How many times will I fall in the river?

Went fishing Saturday with an objective of hitting two rivers, the first had been recommended to me by Prowler a year or two ago. I made the mistake of trying the same stretch and we ditched out after about an hour of zero activity :oops: .

Went to one of my favorite rivers to fall in. Averaging 1.2 baths per outing. Mike caught the first fish on tube, we had both been landing casts in the trees every other toss, the sun was making it hard to see anything in the dim light.

We started picking up fish on flukes near current, throughout the day it seemed the larger fish were in fast current, or very shallow at the triangle tops of eddies right next to fast current. We caught fish in these areas and walked up on several 17"+ fish in sick, inexplicably shallow areas. Mike and I worked a large winter hole type pool picking up some 15"'s and I a 16.5" on Sammy at the back of the pool who hit twice. It was not a Topwater day, though I did manage 3 on Sammy and Mike 1.

I randomly pitched short casts with fluke into bendy or rocky current areas and was rewarded many times with bonus fish. Mike bomb casted alot. Fish didn't seem spooky. Mike perfected the prevent D by walking into a hole right after I pulled a 16" out of it :o :lol: :P .

We hit a branching area of stream where Mike hit this nice 17.25" on a White fluke off the left current seam (right side) above:



The above was a branch of the river, there was another to out left and another directly above. Fun fishing to root around in all the nooks and crannies.

Here's a fish caught in a deep current blasting pool similar to Mike's above. Caught dragging a tube, didn't feel the hit, but the bass found it.



I hit the opposite side of a riffle in the fast current as Mike moved up. Drifting a fluke through I was both surprised and delighted to have this nice 17" gulp her up:



After that I had another nice fish attack my chatterbait from above and miss it in the fast current. Mike caught a fish on Sammy in the above pool. Lots of tail swats at sammy today- small or guarding fish I'd guess. One attack shot my Sammy a foot in the air!

Then I decided to land my kneecap directly on a hard rock and 20 minutes later go for a swim! Wading belt wasn't sinched down so I got leaky wetness. We moved on as it got dark and I got this last fish on a tube right at the very top of a rocky often productive pool. The tube started to swim off and hit her. Largest fish of the day about 17.25-17.5". Par for the course on this section of river. Loads of 15-17"er, an occasional 18". The best looking smallie habitat I've seen in the state and hardest stream I've ever waded. You simply are always playing 'twister'. All slippery chunk and river rock all the time, even walking the bank!


Pretty cool shot of the coloration:




Great day for all day wade, the temps were perfect and the fishing was good enough for the temps this year and flow heights. Mostly a fluke bite, but tubes worked when we threw them. We could easily see beds as the rocks were orange vs slightly mud colored. Many, many craws bluish, reddish and a buff green undercolor. Bet that color tube would rock.

We're going to float a long and totally new section to see if we can get into some larger Smallies soon.

BT 21 SMB (17.5, 17, 16.9", 2 16.5, 2 16" 2 15") 2 Googs and 1 Green Sunfish on 4" tube?!
MC 11 SMB (17.25", 16, 3 15)