Worm Farming... Again!

Today, I'd like to show you my start on a, "worm farm," in anticipation of next year's fishing season.

For this job, I've selected three junky, 5-gallon buckets picked up on the side of the road, with 1/4" holes evenly drilled in the bottom of two buckets. 

You can scale this to any size you want, and you may have seen plastic tote bins used for this. But, I had the buckets handy and they have been a go-to before, so they get the nod. 

This project has been in operation for about a week and a half, as of publishing this article.

The Buckets Three

Bucket #1.

This is the first of 2 worm containment buckets; it starts the process.

As mentioned earlier, the bottom of the bucket is drilled with 1/4" holes, spaced about 2 inches apart.
It is then filled with shredded newspaper, dampened but not sopping wet. I shred the stuff by hand, and just wet it before adding it to the bucket. It isn't packed in tight, either, but is placed in loosely.
This will be the bedding media for the worms.

On top of the dampened newsprint, I've placed a large handful of composted native soil, and the worm bedding that comes in a tub of bait shop worms.
This bedding media is then capped with a piece of carpet, cut 1-1/2" smaller than the interior diameter of the bucket.

Cap It Off

This smaller-diameter carpet cap is important. It creates an air-and-light gap between its edge and the side of the bucket. In effect, this makes an "exclusion zone" which the worms tend to avoid.... which, in turn, deters them from crawling up the side of the bucket.
The worms are given vegetable kitchen scraps and a few bits of dry cat food once a week, and only enough water to keep the bedding and carpet cap moist. They worms now have a happy little home in which to grow.

Plantain and sweet potato peels, apple slices....yum!

All this has one main purpose - I want the worms to prefer living in the top layer of bedding, under the carpet cap, and near the food.
They can move throughout the bedding media as they feed and grow, but the top is to be their main living area.
Why? Because it makes it easier to find them when they're needed for fishing!

Bucket #2
After several months, the worms will have bred and multiplied in bucket #1, thoroughly infiltrating the media in the bucket.
In the process, they deplete the food and convert the bedding into mulch.
For these reasons, they eventually need to be moved to a fresh supply of bedding in a new bucket. That is where bucket #2 comes in to the picture. This bucket is essentially the same as bucket #1 - filled with dampened newspaper strips and drilled through the bottom with evenly spaced 1/4"holes.
To achieve the move to a new bucket, the carpet cap is taken off the first bucket, and # 2 is simply set on top of bucket number #1.
Then, since the worms are mostly in the upper level of bucket #1, they volunteer to crawl up into bucket #2 through the holes in its bottom, where they find new food and bedding into which their little "colony" can expand.
After about a week, nearly all the crawlers will be in bucket #2, and the media in bucket #1 can be processed.
To do that, you turn it out onto a plastic sheet, and examine it for any worms that didn't migrate to bucket #2. Any stragglers are collected and moved to their new home.
Lastly, the spent bedding - which is now mostly worm "poop" (aka castings) - is gathered up and put into the garden or compost pile.

Bucket #3
This is the liquid catch basin, into which the buckets drain. A large rock is in the bottom to keep the buckets from "sticking" together.
This catch basin exists because the working buckets continuously drain off small amounts of excess waste liquid; this is water that isnt directly utilized in the life and maintenance of the, "worm farm."
This liquid, called, "worm tea," is collected in the catch bucket and, like the composted bedding, can also be used as fertilizer for plants.
In the picture, you can see an adventurous worm has made it's way all the way down into the catch bucket, after only 1 week. So they do move around in the bedding, as they explore and grow.

Catch Bucket and Friend

NOTES

- The worms are sold as, "wigglers," but are identified as eusenia hortensis, aka, European night-crawlers.

I got them about 2 months ago at a bait shop, and they've been in my refrigerator or utility room ever since! I fed them a little oatmeal and water through that period, but nothing else. They're very resilient in that way.
In fact, these worms are an important part of this project, because they are different than the common leaf worm found in the garden. I learned the hard way that those don't work for this, as they are not composting worms. 

I tried farming them in the past, since I could get them easy enough in the woods. But they are a bit fragile for this job, they don't cooperate like the wigglers do, and they readily get wanderlust and tend to escape. This is probably due to their natural foraging habits, but overall, they are unsuitable for worm farming.
The wigglers, by contrast, are pretty hardy and they tend to stay put near the food. They are composting worms, which is crucial. They do well at temperatures between about 45 and 80 degrees, and are not very demanding. They also grow fast and are fatter and juicier than true, "red wigglers."

That's why they predominate in the commercial bait industry.

- This worm farm will be kept in an exterior utility room that is around 50 degrees in winter. This is to ensure my wifes peace of mind, more than anything. Worms in the house are definitely not her thing!
However, the worms reproduce better at temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees, so I will be adding a heat mat below their buckets to assist with that.

- For now there is only the single bucket, #1, and it will be a few months until the worms chow through it and bucket #2 is needed.
In case I forgot to mention it, worm farming is a slow process. You need patience....

