Fly fishing for carp with the Go Pro Hero 3

 Had fun using the Go pro hero 3 to make this short action clip on fly fishing for carp. Enjoy

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKSckDju-oE

Simple, awesome bass flies

The flash clouser, excellent for smallmouth and largemouth bass, consists of dumbbell eyes (or bath chain) and fashabou. I favour blue and silver. Hook size 8 long shank. I like the Grip 13802

The Madam X. If you want awesome surface action, then this is the fly to use. Also works well for big bluegill. Hook size 8 long shank. The Grip 13802 is ideal.

Sean's sandwich popper. Take three sections of 2mm thick foam and tie them on the hook with a marabou tail and you end up with a very easy to tie and effective bass popper...The grip 53584BN # 2 rocks....

 Sean's bend-back muppet. A nice weed resistant fly. Marabou tail and spun egg yarn body...Size 6 long shank hook. For this fly I use the Grip 13802 in size 6.

Want to catch more bass, then move.....

It happens so often these days. I arrive at a bass lake and spot other anglers fishing for bass. I try a few different spots and start catching bass. The other anglers are still fishing on the same spot. I walk 50 meters and try a new area. Bang, three more bass come to my flies. I move on a bit further and more bass connect with my flies. I look up and the other anglers are still fishing in the same spot. I have not seen them catching anything.

News flash, although you do get bass that swim in schools and move around a lake, most don't. They make an area there own and stay in it. So if you arrive at a spot and fish it for half an hour, chances are that the bass in that area will have seen your lures or flies. So, move on. You can always come back and try a spot a bit later but staying in the same spot all day will not catch you more bass, unless it is a real honey hole. Just saying....

Big mouth, this one was holding next to a big log in the water. If I had not moved to try the spot, I would not have caught it... True story...

Bargain hooks for bass flies

I came across these awesome hooks at Somerset Sports in Cape gate. They cost me R79 for 100 hooks. That is just 79 cents a hook! They are the perfect shape and size for my frizz fry, polar fibre minnow and frizz frog flies. So far they have been working very well for me.... They are called Sensation Pro Series Carp 1 or Carp 2 .

I like the size 5 hook the best. The Carp 2 is a very strong and sharp hook. I like the short shank and wide gap. The hook points are also already bent to the right which dramatically improves hooking. I crunch the barbs flat to fish barbless.

A Frizz Fry tied on one of the size 5 Carp 2 hooks. Pure awesomeness.

My frizz fog fly ready for action....

Canon Ixus 132 Digital Camera Review for fishing

As a profesional photographer, I try to invest in the best gear for my work. I shoot with a Canon 6D and Canon 7D DSLR with various L lenses and studio equipment. However, when I am out fishing, a big and heavy and very expensive DSLR is the last thing that I want to take with me. For my fishing excursions, I favour small compact cameras with good image quality that I can stick in the pocket of my vest and take out qickly and use one handed if needed.

The Canon Ixus 132 is the cheapest Ixus in the range and can be bought for less than R1000. It is small, light and takes lithium batteries which is much better in use than AA batteries in my experience.  The batteries come with an external charger which is fantastic if you want to charge extra batteries while still using your camera. After looking at the various waterproof options that are all double the price or more of the Ixus, I decided that the extra outlay was not worth it. The little Ixus is way better in terms of image quality. Also, I have owned two waterproof compact cameras and both of them did not last very long.

The Canon Ixus 132 is a 16 megapixel camera with a native ISO range up to 1600 Iso 800 is usable but I prefer to stay below ISO 400. I shoot in P mode and keep the ISO at 200 for most of my shots. The images are then very clean with good colour accuracy and lots of detail. For low light I use the inbuilt flash. The flash recycles very fast and I don't have to wait for ages for it to re charge like I had to with my other cameras. 
The Ixus 132 has an 8 X zoom which is very handy. Please disable the digital zoom in the menu though.  I mostly use the camera at its wide angle setting for most of my shots. The battery lasts for about 200 to 300 shots which is great. On most trips I take from 50 to 100 shots. My older cameras with AA batteries would never last that long, especially when using the flash. The camera is very fast in operation and can be accessed and used with one hand which is a bonus when holding a bass with the other hand.

 

One of the features that I love about the camera is that is has a self timer function where you can set it to ten seconds and then it will take 3 pics in quick succession. This is fantastic if posing with a fish and there is no one to hold the camera. I just put the camera on a small portable tripod and fire away...

The inbuilt flash has a decent range and does what it is suposed to do.

 

The screen is easy to see in strong light (mostly) and at 2.7 inches is more than enough. The menu system and button layout is typically Canon and works very well. 

The on off button is easy to reach as it the zoom button on top of the camera. As a bonus the Ixus 132 shoots very nice 720P HD footage. The had footage is very clean and you can zoom in or out while recording. The video button is east to reach and easy to use at anytime. Just press the red button on the back of the camera to start and stop recording. If used on a tripod or handheld at its wides setting the HD footage can easily be used to make impressive videos. The HD footage reminds me a lot of the GO Pro Hero 3 footage but minus the heavily distorted fish-eye effect.

