Up Shit Creek Again 3/31/13

 

Guest Writer ZP- 

Brenden and I got out for an Easter float today.

Things started out well, with a few early fish out of some wood.

Things started to go slightly south when Brenden tried to horse his yak under a log while dragging the yak around obstructing wood, and his paddle snapped in half. He didn't bat an eye about it though, and kept on trucking, paddling canoe style with a half paddle.

The water felt warm (for this time of year) and the fish seemed pretty active. Caught a few out of feeding positions rather than typical winter spots. Many plucked from wood by dabbling the jig down in from above.

Brenden was getting a little ticked with his paddle struggles, and it came to a head when he hung up in current and then while trying to paddle upstream his line of his second rod tangled with the first, and then both with his anchor rope. He paddled hard, got frustrated and slapped his paddle against the water. Crack. The other end snapped off as well. He chucked the useless handle in frustration and floated downstream powerless.

 

I offered half my paddle, but instead we ended up attaching the front of his yak to the tail of mine and dragging him along. I referred to this setup as the "kayak train". The kayak train was not very fast or maneuverable. At time when we'd hit current the wrong way, he'd whip around past me, which elicited happy "woo-hoo's" from the caboose rider.

 

Since we were pretty slow going with this setup, and had a ways yet to go, we had to cut back on the fishing and mainly just try to make our way out. Still got a few more fish along the way though.

I ended up with 13 (12 SMB, 1 LMB), with an 18" and a 17".

I think Brenden had 18~19 including an 18" (which he pulled from water I had just fished thoroughly.

Fun day! The paddle situation made it memorable. I was laughing my ass off from the bank when he snapped the paddle for the second time. First time I've seen that!

 

 

High Water Smallie Action- 3/30/13

Given a choice of lower clear water or high clear water I'll take the high version every time during cold months. It stacks fish into even more concentrated places than before.

Saturday I got on a medium flow over 1000 CFS. Usually a sign for multiple pigs! Water visibility was probably around 2', air temps would reach 52F.

Brought my kayak just in case, but was too lazy to launch it, instead hoping to a bunch of Winter holes via car, and foot. I really did my first wade of maybe a mile in the middle of all the  short to medium walks. First spot I got one on a chatterbait, tube and hair jig. Each a 15" fish.

Moved up a mile and across corn fields on foot where I got another 5 without a miss to 14" on the hairjig.

Got in the car and cut across woods to a new theoretical spot which produced a handful more on the hairjig, still no misses. Took a long walk on the bedrock with current thrashing my shins. I finally reached high ground and pitched into some rootwads along a shorn steep bank. Rewarded by two more bass to 15". That was all I could find in the high water there, so trotted back to the first spot lost one and caught another 15" bass on the jig. Curious now as that was 5-15" smallmouth and nothing larger. Even with this high water to push them in easy spots?!? Weird.

Hit a gulley pipe and found another 8 bass without a miss. 2 more 15"'s and 2 16"ers. Certainly don't mind catching these. Just couldn't get the big fish today...until.

I hooked a mamouth carp on the fly along the bottom stopping at one last spot. 10 minutes plus to land. I had to wade down from a high bank and hog wrestle the fish at nearly 3' long and I'm guessing 20 lbs or more. There wasn't a good place to get a pic so I let him go. managed a handful more smallies beforehand to finish with

25SMB (6 -15" 2-16-16.5") a 3' carp and a rock bass

Playin' Hooky 3-20-13

Had some chores to finish, took the day off from work. Figured I might try and wet a line later. Looked at the forecast. Nice and cold, 28F w/ winds up to 40 mph, but occasionally sunny too. Lots of layers helped, but damn was it cold!

Took my kayak but started on foot. A quick 15"er and then three more behind bridge piling, when I found the correct casting angle.

Went on with my float. Shelves and cracks are underwater structure that smallmouth love. Fished one pretty hard with wind trying to blow me upstream. Got a couple to 18.25" down from the shelf in the sun. Didn't take a picture of this fish as it was painfully thin and probably on its deathbed- skinny and a suction/piercing wound behind the head. Finally found the sweet spot with a float and fly drift fish. I followed this up with the hair jig along bottom for 5 more and couple pop offs.  I liken this kind of fishing to fishing on the bottom deep in a lake, you have to stay slow and keep rod movements to a minimum or you move the jig too much.

