Palmetto Fly N' Fish: Larry Koon Landing

Larry Koon Landing - A Foto Montage

June 10, 2018

I was so happy with the clear water of my last trip that I wanted to keep the ball rolling. I chose a public boat landing, one I've been to many times before.

The first time I visited Larry Koon Landing it was to do some water metal detecting. That went pretty bad, as the substrate here is hard rock. This means there's no way to scoop up any treasure, even if you did find it.

And we didn't.

In more recent times, Larry Koon landing has been the launch site for a number of fishing junkets around Lake Murray's mid-lake area, and especially the islands which are just a mile or two out from the ramps.

I knew the place.
I examined my hydrographic maps.
I scouted with Google Earth satellite.
I was ready to get out there.

The flies I was taking out. Usually I have 4-5 small boxes of flies; this time I brought just a sampling.

Weeds everywhere. This stuff blanketed the area around the ramp and you really had to work around it - and be patient with all the hanging up.

More weeds, more weeds, more weeds.

The skunk buster - first fish. Small red breast.
Caught on a Pheasant Hornberg Soft Hackle (seen beneath the anal fin.)

Red Breast on a James Woods Bucktail

Among the weeds near shore, I had noticed several bedding areas. They were obvious - their round, light colored shapes stood out from the darker bottom. They had a fish or two hanging around, but they seemed to be attracted more by the oddity of the beds. There were no obvious fish guarding nests; the ones I saw were not clean, but had collected the usual detritus in them.

Then I happened upon a large bush overhanging the back of a tiny cove. I cast back towards the tree, and my fly was immediately slammed by a large bluegill. This fish wasn't playing; he snatched the #10 Muddler HARD.

I was about ready to put him on the reel... And that's how the next 8 fish went.

Cast out towards the spot, and either they would tear the fly right off the surface or it would move a few feet and get nailed.

Once the bite slowed I finned over to the spot and saw 10 or so active nests, and several others that were obviously abandoned. Its about a month passed the peak breeding period, but bluegill will nest several times throughout the season.... so I eased off and left them to it.