We got on fish quickly but they were all juvenile largemouth bass. Time to move out of the first pool and take a walk to the next fishable spot.
This stretch was full of bluegills and creek chubs. Dave played the part of the Gillmaster calling out 'Gill' each time he set the hook figuring he was on a bluegill and he usually was. Time again to walk downstream.
Here some small smallies mixed in with some rock bass and made the catching more interesting.
A downed tree in a deep hole is a great hiding spot for smallmouth bass. They love rocks, gravel, sand and the like but they love wood too. All three of us took turns drifting crawler halves past the log. Finally my float went under, I set the hook, and zzzZZZZZZZzZzzzZzZZZ my drag went crazy. My heart rate quickened. I knew I had a larger fish on and I knew that the conditions were right for smallmouth. It turns out what I hooked was a common carp with broad shoulders, thick through the body like a football. I'll take it. That's part of the fun drifting live bait; everything eats it.
More holes and more fish. Catching was picking up as the sun got higher in the sky. The smallmouth bite was turning on and aside from a couple of catfish and the occasional rock bass we were mainly catching smallies.
Getting back to the car we took off and stowed our waders, had a good drink of water, and reflected on a nice morning that bled into the afternoon and likely could have kept going until evening. It was a great day to be outside in August. We were in a beautiful setting but I find most rivers allow you to lose yourself and forget that civilization is just past the riverbank. I sure do enjoy creek wading with Jason and Dave.
A SIDE NOTE: I knew it was getting close but I just checked my stats page and my humble little blog has passed 5000 page views. Thanks for reading everyone! I'm enjoying writing about fishing and can't wait to see how long it will take to reach 10k.
