Fast Water Was The Winner

It is the end of June and the lake run smallie season is over, so the chance to catch a really big one in the rivers is limited. But the resident smallies have been very cooperative, and with the right equipment they can be a blast. And every once in awhile you can be surprised with an above average size smallie that puts up a great fight.

This 11" smallie put up a good fight on my 4 wt fly rod. It inhaled a woolly bugger.

Each time out this summer the fishing has gotten better and better. This has been my best smallmouth season since I got back into fishing seven years ago. There aren't a lot of big fish but the numbers are higher than previous summers. What has stood out is how different the rivers fish from one outing to the next. The last time out I found success with a popper working slow pools. It seemed the slower the better. A few days later after a cool front the action totally changed. It was fast water from start to finish. As much as I tried to get a smallie to hit a popper, in the end it was a woolly bugger day.

Take an ultralight outfit or a 4 wt fly rod and give it a try. There's plenty of room on the rivers. You just might have some fun.

Go out and fool a fish!

Do You Practice K & R? I Hope Not.

K & R, or better known as Kiss and Release, seems to be a growing “thing” among fishermen. Catch a nice size fish, give it a kiss, and let it go. I’ve seen it on outdoor television shows and on the water. Sure, it may be a fish of a lifetime, or it put up a good fight, but I just don’t understand. I’ve caught big fish, and it never even entered my mind to kiss it. I guess that’s the Seinfeld in me.

Do you know where that fish has been? It lies at the bottom of a lake or river in muck and around rocks and wood. It has a slime coating to protect it. And some fishermen want to kiss them? I’m sure there’s some obscure study that identifies several health concerns that could potentially be transferred from the lip lock.

Beautiful rainbow caught on a dry fly. But you'll never see me kiss a fish.

Take a picture. Pat it on the head. Release it. Don’t kiss it. But if you do, don’t tell your significant other that you kissed a fish when you go to kiss her, or him.

Practice P, P, & R.

Go out and fool a fish!

Some Mornings Are Better Than Others

And this is one of them. You just have to be in the right place at the right time.

The Grand River, early morning. It's worth getting up early.

(Click on image for larger view.)

Oh, and they like yellow today.

A couple days ago I had a strike by a small pile of rocks and missed the fish.

Same spot two days later, I didn't miss.

Go out and fool a fish!

Best. Smallmouth. Day. Ever.

The weather everyone in northeast Ohio has been waiting for has finally arrived. A string of hot days was missing until this weekend. A lot of people ran for the beaches and parks. I ran for one of the rivers because the hot weather brings warming water temperatures, which makes the smallmouth bass more active. What I didn’t expect was almost non-stop action on the water.

Wanting to hit the river early before the sun starts to bake everything, I set the alarm for 4:30 AM. After downing a quick breakfast I made the half hour drive to one of the prettiest stretches of the Chagrin River. Early arrival guaranteed access to any pool I wanted. Settling in, I carefully waded to a spot that has always been productive. At this point I slipped on a rock, and thrashed around trying to keep my balance. While I didn’t get soaked I did think the pool was toast, but decided to try it anyhow. That was the first correct decision I made on the water. Fortunately, it wasn’t the last.

Nice smallie fooled by the Root Beer Golden Retriever. The fish couldn't resist it today.

The second correct decision was on fly selection. During the summer I rig up two rods. One rod is for a streamer, and a second rod for a topwater popper. For the streamer, I tied on a Root Beer Golden Retriever. This is a streamer I have only found in one fly shop in Virginia, Mossy Creek Fly Fishing. Tied with a No. 10 hook, it is basically a brown color with some crystal flash. Today it was deadly. Within the first 15 minutes I hooked into five smallies. Maybe I’ll thrash around the water more often.

Only 1-1/2" in length but it's an ideal baitfish imitation.

Moving down the pool I switched to the topwater popper. It’s actually a Sneaky Pete, which has rounded head. It displaces the water by sliding instead of popping, and creates enough disturbance on the water to attract fish. It was like a magnet today. I made a cast to the opposite bank and gave it a strip. On the pause a smallie came to the surface and sucked it in. A nice fight took place but in the end the bass found the net. Topwater strikes are the best part of fishing for smallies. I found they don’t sip in the popper, they attack it.

