Outdoor Guide
Page 18
May-June 2022
Topwater fly fishing can be addictive
By TERRY AND ROXANNE WILSON Dew glistened in the first rays of morning light in contrast to the water, which appeared foreboding, dark and mysterious. The stillness was shattered by the noisy splashing of surface feeding bass, and our strides toward the source hastened. Our deer-hair popper lit with a splat in a pocket of lily pads, causing miniature shock waves to alert the subsurface world to its presence. A twitch of the rod tip caused a gurgling lurch of the brightly colored puff of deer hair before it disappeared as the pond bottom exploded with the violent strike of a largemouth bass. Time stopped as the battle raged until the assailant was subdued, admired and released. Be forewarned: Topwater fly fishing for largemouth bass is addictive. Everything about the largemouth bass lends itself to
indulging the dry-fly soul of fly fishers, from the explosive strike to the visible fight that is often waged above the water’s surface. Their eyes are located nearly on the top of their heads. So the bass’s natural inclination is to search above its position for a meal. This aggressive, ambush predator’s cavernous mouth and extensive menu remove selectivity from the fishing equation. Our weapons of choice are 7-, 8- and 9-weight rods. We need a strong fighting butt to wrench big bass out of heavy cover, and our large, wind-resistant surface flies require big rods with bass taper floating lines to deliver them efficiently. Leaders tapered to tippets of 8- to 16-pound test balance the delivery system. POPPERS AND FLOATER/DIVERS We use various popper types, colors, sizes and materials, and a selection of floater/ divers to fill our topwater
Flies like this Hula Diver are must-haves for the spring and summer flybox. – RoxanneWilson photo
A twitch of the rod tip might be all you need to make the story of the summer. – Roxanne Wilson photo
bass boxes. Poppers with cupped faces create surface disturbances, which imitate struggling prey, triggering the predator’s instinct to search them out and attack. Yet, the cup faces cause the movements without allowing the flies to advance very far across the water’s surface. This is a decided advantage when fishing small pockets in weeds and moss. Whatever your material of choice, try these poppers in sizes 2/0 through 4/0. If the largemouth waters of choice contain strong-stemmed weed growth, such as milfoil or lilies, the addition of weed guards will save lots of aggravation. White, yellow and chartreuse are our favorite popper colors because they are easily seen by the bass as
well as the fly fisher. Floater/divers are another class of flies that seduce bass from the water’s surface. These flies float at rest but are fashioned with a sloping head that enables them to be pulled under the water a few inches, then pop back to the surface when line tension is released. Their effectiveness can be traced to the appearance of vulnerability created as a hapless creature tries to swim but cannot go far before coming to rest again. Also, floater/divers provide a more visual target to the bass even when wind makes a choppy water surface. MUDDLER TO HULA DIVER Six decades ago, Don Gapen described the effectiveness
of fishing his creation, the Muddler Minnow, by dressing the deer-hair head with floatant, then pulling them under before allowing them to resurface. It took another 20 years before Larry Dahlberg clipped deer hair to form the sloping-style head that now bears his name. Once again, cork, foam strips and deer hair have been used to create buoyant heads for these flies, while a variety of tailing materials, such as strands of tinsel, rabbit strip, feathers, craft hair and rubber hackle are utilized to provide flash and action. Using the same principle, we tie Sili Legs tails onto a clipped deer-hair head, resulting in a fly we call “Hula Diver.” Those tantalizing legs continue to wiggle after the fly returns to the surface. We favor bi-colored deer hair in yellow/orange and chartreuse/ red on a size 2 Tiemco 8089 hook. Floater/divers can be fished successfully in a variety of ways. One of our favorite
retrieves involves a strip to pull the fly under, followed by moving the rod tip in the same direction at an accelerated pace before releasing the tension. This technique is designed to simulate distressed prey desperately trying to escape. Predators such as largemouth bass are stimulated to attack by the possibility of the prey’s escape. THE DRY-FLY SOUL Weed lines, especially pockets in the weeds, can provide excellent targets for surface flies, as can wood structure such as downed trees, brush, and docks. Target the shady side of these structures for the best results. As summer progresses and waters warm, fish early mornings when the surface is coolest after the long night. It’s easy to understand why generations of bass aficionados have become enamored by the explosive surface strike of largemouth bass. It satisfies the dry-fly soul in all of us.
Generations of fishermen have become enamored with the surface strike of largemouth bass. – Roxanne Wilson photo
Minnesota tribes’ protected fishing returns Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Each spring, Native American tribal members in Minnesota preserve their cultural heritage while providing a vital food source for tribal communities by harvesting fish through netting and spearing. This legally protected, regulated harvest of fish usually begins in mid-April at ice-out. With the tribal spring harvest season underway, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) expressed support for tribal members exercising their harvest rights within the 1837 Ceded Territory and within reservation boundaries. The 1837 treaty reserves
to tribal members the right to hunt and fish in the ceded territory, free of state regulation. WALLEYE UNDER TREATY The DNR reminded state residents that it is illegal to interfere or attempt to interfere with tribal members exercising treaty rights, including the spring harvesting of walleye. “As we look forward to warmer spring weather and ice-out, we are taking the important step of expressing the DNR’s continued support of tribal fish harvests,” DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen said. “These activities are sustainably managed and profoundly important to Native American communities.” The tribal harvest within
the 1837 Ceded Territory is regulated by the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. Every season, both the state and tribes agree on the amount of fish that can be harvested, based on the long-term health of the resource. Each tribe then declares to the DNR how many of each species of fish they intend to harvest from each lake in each ceded territory.
“The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is looking forward to the spring harvest to exercise our treaty rights to hunt, fish and gather,” Fond du Lac Chairman Kevin Dupuis Sr. said “Collectively, with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, we look forward to preserving this important cultural, natural and
economic resource for future generations.” EACH FISH IS COUNTED Harvest begins shortly after the ice melts, with fishing permits issued by the tribes to their members. Each fish – whether harvested by spear or net – is counted individually and recorded for data used in fishery management, including lake-by-lake determinations of when the year’s declared harvest is reached and further harvest is closed for the year. “The Band’s harvest of fish in the ceded territory is a right that was retained and guaranteed by the 1837 Treaty and affirmed by the courts,” Mille Lacs Band Commis-
sioner of Natural Resources Kelly Applegate said. “Our ancestors knew the importance of the rights to hunt, fish and gather resources to preserve our culture into the future.” Tribal members follow conservation codes set forth by the governing bodies of their nations for harvest within reservation boundaries. It is illegal to interfere or attempt to interfere with tribal members who are exercising treaty rights, including the spring harvest of walleye. Prohibited conduct against any tribal member includes, but is not limited to: stalking, obstructing access to lakes, recklessly operating watercraft, creating hazardous wakes, threatening violence or committing acts of violence.
