, 2023

Carp Scales

Carp Fishing West Grand Traverse Bay

Nice Mouth

Okay, admit it, you’re curious about the buzz these fish have brought to the sport of fly fishing, aren’t you?

Once considered a trash fish, anglers who have pursued them with the fly and fly rod have developed a respect for these brutes. While not exactly like a bonefish as some have claimed, I like to compare them to Redfish. When hooked, it’s similar to being attached to a big truck — they pull hard and steadily while showing you what color your backing is, often a few times before landing them. But the fight is only part of getting your “carp on a fly” fix.

Getting these fish to eat is not what you might think. They demand well-presented flies and the right fly pattern. Like most species of fish, you can have days when they are “on,” but more often than not, you need to get them to eat. This is where the fun and challenge is, and knowing when and where pays off.

As Featured in Simms Midwest Tour

RA Beattie hooked up with Current Works guide Ted Kraimer and The Northern Angler‘s Brian Pitser to fish the flats of Grand Traverse Bay for Simms Midwest Tour video series. Watch this short clip for a first-hand look at Traverse City area carp fishing.

Carp Fly Fishing in Traverse CityWhen & Where

The season for carp on the flats of Grand Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan ranges from mid-May through mid-July. Weather and hence water temperature are a big factors determining success in finding fish; you might find them happily eating on a flat one day and few fish there the next day not eating. You must get to know their idiosyncrasies to be successful with carp fishing day after day. Since the carp season tends to overlap our best dry fly and hatch season for trout, consider fishing subsurface in the day for carp, then fish the Boardman or Upper Manistee river with dries for trout in the evening.

Bonus Fish - Smallmouth BassBonus Fish

Often, Smallmouth Bass can be found in the shallows and flats looking to eat. Considered one of the best Smallmouth fisheries in the country, Grand Traverse Bay, both East and West, produce fish over five pounds. They are not only are exciting to fish to, but also to bring in with their ability to jump out of the water.

Equipment

Carp Flies for the Great Lakes - Photo Courtesy of R.A. Beattie

Carp Flies – Photo Courtesy of R.A. Beattie

Like a number of saltwater species, I prefer to use 7 – 9 weight rods with Scientific Angler’s Redfish fly line, saltwater tapered leaders with fluorocarbon tippets. Crayfish and nymph patterns are my personal favorite patterns to use. These same flies are also preferred by the Smallmouth Bass that often “swim with the fishes” with my first choice always being a crayfish pattern.

This is no place for a beginner to learn to cast. Simply put, you must be able to cast anywhere from 20 to 45 feet with accuracy and often into wind. What makes this different from saltwater fishing is that you won’t need to wash your tackle free of any salt – the bays of Lake Michigan are pure, freshwater.

Carp Fly Fishing - West and East Grand Traverse BayAs the water temperatures warm, some clients choose to wet-wade rather than wear waders. It is usually a good idea to be prepared for both, based on the ever-changing temperatures. Sometimes we need to wade above the belt and when the water is cool, well, you know.

Thanks to Dave Whitlock and his articles in Fly Fisherman magazine (“Golden Ghosts,” July 1998 and “Golden Ghost II,” September 2008) for bringing more attention to this great game fish and their possibilities with a fly rod.

I have introduced more than enough skeptical trout anglers to the carp through guiding. They were more than surprised at how much fun and challenging these goldenbones are to fish for — book a day and try it for yourself.

 

 

Carp Fishing Grand Traverse Bay - Photo Courtesy of R.A. Beattie
Wading Grand Traverse Bay
School of Carp Looking to Eat
School of Carp
Carp Fishing with a Fly Rod
Holding on

bass, current works, dave whitlock carp fishing, flats, fly-fishing for carp, flyfishing for golden bones, golden ghosts, grand traverse bay carp fishing, great lakes, guide, guided trip, kramer, smallmouth bass, ted kraimer, traverse city

Back Half Baitfish

Posted by Ted Kraimer - December 21, 2022

The Back Half Baitfish is a relatively simple pattern to tie with a great profile that can be used to represent a number of different baitfish species in both rivers and lakes to target various fish, just by changing up colors.

