Bohen's Hangtime Gets It Done

  Lately I have been tying a lot of warm water flies. I have set a personal goal to try and accomplish the feat of catching as many different species of fish as possible with a fly rod. It is a personal challenge that keeps me on edge as an angler. I like standing out in the crowd of fisherman, and doing what most would not try.  This is how I felt last night as I stood on the casting deck of the old Sylvan casting my hand tied fly. People in other boats would drive by staring with a dumb founded look." What the hell is that guy doing?" I heard coming from a passing boat. I even noticed some come out of the house to sit and watch from their piers. It was frankly kind of weird getting that kind of attention while fishing to be honest. Doing something different than the typical angler will bring that kind of attention I suppose. In the end though I performed and proved trying something different can catch fish.

 This is a variation of Brad Bohen's Hangtime Musky fly that I had tied a few weeks ago. It is a little smaller than what Brad would tie, but I was working with what materials I  already had. Last night when I set out at 6pm, I was in search for a pike or a musky. I found neither! What I did find was a fat little Largemouth that pounded this fly in the hang stage.

 When tossing the Hangtime, there is a number of ways for retrieval. If you have watched Musky Country:Zero 2 Hero before, then you may know what I am talking about. You can do small strips, big strips, or a constant strip with no pause. I wish I would have had the video cam with me last night to show the different action this fly gets when doing these retrieves. I personally like doing 2-3, 6"-8" strips and then a long pause. During the pause it almost seems like the fly just sits there suspended and then slowly starts to sink. The action of the feathers in the tail section of this fly also gives it one of the most realistic swimming looks of a fish, that I have ever seen. Who would of thought a couple of feathers and some deer tail would create such a realistic looking bait.

 When I caught this bass I had done a few strips and let it hang, and then bam! Through my polarized lenses I saw the fish take the fly. I set the hook and it was game on! He put up a nice fight digging into the weeds, and then giving me an acrobatic show a couple of times. I got him to and then in the boat. Snapped a few pics and sent him back on his way. As I looked up I received a thumbs up from an older gentleman sitting on his pier watching me. It felt great to catch a fish on this pattern, it just wasn't the fish I was looking for though. I moved on awhile later to a different spot in search of the bigger toothy fishy. I never found the teeth , but I did set the hook into another bass. This one was way bigger. If I had to guess 17-19 inch range. I fought him for awhile, but he came unhooked at the side of the boat. Bummer! The sun was setting on the horizon, so I called it a day.

 It just goes to show trying something different can pay off. I think this is an aspect of fishing that most anglers, including myself overlook a lot of times. Get out and Fish!

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