Scenery Was Beautiful, Fishing Was Horrible

[gotmuddy]

A buddy and I from work took the riverboat from riverton to the narrows yesterday and the fishing was rough. Biggest fish of the day wasn't over 14" and it was a largemouth. Probably caught ten the whole float(we fished from 7-2). The highlight of the day was my buddies one and only fish, a chain pickerel. He handed it to me and I told him "don't get your hand in his mouth, he has some gnarly teeth". No sooner had I said that then the fish clamped down on my thumb. Those teeth are incredibly sharp!!

The fishing sucked but the scenery was beyond great. Leaves were turning and the water was crystal clear(very likely why we weren't catching much)

[Mark]

As I always say, with the awesome scenery, catching fish is just a bonus on the Eleven Point.

[jdmidwest]

Gonna hit the river at Whitten Thursday with the jet and try to find a few trout. Should have better luck with them than the bass this time of year. And the scenery should be in full bloom.

A nice pickerel is always fun to catch, I tend to target them on the 11pt with a fly rod if I get a chance for some added sport. One of the few rivers where you can still find several of them.

[gotmuddy]

Where do the smallies go? Does the clear water make them lay down in the bottom of the deep holes? We hardly saw many fish.

[jdmidwest]

Where do the smallies go? Does the clear water make them lay down in the bottom of the deep holes? We hardly saw many fish.

They move up into the spring branches where the water is warmer due to the constant temp of the spring flows. They also drop deeper or just feed less.

[gotmuddy]

I wanted to wade up blue springs but my buddy was ready to go.

[joeD]

With this constant bright sun, clear and low water, I think the smallies are a little gun-shy about chasing a lure any distance, especially if it's in the sun. The smallies I've caught in the last couple weeks have mostly been in the shade, often hugging a log. Even though it's getting late in October, I don't think the water temp has gotten that low, or low enough to really put them off their feed. As I said, I really believe it's the constant bright sun and low clear water that's making them a little fussy.