Pretentious Snobby Bastard Fly Fishing!

Fly Fishing Reports => Local Trip Reports => Topic started by: Woolly Bugger on April 15, 2012, 04:45:19 AM

Title: Smith River Recon
Post by: Woolly Bugger on April 15, 2012, 04:45:19 AM

tomato can, gamatt53, phyphisher and I did a recon float on the lower Smith Saturday.


I spent the morning organizing the fly boxes and sipping coffee at Krankies.

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I not entirely sure who organized this but I got a call from phyfisher last week, not one to turn down any fishing invite I signed up. The plan was to meed at the lauch at noon and fish our way down river to the Smith River Sports Complex (https://www.smithriversportscomplex.com/), yea I didn't know there was a "Sports Complex" in Martinsville either. Now both the launch and take out have ramps down to the water but both of them are blocked with a locked post in the center of the lane.  b'; Not sure what the rational behind that is. But, with a little lifting and toting we got tomato can's raft and gamatt53's Bi-Yak down to the water.

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The day had started off cloudy and cool, but as soon as we began the drift the sun came out, the sky cleared and the temps soared.

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Fishing was a little on the slow side, but phyphisher got a one to roll early on and anther bump in a spot where gamatt and he got out to wade. Mostly the water is deep slow pools but there are occasional rapids and a number of good wading opportunities on the first half of the float. One of the cool features of the Bi-Yak is that the pontoons hold four, yes, four coolers and gamatt took advantage of that by taking along some Dale's Pale Ale  0:0

About half way through the float, after I had changed to a yellow articulated fly, I got an eat. The fly was down about three feet or so and I was stripping slowly when the brown trout came up from the depths and hammered the fly.

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Since we weren't sure how long it was going to take or exactly how far we had come, we pushed on downstream.

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A few sulfurs were popping off and we saw a couple of fish rise, but overall there weren't a lot of bugs on the water. phyphisher was checking rocks for nymphs when he found these eggs. We figured  Mudwall might know what they are.

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We got to the take out around 7:30 and by the time we got everything loaded up it was headed toward dusk.

Good times, it was great meeting a couple more BRFFFers and now that we know a little more about the Smith we may end up doing it again!

 -0- -0-



Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: tomato can on April 15, 2012, 07:02:47 AM
Good times gentlemen.  I can still picture that brown charging that yellow fliy in my own highlite reel.  Still stunned at how beautiful the Smith was through that section. Once again, Plyphisher and I stopped to get something to eat and HE left his wallet at home.  That boy can EAT and run up a TAB.   I got home around 11:00 pm and The One Who Must Be Obeyed was still up and wondered why I did not call....
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: Big J on April 15, 2012, 07:33:31 AM
Looks like you all had a good time.  Nice brown woolly. 

Tomato Can, hopefully your wife wasn't too upset....Because I do believe the smallie action on the James is picking up.....and I get off work at 5 on Monday Wednesday and Friday.......  8)
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: Woolly Bugger on April 15, 2012, 07:53:20 AM
Quote from: tomato can on April 15, 2012, 07:02:47 AM
Once again, Plyphisher and I stopped to get something to eat and HE left his wallet at home.  That boy can EAT and run up a TAB.   

now, I'm really glad you didn't take me up on my offer to drive him back...
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: Mudwall Gatewood 3.0 on April 15, 2012, 08:16:10 AM
Sorry boys, I don't have any idea on the eggs.  My guess would be snails. 
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: phlyfisher on April 15, 2012, 09:42:08 AM
Quote from: tomato can on April 15, 2012, 07:02:47 AM
Good times gentlemen.  I can still picture that brown charging that yellow fliy in my own highlite reel.  Still stunned at how beautiful the Smith was through that section. Once again, Plyphisher and I stopped to get something to eat and HE left his wallet at home.  That boy can EAT and run up a TAB.   I got home around 11:00 pm and The One Who Must Be Obeyed was still up and wondered why I did not call....

whooaaa now, my wallet was in the back of the car, i seem to remmember someone not letting me get out to retrieve it  b'; again like i siad, your just digging yourself into getting a really expensive bottle of likker, ask petey he knows. had a great time, hope to do it again very soon  -0- next time i think the honey hole is in order
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: Mudwall Gatewood 3.0 on April 15, 2012, 10:22:47 AM
Nope, I don't think they are snail eggs.  I think they are attached fish eggs (Dace, Darter, or ?).
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: phlyfisher on April 15, 2012, 10:43:12 AM
Quote from: Mudwall Gatewood on April 15, 2012, 10:22:47 AM
Nope, I don't think they are snail eggs.  I think they are attached fish eggs (Dace, Darter, or ?).

whatever they were im pretty sure woolly used them to catch that fish. i saw him ripping apart some mesh and filling them up with something yellow  :-\.
by the way woolly, that brown he looks more 14-16" to me  :-*



Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: Woolly Bugger on April 15, 2012, 11:49:56 AM
Quote from: phlyfisher on April 15, 2012, 10:43:12 AM
Quote from: Mudwall Gatewood on April 15, 2012, 10:22:47 AM
Nope, I don't think they are snail eggs.  I think they are attached fish eggs (Dace, Darter, or ?).

whatever they were im pretty sure woolly used them to catch that fish. i saw him ripping apart some mesh and filling them up with something yellow  :-\.
by the way woolly, that brown he looks more 14-16" to me  :-*


naw, it was streamside measured....

jis say'in
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: Holmes on April 15, 2012, 14:33:33 PM
Really expensive bottle of liquor, mclovin? You got that 350 ml of hennessey with that fake I.D. fo 10 dollars.

When we goin fishin?
Holla i got da ride,
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Quote from: phlyfisher on April 15, 2012, 09:42:08 AM
Quote from: tomato can on April 15, 2012, 07:02:47 AM
Good times gentlemen.  I can still picture that brown charging that yellow fliy in my own highlite reel.  Still stunned at how beautiful the Smith was through that section. Once again, Plyphisher and I stopped to get something to eat and HE left his wallet at home.  That boy can EAT and run up a TAB.   I got home around 11:00 pm and The One Who Must Be Obeyed was still up and wondered why I did not call....

whooaaa now, my wallet was in the back of the car, i seem to remmember someone not letting me get out to retrieve it  b'; again like i siad, your just digging yourself into getting a really expensive bottle of likker, ask petey he knows. had a great time, hope to do it again very soon  -0- next time i think the honey hole is in order
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: benben reincarnated on April 15, 2012, 17:26:50 PM
Dats' some good chit Woolly.    'c;



Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: Woolly Bugger on April 15, 2012, 17:32:08 PM
[attach=1]

this is the fly he ate....
:o -0- -+; V:; /"\ d:b
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: gamatt53 on April 15, 2012, 19:12:03 PM
I enjoyed it gentlemen was nice to check out a new to me section of river and finally put some faces to handles.
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: Woolly Bugger on April 15, 2012, 19:21:09 PM
Quote from: gamatt53 on April 15, 2012, 19:12:03 PM
I enjoyed it gentlemen was nice to check out a new to me section of river and finally put some faces to handles.

for sure, Tomato Can looks nothing like his Avatar
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: FoulHook on April 15, 2012, 20:06:41 PM
Phillies?  p;-
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: Transylwader on April 15, 2012, 22:12:54 PM
Looks like everyone went fishing this weekend. Good stuff fellas.  8)
But...

Hold it...




{S;
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: tomato can on April 16, 2012, 15:59:48 PM
Faces and avatars don't mix - Yeah I am uglier.


BTW,   Plyphisher said "whooaaa now, my wallet was in the back of the car, i seem to remmember someone not letting me get out to retrieve it"  well you weren't exactly jumping' out of the truck to retrieve the durn thing. 
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: Dougfish on April 16, 2012, 17:19:45 PM
Good stuff, peckerheads.  {S;
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: kylemc on April 17, 2012, 08:37:16 AM
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The Nut Butter! One of my favorites of all time. Good to see you not throwing an 18' leader of 6 times Woolly. Get you off those damn midges yet we will.

The biyack has me mesmorized. never seen one. more pics please. I have an assload of questions about that rig!
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: gamatt53 on April 17, 2012, 14:15:28 PM
Quote from: kylemc on April 17, 2012, 08:37:16 AM
The biyack has me mesmorized. never seen one. more pics please. I have an assload of questions about that rig!

The company that made them went OB a few years ago. You can still dig up their website on the wayback archives. They were pretty expensive and if I had to guess the market just wasn't there when you could get a raft or used drift boat for the same price. Course I didn't pay anywhere near what they sold for new.

http://web.archive.org/web/20040803184702/http://www.biyak.net/popular_configurations.htm (http://web.archive.org/web/20040803184702/http://www.biyak.net/popular_configurations.htm)

I have a couple more pics of it over here.

http://www.brfff.com/forum/index.php/topic,9825.0.html (http://www.brfff.com/forum/index.php/topic,9825.0.html)
Looks like TX. bashed it pretty hard on Wooly's report on the drake boards but it honestly sounded like his was just a lemon. I have felt nothing but safe in it so far and it was definitly used a bit before it came into my hands. You would have to really fuck up to punch a hole in a quarter inch thick rotomolded hull.
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: Woolly Bugger on April 17, 2012, 14:24:53 PM
Quote from: kylemc on April 17, 2012, 08:37:16 AM
[img]
The biyack has me mesmorized. never seen one. more pics please. I have an assload of questions about that rig!

I can see it now, 0ne cooler full of jager, another full of red bull and the last two filled with Coors Light!
Title: Re: Smith River Recon
Post by: Woolly Bugger on January 19, 2021, 19:36:05 PM
bump