Today for my birthday I took some time to visit a local mud flat to chase Carp. Managed to hook into a  feisty one in 2 feet of water who despite being small still managed to take me into my backing. Only one I landed but it was a lot of fun, first Carp of the year, and a nice way to enjoy my birthday.

Sarge's Crappie Fly is a local favorite and an original pattern developed by a member of my local Fly Fishing Federation Club. Simply a killer pattern it is my go to pattern when targeting Crappie. I have received some requests for what flies I use when chasing Crappie so I thought I would share this one with you all first. Hope it helps you bring to hand as many Crappie as it has for me. 

Snuck in some Crappie fishing before the latest cold front and caught quite a few. No real big slabs but fun nonetheless, also no single pattern stood out but all were caught either using Sarges Crappie Fly, Crappie Candy, or Clousers. Retrieve was very slow. Overall a beautiful and relaxing night. 

At an MSRP of $250, the Greys Streamflex XF2 may be the best 5 weight in its price class. This medium fast action rod has offerings in the 2-6 wt class and designed for technical nymphing applications. I personally have it in the 5 weight 9 foot option and it is my go to trout rod. The blank, while it won't win any casting competitions, is very forgiving and offers a soft tip for a delicate fly presentation and tight loops. While designed as a nymphing rod it is the stick's versatility that drew me to it. On the water I may walk long distances from my vehicle and leave the option for other rods, so it is important that I have a rod that can adapt to whatever conditions I encounter. The Streamflex's soft tip allows the angler to precisely and gently cast dry flies while it still has enough backbone to throw small to medium streamers and of course nymphing rigs. If nymph fishing I often fish a dual rig with split shot and have no problem casting and getting turnover without hangups. It is at medium distances where this rod excels and it can hold its own at longer casts as well thanks to the power within the blank. If I am on a tailwater or any medium to large trout river you can be sure this is the rod in my hand. My only caveat to the Streamflex is if short distance casts are  required repeatedly as you would find in small technical streams. The Greys can do it but there are better rods for that type of fishery if precision at small distances is your game. Finally, as to the aesthetics, this rod is just gorgeous. The maple reel seat will win you over and adds a real sense of pride to owning the Streamflex. If you are in the market for a new trout rod and looking for something a little more on the economical side, you simply can't go wrong with the Streamflex. Per dollar I am unsure if you could get a better all purpose trout rod. It is a great stick and has given the higher priced rods a run for their money. Are there better 5wt trout rods out there? You bet, but be prepared to fork over at least twice as much money for only marginal improvement. Phenomenal quality at a great price. 

The Good: Foremost, the knife is rustproof. In 8 months of using it in and around water, I have not had a single problem, nor from what I have seen from other's tests has anyone had problems with rust. Fresh or saltwater, this knife holds up. This is a knife that is a great tool if you spend a lot of time around the water like me. If you forget to wipe it off or it spends time sitting in water at the bottom of your boat, its just not a problem. The H1 Steel is really phenomenal stuff. Secondly, the handle really has a lot of grip to it, especially when wet and even in gloves, I was really impressed with this. Third, and this may seem an odd point, but I am really glad Spyderco went with a bold yellow color for the handle. Many times when fishing I would set down the blade for a moment, forget about it momentarily, but then see it out of the corner of my eye again very quickly. The yellow color saved me from losing it. Opening and closing is simple and easily preformed with one hand. The blade was easy to sharpen and held its edge moderately well, but does dull faster than other higher end steels. 

The Bad: I honestly had a hard time coming up with much in this category at all. Yet, with an MSRP of $124.99 the blade is a bit price prohibitive for some budgets (if you shop around, you should be able to find it for around $70). Also the blade shape, while great for most jobs around the water doesn't make the greatest filet knife, not that its designed to but for those looking for a "fishing" knife that can do it all, you can filet with this but its not going to be the prettiest job, as I can attest. A sheepfoot style blade is just not the tool for that job. Other than that, I cannot think of a job in or around the water that this knife wouldn't be appropriate for. 

