Potomac Bassin'

[tomitrout]

Well, that was fun.

Sittin' on the bank of the Letort a week or so ago, got a text from a friend in VA. "Coming up for the race on Sunday, wanna float the Potomac for smallies on Saturday?"

Finish my refreshment, think about it for a minute....

"yeah, count me in."

Now I'm need of something heavier than my 6wt bamboo trout rod. Run to BassPro after the wknd, waggle some sticks and walk out the door with a decent TFO 7wt stick, Lamson reel and a Rio Gold WF floater. Pockets are now a bit lighter, but filled with new toys. Test cast the rod the next day, cool, I made the right choice, this rod sure throws a nice loop with a nice smooth rythmn.

Fast forward to 4am Saturday, alarm goes off, coffee is made, car is loaded and soon enough I'm meeting my buddy at the put in below Dam 4. Unload the raft, shuttle the trailer and we're on the water 7ish. My first time playing this flyrod smallie game, so I tie on a Clouser to start and snag the bottom within ten minutes, end up losing the fly, awesome.

Pick out another new streamer, tie it up and toss into the eddy behind the island we're parked beside. Mike's futzing around with something in the boat, I'm not paying much attention to my fly, realize by now I'm probably hung up again, try to lift the fly and yep it's stuck. Give another tug...wow wait, that got a reaction. Hit it again and yeah, I'm hooked up. New rod, new game, first fish and suddenly I've got a bit of a tussle on my hands. Few minutes later and we've got the new boat record in the net. Taped her out at 19"+, we'll call it 20". Hell of a way to start the day!

From there we just floated along after getting hammered by that early morning thunderstorm, picking up enough fish along the way to keep it steady. Mostly fiesty little guys in that 10-12" class coming up out of deeper holes or from under cover to eat our streamers. Mike did pick up a couple sunnies and finally a small bass on a popper before going back underneath. He finally got hooked up with another decent fish after lunch, a strong 14"er that was hanging out off the backside of a rocky point. Fished until 2:30ish with steady action, anchoring here and there to wade some spots, trading seats off and on between rowing and casting.

Good times, can't wait to get back again. Definitely a fun distraction from harassing the trouts.

 

[FarmerDave]

Nice.

Nice dog, too.

 

[McSneek]

No shirt, no shoes, no problem! Couldn't resist. Nice report and nice fish.

 

[Fishidiot]

Excellent!

Now that's a mighty nice bass to start off your warm water career - may be awhile before you top him. . .but you'll just have to start working on that goal. Glad to have you come on over to join us Warm Water Insurgents. . . . Now that you've seen the light.

(Looks like Kramer busted loose from Krayfish and another trip to the West Branch to float with you guys for bass.)

Glad to hear you had a fun trip - there are few things better on a hot summer day than a float down a smallie river.

 

[RCFetter]

Great report.

 

[krayfish2]

BTW you have decent smallmouth fishing all around you. Good fish, great pooch

 

[dc410]

Nice report! It took me four seasons until I finally landed my first legitimate 20" smallie on the fly rod after finally starting this warmwater game. Sounds like you guys had a great day, I'm sure there will be plenty more in future. The availability to float fisheries like the Potomac will definitely get you into some good fish.

 

[tomitrout]

Yeah, thanks guys, especially Dave for some behind the scenes beta. When we got a tape on that first fish, I kinda figured I'd probably just peaked a bit soon, put up one hell of fight and the perfect excuse to crack a beer at 7:45am. Don't call me a convert just yet though, but it's nice to finally have the option to switch things up now and then now that I've got the right rig for it. Hell, one of these years I might even try that steelheading thing I've read about..

And that's my buddy's dog, Lady. She's a sweet little bird dog, he's had some decent success with her and her brother Trotter up in the GWNF along the WV border, got nice bag of soft hackles from him this wknd.

 

[afishinado]

Congrats TT. Glad you had some fun. And so it begins.

I fish for trout most of the winter and all spring. When summer comes around, I look forward to switching over and fishing for smallies.

Now that you have the equipment, you are committed; but I would guess no one has to twist your arm to get out and give the smallies a go.

The bigger rivers in PA are up right now, but hopefully will come down in the next few weeks. Late summer into the fall is often the best time to fish for smallies, so the best has yet to come.

 

[Fishidiot]

tomitrout wrote:
... put up one hell of fight and the perfect excuse to crack a beer at 7:45am.

SMBs are legendary for their fighting characteristics. Hooking one often surprises anglers who are used to catching trout in small streams. These fish are just tenacious and will fight you all the way into the net. They never give up. Even when you release 'em, they'll often get a last lick in on you and splash you with their tail.
Smaller bass are jumpers and usually come up the moment they feel the hook, especially when they are hitting poppers. Big SMBs like this one, however, tend to fight down and dirty. They don't make long runs like big river trout, but instead will dog you with rapid bursts in between head shakes. Even with a 7WT or 8WT, it helps to fight a big SMB like a tarpon, keep your rod low and to the side and fight the fish to the opposite direction he's swimming, this will enable you to turn his head before he plunges into woody debris, which a big bass is quick to do (much more so than trout IMO).

This is a fish with bronze sides and serious fire in the belly.

 

[afishinado]

And smallies aren't spooky like their skinny colorful cousins...

 

[streamerguy]

That is so cool!!!