Smallmouth Smorgasboard!! White Bass And More

[Capt.Bob]

I had to run a rod to my rod builder yesterday, a 65 mile drive. I left my favorite Smallmouth rod, a 6'3 MXF Legend Elite spinning rod by, slide down the side of the truck a week ago and the second guide down landed on a small stone when it hit the ground and shattered the insert!! BUMMER!

So I thought while I was there I would slide by the river, (the Maumee, the largest tributary to all the Great Lakes) and catch a few Smallmouth. I got to the river and it was unbelievable, I could walk across the river where I have had great luck catching Sallies in the past. there was one little riffle about 6' across. I have never seen this river this low, not even in August. So I decided to head back up stream to another spot that is always been a producer.

When I got there it was even worse, I almost left, BUT!! Being stuborn and I decided to put on an old pair of tennis shoes and see if I could find a couple holes with some current in them. As luck would have it I did. I found a couple holes that were maybe 30 to 50 foot across, and maybe 60 or 80 foot long, and maybe 4' deep, the river bed is bed rock and full of cracks and rocks, with a few small boulders. I know, not what we want but I wanna fish since I had to come this far to get my rod fixed. I had a great time once I threw the first tube. I caught Chanel Cats, White Bass, Freshwater Drum, and "TONS OF SMALLMOUTH" not many over 2 lbs. but a ton of em 10 to 12 or 13 inches, and on a wasted day with just my 6' Loomis IMX Light, and a 100 stradic with 6lbs. flouro. It was a ball, I would fish one hole for 30 min. to an hour and walk through water less than a foot deep to the next hole. Then I would start hitting fish again.

After about 20 or 30 fish I lost my first hook. So I put on a rapala 1 1/2" ultra light floating minnow. That was all it took!! I satarted getting hit every second or third cast. I caught Six Smallies over 2LBS. and 4 or 5 drum 2 to 4 lbs. the Channels were 12 to about 16" for the biggest. the smallmout were around 10 to 12" for most of them. But I know I caught 50 or 60 that size! It was a ball. three or four times in the 5 hours I was there, I had schools of white Bass come in to feed in the fast riffles and chase minnows they hammer anything you throw, most were 10 to 14 inches, but just about dark when I had to leave, I thought I had another good smallie, till it didn't jump, it was a 16" white bass, what a way to end the day. I know I caught over 100 fish most on a litlle 1 1/2" long Rapala floating minnow. WHAT A BAWL.

I had to walk about 200 yards in almost dark ankle to foot deep water on flat mossy rock with open cracks and holes in it to get back to shore, and when I got there I was whipped. I kept telling myself you need to go you need to go but till I knew I would have trouble getting back to shore if I stayed any longer, for lack of light, I couldn't stop fishing. I'm going back next week with my 8' 4wgt. flyrod, and a 5' Avid UL!!

It's days like this that remindes me, even though I'm 57, I'm still a little kid at heart!!