After years of increasing the size of our streamer patterns and bombarding the fish, these larger patterns are becoming less effective as angling pressure has increased. While these large patterns still work on some days, more attention has been placed on smaller streamer patterns. If we have learned anything over the years, we need to adapt to fish wants, and sometimes that means downsizing the pattern and modifying our presentation.

 

Back Half Baitfish - Log PerchAlso receiving additional attention is how prolific various baitfish species are in our waters thanks to Kevin Feenstra’s book, Matching Baitfish. This broad, in-depth and eye-opening project has highlighted the importance of the baitfish throughout our rivers and their nuances in behavior and color schemes.

As trout anglers, the concept of matching the hatch is a familiar one. Fishing baitfish is no different in concept – we are simply trying to imitate the natural species, which is the natural forage for predator species like trout and smallmouth bass.

 

 

Back Half Baitfish - Yellow with triggerThe design of this pattern came about serendipitously. I was developing a larger, articulated streamer pattern, and after some sketches I started tying. Once I completed tying the back half of the pattern, I set it aside and began the forward section/hook. As I glanced at the back half laying on my desk, the different profile intrigued me.  With various adjustments to the design and development, and time on the water, I came up with the “Back Half Baitfish.” The name came about from a lack of creativity.  And, no, I never did complete the front half of the original tandem pattern.

Fishing the Back Half Baitfish

I like to fish this pattern on a number of different fly lines depending on the targeted species, depth and flow of the water, water temps, and weather conditions. Some days it’s on a slow sink-tip line, floating line, intermediate sink tip or even tied as a dropper on a big, heavy sinking line as a secondary pattern.

Back Half Baitfish - Olive with triggerWhen retrieving, think of it being twitch-striped – a combination of the “twitch” retrieve and stripping a streamer. Cast down and across the current and add some short twitches, a pause, then a steady pull/strip. Because it doesn’t sink fast, we can slowly bring the fly back, making it not only behave more like the baitfish it’s imitating, but more attractive to fish that might not be aggressively interested in hammering a hard striped fly. Like always with streamer fishing, if the fish aren’t showing you the love, change up the retrieve a little to see if that makes a difference.

Tie these up in various colors and densities. Have some tied with a tungsten bead for additional weight and/or use lead wire under the body, add a trigger of UV material like Ice Dub.  And for sure, tie in a variety of colors to match different baitfish and conditions.

The red thread identifies which patterns are tied with lead wire for additional weight.

Recipe:

Hook: Gamakatsu B10s #6
Thread: Flymaster Plus – Tan
Bead: 3/16” – Brass
Tail: Extra Select Craft Fur – Tan and Golden Olive
Flash: Lateral Scale – 1/69″ Opal Mirage
Wing ‘N Flash or Angel Hair – Gold
Body: Dubbing made from Craft Fur
Head: Deer Body Hair – Tan

This pattern was developed for trout and bass, but should you be interested in using it for larger fish, consider a using a heavier hook like the Daiichi 2451 #6 or heavier Gamakatsu L11S-3H #6

Tying Instructions

Step 1. Slide bead onto the hook and place in vise.

Back Half Baitfish - Step 2Step 2. After wrapping a layer of thread from behind the bead to above
the barb, select a clump of craft fur, a little less than the diameter of a pencil.

Back Half Baitfish - Step 3Step 3. Pinch the longer fibers of the craft fur and separate the shorter fibers
that add to the bulk of the fur. Do not discard the shorter fibers, save them for step 7.

Back Half Baitfish - Step 4Step 4. Tie in the craft fur with the tips extending back
approximately 2 ½ times the length of the hook.

Back Half Baitfish - Step 5Step 5. Tie in the second color of craft fur on top of the lighter, matching the length, then tie
in one strand of lateral scale on each side the craft fur, and trim so it’s the same length as the craft fur.

Back Half Baitfish - Step 6Step 6. Tie in a sparse amount of Wing ‘N Flash or Angel Hair on each side
of the darker craft fur and trim so it doesn’t extend beyond the length of the craft fur.