The rest of the day I alternated between the streamer and the Sneaky Pete as I made my way through the park. When my day ended I was into double digits in smallies. But the highlight was catching a creek chub on the Sneaky Pete. I always thought chubs were bottom feeders but one of them couldn’t resist attacking the Sneaky Pete.

This is an above average size creek chub. It couldn't resist the Sneaky Pete.

Now for the downside of the day. You may wonder how could there be a downside when the action was constant. Well, I missed another six strikes, mostly by not paying attention. And, the biggest smallie got off at the net. I stretched to get the net under him but missed. I must have put some slack in the line as the smallie spit the fly and quickly swam off. Oh well, I guess you can’t have everything.

Go out and fool a fish!

Efishent Fishing

Let’s start with a definition.

E-fish-ent: Performing a fishing task in the very best possible manner with the least waste of time or effort.

After last week my picture is next to this definition in the dictionary. I managed to catch two fish, on one cast, with one fly. It doesn’t get more efishent than that.

I visited one of my favorite spots and started to strip a woolly bugger through a pool. After about five minutes I felt a tug. The smallie put up a little fight but in the end found the bottom of the net. Holding the fish in the net I removed the bugger. Then, after admiring the markings on the smallie, I released it. Standing up, I grabbed my fly rod to get ready to make another cast. I was surprised when I felt another tug. A creek chub inhaled the bugger only about 5’ downstream from me. I laughed so hard I had to look around and make sure no one was around.

This is the smallie that started a chain reaction.

This creek chub couldn't resist the woolly bugger dangling at my feet.

Now my goal is to catch three fish on one cast, with one fly.

Go out and fool a fish!

Rock Bass Get No Respect

The poor rock bass gets no respect. Fish for smallmouth and often a rock bass will hit your fly or lure. You won’t get a jolt that a smallie can put on a line but a slight bump. Dare I use that word “nibble”? I’ve always thought of them as a warm water fish, so when they start biting the waters are warming, which should improve the fishing for smallmouth. So catching them is a good sign.

Rock bass like clear water with rocky structure. Don't be surprised to catch one when fishing for smallies.

One of the most active five minutes I’ve had on a river involved rock bass. I was fishing a stretch of the Chagrin River with my 4 wt. and came up on a small boulder near a bank. It looked like a “fishy” spot. Casting a small, chartreuse woolly bugger, I let it swing through the downstream side of the boulder. First drift and I feel that slight bump. Sure enough, a rock bass comes to hand. Second drift, same thing. I ended up pulling seven rock bass and one small largemouth from behind that boulder in the next five minutes. Sure, they weren’t smallies but I won’t pass up a chance to catch a fish. A fisherman cannot control what hits their fly or lure. Enjoy the activity. And, with ultra light gear, have some fun.

Go out and fool a fish!

May Has Given Us The Cold Shoulder, Until Now

A cold morning brought out the river fog. Trees are filled in and catching the early morning sun.

Up to now May has been unseasonably cool in northeast Ohio. Temperatures have averaged about 6° below normal. That seemed to have slowed down the lake-run smallmouth bite. There have been some reports of catches, but the river temps haven’t been able to rise to a level that would make them extremely active. If you’re an early morning fisherman it’s even tougher. I know that first hand.

The other day I hit the water after a two week layoff. The morning temperatures were forecasted to be around 50°. Boy, did that local meteorologist get it wrong. I was greeted to temps in the upper 30’s. Not going to get many, if any, smallmouth to chase a woolly bugger at those temps. The good news is the temperatures are going to spike into the upper 80’s for a few days. That should help to increase the smallies metabolism, if the forecast is right.

The last couple of times out I’ve noticed a drop off in the number of fishermen hitting the rivers. The end of steelhead season will do that. I hit a popular spot, looked upstream and downstream, and did not see another fisherman. I had the entire stretch to myself all morning.

What I also noticed was the greening and growth of the trees and bushes. Almost all the trees are full of leaves. This is the time of year when the trails along the rivers start to narrow due to the growth. Paths that only a month ago looked like a two lane highway are starting to shrink. In another month you'll need your elbows to push aside the growth.

Ground cover is starting to fill in, making the paths narrower.

Hats off to Cleveland Metroparks. This path at the North Chagrin Reservation was widened in the fall.

You gotta love summer!

Go out and fool a fish!