- As I said in the beginning, you can scale your worm farm to any size.
In the past, I've used scavenged house-plant pots, thrown away coolers, plastic bins, even crisper drawers from an old refrigerator.
My preference is to scavenge and recycle the containers I use, going for the sort of thing that has been tossed on the trash heap.
By contrast, you can also spend as much money as you want and go super deluxe with it. If that's your style, have at it!
But the point is, most any type of container will work, with plastic being the hands-down choice for ease of drilling, etc.
Some people, by their nature, will want to go gigantic with this, and it adapts to that. I know one guy who does this in an old bath tub in his shed. Others use old refrigerators as a worm farm.
However, you'd be surprised how many worms will grow and live in a well-maintained bucket arrangement like this. Historically, I haven't needed a lot of worms, so a bucket worm farm has been about right.

But now that I'm remarried and have a fishing partner, I might need more. If that happens, the whole operation can just move into larger plastic tote bins.  

- I will also look at doing this with Aftrican nightcrawlers before long. These worms are big, 6-12" long, but unlike their European and Canadian cousins, these African versions can tolerate the higher temperatures one finds here in the South. It seems prudent to have these available, as the smaller ones can be used for panfish, much like the red wigglers. But the big whoppers appeal to fish like catfish and bass. So they present a sort of two-fer deal for the worm farmer.

For now, thats it. Worms aren't very exciting, and there isnt much to do once they are settled in. Once or twice a week you feed them, give them some water - and then go do something else. 

------------<~~>-----------

I hope you found value in this article. 
Do you have questions, gripes, or suggestions?

If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com

Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

Dave Hutton

Trolling Motor Batteries...How Long WIll They Last?

Since the inception of electric trolling motors decades ago, the sealed lead-acid battery has been the go-to for anglers. In time, batteries evolved and the AGM (absorbent glass mat) lead-acid battery became the hands-down choice.
Today, those with big budgets have become enamored of the newer LiPo batteries - aka "lithium" - but thats a different technology and it has its own problems. So, for a long time to come, the sealed, lead-acid AGM battery will remain the choice for a great many anglers.

For those who dont know the difference, or the advantages and disadvantages of either one, I put together an in-depth, two-part feature on them. You can find that here:

Batteries For Trolling Motors

As a follow up to that, I offer the following, because the bad news is that anyone who claims to know how long a trolling motor battery will last is guessing... at best. 

==========

So...How Long DOES a Sealed Lead Acid Battery Last? adapted from an article by Douglas Krantz

Sealed lead/acid batteries - including the common AGM batteries used with trolling motors - are generally rated to last 5 years. But that's the best case scenario. The actual lifetime of a battery is shortened by shelf life, gradual loss of capacity, the temperature that the battery is stored at and used at, and how the actual current is used from the battery.

However, several factors combine to shorten that lifetime. Purchase Date Between the time that the battery was manufactured and the time the battery was available for sale, you can expect AT LEAST one to three months to have passed. Then, the battery will sit on the shelves of distributors and retailers for-who-knows-how long. A year is not uncommon. So that "sitting time" has to be added to this delay. Therefore, right from the start, the time between manufacture and installation of a battery has to be subtracted from that 5 years of life. Gradual Capacity Loss Unless something catastrophic happens to cause the battery to suddenly die, the capacity of a battery fades, or declines over time. That is the function of several factors, but ultimately, that is just the nature of batteries. For the manufacturer to list the average lifetime for a battery, because the battery's capacity fades over time, the manufacturer draws an arbitrary line in the decreasing capacity, and its a line that favors their predictions. When the battery crosses that line, and no longer has enough capacity, the manufacturer will say the battery has exceeded its lifetime. Half Shorter; Half Longer On the positive side, half of the batteries last a greater time than the "average" lifetime. But, on the negative side, half of the batteries last a lesser time than the average lifetime. When the manufacturer says that the average battery lasts 5 years, that means that half of the batteries don't last that long. You may be lucky and have one of the batteries that lasts longer than 5 years, but don't count on it. When you buy a battery, you can expect that it may not last 5 years. Storage Temperature and In-Use Temperature The temperature that the battery is exposed to affects the capacity lifetime of the battery. If the battery is stored or used at a temperature that is higher than normal room temperature, the battery's lifetime decreases. If the temperature is high enough, that decreased life can be drastically shorter. Cold temperature extremes can affect the lifetime of a battery, too. Remember that batteries are chemical-based storage systems. As the temperature goes below room temperature, the chemical reactions that produce the electricity are reduced. These slowed chemical reactions reduce the immediate capacity of the battery. To make matters worse, sometimes the low temperatures can also reduce the long-term capacity of the battery. Amp/Hour Rating versus Rate of Use Batteries are rated in Amps of Current per Hour (Amp/Hours or AH). How fast you're using the current also affects the capacity of the battery. For instance: one amp of current used from an 8 AH battery might last the full 8 hours of use, but 8 amps of current used from the same 8 AH battery won't last anywhere near 1 hour. The higher current draw cuts the delivery capacity of the battery. If this high current use is repeated over and over again, as it is in trolling motors, the long-term lifetime of the battery will also be reduced. Often, when testing batteries, the manufacturer measures the capacity of a battery over 24 hours. For an 8 AH battery, the current that the manufacturer uses for the measurements is more like 1/3 of an amp. Unless you are planning on keeping the current down so the battery might last, say, 24 hours...., don't plan on the battery having the full Amp/Hour capacity stamped on the side. The manufacturer simply doesn't know how the battery will be used, so he can only provide what amounts to a general capacity rating for the battery. POINT TO REMEMBER: Repeated fast-draining of a battery shortens the lifetime of a battery. Imprecise Science In summary... The lifetime of a battery is affected by - The remaining shelf life. - Gradual loss of inherent capacity - The temperature that the battery is both stored and used at  - The way the actual current is used from the battery. Still other less common factors, like lack of maintenance, connector issues and more are also involved, so the Amp/Hour Rating on a battery is not a hard and precise science. What does all this mean? You must do all you can to extend the useable life of your batteries. You must monitor them, and, you must understand them and their needs. For all that, I encourage you to read the feature article linked in the introduction. ------------<~~>----------- I hope you found value in this article.  Do you have questions, gripes, or suggestions? If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com Thanks so much for reading, and... Tight Lines, Dave Hutton PS Many thanks to Douglas Krantz

