Bream Bugs

[ellisredfish]

This morning after my marathon run to the necessary room at 4 AM I was wide awake. It seems that when men live to be my age their bladders dictate what time they should rise. So what to do now, the wife is still sleeping. I said my morning prayers and thanked God for another day. I am not going to the bay today, don't go on holidays. Well there is always my old gravel pit. I tied four flies trying to imagine what bream would go for on an overcast day. Bright colors always work. For those of you that like fly recipes here are the stats:

Mustad R50 size 14 hooks
Tail Small pieces of chicken feather
Body Spun artic fox fur
Tinsel Very fine gold thread wrapped on body, hard to see in photo
Head Bright orange 1/8 size beads

They worked. I caught five bream and a very small bass. I got fishing out of my system for today. Here is a photo of the bugs.

[JOHNNY QUEST]

ellis you make a man want to get old. i barely have time to work, fish, build rods, keep wife happy, and play on 2 cool. much less have the time to get up and tie flies. i do already have that bladder thing its 4:45 to 5:00 for me. what are the flies there supposed to be, some kind of hatching nympth or ???. i dont tye flies [ yet ] but those look good to me. and could you tell me where that durn sand pit is you always go catch fish at. randall

[ellisredfish]

Randy, You don't want to grow old. Everything starts to fall apart. Long gone are my four day wading trips to Port Mansfield and the Chandeleurs. If I wade fish for over an hour I am exhausted due to my weak pump. A viral infection in my heart muscle almost killed me three years ago. Recovery has been slow. My best fishing buddy, a Houston surgeon, had a brain aneurism, bleeding colon, and an orange sized benign tumor in his chest at about the same time. We both survived. When we get together to fish we laugh at our misfortunes and try to take it stride...but we are still here.

The gravel pit is on 59 north at the Beltway near Humble. It sits on the side of the road. Last year that pond was full of 1 to 2 pound bass and it had a lot of water in it. Now it is drying very fast and folks have almost fished it out. I have seen some fellows take some nice bass home from there. I always put mine back and fish with barbless hooks. What bothers me is that I never see dads with their children fishing there, it is always old fogies like me. There is also a large pond before you get to the San Jacinto Bridge past Humble and then there is the river. There is also a small stream full of tilapia, bream, cat fish and carp on Mills Road and 1960 by the Costco store. I am like Roland Martin, I'll fish anywhere but on a much smaller scale. Take a 3 to 5 wt. fly rod, four foot of 12 lb. butt and a five foot 4 pound tippet, some tiny flies, and you can have a ball. For me, the excitement is there on the same level as catching a five pound red on a spoon. I am downsizing the tackle to match the fish. And when you catch them on home tied flies it is a bonus. My next project is a 4 wt. fly rod. I have everything ready, just need to sit down and wrap. Picked up a small reel at Orvis yesterday just for that rod. Always wanted something with Orvis written on it. My wife had a fit. She says that I have too many rod and reels already. Some folks don't
understand that we fishermen or fisherwomen have to have stuff. Here is what I look like so you will know what I look like. Sorry for the bottle, just something to stimulate the pump and there were no bathing beauties and limes around at the time.

[ellisredfish]

Oops, forgot the picture. I don't know the name of the fly, I just sat down and started tieing what I thought would work. Sorry for the bottle, just trying to cool off at Rockport last week. And there were no bathing beauties and limes around.

[JOHNNY QUEST]

looks good to me. is that an oxygen cylinder you have in your hand. i need to get one of those. i don't have a pic just yet of me but i will send it soon. see ya randall

[JOHNNY QUEST]

ellis the more i look at that pic i get the feeling we have crossed paths before. i can't figure out where yet but i am sure it will come to me soon enough. that room looks like a jail cell with the bars and the reflection in the window. i did not know that they served corona in jail down there in rockport. i have only to say this about your health. thank god for each day and take it easy. at 47 i am starting to think about it myself. heart failure runs rampant in my family genes and living the lifestyle that i do its a matter of time. hope it happens on a tagged red or something. or sucking on one of those oxygen cylinders you got in you hand. randall

[NurseD-bait]

Now if I was a little brim frolicking around in the pond that would look mighty tasty....I'd call it....with that little orange bead..a "chilli piquine" think I spelled it right....BTW whats with your flies and me wanting to name them after Hot mexican food....?

[ellisredfish]

Is it because you saw my picture and now think that I am some super good looking macho latino guy? I am actually of Basque decent on both sides of my family. One thing that is said in Spain about the Basques, very noble, very strong, and very ugly...too much inbreeding. Those bugs remind me of the West Texas red ants found on the sheep ranches my families managed. Where you find sheep you will find a Basque sheepherder.

[NurseD-bait]

oohhhh..a latino that likes to play with soft fuzzy things...huummm macho...? YOU BET!!!
Somehow this gal has to figure out how to fish, build rods and tie flies..much less be a Mom, Wife, Nurse and manager of the home.can we add a few extra FREE DAYS to the week for playing?