David Merical's Blog (3)

I took my son fishing last night, while my daughter was at choir practice.



He's been actually WANTING to fish lately! Hooray! :thumbsup:



So, I rigged up his ultralight with a tiny lead-head fly I had tied up, and put it about 1.5'-2.0' under a bobber. After just a few clumsy casts, he started really chucking it out there FAR. But actually his clumsy casts caught all his fish. On cast #1, he caught a 9" Hybrid Sunfish!! 2nd cast...a decent bluegill (for that pond), and then… Continue

As this isn't about bluegills or sunfish...but about another of those colorful "panfish", I apologize ahead of time if this isn't entirely appropriate. Don't read further if you'll be offended.



These are of the European Yellow Perch which is a closely related but separate species (depending on the source) to the yellow perch found in North America. But these things can grow large. One record I saw said the fish was 23.6"!! I don't recall the weight, but apparently up to and possibly… Continue

(I'd written this earlier this year and had it published on the Fly Anglers Online website.)



An unusually long and frosty winter made the ice stick around on the lakes and ponds here in central Iowa much longer than normal. Still, by April 1, the bluegills were starting to hit flies in the newly-thawed water.



I had tied up some “FishnDave’s Flashback” flies. I like this simple pattern for early season stained waters, but have found they work all season long, even in clear… Continue