Douglas Krantz helps those who install, service, and test fire alarm systems. He has worked in the electronics and fire alarm industries for more than 40 years....and he knows what he's talking about on the subject of batteries.  www.douglaskrantz.com

The Long Dragon - Unique Panfish Fly

    The subject of this article, "The Long Dragon,"  is a fly I used about 12 years ago, during my first seasons with the float tube.

    I call this pattern, "The Long Dragon," because it has the general look and "vibe" of a large dragon fly nymph..., and, it is a lengthy fly, thanks to the unique hook.
So, "Long Dragon," is both catchy and logical... and as good a name as any. 

    But, what I remember was the big bluegill I caught with the Long Dragon.

Luck Or Something More?
    There is a pocket water near my home that I had been fishing for several seasons, mostly with flies, so I knew it pretty well. I always caught fish there, mostly common panfish - and I was happy. So, I was a little surprised when the Long Dragon started catching some hefty sized bluegill. 

    Naturally I had to ask myself... "Why was I catching these in that same area, when I had not before?" 

    Maybe it was just dumb luck.... with me, that's always a possibility.

    But I am also reminded of something Terry Wilson has espoused: big bluegill tend to cautiously move in behind a potential meal, eyeball it for a bit, then snatch it from the rear.
    Since the featured hook on this pattern is long, the actual hooking portion of the fly is right at the tail, so the Long Dragon plays to this habit of theirs. "Maybe thats it," I thought. 

Deeper Water is Key
    The other thing that possibly contributes to big fish appeal is that this fly is good at getting deeper in the water.
    Once I got into fly fishing for bluegill, I soon discovered that surface trout flies, poppers, and all those nifty foam patterns are good at catching panfish... until they aren't.
    The main strike against them is that they are primarily a shallow, surface water game....and eventually the surface bite dies.
   That's when a certain reality steps in: bigger bluegill mostly live close to the bottom, in deeper water.
    The surface bite dies because the big bulls and hens prefer the bottom layer of water. This is especially so as the season warms, and the sun climbs higher. 

    The light entering the water becomes brighter, the surface water gets warm, or maybe even hot, and there is less oxygen in the upper layers.

    But its cool and dark nearer the bottom, and more and more food items become available to them down below. So they go deeper, and come to the surface less often. And as the old saying goes, "...you can't catch 'em where they aint."

    Thus, to increase your odds of catching bigger bluegill, you should arm yourself to fish deeper.  

What Is Deep?

    You might now be asking what I mean by, "deeper water?"
The answer is simple: "the deepest water within the given area where you are fishing."
    It might be a hundred feet deep a mile down the lake, but the deepest water in the vicinity where you are right now may be only be 10 feet... so THAT is the deepest water in the area, and that's where the better, mature fish choose to spend most of their time.
    The goal, then, is to either catch them down in this deeper water, or more likely, to intercept them where it leads directly to feeding areas. 
    This means you'll need flies that will get down in the water, and they will need to resemble something a fish would
want to eat - enter the NYMPH pattern.

Make Mine Nymphs
    The main idea here is to present something that looks like what the fish I'm is already eating, down where they move from the deeper water. For bigger bluegill, that is probably going to be something like a large nymph, or perhaps a small fish. 

    And while it is true that these guys will take a baitfish when they can, their mouths are still small, and they feed primarily on invertebrates...like nymphs.
    If I was to name a single fly for bluegill, it wouldn't be a popper or foam bug - it would be a nymph pattern. 