All in all, although not perfect, If shooting in auto mode the camera will often shoot in an Iso range that is too high for the conditions. If you leave the camera in P mode however you can select a low ISO and leave it there. The cameras exposure button is also very handy if you want to lighten or darken a scene. I find that the Canon Digital Ixus 132 is perfect for anyone who fishes and needs a small, compact and light, easy to use camera with good image quality and at the price it is a no brainier for me...

A pic from the Canon Ixus 132 used in P mode and with the flash to fill in the shadows on the anglers face.

This is how I use the camera most often, one handed and fairly close. Notice the colour accuracy and rich, crisp detail

For DVDs and E books by Sean Mills check out www.seanmillsflyfishing.weebly.com

Short session bass surprise

I wet a line today at a local lake and found some bass in very shallow water. I caught two on polar Fibre minnows and missed a few.The biggest hit my fly in water barely deep enough to cover its back. The leaves are starting to grow back on the trees around our house so spring is obviously very close. The weather was overcast but stable with little to no wind.

I started the day fishing a black fritz about 2.5 meters underneath a large madam X, using the top fly as a form of indicator. In the States one very successful method for cold water fishing is called float n fly. They use a float that suspends a jig or weighted fly to fish very slowly up to a depth of 13 feet. I tried the technique, all be it in fly form, but to no avail. Walking around the lake I spotted a lot of very nervous bait fish and reeds being knocked over which told me that maybe the bass where on the feed much shallower than I thought. playing a hunch I changed tactics. I missed a few that slashed at my polar fiber minnow before eventually one latched on properly.It was not huge but was very welcome. A bit later and I spotted a wake very close to shore. I made a few casts into the area before being rewarded with a viscous take.

 

So how's that for nice winter bass surprise?

Tying and fishing the Polar Fibre Minnow

Tying and fishing the Polar Fibre Minnow

 

Materials

Body- Polar plus or Lama hair

Tail -Polar fibre (http://www.fishient.com/materials/polar_fibre.htm)

Thread- I use red 6/0. When the fly is whet the red thread shows through the body materials and looks like blood vessels. (clever).

Hook-Gamakatsu S10-25 #6 or larger hook for saltwater, tigerfish etc. The Grip 53584BN in #4 to 1 is also highly recommended. (http://www.scientificfly.com/shop/bass-hooks/grip-53584bn/)

Eyes, 3D eyes or dolls eyes.

Glue –Liquid fusion clear urethane glue or other waterproof glue of your choice

Letraset  Pro Markers in colours to suit bait fish imitation

The Polar fibre minnow is fantastic for all game fish and especially bass. It is very hardy and can produce spectacular takes just under the surface.

This fly is easy to tie and the tail does not wrap due to the nature of polar fibre. The fly swims erratically due to the torpedo shaped head and thin tapering tail. I tie mine in white and then colour them with Letraset Pro markers to represent the bait fish in a local lake or river etc. (My set of Letraset pens is over 6 years old and still going strong) I often fish plain white ones though with red gills. The white version works extremely well in any type or coluor of water. I also have  a few all black and fire-tiger variations.

Using the Gamakatsu S10-25 #6 hook the fly ends up being about  7 to 9cm long. This is an ideal size for bass from 400 grams to 2kg. It is also a good length for small to medium sized leervis and elf. You can make them longer by using bigger hooks but the fly will also become harder to cast as the body absorbs water. I normally fish the fly on a 6 weight line. If you up size the fly you may need an 8 weight to cast it further.  The Gamakatsu S10-25 hook is my favourite because it is strong, light wire and extremely sharp. I hook a lot more fish and keep them on because of this awesome hook. I off set the hook point to the right and this also helps with hooking fish.

I love this fly because it swims just subsurface and sinks very slowly when you stop the retrieve. Bass in particular love this presentation where the fly almost suspends when you stop the retrieve. A lot of takes come on the pause. This is a great fly to fish with a floating fly line over submerged weed beds. Most takes will be visual because the fly fishes just subsurface and you will often see the wake of the pursuing game fish headed towards your fly. Takes range from the fly simply being inhaled, to the fish jumping out of the water with it to a huge surface splash and everything in-between. Very exciting fishing indeed. You can also fish the fly deeper using a fast sinking leader or sinking fly line. I have caught leervis, elf, largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, smallmouth yellowfish, moonies, bluegill, tigerfish and catfish on this fly so far.

How to tie the fly

Lama hair and Letraset Pro Markers. If you can find these pens, buy them, they last for years and the colours are awesome.

 

Step 1. Put the hook in the vice and crush the barb flat. Start the thread off and tie in the tail facing backwards. I tie in several bunches to build up a nice taper.

Step 2- Cut a length of polar plus or lama hair about the thickness of a pencil and about 2cm long and make sure that the materials lie around the hook. Take the thread and use three thread wraps in the middle of the material to secure it. Lift up the material in front of the hook shank and make three more thread wraps.

 

Step 3- Repeat along the rest of the hook shank. Tie off the thread.

Step 4- Trim the body material until it has a torpedo shape and cut it flat underneath so that the hook gape is unimpeded.

Step 5- Glue on the eyes of your choice. I tie some with 3D eyes and others with Dolls eyes to give a subtle rattle in the water.

 

Step 6- At this point you can start to clolour in your fly to represent bait fish found in your area.

 

Check out Sean Mills DVDs and E books with more exciting fly patterns at www.seanmillsflyfishing.weebly.com