Left and floated the rest of the stretch. Lots had been changed by recent high water. Much of the wood had been removed changing things quite a bit. Couldn't get anyone knocking down deep, then pitched into a shallower boulder hole near the current and hooked a 2' carp that came to hand. Got out and hooked a dink, which I saw strike the fly jig in front of me. Later had a 13" fish follow the jig back and pull away at the last second when he saw me. Just the carp and dink in that whole waste of time. Headed back up to my ledge where I picked 4 more including this fat 18.75"er on float and fly. That fat fish tore ass!



16 SMB (18.75", 18.25", 16.5", 2-15") 1 24" carp.

3/16/13 Winter Smallmouth Bass on the Light Jig

Wade/float



At one point, smallmouth on 9 casts in a row! Dinks were biting too, which was probably half of what I caught.

The 8'6" BPS Microlite Float and Fly rod was problematic on a couple back swings, but can really launch a 1/16th oz jig. An 18" bass puts a nice bend in it.


28 SMB (18.25", 3-15-16")

Unlocking Cold Smallmouth Behavior 3/9/13

I like it when water comes up. Why? It pushes cold blooded river smallmouth bass into predictable places inside more predictable places and they themselves are there for the predictable food. Eddies and inside bends with depth. There is no better example of this than in the cold months. Saturday, I had the end of a slow descending drop from near flood stage meeting a thaw of the recent snow. Water of decent clarity 16-18", green, cold around 40F.

Went back to where I saw the black pool of minnows nearly as big as my house. That day, the flow was medium and clear. One fish only from the spot on float and fly. I had come back a few times to this mammoth pool after discovering it was full of nice bass in the Fall. That day, they wanted a 4" Sammy up top. Several months later I've been back with poor results considering the bass I know are in there! I had decided in my head the pool was so boulder filled it would take a good strong push to get them out of the pool and into the side pocket seen in my pic below. There's a ridge of gravel and boulder deposited by high water creek channel on the right where my kayak sits. Along with the slow inside bend you see in the pic this creates a nice eddy from 2-4' deep.

Now the water was rising, already up 6-8". Planned the ole kayak down, drag/paddle back up. About 2-3 miles down. I had done this before in lower water and it was a challenge then.

Bite was on on the way to the pool, usually close in to the bank in what little slack there was. Got dragged and tangled by a big carp. Ended up flopping around between my legs for a while. I finally realized I should glove the gill cover and toss the fish before it gave me most uncomfortable blowjob. Was probably 10-12#s

Smallies were concentrated by the swift current. High, cold water, warming, can't beat it! I'd pick them up on the bottom and drifting a float, didn't matter. Both techniques would pick up the extras here and there after I had presented the other.



Pulled 12 smallmouth off this bank from 6' above, when I hooked the first one, it shot downstream and I ran along above keeping on pressure. Could see it was huge from up there. Neat. It made a run for the riffle and then turned back from it as if to know it didn't want to live down there. At one point, pulled a 19.5", 16", 18.75" consecutively. At the top of the triangle is where I spotted the huge cloud of minnows in a past trip. Picture is of course out of scale, but you can see my kayak. The other side of the V is three times wider than the eddy. I cracked the case here. When the water comes up and deflects off the rocks above the triangle, some get swept downstream and the smallies wait in the slack. It takes current to push them out of the boulder fields in that giant pool, though. As it got later found some up in the triangle(probably bombarding the pod), including the 19.5"er!

It really was a case where smallies feed more during higher water. Their food is bunched up and they can access them with lesser visibility.











For this type of fishing, I use a 1/16th oz hair jig like those used in float and fly technique (my own ties), an 8' ML BPS Microlite FnF rod:











The jigs are either drifted at various depths along the slowest of current seams inside eddies, or free lined along the bottom. Yes, it's hard to keep a 1/16th oz jog on the bottom, but that's part of the success- you have to work the jig SLOW. Much slower than a tube, but not as slow as some would have you believe. The direction of the retrieve can also make a huge difference.

The small size of the lure makes it deadly. Rarely a miss. Light wire hooks have no problem penetrating with a slight twitch of the wrist. I think I missed 2 strikes today. Lost a couple during the fight, but you just can't beat a 90% hook up rate. Ever.

Flow had almost doubled and I got an insane workout, barely making any headway upstream and ploughing the yak across muddy farm fields. It really was too far. Rough return at half the flow.

Ended up breaking both my rods dragging the yak through the woods, popped the button off my pants, but it was so worth it. Lost a couple nice ones early in the day or it could have been really sick.

