eric1978 Posted October 22, 2009 Posted October 22, 2009 The river was incredibly beautiful today. Floated an upper stretch. It was still up about a foot or so from last week's rains, but was relatively clear, about the same as normal. Had to portage a couple new log jams. Very comfortable temps, topped out at around 65. Mostly cloudy. Nice weather. I didn't know if I wanted the sun to come out or not. The bite wasn't too bad, at least it was better than two weeks ago. I thought I was in for a really great day when I hooked this largemouth on the very first cast. 16 incher right off the bat. Turned out to be one of only two LM all day. I wound up chucking the spinnerbait pretty much all day and it produced the most consistently. Threw flukes a little, caught a couple. Hairjig, a couple. Wart, a couple. Pointer, 1. The fish were holding TIGHT to cover, didn't really find any roaming around. Most strikes came as soon as my spinnerbait rolled over a log or was pulled past a rootwad. All fish caught in 3-6 feet of water, as usual. Most fish came in the 12-14 inch range like this one This was the best smallie of the day at just over 15" I had another one on from the same pool that I think was a little bigger, but I set the hook in an awkward position and he threw it. Ended up with 26 fish total, 24 smallmouth and only 2 largemouth. Not too bad for 5 hours of fishing. It was a nice day. Caught a glimpse of a small doe on my way out. Crappy photo.
brownieman Posted October 22, 2009 Posted October 22, 2009 Appears you had a good day...kinda hard to beat. IMO smallies definately have to be my all time favorite fish...absolutaly terrible eatin though best I remember. The rivers overall look better for this time of year than I've seen for several years. Glad to hear you had to portage around a couple of logjams...wish they would leave some of those on the Current. Glad you had a good day... later on bm My friends say I'm a douche bag ?? Avatar...mister brownie bm <><
eric1978 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Posted October 22, 2009 Appears you had a good day...kinda hard to beat. IMO smallies definately have to be my all time favorite fish...absolutaly terrible eatin though best I remember. The rivers overall look better for this time of year than I've seen for several years. Glad to hear you had to portage around a couple of logjams...wish they would leave some of those on the Current. Glad you had a good day... later on bm Thanks bm. Yeah smallies are my favorite, too. They're so pretty and they fight really hard, but what I like most I think is the habitat they live in. So if you're not catching any, at least you have nice scenery. I like the logjams for providing habitat and thinning out the crowds. I don't mind a few. They get a little old though, one after the other. One of the portages today was a bit of a chore. I wound up lugging the whole canoe with all the contents still in it about 50 yards. I'll tell you, I was panting after that. I should have made two trips but out of laziness I just made it harder on myself.
brownieman Posted October 22, 2009 Posted October 22, 2009 Seems like the harder it is on us the better for them and visa versa. Unfortunately some rivers cater to the canoe traffic, whatever?? I do know where you're comin from about logjams, a few are ok but enouph is enouph. Pretty fish...nice to see a wooden paddle, makes for a much better picture. later on bm My friends say I'm a douche bag ?? Avatar...mister brownie bm <><
eric1978 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Posted October 22, 2009 Seems like the harder it is on us the better for them and visa versa. bm Yep, the more tangled, twisted up logs and brush there is, the more homes the smallies have and the fewer people trying or able to access those places. That's when "the more you put in, the more you get out of it" aspect comes in to play. I don't mind putting in the work if I think theres a pot of gold at the end of some rainbow.
brownieman Posted October 22, 2009 Posted October 22, 2009 joeD, just curious...what's Skip know. bm My friends say I'm a douche bag ?? Avatar...mister brownie bm <><
eric1978 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Posted October 22, 2009 I'm gonna have to have a talk with Skip. No worries, Joe. All your smallies are back healthy and happy safe in their homes. I was gonna do that stretch eventually anyway.
joeD Posted October 22, 2009 Posted October 22, 2009 Yeh, I was just kidding anyway, I don't care. It's all good. I'm just pissed at myself, because I chose to go to the Current on Monday and Tuesday. I thought trout fishing would be better than smallie fishing, given the erratic weather. WRONG! I did not choose wisely, my young apprentice. I flailed away haplessly with hardware and flies 2 hours away while you caught fish closer to home. DOH! BM - I don't know what Skip knows, but I do know that whenever I see him or talk to him, I give him the business, because, well, because that's what I do. He loves it.
eric1978 Posted October 22, 2009 Author Posted October 22, 2009 Yeh, I was just kidding anyway, I don't care. It's all good. I'm just pissed at myself, because I chose to go to the Current on Monday and Tuesday. I thought trout fishing would be better than smallie fishing, given the erratic weather. WRONG! I did not choose wisely, my young apprentice. I flailed away haplessly with hardware and flies 2 hours away while you caught fish closer to home. DOH! BM - I don't know what Skip knows, but I do know that whenever I see him or talk to him, I give him the business, because, well, because that's what I do. He loves it. Skip thinks you're about the best fisherman on the planet. I think he felt comfortable giving me advice since I told him you sent me to him, so you dug your own grave there! I'd love to do a float with you some time so you can tell me the rest of your secrets. It sounds like we have very similar fishing styles. Skip looked down at my Plano box and said, "that's just about all Joe ever uses, that right there." "Same color, same size?" I asked. "Yep." I'm guessing there are some whoppers in that stretch I floated, though I didn't catch any yesterday. You catch any big boys there in the winter?
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