Outdoor living 5/18

Sunday, May 18, 2003

Missouri turkey hunters needed a break in the weather to beat the record for a spring harvest. They didn't get it so the 2000 record of 56,841 still stands. Hunters did take more than 54,000 bearded birds with the Kansas City Region checking in at 6,623. St. Clair County led the region with 960 birds checked. While talking with a fly-fishing friend recently, I was reminded of something that catches fish when nothing else seems to work. Gary Walker, who is a fly fisherman, tried my pond and although the fish hadn't been very cooperative, Walker started hooking bass, crappie and bluegill using a small black fly that the fish couldn't resist. This past week I tried something that I hadn't done in a long time and I can't figure out why… fly fishing for bass and bluegill. Usually around Memorial Day weekend, the insects are falling into the water, creating a feeding frenzy. After finding my 40-year-old flyrod, I headed out to the pond. It was late morning and the bugs were moving over the water and while I watched, several bugs hit the water only to be scooped up by a bass or bluegill. I noticed a low willow tree swarming with flies and crazed fish hitting them as soon as they hit the water. On my first cast with a small popper, I hooked a big bass that made a dash for the weeds where I lost it. It didn't matter because in less than an hour, I had all the fish I wanted to clean. That experience reminded me of a past experience in late May when the big grasshoppers were active and the fish were feeding on them. One of my better days fishing and catching channel cat, bass and bluegill, without using a boat, happened from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. around a big farm pond. The grasshoppers were active and when I flushed several that landed in the pond, they were sucked under by a bass or big bluegill. I caught several of the critters and put them in a jar for bait, rigged up an ultra light and baited up with a grasshopper. On the first cast I hooked a three-pound channel cat and the action never stopped until I had a mixed string of bass, bluegill and catfish, all taken by using the hoppers. There are days like that that keep a fisherman going back. Fred Smith, Springfield, is another believer in using grasshoppers for bait. Smith has a favorite pond where he catches lots of fish using hoppers for bait. "It's a little early for big grasshoppers," he said, "but I took a walk around the pond recently and noticed some small grasshoppers that the fish were feeding on, so it won't be long before I'll be after them. I also noticed more bullfrogs this year than I have seen for several years. Come June 30, I'll be after them too." The big frogs also like grasshoppers, so when the season opens Smith puts a yellow Hula Popper lure on his cane pole and holds it over the frog. The frog thinks the lure is a tasty hopper and finds out too late that it is the frog that makes dinner, instead of the other way around.

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