24 Bass 22 SMB (20.25", 19.5", 18.75", 2-16", 2-15") 2LMB, 30" Carp

 

Oh, Hell Yes! 2/18/13

Zack suggested we do a float Monday on Sunday afternoon. I thought about it for a minute, but really that's all it took. He typed something about the weather and kept repeating it throughout the day. Don't think I heard any of it. Best just to be prepared for any event going in when fishing in the cold. Zack picked a bridge, then I added another one. Turned out to be just the right distance.

We met at 10am and probably launched 10:30-10:45. Didn't take long as we each caught a small bass in an eddy. We fished a long, straight pool, smallmouth were in the slower boulder field. You couldn't see them, but you could make out where the bedrock cleared off. Each dark rock on the bottom was somewhat visible. I had sent Zack to hit the opposite bank, where he blanked while I pulled in 8-9 consecutive bass from 12"-17.5". I yelled at Zack to get his ass over to my side. He did in time to get a 17" and a 16"er. I landed the first rock bass in like 7 months. We moved on. The next pool was a way off. Deep. We eventually found bass to 14" in the middle of the pool on the drop off of a sand bar. I picked 3 and Zack 1 before we moved on.





Below a stone bridge, far off tales of 21" smallmouth caught in the past peaked my interest. An area too deep to wade, definitely a staging area for the riffle above. The pool extended 300-400 yards. We worked over the head and Zack got the first fish on the less suspicious bank. I paddled over to snarf his spot like he is always doing, had a smallie hooked who launched 18" into the air in 40F water! Que a dink LMB. The large pool was hard to work because of strong, strong winds pushing us back upstream. We mostly paddled out from there.

At the very end, the pool riffled and bent nearly 90 degrees, right in that bend was a large swirling eddy. We parked our kayaks at the gravel bar and approached on foot. This really was the theme of the day as you could see so much better on foot from above than seated in a kayak. Zack circled around for better positioning, I fished dead down into the drop off and quickly was nailing 14"-15"ers like there was a lifetime supply. I pulled 12 bass from the spot over 20 minutes. Zack finally picked up a couple, not before questioning his manhood. Next pool, another 14" fish. Zack picked a 14"er in a small pool above the bridge.

We paddled down to another bridge, but it proved too difficult to fish from a kayak. There was 8'+ water down there and you had to fish ledges next to full current. We skipped through.

Downstream, I again led the charge out of the boat. Getting out of the boat above another eddy and fishing from shore, I picked up another 14"er and Zack followed in with a 17" fish. By now, the bass had gone from lethargic fights to putting up some nice runs. It was great.

Above another large pool, in a side slow area, I picked up a bass, as did Zack. Also snagged a turtle, by balancing the hook point on his shell.Turns out we were casting at the wrong angle. As I left after Zack, I threw along the current seam and was rewarded by another bass to hand.

We finally made it to the bend where Zack's Winter Cherry was first busted a couple years ago. It hadn't produced too crazy much since. Good spot, but not great like it was when I first found it. Certainly not worth nearly tromping a mile. However, put it at the end of a float? Icing on cake. Zack picked up a largemouth as I circled around to the other side (see picture) to cast along the current seam. Showing the fish injured bait as they would actually expect rather than as a matter of personal convenience. It took a few casts wading waist deep in current before I found one, and he turned out to be the fish of the day. This bass tore the river up in that fast current. Finally, some big girl love! 18.5".



Zack got a couple more and I picked two more from a spot Zack overlooked, even though I told him about it ahead of time. The second fish flopped under my kayak seat and took a good long while to dislodge in the middle of the river.

All fish were caught on 1/16th hair jigs. Would have expected a few more larger fish for the numbers, but really can't complain if we caught 1/3 as many smallmouth. Great size class of 14"ers coming up.

BT 34 Bass 33 SMB (18.5", 17.5", 3-4 15") About 15 14" fish 1 LMB, 1Goog and a turtle
ZP 13 Bass 1LMB (2-17", 16", couple 15"'s)

I think we caught like 6 bass while seated in our kayaks!

 

Pig Surprise 2/10/13

Got a late start Sunday. Finally arrived with the kayak in tow around 1:15. First Winter try here. Took another 20-30 minutes to get to fishable water. With water pushing up, I should have plenty of current to push basses to locatable spots. Had theories of course, but you never know until you sink floats.



There were 4 good pools in a 2.5-3 mile float. A long way for a late start lots of empty water, but when I got to the likely places, they were biting. 6 casts in a row at one point, 14"-17.5".


Short video of the mad fight on the above fish.



Rain was falling and eventually my waterproof jacket reminded me it wasn't anymore.


