A creek trip from October

[Lloyd]

Lately I’ve been itching to catch some smallmouth. My first creek trip of the year won't be until April of May, but that won't stop me from daydreaming about it. And I'll share this trip from October. Usually I don’t do very well in October, but this trip was early in the month, and some of the pools were loaded. 

I began at the downstream end of the good smallmouth habitat of this creek and worked my way upstream. The sun was just starting to rise, so I tied on a generic whopper plopper. Almost immediately I caught a few small spots, which was typical for this section, but then I caught a nice largemouth, which was a nice surprise.  

At the first deep pool, I had another surprise - a big rock bass nailed the plopper. On the Smallie Talk podcast, they call these Frenchies, because they fight for two seconds and then give up. I didn't get any more hits on the plopper and the sun was getting higher, so I switched to a fluke... and immediately caught a 13 inch smallie. It was 8:15 am and I was finally on the board for the target species.

For the next few miles the fishing was poor. Gars weren't a problem - I saw maybe 10 the whole trip. It was more a matter of habitat degradation. Many of the stretches and pools that used to be good were now silted in. One pool in particular had been excellent in 2023, with lots of 17 inchers and one I couldn't get to bite that might have broken 20. This time, I didn't see a single bass in it. The water was very low, and a small tree that had marked the east bank in 2023 was now about 10 - 15 feet from the waterline.

There was one spot along this leg that had a good bunch of smallies: a pool with a stack of fallen logs at its head. The logs run directly across the creek, and there’s a deep hole just below them. I had several hits on the fluke, but I couldn't hook them, or they kept getting off. When I got up to the logs and peered into the hole, I saw four or five nice bass, and one of them looked like a 17 incher. I switched over to a senko and dropped it down. When it had almost reached the bottom a decent smallmouth darted out from the root wad and ate it. I couldn’t see the take because it was too deep, but when he got to the worm and turned around I figured he had it. And he did. Fortunately this fish was hooked well and I landed him. He was only 13 - 14 inches, but since the fishing had been tough I took several pictures. It was 10:22 am.

About an hour later I got to another pool that used to be fantastic. This was where I caught my first walleye, and plenty of big smallmouth that ferociously smashed Zara Spooks over the rocks toward the upstream end. This time I caught a few small fish, but nothing worthy of a photo. It was sad that this pool had fallen so far from its former glory.

By the time I got above the next bridge it was after 1 pm. I had come to a short pool that was almost entirely shaded, and I cast the fluke toward the base of a big tree overhanging the creek. About halfway back a wake appeared and I knew a hit was coming. I gave it a few seconds, then set the hook and the fish was on. He fought like crazy and I was thrilled to finally have a big smallie on the line. I measured him and he just barely made 17 inches. An awesome fish.

I didn’t catch anything noteworthy for the next half mile or so, but the deep pool beneath the next bridge was money. I was still using the fluke, and I got hits on the first five or so casts. Soon I had a good fish on but he got behind a rock pile and broke me off. Then I caught a 14 incher. I kept casting and kept getting hits. At one point I had what felt like a nice one but he got off, and I cursed the heavens. Yes, I missed and lost a ton of fish on this trip. But I kept casting, mostly to the far side of the torrent of water flowing into the pool so that the fluke was working through the flow. And then I hooked a monster. When it jumped, I thought it might be a 20. I was in the water and when I brought it close it almost darted between my legs, twice. I had to squeeze my feet together so he couldn’t get between. This fish measured 19 inches, but he was skinny and might not have made 3 lb.s. After that I caught some smaller fish from the pool, including another rock bass, but nothing worth a picture. Still, there were obviously plenty of good fish in this pool.

I had high hopes for the stretch upstream of the bridge, and it didn’t disappoint. At first I was wading and casting almost directly upstream, but then I moved to the bank and cast across the creek. I think this was the right idea, since at least some of the fish cruise up and down the pool and will clearly see you if you’re standing in the middle of the creek. About halfway up the pool I caught my first fish there, which I think was a 17.5. A little ways upstream I had just started to reel in the fluke for another cast when a big smallie appeared out of nowhere and crushed it. What an awesome hit. I’m confident that if I had been in the creek, this hit never would have happened. The fish was a hair over 18 inches.

The sun was getting low so I felt the urge to speed up and cover more water. On the other hand, I was already on fish. The head of this pool used to be fantastic, and once I caught three nice smallies on consecutive casts there. But this time it was silted in and didn’t appear to be worth much effort. But while I was hastily wading through I saw a few minnows jump towards the far bank. I cast in that direction and within seconds I had a nice fish on, and it turned out to be a hefty smallmouth/spot hybrid. It was 5:37 pm and the sun was below the tree tops, so the entire pool was in shadow. Sunset was at 6:36 pm.

The next pool, which had a big tree running down its length, was fire. I cast to the left side of the tree and immediately caught a nice largemouth. Then I cast to the right side and hooked a solid fish. I ran up the bank to get a better angle and keep him out of the tree, which I barely did. When he jumped I saw it was a monster, and when it landed it sounded like someone threw a bowling ball off a bridge. There were several smaller fish following and I put zero effort into concealing myself from them - I was going to make sure I landed this fish. When I got him to the bank I saw that his patterning was very similar to a big smallie I caught from the next pool upstream in early September. Later, a comparison of the pictures from both occasions revealed a little black spot above the fish's left eye. So I’m pretty sure this was the same fish. Catch and release works again. That’s at least the third time that I’ve caught the same fish twice at this creek. He was 19 inches.

The next fish was on the next cast, but this one was only about 13 or 14 inches. There was a much bigger bass following, maybe a 17 or 18, but I never got him to bite. It was just after 6 pm and starting to get dark, so rather than picking apart this pool (which likely would have given up more good fish), I decided to move to the next pool upstream. I immediately had a hit but missed him. A few casts later I hooked a 13 incher, and while I was fighting him I had to appreciate the serenity of the moment. The stiff breeze and rustling leaves of the afternoon had fully diminished, giving way to complete stillness. It had become so quiet that I could hear the boils the fish made as it came near the surface, and with the bluff walls across the creek as a backdrop, I had the realization: this is it, this is the kind of moment I live for. 

A minute or two later I caught another fish of similar size, and that was the last one of the trip. I made a few more casts past the boulder about midway up the pool, then started heading back downstream. At the stretch above the bridge I took a few minutes to throw a Spook Boyo, and while I got one good blow up, I didn't connect. By the time I got back to my car it was almost completely dark. I had fished from dawn to dusk and I was exhausted, and ecstatic. 

Looking back, I feel exceedingly grateful to have this kind of smallmouth fishing within a short drive of home. Hopefully 2025 will be just as good. 

[basska]

Wow! Some really great fish there! Good read and learned a lot.

I have learned too now how seasonal the bite can be. With a fishing experience as fun as creek Smallies, it makes these months very painful.

[MObassin95]

Very sad to hear about the pools being silted in. That’s the number one threat our amazing streams are facing and nobody seems to do anything about it.