Excited About New Stuff, Quick Report, and Ticks

I'll have some new toys for river smallmouth fishing soon. Chomping at the bit to enjoy these new gadgets. Alas! Patience.

I caught 20 smallies on 5/10 in 4 hours, mostly on Lucky Craft Sammy 100 near flats and tubes in the wood piles. My partner added another 10, only throwing tubes. Lost one really good fish at my feet in the 18-19"+ range. This doesn't happen to me much, I knew on this small stream the smallmouth like to hunker deep in the wood. I wouldn't get too many chances. The loss seemed like an epic fail, especially so lazily handled. The stream banks change a lot due to erosion, some of the holes simply disappear from year to year. I have a sense of urgency that every chance counts here because the bass can simply be under the logjams and inaccessible. You might only get 2-3 good chances! Largest went 17.25", 16", 3-15" after that.

Had a tick on me when I got home. Hadn't attached yet, thankfully. Ticks are about my least favorite thing in the world. Then another two on me in the car the next day. Think I tracked those ticks in when I pitched off the high bank into the wood from better line of sight. I offer up some advice in the form of this photo:

Smallmouth are Spawning

It is my experience in Central Indiana, most of the medium or less rivers and creeks have bass on beds right now. A good time to leave the bass alone. It will save you a lot of frustration on why your lures aren't consistently bitten. The best reason to leave smallmouth alone is to help ensure a good year's recruitment class after last year's cold winter. Catching a spawning smallmouth can cause it to abandon the nest and allow the eggs to be eaten.