Fly Tied By:
Dave Barson
Story By: Dave
Barson
Home: Kissimmee,
Florida
E-mail: davidbarfly@yahoo.com |
Dave does most of his fishing
four miles from home, on East Lake Toho, where he
fishes for Bluegills and Bass from his pontoon boat.
However, his primary love is saltwater fishing. He and
his wife of 40 years moved to Florida from Connecticut
nine years ago. Dave first wrote to me just days before
retiring from the Post Office, after 25 years. Now he
can do what many of us dream of: fish every day if he
wants. |
Hook: Size
6
Thread: Clear monofilament
thread
Tail (Center): Krystal flash
and chartreuse wool
Tail (Outside): Green
grizzly hackles, one on each side, curved outward (see picture
below)
Hackle: Green
grizzly
Body: Chartreuse foam with eyes
painted on the sides and top and bottom (see picture
below)
Legs: Rubber chartreuse
hackle
|
One day in April my
fishing buddy Joe said, "let's go down to the Miami Canals
and fish for Oscars." So, of course, I agreed to the 4+ hour
trip. The trip would have been faster, but absent-minded Joe
forgot his lunch and drinks, so on the way he ran into a
Wal-Mart which added another 20 minutes.
To get to the part of the
Miami Canal that we were going to fish, you have to drive down
a 12 mile dirt road with more pot holes than dirt. We finally
put the boat in around 11:30 AM. Armed with a 9- foot
4/5-weight rod and casting one of my Gill Busters at the end
of a 9-foot 4X leader, I hooked an Oscar on the first cast. If
you have never caught an Oscar, it seems they wake up with a
BAD attitude and fight like all Hell. I even had one Oscar
come out of the water and jump into a tree! Another fish that
we caught is a Mayan Cichlid. Mayans are like Bluegills, but I
think they take steroids.
One thing about the Miami
Canal is you had better not put your feet or hands in the
water. This place is loaded with BIG alligators. We had gators
all around us, just swimming from one bank to the other.
Though the fishing remains good into the evening, we fished
only until 6 PM because we had a long drive home and having
spent the day in the hot sun did not help either. Anyway we
ended the day with 68 fish; most were Oscars and Mayans and a
few Gar, Bluegills and Bass. It was a day I will never forget,
and one I can't wait to do again in the near
future.
The "Gill Buster" is one of my favorite Bass
flies. It has brought me many "surprises". I am fortunate to
have East Lake Toho within four miles of my home in Florida.
Once, I cast the "Gill Buster" from my pontoon boat to a mass
of reeds ... and BAM, a big fish hit it and ran all over the
place. After the battle slowed down, I said to myself "that's
one Big Bass". Well, when I finally got it into the boat I
found out it was a big Mudfish (Bowfin). I was surprised and
disappointed that it wasn't a monster Bass, but it was great
catching. Another "surprise" occurred when I was fishing in a
small pond behind my house. I cast a small Gill Buster and
hooked a small Bass. But when bringing it in, a 6-foot
alligator came from under the water and ate the Bass. I had
the gator on for a few minutes before the line was cut.
--Dave Barson |
