The stream had a lot of high banks with crops planted close and erosion was pretty common. There was also a ton of rip-rap to repair some of this in places. Decent amount of current was nice and the stream averaged deeper than the three rivers I've been fishing most this year. Tons of bends :-) (why Mike picked it) and a decent amount of wood in the water. I'd say the river was river rock filled, but ample silt made the wade mostly easy on the ankles until the last mile or so.
Mike started out throwing LC Gunfish 95. We had donwsized to this lure with pretty good effect last weekend when fish wouldn't touch sammies. The water was cold, fog was coming off the water and I was freezing. I predicted the Topwater morning bite would be off. Mike lost a 14-15" on a jump and had a couple other slaps before I got a bite. We hit a nice pool where I caught a dink and a skinny 15.25" smallie on a red pumpkin tube.
Behind us a guy in a turqouise kayak started to paddle upstream behind us . We both dreaded this guy zipping past us all day spooking fish, but luckily he turned around. If you're out there- thanks :) . Hope you caught some.
Next pool up the tube was still getting bit, another decent fish and a couple more dinks. Mike was still working the dog to no avail. As I moved up I was tossing buzzbait into everything- with no results in likely places.
Mike finally started throwing a tube and we were getting bit regularily by dinks. I picked up fish here and there. Mike caught a couple of dinks on Gunny. We couldn't get anything in or near the woodpiles.
Hit a pool with a downed tree that screamed 'fish me', I fouled on the first cast, but when I moved to get it, I spied some grass near current at the head of a riffle. Tossed my tube up there nicely and was rewarded by a solid 'thunk' and drag peeling fight to which a nice 17" was landed:
We hit another shaded pool with riprap I caught a 15" off the rip on a tube, when Mike hooked a fish on the gunfish. I threw my tube in immediatley and got bit on the immediate drop- nice fight and 16"er landed. As the day went on the tube bite was in full effect. I caught 5 in a swirly current area including a 16" that took my tube as I dragged it over a log. We got pretty close to the fish here due to the fast current and deeper water.
Mike landed a nice 15.5"er off current seem on the bank. It was a no brainer pool just below a bridge. Here he is complete with manical grin:
-This photo harkens back to the 60's Batman show where the villains were always filmed sideways in their lair. With that getup, I think the angle suits him well. It also reminds me that the fish in this stream were thin and long,we didn't see a lot of food like other streams and there were tons of 6-10" fish! The fish had huge heads in the main, and big tails. In a tourney, they wouldn't have weighed much! I caught another 15" on a tube and we moved on.
Above this spot, we took a break at the bridge to eat contemplate the lack of good topwater bite. I said we hadn't yet tried a prop bait. Second cast, nailed another 15"+. Mike and I went on a prop bait madness run for about an hour picking up dinks and 15"ers. Seemed to be very few in between. Occasionaly, I'd whip out a tube and catch one, Mike kept throwing his prop.
Mike hooked a fish in front of a "V" in the stream and some down tree limbs, when it happended I was in midcast and pitched over his line. It quickly wrapped and climbed for his rod tip! I saw it making a mess and said " Mike, stop!" While I said this a 17-18" fish came and was hooked on Mike's Prop bait, too! The two fish were shaking and we had a horrible clustered mess!!!! I grabbed the line, but only the smaller 14-15" fish had stayed hooked in our bickering .
I had changed from 1/8 to 3/16 oz tube jig halfway and it paid off near deep riprap. A nice 17.5 and 15.5 caught in about 4' of water :-) .
The day dragged on and the fish turned off , I was in the 40's and Mike high teens when I began to recognize where we were. The very same secret stretch a local had taken me during the rodeo! Jeff must have been through recently because it fished like pooh. One dink was caught in hawg hole.
Mike and I went back to buzzbaits at dusk (that's right dusk), and caught a few more to make it respectable. From about 3pm on We had to work hard for every fish.
Strange that so many dinks were feeding. I probably had at least 25 dinks on 3-4" baits?
Final: BT 51 SMB (17.5, 17, 2 16", 10-12 15-15.75") 2 Googs, 1 Creek chub Mike 22 (6 or so 15-15.75") Not one damned fish on 'Sammy'
Wade just would never end, must have been the good tube bite. 4.89 miles 13 hours!
Lots of fun cutting up. We coined a new phrase. If you tripped on a rock: "Beaver Trap"!
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