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Fantastic Saturday at Brumley

Econlockhatchee River

Todd and I plotted and schemed most of the week as to where we were going to fish this weekend. We have not fished together since New Year’s Eve, so I think we were both looking forward to some comradery in addition to swinging flies in the middle of nowhere. Earlier in the week there were talks about making the trek from the trailhead at the Seminole Conservation Area on Hatbill Road, down to the swift current near the second junction. This is a hike that both of us have wanted to make, but have not done solo, as there is some wading to be done to get there, and this area in general, is gator city. Better to go with a buddy, at least the first time. We have both had success in this area before, but have made the journey by boat. Ultimately the forecast for 15-20 mph wind and rain eliminated this trip as an option.

Trail map for the Little Big Econ State Forest from Brumley Road
Brumley Trail Map

Where there is wind, there is shelter on the Econ River. There were a couple of reports of shad upstream of Snowhill, but Todd walked the upper section of river there prior to our planned trip and did not find fish. I contemplated another canoe ride downstream, but we decided with potential for rain again, the easiest option would just be to head to Brumley. The question was, were there fish there? A couple of recent reports after my last successful trip to Brumley had seen slow fishing there. With rain that bumped the gauge at Snowhill two and a half feet in one day, I was beginning to wonder if the fish had just booked from that area of river, upstream of the section accessible from hiking Snowhill.

Todd was not going to be able to join me on the river until around 1:00, so I decided to hit the trail early and see if I could find fish. If not, we would do some bushwhacking to see if we could make it to the turn above the Yarborough shelter, a particularly fishy looking section of river not accessible by marked trail, and a paddle and a half to reach from Snowhill.

White Trail Marker
White Trail Marker

I arrived at the trailhead around 9:45 and it took me about 10 minutes to make it to the white trail marker on the service road by bike. There I locked up the bike to make the short hike to the yellow/ white junction at the river. For what its worth, it should be noted that technically these trails are not designated for bike use. In my mind, riding a bike on the service road, even all the way out to the pasture that gives you access to the river near Culpepper Bend, does no damage, and even if you saw a ranger or FWC, no one would likely give you a hard time. That said, the section of trail leading to the yellow/ white junction, and then the section of trail that runs along the river is more sensitive, and if dozens of us biked it, the trail would quickly become very well worn like the areas around Snowhill. This would likely garner more attention from the powers that be. So if you choose to make this journey by bike, please lock the bike up at the white trail marker at the service road, and make the remainder of the trip by foot. The bike does not buy you that much of a time advantage on these trails anyway.

After making it to the white trail, I decided to fish a tail of a pool I generally do not spend much time at. There was some surface activity that caught my attention, so I decided to work it with the ultralight, and if I found fish, move to the switch rod. After several casts in to the best of the current, I let the spoon swing outside and downstream of the seam where I got a hit, but did not hook up. I focused several casts in the general area and quickly landed my first of the day. I rigged up the switch rod with a Scandi Head, Type 3 ten foot tip, about 6 feet of level mono, and attached a white bead chain Soft Hackle Shad Fly. After making several touch and go casts, I hooked up again, but lost the fish before coming to hand. I continued to patiently work the tail of the pool and was rewarded with my first shad on the fly of the day.

Shad on the Fly

I decided to move to the head of the same pool, and proceeded to hook up and lose a fish or two, and then land a couple. Its a familiar ebb and flow, the price you pay for pinching the barbs on your hooks, but it is the responsible thing to do. As I continued working upstream, a light rain started, and almost on queue, a flurry of surface activity erupted. I actually stopped fishing and just watched with amazement as the surface of this pool began to boil with spawning fish. There must have been fifty to sixty fish all doing exactly what they had made the long journey to come and do. After ten or so minutes, the rain stopped, and the fish returned to the depths below.

Around 1:00 I got a text from Todd that he had arrived. We decided to meet at the “Wives Pool,” an area of the river that we had both brought our wives to for a picnic, on an outing a couple of years ago. I swung a fly through the usual suspects, and landed fish. When the fish are in the Econ, this pool generally holds fish at the head, depth, and tail.

As Todd biked/ hiked in, I grabbed some lunch, and while sitting there, decided there were enough fish in the river that I could change up flies and try some different techniques. The Soft Hackle Shad Fly is a solid performer on the Econ, but it is good to have a few different patterns to swing in front of the schools when they seem to become weary of a particular fly they have obviously seen come by their faces several times.

Electric Bugaloo Fly Pattern in a glass of water
Electric Bugaloo

Days when the fish are thick are perfect for testing new patterns. I picked up some Enrico Puglisi UV Brushes from Orlando Outfitters on Thursday, and tied a couple of new flies with it. The Thunderstuck color really caught my eye, and I used it similar to how I would a soft hackle. What came to life was a translucent, yet electric, flashing buggy profile. I fished the fly in to the depth of the pool, and landed a nice, big, fat hen right as Todd arrived.

Todd rigged up and quickly began fishing. Without problem he began catching fish on a Soft Hackle. I quickly shared my latest creation with him, and we jokingly decided to name it the Electric Bugaloo, named aptly after a movie we both remembered from childhood, Breakin’ 2- Electric Boogaloo. And just like that, a star is born. 🙂

We continued fishing the pool, switching flies as they would become weary, until we had caught enough, and began to feel like we should stop bothering them. We moved downstream to the pool I had seen the washing on earlier in the day and continued catching fish as the sun started to get low in the sky. I decided to make a hike down to the first turn on the yellow trail, and left Todd to happily continue swinging flies. The first turn on yellow has slow current, but I have seen shad washing in this area before. When I arrived I thought it was hardly worth the effort, but I cast the spoon through an area where I saw a bit of surface activity, and was rewarded with my eleventh fish of the day.

Todd with a nice shad
Todd with a nice shad

As the sun continued to sink behind the trees, we met back up at the yellow/ white junction where I shared that I had surprisingly caught a fish in a spot that otherwise looked “unfishy.” Todd caught ten fish, in just a half a day of fishing, and as we recounted the day, we both agreed that we had hooked and lost around ten more each. As we made the trip back to the cars, discussing the finer nuances of all things fly fishing, we both agreed, the Econlockhatchee is loaded with both Hickory and American shad right now.

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