Got 3 in a row, including a 15" Spot, 16"SMB, 15"SMB. I don't remember catching too many of those in Winter. Slowly moved down and fished the pool methodically. Got past the hot zone. Noticed alot of silt deposited by highwater about 4-5' up the bank showing the creek had gotten a good scouring. A log lay parallel to the shore where it used to be silted. Now it appeared chest deep. As I drifted, I kept making short tosses down the log, until my final cast went to the upstream side of the rootwad. Sat down there a few seconds until felt a definate 'tic'. Then, my rod tripled over and I heaved up a huge camo colored bass to the boat. No fight, it wasn't ready to run, and I got it wrapped in line, quickly to hand. 21" Wow. Unexpected. Nothing here in the Fall. Just looked too good not to hold that fish.





It started to get cold with wet shoulders sitting in a kayak. Was hard to tell how late it was and I haven't been paying attention to the sunset time. At the last pool, one I know had a lot of fish in it in Fall, the current was just busting through this mostly straight pool. Too big to locate with one exception, a small dry creek inlet had left some pilings to one side. I had to get out out of the boat as I was starting to drastically drop temperature wise. From the high bank I spied out this eddy. In the 'triangle brown. The brown was a million minnows clustered in shallower water. Maybe a patch 20 feet wide by 20 feet wide. Down where the bottom finally disappeared I discovered the smallies. One at 17" with an eye missing and a second just over 17".

Got two with the float, the rest on bottom, but only because I had fast results without the float. Bite was predicatable and hot when I was on a hole, the runs in between were massive empty distances, preventing a 20 fish plus day.

Paddled and dragged back to the car took forever, got there in the dark. Been working out and running a lot this Winter, but the current was a true test. So much so < made two trips up the hill with my stuff rather than pulling it up the 60' hill. Still geeked and wired the next AM from the exertion and fun. New stretches rule when you have success.

14 Bass: 13 SMB (21", 3-17-17.75", 16", 2-15") 1 15" KY Spot I think 1 fish under 14" all day.

 

More Winter Fire 1-20-13

I went to a different river today. Surprised visibility was in the 18" range, but you couldn't make out much. Nice sun shining on NW side of the river. Almost all fish came from sunlit pools. Planned a stand and fish, float, fish bigger pool, float, get out stand and fish, drag back up, hit 'em again on the way back up.

1st 17"er of the day!



First spot, I start out free lining the float and fly jig parallel to the bank and through the eddy. Don't feel the strike, but suddenly weight and a nice fish darting everywhere! Surprised by the fight. Yesterday's 52F high had warmed the water a little, despite the dropping temps (30F). I get a few more out of the yak using the FnF, including a 15"er that got in current like a jetship. Fun.

Floated to a nice eddy right at a riffle above a large pool. My kayak anchored right along the swift current. I'm free lining the jig again. Thunk. Nice fight, 14". This looked promising. I anchored along the shore in the back eddy, hitting the spot with the sun shining brightest. Dual rods going with FnF deployed, I slow fished a tube. It had been sitting there a while when I felt a bite. She hooks and darts, then off. Didn't feel huge, but they almost always start at 12">>>>+ That fish gave away the location of the pod in my mind. I had two fish to triangulate, so now I went in with over lined float and fly. After a few drifts the float moves! Lifting the rod gently, it quickly doubles over and explodes into action. Another bigger fighter. To hand measures 17", my battery on the camera then depletes so I have no more pictures to show you. Still, 3 from that eddy was a new high.

I float down to the big pool, where the fishing is hard because the area where bass usually are is filled with new submerged wood. I get a LMB on FnF and hang up like 10 times before I move out in frustration.

The next target is a run ending in a riffle. The run widens out and has an old tree to the left. Always caught good stuff above that riffle, figure they have to collect over on the slack side near that tree. I've been here in the Winter several times, but it hasn't proven very good until now. I fished it purely free lining the FnF jig for the first time and it turned out to be the highlight of the trip.

I love this technique, because you never mistake a bite, rarely miss fish (assuming you set hook gently), best of all you can tell how much movement will get you bit. Generally, this is better I find when the water has warmed up some. It hurts when too much movement hampers the bite. A couple 12-14"ers right away, I pull the jig free of a larger fish, which I only just saw. Pull it out of another without a hookup-exuberance is the enemy, dropping back down in the same spot I see a fish nail it. By now I'm standing on the log trying to get into the ominous darker water with my piddly casts. Further, further, balance, balance 20' out onto the tree there is a lone stump that sticks up about 5' above the water. I lean against that and nab two more bass just feet from where I stand.

