The Hotter The Better

Almost 80° at 6:00AM, cloudy skies, and over 2’ visibility on the water. I knew the topwater bite was going to be on. It has been my experience that the hotter the temperature, the more willing the bass are to attack a topwater popper. And attack it they did.

My go-to popper has been a black, Boogle Popper, with a size 10 hook. For the rivers in northeast Ohio I don’t think you need anything larger. Once the smallmouth lake run is over, and the residents settle into their territory, a downsized topwater offering does the job.

The black, Boogle Popper, laying by the tail, has been my go-to popper.

 

My goal is to cast the popper within a foot of a bank, wood structure, or a rock. It seems the closer the better. One thing I do is change up the retrieve. Sometimes I immediately pop it. Other times I’ll let it sit and drift before popping it. I’d have to say that both methods work equally well. At least they both produced yesterday.

It didn’t take long for the fun to begin. The first pool with some wood structure produced a couple of nice sized smallies. One hit the popper immediately after it landed. I must have put the popper right on the smallie’s head.

This smallie hit the popper immediately after it landed on the water. Had to have hit him on the head.

(Click on image for larger view.)

The largest fish of the day was taken from this pool. The smallie swallowed the popper, and gave a great fight. The bloodied warrior came to the net, was revived, and swam away strongly.

This bloodied warrior gave a great fight before coming to the net. He swam away strongly when released.

I like the spot pattern on this smallie. Click on the image for a larger view.

The rest of the day was spent catching, and occasionally missing a lot of fish. Let’s hope the hot weather continues.

Go out and fool a fish!

A Walk In The Park

Yesterday was one of those summer days that you just had to be outside. Blue skies and comfortable temperatures make for a great combination to pick a park and go for a walk. My wife grabbed her camera and told me to take a rod and do some fishing from shore. These trips are more about getting out and enjoying the scenery, and not necessarily about catching fish. If I hooked into something it would be a bonus. To travel light I picked my 6 wt. along with a popper and a woolly bugger. And off we went to a couple of parks out east.

We started at the Harpersfield covered bridge. It makes for some great photos. Whenever we go to the bridge I’m amazed at the number of people fishing from it. The bridge has to be 20’ above the water. Yesterday there were seven people, young and old, tossing live bait under bobbers. If you are familiar with the bridge there is a pool that is about 75 yards long. Some of the fishermen were drifting their offerings right to the tailout of the pool. Unfortunately, it was a quiet day, and there wasn’t any catching going on.

Harpersfield Covered Bridge, one of 19 covered bridges in Ashtabula County. A great spot for a walk or wetting a line.

As my wife and I walked downstream there were egrets, herons, and belted kingfishers perched on their favorite rock or tree waiting for a meal. I think they were having about the same kind of day as the fishermen from the bridge.

This egret stood motionless for minutes waiting for a meal.

(Click on image for a larger view.)

My wading boots were purposely left at home so I found a spot with enough room to cast from shore. I worked a stretch of water with the popper with no action. I guess not catching was contagious.

I worked this nice stretch of water downstream from the bridge.

The second stop we made was to Hidden Valley in Madison. We try to hit this park at least once a year but realized we hadn’t been there in two years. There’s plenty to see and enough room to cast. The portion of the Grand River that runs through the park has probably the most tannic water in the system. I always think I’m standing in a cup of tea when fishing there. I worked the popper and woolly bugger but couldn’t buy a hit.

The Grand River through Hidden Valley has some of the most tannic water in the system.

Even without catching anything it was still a great day. Sometimes it’s just about taking a walk in the park.

Go out and fool a fish!

A Day Even The Fish Are Patriotic

Have a great 4th of July. Enjoy it with family, friends, and maybe a fish or two.

Go out and fool a fish!