Less than a week ago it was mid-80's and sunny. The past three days have been in the 40's with intermittent rain scattered throughout. All else equal this means a more reluctant fish that are harder to find. However, don't be to discouraged. Crappie can still be brought to hand, it just takes a little more work. Now I am not a Crappie expert, but I can hold my own, have read a fair amount on the subject, and talked with several much more experienced than myself. As a result I have come up with four conclusions on how to increase your success with cold front Crappie: 

I employed those four tactics yesterday and had a very successful day despite the odds being stacked against me. I had to work for the fish but in some ways that made it all the more rewarding. No monsters but I still had fun. 

It is hard to beat large Crappie on a fly rod. The action is continuous and some of these slabs can put up quite the fight. For me Crappie season signals the official start of spring and warm water fishing. So the other day I went to my local home water, Clinton Lake and threw a fly for a few hours, landing dozens of Crappie. I only stopped when I eventually was crowded out by others (I prefer solitude while fishing, and thus tend to vacate an area when too many people arrive). Still it was a lot of fun and I hope to get back down there later this week for round two. All were caught on a Sarge's Crappie Fly, casting parallel to the banks. Here are a few of the willing participants: 

Spent some time with my Dad fishing a new pond this Easter. More or less we were just trying out his new rod, an 8 weight TFO TiCr X, that my family gave him for his birthday. The rod was way more than required for these fish, but it is always fun to cast a new stick. 

I had been debating trying Tenkara for several years now, so I finally took the plunge. Following Michael's advice over at the blog Troutrageous (be sure to check out his blog if you haven't already), I decided on a 12 ft Iwana. 

As with all things new, the first attempt is a mix of frustration, excitement, and an ever present learning curve. All three described yesterday. First impression: the system of knots I found to be innovative, the casting fairly intuitive (had to be careful not to overpower it though), but what struck me as must peculiar and difficult to get use to was the lack of any line near my hand to manipulate the fly with. In moving water I think I would have been more okay with this but fishing for warmwater species it was difficult to manipulate a 12 rod while trying to think what the tiny fly on the other end was doing. On top of this the rod was a tad heavier than expected. 

Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed myself greatly. I see great potential in small streams in rivers while trout fishing, but in a stillwater situation like a lake or pond I just wasn't completely sold on the idea yet. I like to manipulate the fly more and have a more direct connection. That said I am going to give it a couple more shots and hopefully catch some bigger bluegill and some crappie. I only had one willing participant this outing and lets just say he barely put a bend in the rod. I am still excited to try this new style of fishing (new to me) but still unsure what the utility will be for Bluegill and Crappie in ponds, which was my hope. Needless to say, the jury is still out but I will keep you up to date on future outings regarding how my opinion has changed or not. 

Visited a local farm with my cousin, threw line for a little bit until the temps fell below 40*, for which we were unprepared. Didn't have much luck, but we weren't skunked, so I will take it for what it is. Generally this pond is great at producing both Bass and some monster Bluegill, caught one of each over the course of a few hours, nothing remarkable or really even postable, but what the heck, I thought I would share anyhow. Overall the conversation was better than the fishing but sometimes those are the best days. 

An absolute dink of a Bass… 

Decent, but pretty 'Gill

Over spring break my father and I traveled south to Arkansas to fish the Norfork River. The fishing proved difficult but that is the nature of tailwaters. Constantly fluctuating waters can make fish finicky, other times it seems they will eat anything presented in front of them. This trip proved to be more on the finicky side. That said the important and most rewarding aspect of the trip was being able to spend some quality time with my dad in some beautiful water. 

My father landing the second fly rod trout of his life. 

Days two and three we exclusively fished the Norfork. A 4 mile tailwater which feeds into the White. Every morning they were running full capacity and then would shut it off entirely. Falling water is never easy and this trend proved true this trip as well. Despite this fish were caught, with G-Bug's and Zebra midges proving most effective. We kayaked the entire length of the river each day. Stopping at those locations which looked were both wadable and looked promising at holding fish. The river was more crowded than the previous time I fished the Norfork but we were able to still find some good water with plenty of casting room. Having the kayak as transportation definitely helped get to those locations and away from the crowds.