FLY NOTES
    Okay, enough gabbing; lets get into this.
    For this pattern I chose to go with a modified Briminator, because it closely resembles a large nymph, I already had success with the type, and it was one I was good at tying.
    But it is the hook that makes the difference.
 
Unique Hook For A Fly

    I was sitting at my tying desk one evening and was struck with a thought: "Why not use a radically different kind of hook? How about a cricket hook? That's definitely different."

 

    Its also a proven hook for panfish; many of us have probably soaked a cricket or two on one of these hooks. 

    If you aren't familiar with the cricket hook, it is technically a round bend, Aberdeen hook with a 4x or 5x long wire shank. A similar style is known as the, "Carlisle" hook.
    But it is that long shank that is the difference; it lets you create a "stretched" version of your favorite fly.

    A few other features of the cricket hook make it a good choice.
1. It is needle sharp and penetrates a fish's jaw easily. Keep it sharp and it nearly sets itself.
2. It is readily available at any tackle shop or Walmart under the Eagle Claw name.
3. It is not too expensive...just under $2 for 10, as of this writing.
4. It can be pulled free from snags.

    That last one, #4, deserves a special note. 

    Sometimes our flies snag on wood and other obstructions; it happens to all of us.
    When that happens, just point your rod tip at the fly, apply steady tension on the line, and pull straight towards you.
    If you tied a good knot, and your tippet can take the strain, the hook will actually begin to straighten... and voila! It very often pulls free from the snag.
    Then, using your forceps or needle- nose pliers, you bend it back into shape and you're back in the game. Easy-peasy.
    If these hooks have a drawback, it is that they are heat treated steel wire and not forged steel. This means they are not rhino-strong. But in my experience, they are adequate for most any bass and bluegill you'll encounter with this fly, when coupled with the naturally springy, shock-absorbing qualities of the rod and line plays.  

Long Dragon - Details
    The basic Briminator that is the foundation of the Long Dragon probably needs little introduction; it has become quite popular over the last 40 years. It is easy to tie, and requires nothing but basic, common materials. But in case you're not familiar, I wrote an article about it, here: 

THE BRIMINATOR

    And that is really all we have in the Long Dragon - a Briminator with an extended-body. So, I won't go deep into the tying sequence, here. For THAT, see the above link.

    However, to help the bigger Long Dragons get down in the water (sizes #6 and #4), I do change one thing: THE EYES.

    They may not look special, but they are rather unique. Unlike the usual bead-chain eyes normally seen on the Briminator, I use hematite/magnetite craft beads on the bigger ones.
    These beads come in the same sizes as most craft beads, and they are shiny black, which is good in my opinion. But, they are quite a bit heavier than any glass bead, or bead chain, without being gargantuan.
    For the same size, they approach lead eyes in weight, and are significantly heavier than bead-chain.

    Lastly, they are slightly magnetic. I don't think this adds any mysterious fish catching properties but, who knows - maybe it does? 

    
    To use these beads, I employ the melted-monofilament technique to make a pair of eyes on a central stem, which I then mount on the hook in the usual way.
    See the pics below to see what I mean...

Beads stuck together by magnetism

Mono core to be melted with a cigarette lighter.

Mono core melted on both ends

Finished eyes

 

Eyes mounted on hook; dab of nail polish

to finish off.

Complete fly with eyes

    So, why not just use lead eyes? Go ahead if you have them. But I use the hematite beads because they are inexpensive AND readily available at craft and hobby outlets. I also like the self-sufficiency of crafting my own eyes.

    

Fishing The Long Dragon

    The first rule of catching fish is fishing where they are, and we've covered that already.
    The second rule is you must give them something that looks like their usual food, and we've addressed that by mimicking a large aquatic nymph pattern.

    And here's why I go big with these.     My area lakes are full of large dragonfly nymphs. I've found these nymphs over 2" long, so I know the fish will recognize them as tasty food. With 350 species of dragonflies in North America alone, odds are quite good you have big nymphs in YOUR waters, too.     Another possibility is that down in the dim light of deeper water, the Long Dragon may appear like a small crayfish. So without duplicating any one thing, we are covering at least two options with one fly.  

    The nymphs discussed here are either free swimming, or wholly bottom dwelling, and crayfish tend to be down among the rocks. So there's your hint on using the Long Dragon: fish it down near the bottom where deeper water comes right up to shallower feeding areas.

    The beads are pretty heavy so they get down fairly well, and if needed, some extra weight can be added to the leader in the form of tungsten putty, Twist-On weights, or the old-school trick of a small split-shot on a loop at the hook eye.

