Southern Piedmont Appalachian Blue Gill

Alright, so I've got an itch. It never
seems to go away but I always try and fix it with a little medicine now and then. Today's medicine was the local park for Southern Piedmont Appalachia Blue gill. I have seen this stretch of water for some time now and always wondered if there were any fish in it. So today I was sittin' around and decided to throw my pack in the car and head over there. I wanted to ride my bike but A.) I have no adapter for the air nozzle and B.) My rear derailer has been momentarily fixed with a piece of copper wire. Not something I'd like to break. So I grabbed a book(which I never need), my 9 foot 4wt. seeing as my short 8 footer is still broken in the spare bedroom, a few of my Blue Gill fav's and headed to the stream.
After a short walk I put my rod together and threaded the line through the eyes. Tied on the blue gill fly of choice and tossed it into the still water....Nothing. Ok, no big deal. I've fished for a few minutes before and not caught anything. I skip around the rocks trying not to completely submerge my feet in the cold water, flinging my fly into fishy areas...15 minutes later, still nothing.

I notice up ahead a nice run of bubbles and boulders. Ahh, a perfect place for a nice blue gill to be. I work my way up the steep embankment and onto the flat ground, working my way toward the heavenly water. As I come up to the edge, I can begin to here the riffles of the water. Now I just had to figure out how to get back down. I work my way down, grabbing roots, thorns, rocks and trees all while trying to protect the tip of my Winston. I get to the water and work my way toward the rocks. By this time the bubbles are becoming clearer and clearer, if this was trout water, I'd be slaying them. I finally make it up to the section and begin casting. One cast...two casts....three casts...I don't see any movement in the water...I'm really starting to wonder if there are any fish in here. I take another cast, hoping it's gonna be gold. Nothin'! I shoulda brought my corn. I worked my way up the 50 feet or so of water, not seeing a single fish, frog or snake. I did happen to wade through the water, getting my boots, socks and jeans completely drenched, to grab a lost mayfly. He'll come in handy later.

I decide that this just isn't the place to catch any fish but it was a beautiful day in the park. I packed through the woods and onto the trail that brought me in. I took my new found Mayfly friend and put him in a little home that included a cotton ball. My boots, socks and pants are out on the porch drying out very slowly. No Blue Gill here and definitely no Trout but the water is always relaxing and rewarding. The bubbling water over the rocks remind me of the Trout water I love and can't seem to live without. Something about the sounds and character of the trees with the blue background or the rocks with the water rushing around them just sooths the soul and keeps me coming back. Until next time, keep searching for that perfect water...

Can you see that I will be tying midges, midges and more midges?
That is 500 midge and scud hooks along with 300 tungsten beads ready for the taking.

I tied up some of these good lookin' things:


Here's a shot of a few of em':



Here is a look at a real midge:

Midge Chronicles: The short, sweet and simple of Midges and some patterns that imitate them.

Zebra Midge
Originally created to fish the Colorado River in Lee's Ferry Arizona to imitate Midge Pupa.

Hook: Midge or Scud hook-Tiemco 2487 or 2488
Sizes(in my box): 16-22
Colors: Black, Red, Olive or Brown. Usually with wire to match color of bead. I've found any and all variations of colors to work. Some better on sunny days and others on cloudy days.

This is a great pattern to fish by itself and it's a great pattern to fish as a dropper, either behind a nymph or behind a dry.

Stay tuned for more Midge Chronicles!

Midge Fever

Tying midge's is like getting in shape. You hate doing it and it usually isn't that fun but once you have accomplished tying a few hundred tiny brats you feel like you have conquered the world. After the eye drops and perhaps a few soda's, you might actually be able to stop shaking and see what you tied. Even at the ripe age of 26, I have a hard time sitting at the vise and tying any more than 20 or 30 small flies at a time. That includes good light and a magnifier. My eye balls are sore and my back aches. Oh I can feel it now and I haven't started.

It is quite foolish though to go into the fishing season...scratch that, go to the river without midges. Therefore, we gotta have em and have loads of em. They really are fun though. They are so similar and yet so different and they can be as simple or as difficult as you want them to be.

Stay tuned for the Midge Chronicles.

Fall in the Carolinas

Fall in the Carolinas is a beautiful thing. The last few years that I've been here, the colors haven't been so great. A few tree's here and there, a lot of False Pear's. Here are a few from my back porch. Unfortunately no water is to be seen in these pictures.

My camera does a terrible job at grabbing the colors of foliage. I love it when the sun is setting and hits these leaves though. Really brings out the color.

The squirrels are loving the weather too. I consider them the Brown Trout of the land. They are foraging like nobody's business. They are running through the tree's eating everything they can. I wonder if I can tie up an acorn pattern?

Fall Rain

Tennessee Colors Oct 18

PM River, Baldwin Mi. Oct 2-4

Female King. Couldn't lift her!

















Nice big male.















Usin' big leeches!















and big eggs!