Fly Fishing Swift Creek Reservoir Virginia

Waking up early has never come easy for me, but like a lot of guys, when it comes to fishing I find an exception to the rule.  Today, I was up before sunrise and without need of an alarm clock.  My Native Ultimate kayak mounted atop my trusty Jeep GC, I headed for a nearby watershed for some warm water fly action.

Swift Creek Reservoir is a 1700 acre impoundment with Bass, Bream, Chain Pickerel, Black Crappie, and Sterile Grass Carp.  This was my first attempt fishing here, so I can't really speak to the quality or consistency of the fishery, but the convenience and size of the lake means plenty of opportunity to find out more.  The lake also seems to be relatively shallow in many areas.  I took my 4wt TFO and the newest edition, a 5/6wt Cabela's CGR.  The water clarity wasn't bad at all, considering the amount of rain over the past week.  My expectations were low but I was content with just being on the water. 

As the sun began to rise on the still lake, I started by casting a simple top-water spider with red thread which always seems to produce.  After locating a sandy point with some structure, I positioned the kayak and made long casts with a 10ft leader and was hooking up in no time.  I caught probably a half dozen bream - all pretty small but a few decent sized fish - then I swapped to a bead chain woolly bugger in all black to see if it would produce bigger fish a bit deeper in the water column.  After a few better fish on the bugger, I decided I'd had my fun for the day.

I plan on heading back soon to explore more.  It was a bit chilly on the water with a light breeze, so I expect that with warmer conditions and improved water clarity, this lake might just produce some decent fish.  Time will tell.