    With this in mind, two ways to fish the Long Dragon are obvious... 1. First, always look for places where deep water abuts shallow feeding areas. 2. Fish the Long dragon as a slow-ish sinking pattern, tight around the deep side of cover - docks, wood, rocks, weeds.     Count them down, then keep them moving along with small strips and the occasional sharp snap to jig them upwards, like a nymph "jetting" along..., then let them glide back down. 3. Fish them weighted, or on a sinking line, right near the bottom, as crawling/swimming imitations of dragonfly nymphs or crayfish. Again, work them along the edge line between deep water and feeding cover.     The combination of light wire hook and heavy eyes makes the hook point ride up, so they tend to snag a bit less than conventional, hook-down patterns.     I mentioned the split-shot, eye loop method above - here's how to do that.     Tie the fly onto the tippet or line with a large 1" loop at the hook eye, and attach a small split shot to the bottom of the loop. This is less bother than fiddling with a shot dropper

    Then, just use a slow retrieve and keep them moving like they're creeping along near the bottom.

    Bass love a large morsel, too, so I suppose the big Long Dragons will appeal to these gamey fish. I've never targeted bass this way, so I can't honestly say this is a, "bass fly."
But knowing how they love to crash any party, I can't imagine a Long Dragon would fail to get their attention. 

Hematite eyes

Bead chain eyes

Long Dragons, front to back:
small, bead chain eye

Larger, hematite eyes 

    The Long Dragon doesn’t duplicate anything in particular, but in the immortal words of Polly Rosborough, ...”it looks like something a fish would want to eat.”
    And that's really what it's all about.

===== 🐟 =====

Writers should always strive for a job well done... even half-baked ones like me. So if you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it. 

Do you want to add the catching flies seen here to your own fly or tackle box?
Do you have questions, compliments, or suggestions?
If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com

If you appreciate a no-drama, no-hype Facebook group, follow this link and come join us at: 

Palmetto Fly n Fish

Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

Dave Hutton

© All rights reserved, David Hutton/Palmetto Fly N Fish 2024 

Hair Nymphs

April 18, 2024
If you like to write, and you know I do 😁, it is interesting to see something you did from years past. The first reaction is, "Did I write that? That 'aint half bad!"
Then, you're like..."Well, I'm still a hack..., but I like it anyway."
Today, I stumbled over an old post someone revived on the interwebs. I know all that stuff is still out there - somewhere - but it's a kick to see one dredged up.
This one was resurrected today at Panfish on the Fly, where I shared it in 2017.

===== < > =====

       The recent Hair Nymph Crusade here at the salt mines of Palmetto Fly n Fish has yielded this quirky hodgepodge of Franken-flies.

Hair Nymphs

    These are a mix of grey fox, squirrel, a bit of rabbit... and the orange-ish ones are dyed Australian possum, courtesy of Michael Butts.

    Even more interesting, the Aussie possum used was once part of Fran Betters' personal stash. Mike generously parted with a few pieces earlier this year.

    To add still another twist, these are tied mostly in the style of Polly Rosborough's, "Casual Dress."
    So, added up: they are Rosbourough-inspired flies, using fur that was once in Fran Betters' own horde.

    If you don't know who those guys were - shame on you. Get to googlin'!

Hackle Tricks

    Now for a confession: I pretty much suck at the proper, spun hair-loop called for on the collars. That technique has eluded me, mostly because I lack a wax with enough tack and a single hook loop spinner.

The wax is a key part of holding the hair to the thread while the spinning is accomplished. Someday, I'll get the knack for it, Someday.

    But, all is not lost, because I found a workaround that I like better - the reverse hackle method. This has provided the means to make a very nice hackle on these flies, as you can see in the pic. The one at the front, right, is a clear example of that style for attaching the hackle hair.

    It's feels odd to talk of hackle and hair in the same breath, but that's the whole point of this exercise. There isn't a feather in sight with these flies - everything is hair or fur cut from a single skin source.
    This helps making the flies rugged.

    The weird part is that the reverse-hackling method has been on my radar for years, yet, it has always been associated with feathers. But here I have crossed-over the method and adapted it to use hair.

    Learn a technique...then apply it in a new way.
Check. ✅

Tough Flies

    Each fly was also reinforced on the body with a wire rib, either gold or red. This adds a little extra weight to what is intended as a subsurface fly, but mostly it keeps the body's underfur dubbing from getting all raggedy.
    That's another layer of toughness.

    Lastly, these flies are reinforced with head cement at crucial points during the construction -

1. Underbody/hook shank

2. Tail - to - body

3. Hackle attachment

4. Thread wraps at head.

    This glue reinforcement is an old-school tying technique, which seems to have fallen from use. This is a bit of  mystery to me, because everyone seems to want rugged flies that hold together - but they don't use this trick. Maybe they think it's too time consuming; I dunno.

    But for slick, wiry hair, it keeps the stuff from pulling out, and adds the last bit of sturdiness.

FISHING

    Over the few years I've been doing this, I've found that hairy flies with lots of furry busy-ness are magnetic to fish.
- I once tied a wad of hair thrown up by my cat onto a hook - and the panfish went crazy for it. I called it the, "Cat Yak Fly."
- I also did that with a single hackle - just a hook and a hackle. And the result was the same.
    This makes me wonder why we go to the fuss over these flies, when a cat's hairball will do the job.  

