http://youtu.be/9038t_zeXKo
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| Photo: Stu Hastie |
Thursday 16 August 2012
Another Quick clip and stills project
Ive got the winter blues, this is my way of getting through it.
http://youtu.be/9038t_zeXKo
Not long now, Im Heading down to Taupo to get quick fix
http://youtu.be/9038t_zeXKo
Saturday 4 August 2012
WHITE RIVER SMALLMOUTH
I was lucky to have Family living in Noblesville , I had spent a few years living in the Rockies and was now going to spend a bit of time living around Maze feilds, Nascar racing and in my brothers basement, before I headed back to NZ.
Luck was still on my side as the White river was a 5min drive from where I was staying, The area I fished on previous trips when visiting from Colorado was the Potters bridge area, Which always seemed to give up a few fish on each visit, I now wanted to get to know this piece of water a bit more.
On my first visit to Noblesville I paid a visit to one of the local Fly shops and arranged a float trip with a guide for a day, Its one of the best ways to get info on the river your fishing eg: Access,Techniques, Flys, Best Seasons, etc. I certainly learnt alot that day and saw a completely different water system to what I was used to out west.
The West Fork of White River begins in a Large maze Field in Randolph County, south of Winchester. It runs north, then turns west through Muncie and Anderson before pushing south through Noblesville to Indianapolis.
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River smallmouth act a lot like trout hanging right near the fastest current. Also Slack water with deep holes are good places to find river smallies. As they mostly hunt by sight, action can be had all day long.
Often Turtles sunning themselves on fallen trees and Racoon's scrounging for whatever they can find were frequently seen along the riverbank also Deer and Bald eagles were sighted and I just missed the 18' snake some local had dumped in a little backwater near one of the bridges I fished. At first I started wearing waders in the often murky water which seemed to have a few creepy crawlies swimming about, I soon ditched the waders as walking around in a 90+ heatwave just didn't work. Board shorts and wading boots were the go after I maned up.
Smallmouth Bass were the main target on the white, Other species that were caught were Rock bass,White Bass, Crappies, Blue Gill, Perch, Carp, Even the odd snapping turtle.
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Been able to throw Poppers is a blast, Most were tied with weed guards to avoid getting hung up on all the log jams and this also gave you the option to throw your flies right up on to the bank, and then pulled thru the water with a quick couple of strips of the line. Smallmouth hits were savage watching a big mouth come up and smash your fly was heart stopping, This was usually followed up by some aerobatic tail walking and then down and dirty fighting around logs and rocks and what else the White had in it.
Some good flies to have are Clouser crawfish, Chartuesue Clousers, White Streamers, Booglebugs, Mini Pop Poppers, Orvis Bass Popper, Dancing Frog, Sneaky Pete, and Wilson's Bass Bully and my all time favourite the chuck and duck sculpin. Also a selection of big Drys/Terrestials should be carried with you as Smallies love smashing bugs of the surface. A big assortment of Carp flys including Mulberry and bread flys were also in my box for the ever present Carp.
My rod was threaded with a SA Mastery series Bass Bug line and a tapered 9' leader. I Cut off about 2' of leader and tie on some Maxima Chameleon 10-12lb of tippet. My 6 weight Rod was a good weight for this river as its wide in places and would turn over those bigger Flys with ease.
There are a few Guides that work on the White and surrounding rivers, there is plenty of other waterways to checkout on the outskirts of Indianapolis with great fishing for many speices, give Chad and his team a visit at www.wildcatcreekoutfitters.com who have there finger on the pulse of the smallmouth scene plus they also run a great shop over in Zionsville.
Almost everyone I meet had a different name for smallmouth bass such as bronzeback, brown bass, brownie, smallie, bronze bass, bareback bass to name a few.
A bit of info,
Smallmouth bass can live between is 6 to 14 years. They are very sensitive to water quaility and if you have a healthy population it is a great sign of a healthy body of water. Clean cool water will have a direct effect on the size and age of the fish. It is possible in the right environment for these bass to live upwards of 20 years.
The most distinguishable difference between smallmouth bass and largemouth bass is, naturally, the size of their mouths. The upper jaw bone of a smallmouth extends to the middle of the eye while that of a largemouth extends to the back of the eye or beyond. Smallmouth can also be distinguished by their clearly connected dorsal fins and by their color, which is generally more brown than green and lacks the large black diamonds of a largemouth. Generally, there are bars radiating from red or orange eyes and a distinctive orange band at the base of the tail.
