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!

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!