Back Half Baitfish - Step 7bBack Half Baitfish - Step 7a

 

Step 7. Using the shorter craft fur saved from step 3, make dubbing by mixing the orientation of the fibers.


Back Half Baitfish - Step 8
Step 8. Dub a body forward stopping about a bead’s distance behind the bead.
Pick out the dubbing with a bodkin, brush, or tip of scissors to get a nice, buggy appearance.

Back Half Baitfish - Step 9Step 9. Select a thinner chunk of the darker craft fur, separate the shorter fibers and tie these in to
help taper the profile of the fly. If tying with a “Trigger” or “Hot Spot”, replace this portion of craft fur with Ice Dub.

Back Half Baitfish - Step 10Step 10. Comb out and stack about a pencil’s diameter of deer hair.

Back Half Baitfish - Step 11Step 11. Between the bead and craft fur, tie the deer hair in around the hook
so the tips extend just beyond the hook bend. Any shorter than this
and the craft fur is likely to get fouled around the hook bend.

Back Half Baitfish - Step 12Step 12. After winding the thread carefully through the butt
ends of the deer hair, whip finish behind the bead.

Back Half Baitfish - Step 13Step 13. Trim the butt ends of the deer hair around the hook slightly tapering
from the diameter of the bead to transition the profile to the deer hair tips.

Back Half Baitfish - Step 14Step 14. Using a black Sharpie marker, color the top of the craft but by pulling the craft fur with one hand
and lightly running the marker along it. You just want to add a little dimension, not completely blacken it.

Back Half Baitfish - Step 15Step 15. By pulling the craft fur with one hand, apply some vertical stripes on each side with a marker.
Here, a metallic gold Sharpie is used. I also mark some with black or brown when I want a pattern with less flash.

 

Back Half Baitfish - Tan OliveFinished Back Half Baitfish

Back Half Baitfish UndersideUnderside profile of the Back Half Baitfish

Tied with optional 3-D Eyes

baitfish streamer, fly pattern for log perch, gamakatsu streamer hook, kevin feenstra, log perch, matching baitfish, smallmouth bass, trout fishing streamer

Late June Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - June 28, 2022

As June winds down, the Hex Hatch winds up. It has been sporadic with the fluctuations in the weather for both the emergences and spinner falls so there is no telling when you will have good bugs on the local rivers including the upper Manistee. Water levels are low and clear since it has been a while since our last rain.

Water temperatures also have been fluctuating making fishing inconsistent and having us stay home or shift to bass fishing when they approach 70 degrees. Other bugs on the water include a few brown drakes, Isonychias, bat flies and medium brown stones so you will want more than a few hex patterns in your fly box. Of course, you’ll want your headlamp and bug spray too.

For some, this is the only time of year some folks get out and fish who might not have heard of new invasive species in our local waters which include Didymo, aka Rock Snot (Manistee) and New Zeeland Mud Snails (Boardman, Manistee, PM, Au Sable). Michigan Trout Unlimited has produced a guidebook to identification and decontamination that I strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with and practice. Otherwise, these invasives will likely show up on other watersheds you fish (rivers and lakes) before you know it. It’s also upon anglers to spread the message to other anglers to get the word out. You can read the Guidebook here.

Largemouth bass and bluegill fishing in lakes continues to offer both new and experienced anglers a lot of opportunities to bend the rod and enjoy a non-technical day of fishing on the water. Dry flies, poppers, swimming nymphs and the occasional streamer near and around structure and drop offs has been the approach. Smallmouth bass fishing has slowed down in the lakes but has been getting better in the rivers for those that like to lazily fish a streamer and feel a fish pull much harder than any trout.

Good luck,

Ted

Learn to Fly Fish – Book a half-day trip with the idea of learning the basics in how to cast and fly fish.
Tricos and Terrestrials – Start your day on a cool river fishing for trout with dry flies from July into September. 
Fall Steelhead –
Although the Spring Season just ended, think fall steelhead. Good dates available in November.

bass fishing, brown drakes, casting lessons, fishing at night, hex hatch, invasive species, learn to fly fish, manistee, panfish, smallmouth bass

Early June Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - June 6, 2022

Sorry for the lapse in fishing reports.