Finally in range, I toss to the area in the eddy that tells me depth, correct current speed. A short throw of 15' or so, pulling line out so the jig drops down. Waiting, shake a rod tip, wait, dart it, let it drop, wait. Thunk. Heavy! Explosive. I'm on a tree with basically one hand usable. Bass trys for under the log and every which way. I can't bend over to land the fish without going in the drink up to my chest. I jump towards shore 6', landing in the waist deep leaves, while keeping pressure on the fish and swimming him over the log. Thick as hell, measuring 18".

I fish the downstream side of the log and nail a 14", then a white crappie in the most unlikely of places. By the time I've left the spot, I'm at 12 SMB and a crappie. Drag the kayak through the woods on upstream. At the large pool, I nail a 16" fighter. Move up to another spot and pick a dink, then try a chartreuse crankbait along the roots parallel to the bank-undercut. Yep. Big fish on the crank, but only the rear hooks. I fight it nearly to me enough to see another 17-18" thick smallmouth. Dragging the fish against the backswirl while it headshakes=bad. It comes off. Damn!

Last produces another 17"er that goes nuts. Fly jig.

16 Bass 1 LMB, 15 SMB (18", 3-17", 16", 3-15") Crappie. If I executed a little better, could have been 20 fish day.

3 days in January produce 37 SMB (19.5", 18.5", 18.25", 18", 17.5", 4-17", 16", 5-15") 2 carp 24-26", 2 Quillbacks, and LMB and a White Crappie.

People, THAT was glorious.

 

More Bent Rods 1-19-13 YAY!

Fishing two days in a row, I again decided to float one of those large pools. Water was pumping, visibility 12-14", sunny, very windy. They can be kind of risky. There a lot of fish in there and a lot of places for them to be. I went O-for. Kinda.



Floated down and tried to hit an sandbar caused by an inlet pipe. Wind would not let me fish from the yak, even with both anchors deployed. I got out and worked the eddy's bank and soon had a 13" on a tube, then a 14"er on float and fly.

Then a guy comes up and yells at me about something. I'm like, "Wind, kayak". Why is he wearing waders? Then I realize it is Jim A! LOL. He comes over and tells the tale of woe fishing (so far), the car was on and he was on his way out. So we departed. Later saw his car parked and he could have just fished with me.

Anyways, dead center in the eddy I'm working long lining the float and fly, the float moves sideways. I lift. A nice weight on there. Good fish! 17" and chunky, yellow and bright white.



I walk back to get the car and Jim is parked there, but no sign of him. Load up the yak and hit a small creek. Looks great- dead sea. Bush league. Get back on the big water and risk a pig or two.

I do. Park and hoof the corn fields. This used to be a great high water spot, but some of the structure moved a couple years back and it has since stunk. Didn't take long free lining fly jig against the upstream eddy swirl. Thunk, thunk, thunk. In like 30 minutes, 5 bass to hand: dink, 2-13", 17.5", 18.25". Guess that was it.



Some experimental poses:





Getting late. Chance for one more go to spot.

Working again parrallel to the bank, freelining 1/16th oz FnF jig over big rocks. I don't feel the thunk. Feels snagged only it's coming. That's no snag! Another fatty!

18.5"





Pick a dink at my feet and get my 10 bass day.

10 SMB (18.5", 18.25", 17.5", 17") 1 Quillback carpsucker (snagged)

 

Lines Stretched 1-18-13

I haven't fished yet this year. Conditions were prime, high water... Well, more stained than I'd liked. 8" visibility.

But...on my first cast, the float sunk. I soon had a 12-13"er to hand. Great sign. Picked another 30 minutes later near some wood along a sun exposed bank. 14-15". Good sign. It was clear the water was cranking and the fish couldn't see that well. When they did, they bit.



Picked another out of a triangle, basically right on the bank. Would pick another on the way back up. 14", 12"

Floated down to a large pool. Finally, I found some bass and carp concentrated on a lone log. Had to be tight to the wood or nothing. Picked 2- 24-26" carp and 3 smb- dink, 14", 15". Pulled the yak back to the car. Lots of scales on hooks. Rough fish must have been concentrated in small spots.





Walked to the next spot. By the time I got there, it was after 4pm. Tried dragging a tube slowly along rip-rap. This paid off, going 3/4, with the bass of the day at 19.5". Got another on fnf.







The bigger fish had proven hard to coax, the one nice one I did get was thick. Had been eating well. I literally pulled the tube under a rock I thought might contain a highwater pig. Felt like I hung up. The pig was hooked 2' from where I was standing.

11 SMB (19.5") 2 carp, 1 quillback carpsucker.