It had to happen eventually. After 11 consecutive Indiana wades, I failed to catch at least one smallmouth bass 18" or better. Yesterday's outing failed me in my neglect of the weather forecast. I made the mistake of looking at the temperature alone as a guide. Forgot the sunny skies, super low, clear, water. Fishing was tough, 14 bass with 2-15"ers in 6 hours. Didn't even see many fish. Just can't get a finesse bite going to save my life on this newly discovered river. I have formed a mental picture of it's quality.
Go after a rain, on a cloudy day, during the rain. The stream is highly effected by bright sunshine. It lacks shade. The river bed consists of softball and golf ball round rock which conducts a lot of heat. There is a lot of wood to hide under. We banged them well with fresh tactics right off the bat the first few times http://smallmouthinyoursoup.blogspot.com/2013/08/camping-and-fishing-822-824.html. Long casts, precise casts, flossing cover or drawing unspooked lunkers with new presentations worked well.
Yesterday was so bad for larger fish, I began to wonder if they had retreated to the lake. Not seeing sucker schools or many carp either. Really tough when you can't wait them out with a good finesse lure. The intensity of the sun was too much. Bass and sucker schools had disappeared.
Signs of the bucket brigade on every stretch, sadly.
Wonder if some years see more smb swim out of the lake than others.
I could have picked a better day and kept this 18" er thing going. Maybe. I'd have to hazard a guess that the last 15 trips (650 SMB-26 smallies from 18-21" in the last 15 trips.) have been the best stretch of smallmouth bass fishing I've ever had in Indiana, and that's saying a lot.
491 bass in 11 trips during the streak. 5.78 bass an hour on foot. 111 over 15". Almost 55 miles of rivers.
Go after a rain, on a cloudy day, during the rain. The stream is highly effected by bright sunshine. It lacks shade. The river bed consists of softball and golf ball round rock which conducts a lot of heat. There is a lot of wood to hide under. We banged them well with fresh tactics right off the bat the first few times http://smallmouthinyoursoup.blogspot.com/2013/08/camping-and-fishing-822-824.html. Long casts, precise casts, flossing cover or drawing unspooked lunkers with new presentations worked well.
Yesterday was so bad for larger fish, I began to wonder if they had retreated to the lake. Not seeing sucker schools or many carp either. Really tough when you can't wait them out with a good finesse lure. The intensity of the sun was too much. Bass and sucker schools had disappeared.
Signs of the bucket brigade on every stretch, sadly.
Wonder if some years see more smb swim out of the lake than others.
I could have picked a better day and kept this 18" er thing going. Maybe. I'd have to hazard a guess that the last 15 trips (650 SMB-26 smallies from 18-21" in the last 15 trips.) have been the best stretch of smallmouth bass fishing I've ever had in Indiana, and that's saying a lot.
491 bass in 11 trips during the streak. 5.78 bass an hour on foot. 111 over 15". Almost 55 miles of rivers.
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