Fishing has been mixed, especially on the trout rivers like the upper Manistee. Bug emergences and spinner falls have been fickle and spotty as the weather has been bouncing around. Some days there are some bugs with the fish looking up and eating, other days leave you wondering if there are any bugs or fish in the river because the water clarity is too good allowing us to see everything below surface. Today’s rain should help cool off the water into the low 60s and recharge the system including putting in a little stain/tannin which should also help fishing.

It’s headlamp season on the water as many of the bugs can be on the water up until dark and this will likely be the case for the next month. On days with cloud cover, bugs can surprise you with emergences and spinner falls and show up just about any time throughout the day. You can expect to see Mahoganies, Sulphurs, Isonychias, Medium Brown Stones and maybe a Brown Drake. Other bugs can show up this time of year also, and a good way to cover your bases is to have a handful of Borcher’s Drakes and Robert’s Yellow Drakes in sizes 10 to 16.

If looking for an alternative to the trout fishing and their discriminating ways, fishing ponds and lakes has been really good for a mix of fish: smallmouth and largemouth bass, bluegill, rock bass and the occasional pike. Fishing the surface with poppers scratches the trout angler’s surface action itch, while a smaller streamer fished on a floating line near structure results in a few more fish that are often bigger.

Good luck.

Ted

Match the Hatch  – Late May and June offer dry fly anglers some of the best trout fishing of the year.
Learn to Fly Fish – Book a half-day trip with the idea of learning the basics in how to cast and fly fish.
Fall Steelhead – Although the Spring Season just ended, think fall steelhead good dates available in November.

bass, fly fishing report, mahogany dun, manistee, smallmouth bass, sulphus, traverse city fly fishing guide, trout fishing alternatives

Mid-May Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - May 19, 2022

After two days of Spring it seemed like we went right to Summer with last week’s temperatures and weather.

Hatches are kind of jumbled on the trout streams (Manistee and Au Sable rivers), but if headed out, be sure to have Hendricksons and Caddis. Pack some Sulphurs and Mahoganies, too, because they will start showing up any day now if they haven’t already on your favorite section of the river. With the fluctuations in weather, there is no telling if there will be bugs and when – just remember warmer air temps are crucial for spinner fall. And for hatches/emergences, well, they have been showing up in late mornings as much as evenings so fish all day if you can.

Between hatches, fish some smaller streamers for fish looking to eat sub-surface. It’s also not a bad time to swing a wet fly, like a diving caddis. My car is covered with black caddis and green egg sacks from driving along the rivers.

Smallmouth bass are in a pre-spawn mode on the river systems and are eating. In waters where trout and smallmouth co-exist, there is no telling which species is going to bite your streamer next – it’s like a fishing grab-bag until you get the fish on the line and in sight (Hint: the bass fight harder).

Water levels are slightly low and relatively clear for this time of year but that should change with the forecast storms and weather to roll through tonight. Although we could use some rain, it’s been nice having these recent conditions.

Lake fishing has been decent for bluegill/panfish and the occasional largemouth as we come off a full-moon phase and water temps in lakes and ponds increase. The darker bottom lakes (or coves/bays within) tend to warm up quicker than other portions of the lake. This should continue to offer really good fishing for the next 4 or 5 weeks.

Good luck.

Ted

Match the Hatch  – Late May and June offer dry fly anglers some of the best trout fishing of the year.
Learn to Fly Fish – Book a half-day trip with the idea of learning the basics in how to cast and fly fish.
Fall Steelhead – Although the Spring Season just ended, think fall steelhead good dates available in November.

bass fishing, bluegill fishing on the fly, caddis, fly fishing report, hendricksons, lake fishing traverse city, manistee river, smallmouth bass, sulphurs, swinging a wet fly
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Ted Kraimer • Current Works, LLC • PO Box 333 • Traverse City, Michigan 49685 • (231) 883-8156

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