The Perfect Morning

Driving to the river early yesterday morning I witnessed a fantastic sunrise. The combination of high cloud cover and the rising sun turned the sky to various shades of pink and blue that stretched for miles. It was one of those times where a photo could never capture what the eye is seeing. Maybe this perfect sunrise would carry over to a perfect morning on the water. For a couple of hours, it did.

Early mornings in the summer is a favorite time of mine to hit the water. Add warm, humid conditions along with some cloud cover and I can’t wait to throw a popper. I seem to have my best days under these conditions. With all this going for me I walked into the river with confidence. The third cast of the day reinforced that confidence. A smallie hit the popper, and little did I know but this first fish would the smallest of the day.

I only fished about a 150 yard stretch of river. Fishing the main flow I couldn’t buy a bite. But just off the current in slower water the fish were aggressive. Each hookup produced a bigger smallie than the previous catch. I laughingly thought that if I caught 10 the last one would be a state record. But then I hooked one that made we wonder if I was on to something.

There is a section of the river that is about 30 yards wide. I can wade down the middle and hit both banks. One side has a fast flow, the other side is very slow. Starting out, I did pick up a smallie on the bank on the faster side. Moving downstream, I placed the popper right against the bank on the slow side. I could see the bottom of the river and it was maybe 6” deep. A couple of strips moved it away from the bank into slightly deeper water. I saw a flash and then it was like a toilet flushed. A smallie inhaled the popper and about a gallon of water. I set the hook and the fish wasted no time going airborne. To be brutally honest, when it did jump, I had a holy $&#t moment. It was a tank. This fish ended up being the hardest fighting smallie I had ever hooked, and had to be one my top three smallies in terms of size. After landing it, taking a quick photo, and then releasing it I took a minute to smile. Every fisherman that has had a similar experience knows that feeling just doesn’t get any better.

Hardest fighting smallmouth I've caught.

Unfortunately, the sun broke through the clouds, and just that fast, the bite was over. But it was a perfect morning.

Go out and fool a fish!

Sometimes It’s Not About The Fish

I know it sounds like a cliché, but sometimes it’s not about the fish, especially this time of the year. Being an early riser, late spring / early summer is my favorite time of the year. First light is before 5:30AM. Throw in a warm morning, and it’s a perfect time to hit the water. As the pictures show, you can’t beat being alone on water at that time of the day.

A great morning to be on the water.

There’s a local pond that I like to fish at least once a year. I use the pond to kill a couple of hours, practice casting and maybe catch a fish or two. Sunfish, largemouth bass, and catfish populate the water. A light fly rod or ultralight spinning outfit is all that is needed. When fishing the pond I take my 4wt and use a popper. After six months of using an 8wt for steelhead, the 4wt is a welcome change.

This week I hit the pond at the right time. It gets pressure in normal times but because of the lockdown even more fishermen were showing up. Now, Ohio has opened up, and some of the added pressure is coming down. The parking lot was empty when I showed up at 6:00AM. The water was a mirror except for a few active geese. Nothing beats casting a popper on a glass surface.

 Smooth as glass.

I started with a large popper, hoping a bass would key on it. But, anyone who has fished ponds knows that sunfish can be a nuisance. They always seem to be around the popper no matter where it lands. If it’s a larger popper, all the sunfish seem to be able to do is bump it. And, that’s what they were doing.

Meanwhile, the bass were having nothing to do with the large sized popper. So I switched to a smaller size, one that even the sunfish could inhale. Sure enough, a sunnie hit the popper and inhaled it. Several casts later a large wake followed the popper and a nice size bass hit it. It went deep into the weeds and hung me up. I finally managed to free the fly but the fish got off. After that I managed to land a couple of sunnies, but I reminded myself that sometimes it’s not about the fish.

 Could have been a 20" bass or a 5" sunnie. It just didn't matter.

Find yourself a warm summer morning and hit a local pond. You’ll be glad you did.

Go out and fool a fish!