    I've also noticed that hairy-fuzzy has become trademark of mine. Everyone has a "style" of their own, and looking in my Fly Box, 7 out 10 flies have this feature. 

    So I just roll with it.

    I have likewise found that "nymphy" flies are also fish magnets. Reviewing my notes, I see that most of by best fish in the last 2 years were caught on something resembling a nymph, or within that class of patterns.

    Today, I'm inclined to call these, "Hair Flymphs."
But whether 'Hair Nymph,' 'Hair Flymph,' or even, 'Hair Ball,' I know these flies will attract and catch the fish. Also, because of the hair-and-glue construction, I can expect they will meet my personal, "5 Fish Caught," Standard of Toughness.

Tight lines, amigos!

===== < > =====

All writers should strive for a job well done, even half baked ones like me. So, if you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it. 

Do you want to add the catching flies seen here to your own fly, or tackle box?
Do you have questions, compliments, or suggestions?
If yes, I'm as close your email me at... dahutist@gmail.com

If you appreciate a no-drama, no-hype Facebook group, follow this link and come join us at: 

Palmetto Fly n Fish

Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

David Hutton

© All rights reserved, David Hutton/Palmetto Fly N Fish 2017/2024 

Rocket Bass Love Shiners

Sunday, March 10, 2024
Gentry Pond, SC
Weather:
- Temps - 66℉, cool
- Strong breeze, 10-15 mph
- Sunny and clear
Water temp: high 40's

    We had a rainy, mixed storm front come through and settle softly over us early yesterday. Last night, though, it pushed out and we got the usual north-westerly winds backing in behind.
The clouds were gone and it was sunny - YAY! - but cool and quite breezy.

    This means I would need to find somewhere on the pond that had three things going for it...

1. It would catch the sun
2. It would offer shelter from the breeze

3. It would have the wind pushing water into it.

    It so happens one of the swims I've been catching fish in lately fits this description exactly.

    So I put on my hip waders and got out in the water. 

    After the usual trial and error learning which flies the fish would take, I settled on 2 old favorites:

The BRIMINATOR - which I've described at great length here....

>>>  BRIMINATOR

The PEACOCK and BROWN - a classic old pattern described here...

>>>  Peacock And Brown

The latter is basically just a fat Peacock herl body with a brown-ginger hackle... a 2 material fly 

People like to call these little guys, "ditch pickles."

But I've been calling them Rocket Bass for so long, it has stuck. 

The way they take off like a rocket when hooked, well... the name is a natural. And they put just enough of a bend in the rod to keep your line tight.

But, they aren't just jumping on every fly I throw at them.

Surface flies are a total waste, right now. And either they're selective with the subsurface patters, or they are moving in and out of the shallows and it takes time for them to cycle back around to the swim where I'm fishing. It might be both, because smaller and darker patterns seem to the be all they WILL take right now.

This was a surprise - Red Fin Shiner

They're not unusual or rare, I just wasn't expecting one and certainly not one that size.

The bass all seem well fed in this pond, and Mr. Shiner may go some way towards explaining why. It also suggests a diverse forage base and fish population, which could prove interesting as the season progresses.  

It also makes me think that somewhere out in the deeper water, there's a bass bigger than the 1 and 2 pound versions I've seen so far.

The season is changing, The first blooms are here and the fish are on the move. Let them know you are on the job.

===== 🐟 =====

Even half-baked writers like me should strive for a job well done. If you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it. 

Do you want to add the catching flies seen here to your own fly, or tackle box?
Do you have questions, compliments, or suggestions?
If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com

If you appreciate a no-drama, no-hype Facebook group, follow this link and come join us at: 

Palmetto Fly n Fish

Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

David Hutton

© All rights reserved, David Hutton/Palmetto Fly N Fish 2024 

 

Carp – The Most Loved, Hated Fish In The World

"CARP" 

    That name evinces some strong emotions. 

- If you're from the Western World, especially North America, the name just might make you cringe.
- If you're from Asia, Russia or Japan, your emotions probably border on reverence for the carp.

    The fact is, most people either love them or hate them, all depending on where one is from. 

Scientific Stuff

    Carp belong to a family of fishes known as 'Cyprinidae,' or more commonly, 'cyprinids.' This family includes the carps, the true minnows, the barbs and barbels, and their many relatives. There are 3,000 known cyrinid species, with1,270 of these still in existence. Nearly all are freshwater species, with a few inhabiting marine environments

    This makes Cyprinidae the largest and most diverse family of fishes on the planet, and the largest vertebrate animal family overall. They range from some of the smallest vertebrates known (1/2"), to the huge, "giant barb," at nearly 10 feet in length.
The family name is derived from the Ancient Greek kyprînos (κυπρῖνος, "carp").
    Cyprinids are found as native species in North America, Africa, Europe, Eurasia, and Asia proper. The common carp with which most anglers are familiar, Cyprinus carpio, is native to the Danube basin in Eastern Europe. But it has been transplanted into the U.S.... and pretty much everywhere else in the world. This has helped to make carp the most widely distributed freshwater fish in the world.
    It is this species which is generally most important to anglers, and so it's the one to keep in mind as we progress.