Smallmouth bass are native to the eastern portion of the United States from Manitoba to Oklahoma, Alabama to Quebec. They can now be found in virtually every state and several other countries. The second largest member of the sunfish family, the smallmouth bass is smaller only than its cousin, the largemouth bass.
I wonder how well Smallmouth would do the lower Waikato river?
Luck was still on my side as the White river was a 5min drive from where I was staying, The area I fished on previous trips when visiting from Colorado was the Potters bridge area, Which always seemed to give up a few fish on each visit, I now wanted to get to know this piece of water a bit more.
On my first visit to Noblesville I paid a visit to one of the local Fly shops and arranged a float trip with a guide for a day, Its one of the best ways to get info on the river your fishing eg: Access,Techniques, Flys, Best Seasons, etc. I certainly learnt alot that day and saw a completely different water system to what I was used to out west.
.JPG)
River smallmouth act a lot like trout hanging right near the fastest current. Also Slack water with deep holes are good places to find river smallies. As they mostly hunt by sight, action can be had all day long.
Often Turtles sunning themselves on fallen trees and Racoon's scrounging for whatever they can find were frequently seen along the riverbank also Deer and Bald eagles were sighted and I just missed the 18' snake some local had dumped in a little backwater near one of the bridges I fished. At first I started wearing waders in the often murky water which seemed to have a few creepy crawlies swimming about, I soon ditched the waders as walking around in a 90+ heatwave just didn't work. Board shorts and wading boots were the go after I maned up.
Smallmouth Bass were the main target on the white, Other species that were caught were Rock bass,White Bass, Crappies, Blue Gill, Perch, Carp, Even the odd snapping turtle.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.jpg) |
| Photo: Tim Angeli |
Been able to throw Poppers is a blast, Most were tied with weed guards to avoid getting hung up on all the log jams and this also gave you the option to throw your flies right up on to the bank, and then pulled thru the water with a quick couple of strips of the line. Smallmouth hits were savage watching a big mouth come up and smash your fly was heart stopping, This was usually followed up by some aerobatic tail walking and then down and dirty fighting around logs and rocks and what else the White had in it.
Some good flies to have are Clouser crawfish, Chartuesue Clousers, White Streamers, Booglebugs, Mini Pop Poppers, Orvis Bass Popper, Dancing Frog, Sneaky Pete, and Wilson's Bass Bully and my all time favourite the chuck and duck sculpin. Also a selection of big Drys/Terrestials should be carried with you as Smallies love smashing bugs of the surface. A big assortment of Carp flys including Mulberry and bread flys were also in my box for the ever present Carp.
My rod was threaded with a SA Mastery series Bass Bug line and a tapered 9' leader. I Cut off about 2' of leader and tie on some Maxima Chameleon 10-12lb of tippet. My 6 weight Rod was a good weight for this river as its wide in places and would turn over those bigger Flys with ease.
There are a few Guides that work on the White and surrounding rivers, there is plenty of other waterways to checkout on the outskirts of Indianapolis with great fishing for many speices, give Chad and his team a visit at www.wildcatcreekoutfitters.com who have there finger on the pulse of the smallmouth scene plus they also run a great shop over in Zionsville.
Almost everyone I meet had a different name for smallmouth bass such as bronzeback, brown bass, brownie, smallie, bronze bass, bareback bass to name a few.
A bit of info,
Smallmouth bass can live between is 6 to 14 years. They are very sensitive to water quaility and if you have a healthy population it is a great sign of a healthy body of water. Clean cool water will have a direct effect on the size and age of the fish. It is possible in the right environment for these bass to live upwards of 20 years.
The most distinguishable difference between smallmouth bass and largemouth bass is, naturally, the size of their mouths. The upper jaw bone of a smallmouth extends to the middle of the eye while that of a largemouth extends to the back of the eye or beyond. Smallmouth can also be distinguished by their clearly connected dorsal fins and by their color, which is generally more brown than green and lacks the large black diamonds of a largemouth. Generally, there are bars radiating from red or orange eyes and a distinctive orange band at the base of the tail.
Smallmouth bass are native to the eastern portion of the United States from Manitoba to Oklahoma, Alabama to Quebec. They can now be found in virtually every state and several other countries. The second largest member of the sunfish family, the smallmouth bass is smaller only than its cousin, the largemouth bass.
I wonder how well Smallmouth would do the lower Waikato river?
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