We’ve had so much rain this winter that I’m starting to see animals gathering in pairs looking for a large boat. With all this runoff, the big challenge for fly anglers will be to find clear water.
Ponds should be clear and warm up enough to see pre-spawn activity for bass. You want flies that can be worked very slowly around bedding areas, but still have lots of movement.
Try beadhead woolybuggers and weighted leach flies. Another option is the Sqwirm Worm, made from twisted silli-leg material. Looks and fishes like a plastic worm.
This is the best month for big crappie, as two of the state’s Top 3 fly records were taken in February. On most days, casting and stripping a weighted fly like a Clouser Minnow, Fluff Butt, Crappie Candy or small Charlie will work. If not, add a strike indicator and work close to docks, trees and brush piles. Remember to twitch it slow.
There’s still good numbers of rainbeaux trout in the Baton Rouge ponds, thanks to the weather. By now, they’ve acclimated to a diet of bugs and minnows. Late afternoon will see hatches of craneflies and strong feeding periods. Any dry fly will work, but a good cranefly pattern will do best.
The end of this month should see a strong return of reds into shallow ponds. Most of the ponds were crystal clear last month, and grass was already setting up. Have those crab patterns handy for when the fiddler crabs come out. In the meantime, the old reliables — poppers and spoon flies in darker colors — will be the ticket.
