greenghost
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2008
- Messages
- 1,510
Fished the lower Yough for smallies.... make that the lower, lower Yough around Smithton. It was a sunny, cool evening, air temp was in the upper 60s with a cold front moving in. Water temp was 67 degrees, flow around 900 cfs which is on the low side for this part of the river. Often makes for good fishing though. Water clarity was very good.
I first concentrated on my summer go-to spots around weed islands and slow back water eddies near structure, first using poppers then switching to Shenks minnow. Na-da.
I thought maybe the bass were staging for fall near deep water drop-offs. Hit a spot with a Clouser Minnow. Nothing.
On a whim, I was moving though some riffles and tossed my Shenks along a deeper seam that ran down the middle of the river. The take was so subtle I didn't even know I had a fish until I picked up the line to cast. The fight was awesome, I thought I had a 20" fish. After about 5 minutes, when I brought it to hand it was a "mere" 14" smallie with the strength of fish on steroids. Subsequent casts to that same seam yielded seven more fish ranging from 6 to 12 inches.
After that, I fished for over an hour without a hit! Once again I came on a deeper run. This spot ran near a weed island and the water was four feet deep only a few feet off the island. In five casts I hooked five fish, all were about 8 to 12 inches. But I lost one much bigger.
Bottom line: Fish were most definitely concentrated. I don't know if it is fall staging or what, but once I found the right spot I was in for fast action. Also, the popper was totally ignored this day.
I first concentrated on my summer go-to spots around weed islands and slow back water eddies near structure, first using poppers then switching to Shenks minnow. Na-da.
I thought maybe the bass were staging for fall near deep water drop-offs. Hit a spot with a Clouser Minnow. Nothing.
On a whim, I was moving though some riffles and tossed my Shenks along a deeper seam that ran down the middle of the river. The take was so subtle I didn't even know I had a fish until I picked up the line to cast. The fight was awesome, I thought I had a 20" fish. After about 5 minutes, when I brought it to hand it was a "mere" 14" smallie with the strength of fish on steroids. Subsequent casts to that same seam yielded seven more fish ranging from 6 to 12 inches.
After that, I fished for over an hour without a hit! Once again I came on a deeper run. This spot ran near a weed island and the water was four feet deep only a few feet off the island. In five casts I hooked five fish, all were about 8 to 12 inches. But I lost one much bigger.
Bottom line: Fish were most definitely concentrated. I don't know if it is fall staging or what, but once I found the right spot I was in for fast action. Also, the popper was totally ignored this day.
