Soon to be favorite?

I revisited Poplar Creek this past weekend, and it turned out to be an even better outing than the first. There were 3 of this time - HH, Danny, and myself. HH and I decided that we should check out another stretch, so, we went to a stretch closer to the Fox with hope of finding bigger fish. I was not a fan of this stretch at all. The water was slow moving, no riffles, very merky, and just frustrating. HH and Danny were using light gear with some inline spinners, and managed to catch a few decent smallies, and 1 largemouth. I had my new 3 wt with me, but I wasn't able to hook up with anything on the first stretch...hence my frustration.

So, we picked up and left. Driving to the stretch HH and I fished last week. We didn't even bother taking our waders off...It was quite comical.

We arrived to the first spot, and were immediatly greeted on our first cast. I hooked up with a bluegill, and HH found a nice smallie. The rest of the day was simply, awesome. HH and Danny were hooking up with some decent sized smallies. All of the smallies that I caught & released were small, and definitly not like the one I caught last week. Although, I wasn't able to find bigger smallies, I was rewarded with 19 small ones. What a day!

I love this creek! It's quickly becoming one of my favorite places to fish.

Custom 3 WT Rod

FSA Custom Rods recently finished a 3 wt build for me. I have been using it the past 3 outings to my local lake, and I am in love...and so are the bluegill. I really love the silver wraps that FSA put on this rod. It really makes the rod pop and stand out without it being over the top.

I originally bought a titanium Orvis Access Mid Arbor 1 reel, and it looked gorgeous on the rod, but unfortunatly, I had to return it. The reel was just too heavy for the light set up...Something I didn't think about when making the purchase. I was just excited that it matched the rod so well. I ended up purchasing the new Battenkill 2 classic click and pawl reel. This reel is so light! It balances the rod perfectly when lined up and ready to go. It doesn't look all that bad on the rod, either.

Here are the specs
- 6'6" 3 wt Allen Fly Fishing xA rod blank
- Struble D2 down locking reel seat with a burle wood insert
- Fuji Alconite ring stripping guide
- Hopkins & Holloway tip top
- Hopkins & Holloway snake guides

The action on the rod is fast, and I'm diggin it! It's been interesting getting use to how this rod casts, with it being 6'6" (I normally use an Orvis Access 8'6" 5 wt). It's been handling some very big bluegill without a problem, and I have been having an absolute blast!

All caught with my new rod

New Waters - Poplar Creek

This past Saturday my best friend (We'll name him "HH") and I went out to explore new water. Another friend was generous enough to provide me with 3 places to park and access Poplar Creek. Poplar Creek feeds into the Fox River, so, HH and I were on the hunt for smallmouth bass.

Pretty cool rusted bike frame set up on the side of the creek.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting the creek to be as nice as it was. As we waded, I often forgot that I was, where I was.

Within the first 10 minutes I saw a flash in the riffle I casted to, and after a few casts I changed the wooly bugger from a size 6 to a size 8. The outcome of the switch was "Fish on!" I had my first smallie of the year! After a few more casts provided 2 creek chubs. The day went on to be a great outing. HH was using a light baitcasting set up with an inline spinner, and he was hooking up with smallies left and right.

The nicest fish of the day came to me by surprise. I seriously thought I snagged my fly on something, until, my rod bent and the fish started hauling ass down stream pulling some line from me...I thought Oh $h*t! It turned out to be a 2lb bronzeback beauty queen! I wasn't expecting a smallie that size in the creek. I'm still pumped up about it!

You know how when you're fishing, and you lose track of time...Well, it happens. I looked at my phone and thought...damn, and we have to walk back. I couldn't believe that 5 hours had passed. We both forgot to bring a snack and were starving.

On the wade back to the car. Both of us were just falling apart. We were starving and exhausted. HH took a quick dip when he lost his footing, and we laughed about it. Soon after that, my body started to give, and I fell on my side with my knee hitting some rocks...then not 10 minutes after that I fell again. I wish I was 18 again haha. My legs were shot.

We caught a few more fish on the trek back to the car, and discussed a game plan for next time....bring food, and not walk/wade so far next time.

End of the day totals
HH - 11 or 12 smallies
Myself - 8 smallies, 7 bluegill, and 6 creek chubs