Unique Physical Attributes

    Cyprinids have no stomach, and their jaws are toothless. 
To ingest their food, they break it down by using gill rakers, specialized gill structures at the back of their throats. The familiar pumpkinseed and shellcracker sunfishes do the same thing.
These pharyngeal "teeth" allow the fish to make chewing motions against a hard plate formed by a bony process of the skull.
    In short, we chew our food in the front of our mouths; carp do it in the rear.

    Their feeding strategy is simple:

1. Suck in whatever might be food with their prehensile mouth
2. Spit out what they don't like, or don't recognize
3. Pulverize what they DO want before swallowing. 

    These strong pharyngeal teeth allow fish such as the common carp to eat hard foods such as snails and bivalve mollusks. The pharyngeal “teeth” are also unique to each species and are used by scientists to identify species.

    Hearing is a well-developed sense in the cyprinids, and it can rightly be called their primary sensory method.
In their heads, they possess structures called, “Weberian ossicles,” which are three specialized outcroppings of vertebrae. These bones are attached to the gas bladder and transfer motion within the bladder to the inner ear.
Thus, the air bladder picks up sounds in the water, sending them directly to the ear. You can think of it as a built-in microphone and amplifier. 
    Now you know why its hard to sneak up on these fish.

    The cyprinids are also able to gulp atmospheric air to fill the gas bladder. This means they can breathe air from above the water to a limited degree, although this is more pronounced in some species than others.

Breeding

    All fish in this family are prolific egg-layers, and most do not guard their eggs. They mature within 1-3 years – and the females produce large numbers of sticky eggs in the Spring (up to 1.5 million for a 6 kg fish).
    She deposits her legion of eggs on plants or detritus, usually in shallow water, and the males fertilize them immediately.
The eggs hatch four to eight days later.

    Most eggs and larvae die before they ever reach adulthood, which is good, because there would be WAY more carp than already exists if they lived!
    But to offset this high mortality rate, carp make up for it with sheer numbers. Floods seem to provide especially favorable conditions for carp breeding as well as abundant food for juveniles. This may help explain why carp experience population explosions following large floods.

    Under captive conditions, carp may live more than 40 years. They average about 14-20 inches in length, and several pounds. However, when managed for longevity and growth, they may grow to more than 40 inches and 50 pounds.

    In winter the carp becomes torpid, retires to the bottom, and stops feeding.

Feeding
    Cyprinids, as a whole, can be found feeding mainly on invertebrates and vegetation at the bottom of the water in which they live. This makes sense since they mostly lack the teeth and stomach of other fishes. However, some carp species, like the yellowfish of Africa, or the mahseer of India, are predatory in the main.
    Many "regular" species, too, like the rudd, or our friend the common carp, will prey on small fish when individuals become large enough.

    But by and large, carp are mostly grazers of the bottom, something like cattle or hogs. It is this tendency that most carp anglers take advantage of when catching them. Nonetheless, they also take a wide variety of foods, as Nature provides.
    Everything from fallen mulberries, to both aquatic and terrestrial insects of every kind are on the menu. Carp are also eager to take most small critters like frogs, crayfish, and small fish. To say they are opportunistic feeders is no understatement.

    Some cyprinids, such as the grass carp, are specialized herbivores; others eat algae and biofilms, some specialize in snails, and still others are specialized filter feeders.
    For this reason, specific cyprinids are often introduced as a management tool to control various factors in the aquatic environment, such as aquatic vegetation, or diseases transmitted by snails.
    They are also adept at living in shallow, algae choked eutrophic lakes..., where they exacerbate the problem by eating the creatures that feed on the algae. Often, outright removal of the carp is the best way to clarify the water. 

    At the same time, we must address the elephant in the room - the carp can have a negative impact on the environment by its presence.
    Its habit of rooting around the floor of a body of water increases the turbidity (muddiness) of water, which in turn reduces the ability of predator fish, such as pike or walleye, to see their prey.
    This also reduces the amount of sunlight received by plants in the water, which stunts their growth - sometimes significantly.
    Once the plants are impacted, so to are the species that depend on those plants for food, cover, and spawning areas.
    Due to their prolific breeding, carp can quickly crowd out other fish with their numbers, as well. Thus, the health of numerous small lakes and fisheries has suffered from the presence of the carp.

Food For People
    Carp, despite their typically bad press in the West, remain highly important food fish to human populations around the world.

    They have been domesticated and reared as food fish across Europe and Asia for thousands of years.
    In China, this has been pursued for at least 2,400 years, as evidenced by a tract by Fan Li, from the fifth century BC. In this work, he details many of the ways carp were raised in ponds.
    The Romans built special ponds in which to raise common carp near the delta of the Danube River in Romania, and they in turn spread the fish throughout Europe. 
    In Austria, during the 1700's, the Schwarzenberg princes maintained 20,000 acres of carp ponds. 

