One of those days...

[Fairtax4me]

Ever have a day when you feel like something is telling you to just stay at home and NOT go fishing? 

Either you feel like the fishing might be whack, or you just want to catch some fish but quickly realize things just are NOT going to go in your favor? 

I had TWO of those days last week. 

 

Last Thursday it was hot here. Our first week this year with full on summer time 90+ degree temps. I got off work a little late and wanted to jump in the river and do some wading and catch some smallmouth to cool off and relax a bit. About 6:30 i'm in the water and start fishing. Within 5 casts I snag on something and break off. I mean instantly break off, my knot broke like it was glass. Re-tie. 

Coupe casts later there's a bite, and some drag pull. Line goes slack and I reel in a broken hook. I'm using an ULTRALITE, How does that even happen!?? Re-tie... 

Stuck again. At least get the lure back this time. A few casts later another bite. Decent fish, shakes off about 5 seconds later. Next cast, another fish, drag pulls for a half second then line goes slack. Broke off AGAIN at my knot. The same knot I've been tying for YEARS now because it doesn't "just break". 

At this point the universe is telling me something right? 

 

I go probably 15 minutes without a bite, and then I cast into a calm pocket behind a rock. Feel a thump and set the hook almost immediately. Drag starts screaming and I see an almost 4lb smallmouth go airborn right after! Sweet, maybe this trip actually paid off! Fight the fish through current and have to chase it down stream almost 100 yards then finally get it close enough to lip it and I notice it's bleeding... BAD bleeding. I grab it and find my hook buried in the crutch of it's gills at the base of it's tongue. I get the hook out as quick as I can and then tried to release the fish and it just went belly up immediately. Grab it and hold it upright in the edge of a current stream to try to keep fresh water moving over it's gills and it takes off twice and tries to swim off, but both times it shortly goes belly up again. After about 5 minutes of holding it, it finally quivers a few times and then I see the gills stop pulsing and it's fins go limp. This was a nice fish for this river, and it just died in my hands. Should have listened after the first ten minutes and just gone home. Now this little afternoon fishing trip is totally ruined.

I've hooked fish in bad spots plenty of times before, and killed quite a few that way, it's part of the game when you're fishing. It happens and you just deal with it. Most of the time, it can be justified, or at least it's a small fish and you tell yourself it wouldn't have survived anyway right? Give it a "sorry buddy" and send it to the catfish for dinner. But this one I'll remember for a while, partly because I already had the feeling like I should just quit fishing while the quitting was good. And partly because I know there's at least two other fish swimming around with my hooks possibly stuck in them. 

 

 

Fast forward to Sunday. Have a trip planned with my fishing buddy to hit the lake at sunrise. That means leaving my place at 3:45 am and being on the road leaving his place by 4:30. Leaving the house and my car won't start. Battery is great, it's cranking strong, just no fire. Dunno what it's deal is, so I toss everything in my truck which is harder to put my gear in than my Subaru, but at least it starts. Now running 20 minutes late because of having to move everything over and strap the kayak down in the bed. 

I get 5 minutes from my buddies house and it starts pouring down rain. Weather said 0% chance of rain on this beautiful 80° Sunday. Turns out, it's only raining at my buddies house. No rain anywhere else on the weather radar within 300 miles! Just here. So we strap my kayak to his trailer in the rain and head for the lake. We had decided before to put in at a small access point that's way up-lake from the boat ramp that has been VERY busy the last few months. We've put in here before and it was a breeze and cuts off over a mile and a half of paddling to get to where we wanted to fish anyway. 

Driving down the road to the access point and there's a tree down across the road about 1/2 mile from the lake. No way around it, no pushing it out of the way (it was huge). We manage to turn around and head for the boat ramp. It's now well after sunrise, and the parking lot is filling up quick. We get unloaded and get on the water and start fishing. Different game plan now since the upper end of the lake where we wanted to fish is now a LONG paddle to get there. We float around out in the main part of the lake with 2 dozen other boats for the next 5 hours. I miss one fish on a crank bait. Only bite I got in 5 hours. 

Now it's blazing hot out, and we decide to just call it. Once again, should have stayed home! 

 

Good thing is, it will only go up from here! Next trip is gonna be stellar!  

I know this probably looks like a book, but this is the condensed version... Thanks for reading, and if you made it this far, and if you have a similar story (or stories) share them! 

[TnRiver46]

Not one but two disaster days??? Ouch! Hope things turn around for you quickly..... I hate breaking off on snags, it drives me batty. River smallmouth is most of what I fish so I can feel your pain. One thing I never use anymore is braid in the river, it gets chewed up. A lot of times I will just say “forget it” and switch to a weightless worm rigged weedless. Sometimes those days end up being great because I can keep the lure wet and I’m not paddling around trying to get a ned rig unsnagged