Stormy fall angling in Pa.

[Zig]

The rain set in here in southern Pa on Friday afternoon. Saturday morning we received the cancellation calls from the soccer coach, followed very closely by the afternoon baseball game cancellation.
Both were ok by myself, as that merely opened up quite a few hours to get some work done. Sunday morning greeted us with more showers, and passing downpours - so more time open.
One can only work with lure making so long before it gets the best of them, so I made the announcement that I was heading out for a few hours to walk around a local lake with a fishing rod. GZ was on my heels before I even made the door.
"Get some boots on and your raingear, we may get wet." was the only direction he needed.
We started the day walking halfway around Lake Williams, which is supplied by overflow from our home lake - Redman.
Using hair jigs, micro nymphs, and micro chenilles fished under slip floats turned very few responses for us.
GZ chased the skunk with a small crappie that took a 1/100oz. nymph:

A few hundred yards later I found a collection of small gills and this big mouthed fellow that were willing to take an all black chennille jig:

The quantity and quality just wasn't worth the time we were putting in, so I decided to change waterways.
I was gambling on the notion the cooling weather may have pushed a few mature 'gills back onto the spawning flats. If I was right, I knew the fish wouldn't be there with reproduction on the brain - they would be there to feed.
Taking this one final step, I put all our efforts into one presentation: 1/64oz. jig heads tipped with Honey worms. I figured if the fish weren't following warm water yet, our tim ewould be better spent out of the elements.
We stopped at a medium depth mud flat first...........................

Yellow honey worms put the red to shame, and a hot pink head topped chartreuse green, pearl white, pearl yellow, and orange.
GZ's slip float was set to suspend the jig 3ft. under the surface, and I rigged with a foam strike indicator (used for fly fishing) to present a honey worm tipped jighead 2ft. below the surface.
The light landing strike indicator was used to eliminate spooking shallow cruising 'gills - which told us where they were in the water column by telltale surface disturbances when they competed for a morsel.

[David Merical]

You're teaching me something, thanks! I've never heard of "honey worms"! ;o)

[Bruce Condello]

Zig, I love the imagery and writing. Great job.

Hey, I use that same Shimano Quick-Fire rig. Good bluegill reel. Sometimes I use the 1000 and sometimes I use the 2000.

I also really liked viewing your fishing album. Those are some nice pictures.

Thank you.

Bruce