    But, as the Industrial Revolution and its accompanying higher standards of living took hold, a wide variety of fish species became more readily available for the table. Thus, the demand for carp and its culture in Western Europe and North America has fallen off. 
Fish such as oceanic fish, and farm- raised trout and salmon are now preferred.

    However, outside of these regions, carp production in ponds is still a major form of aquaculture in Central and Eastern Europe, Mesopotamia, and the Russian Federation, where most of the production comes from small-scale ponds.

    In Eastern Europe, they are often prepared with traditional methods such as drying and salting. In recent decades, canned and dried processing, and the appearance of affordable frozen fish products has made the carp a less important food fish than in earlier times.
    Nonetheless, in certain places, they still remain popular for food, as well as for recreational fishing, and have been deliberately stocked in ponds and lakes for centuries for this reason.
    
    In Asia, the farming of carp continues to handily surpass the total volume of sea-caught and ocean farmed species, such as salmon and tuna. 
    The various species of carp raised for food in land-locked countries, in particular, are often the major species of fish eaten. They grow fast, large, and convert feed efficiently, making management outside of fast-flowing rivers common.
In fact, "masgouf," a marinated, fire-grilled carp is considered the national dish of Iraq!

    Several cyprinids have been deliberately introduced to waters outside their natural ranges to provide food, sport, or biological control for some pest species.

    For example, the common carp was selected for introduction into the United States, en masse, starting in 1877. It was specifically chosen as a food fish, to help stave off the sharp decline of native fish stocks after a century of intense exploitation. Basically, we had eaten up the native fishes, as our population expanded, and we need a replacement.
    Under Ulysses S. Grant, the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries began an intensive effort of carp cultivation and by the end of the 19th century, the fish was found pretty much everywhere. Ironically, the same Industrial Revolution that changed the face of Europe had taken root here, and we suddenly shunned the carp as food as the 20th Century came in.
    Today, there remains a strong prejudice against them in the U.S., even as the carp teem happily wherever they are found

    Grass carp are another species cultivated for food, primarily in China. But they have been introduced in Europe and the United States for aquatic weed control, eating up to three times their body weight daily in freshwater vegetation. 1963 marks the year the species this dal purpose species was first imported into the U.S., from Taiwan and Malaysia. It is still stocked in many states as an effective biocontrol for undesirable aquatic vegetation.

    Most of these fish are sterile, triploid-chromosome fish which cannot reproduce. However, similar fecund species have gotten into our native waters and are growing in numbers, threatening the watersheds of the Great Lakes..., and the lakes themselves.

    Ironically, the greatest promise for keeping carp numbers in check in our native waters hearkens back to when carp was considered a great, renewable food source. What I mean is, if we again cultivate a taste for them, and a market to fill the demand, we can both feed a nation and provide a check upon their population.

The Anglers Friend
    Around the world, carp are popular target species for anglers, especially for match fishing, due to their size and numbers. The common carp, Cyprinus carpio, is particularly favored because of its size and strength.

    In 1653 Izaak Walton wrote in, “The Compleat Angler...,

"The Carp is the queen of rivers; a stately, a good, and a very subtle fish; that was not at first bred, nor hath been long in England, but is now naturalized."

    In Europe, even when not fished for food, they are eagerly sought by anglers, being considered highly prized coarse fish that are difficult to hook.

    The UK has a thriving carp angling market. It is the fastest growing angling market in the UK, and has spawned a number of specialized carp angling publications and informative carp angling web sites.    

    In the United States, carp are also classified as a rough fish, but have long suffered from a poor reputation in the United States as "trash fish" - undesirable for angling or for the table. They are also viewed as damaging to native and naturalized species, although with some grudgingly accepted sporting qualities.

    Nonetheless, many states' departments of natural resources are beginning to view the carp as an angling fish instead of a maligned pest.
    Groups such as The American Carp Society, and the Carp Anglers Group promote the sport and work with fisheries departments to organize events and others to the unique opportunity the carp offers freshwater anglers.

The Future
    With the expansion of our population, and more an more people getting into angling, there must be a review at some point of what fish we manage and make available.
    With all the good points offered by carp, and with the bad ones managed well, it may be that the common carp is the next American sportfishing phenomenon. There are already some inroads along these lines, and me personally, I don't think it can come too soon.

---- < > ----

Writers should always strive for a job well done... even half-baked ones like me. So if you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it. 

Do you want to add the catching flies seen here to your own fly or tackle box?
Do you have questions, compliments, or suggestions?
If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com

If you appreciate a no-drama, no-hype Facebook group, follow this link and come join us at: 

Palmetto Fly n Fish

Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

David Hutton

© All rights reserved, David Hutton/Palmetto Fly N Fish 2024