I decided to take my Tenkara rod and just play around with the red devils today. The ultra light tenkara rods are designed for small mountain streams and trout under 12 inches, so I figured a 1/2 to 3/4 pound RD would give it a real work out.
For a fly, I selected a # 14 AH hook with tiny bead eyes, orange thread, and gold flash-a-boo... tied to a 4# test leader. The fish loved it.
This one weighed one pound, and put up a nice fight.
This one was more on the red side.
Water temperature was 82º and the fish were nice and aggressive.
Those red devils come in a variety of colors don't they?
This one must be kissing cousins to a Japanese Koi.
Then came the big surprise. I cast to a pair of red devils and from out of no where I see this flash of orange and yellow, and wham... Where did this guy come from? It was nice to have that limber 5:5 rod to cushion the runs and keep the 4# test leader from parting. Fortunately for me, this peacock bass headed for deep water so I wasn't worried about it cutting me off. Just hold on, let the rod do the work. I'm so glad that Shane was along to help me net the fish.
Three pounds, right on the money.
And remember all you amateur photographers... what ever is closest to the camera, looks the biggest. Especially if you hide your hand so the viewer has nothing to compare to the actual size of the fish. Now how big does that 3 pounder look?
