Small Stream WW flyfishing

[dc410]

I was out one evening this past week looking for some carp to get a shot at. It was a very hot and humid evening. The water level was back down and the water had cleared up considerably over the past few days which made the carpin' very challenging. I was sneaking along the edge of the creek trying to spot some carp using the burn hazel as cover. The burn hazel has seemed to grow to record heights just like many of the crops have this summer. I really couldn't tell which seemed higher that evening - the streamside vegetation or the humidity. I did manage to stick two carp at extremely close range through the vegetation but what really had me side tracked tonight was the large rocks on the bottom of the creek that I could see because of the unusual clarity of the water. The little smallies and various makes and models of sunfish were just stacked up all around this structure and just couldn't resist a fly presented anywhere around these rocks. I had a blast catching some of the prettiest little sunnies. I really am amazed at the color that some of these fish have. There are so many species of fish to target out there while WW flyfishing and the smaller streams are producing very well this summer.

 

[jifigz]

Nice. I love messing with the many abundant sunfish species. Those pumpkinseeds are as beautiful as any fish, and redbreast sunnies are always a blast from a warm water stream/river. What species is the last picture? Sometimes ID-ing sunfish species can be a little tricky. It kind of looks like a redear.

 

[jifigz]

Actually that last picture is just a female pumpkinseed, right?

 

[dc410]

jifigz wrote:
Actually that last picture is just a female pumpkinseed, right?

I'm thinking that the last three photos are all pumpkinseeds. However, I'm not real sure about the last one either. When I think about species of sunfish in this particular creek over the years the large percentage of them have been Redbreasts and Greenies, I never saw many pumpkinseeds or Bluegills.

 

[Swattie87]

My guess on the bottom one from appearance alone is a Redbreast x Green hybrid, which seems the most likely hybrid to occur in that stream based on your angling experience. All very nice fish.

 

[Bart]

Love those pics. The second pumpkin seed has a digital pattern throughout its body. Pretty cool.

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

Cool report. I have a 2 weight that I use for small warmer streams. I fish my mothers property all the time. The stream does hold some smallmouth but they are all 9" or under mostly. With a light enough rod and the right fly you can have just as much fun catchin small fish.