45 to 50 years ago, anchored in a jon boat in the Potomac adjacent to the Ft. Frederick campground, my dad and I were having limited fishing success when a blanket emergence of white flies started.
I had never seen anything like it, and as the hatch intensified, I recall becoming a bit alarmed with all the bugs swarming around us. Dad assured me they were harmless, and not only that, the fish would likely start to feed on them.
This was a profound revelation at that stage of my fishing career.
In those days I didn't know what a fly rod was, but nevertheless had some bluegill poppers in my tackle box that I probably bought dirt cheap with allowance money at Western Auto -- without understanding they were too light to cast with spinning (or spin casting) tackle.
I don't recall whose idea it was, but we wound up free spooling those little poppers downstream from our anchored position to some rises and, when they reached the target zone, engaged the bail and tightened the line to get them to pop.
I know we took a few small bass, but the memory fades after that. It probably got too dark, and I imagine hitting other riseforms would have been problematic without lifting anchor, etc.
Anyway, thanks to this thread for triggering that pleasant reverie.
