Big Smallmouth

 When there are talks about which fish fights the hardest, smallmouth seem to be mentioned every time. I decided I wanted to target larger smallmouth to see if they match their reputation. I hired Matt Reilly who runs a guide service out of VA and TN. He has a ton of experience fishing for smallmouth and musky and I knew if anyone could put me on a 20" smallmouth it was him. 

We fished the last week of August and there was a heat wave making the conditions challenging. The high was 90 with humidity. The river still looked great, and our hopes were high.

In less than 30min we saw some cruising smallmouth and had a few chances to get a fly in front of them. We were using large sz2 poppers. Matt informed us that when fish get this big they no longer fear predators and take their time eating a fly. We witnessed this several times as large fish would inspect the fly only to turn away. The fish were being picky and the longer we could keep our fly dead drifting the better. The key was to cast and do nothing. Let the fly just drift and don't move it at all. 

The great thing about getting a guide is not only their knowledge of the water but they are always on guard looking for anything fishy. I was having a conversation, looking at my fly line and kind of acting lackadaisical when I heard "SET THE HOOK!" 

I lifted my rod as quick as possible, and I noticed my fly was gone. The rod bent over and acted like it was hung on a log. The log started to move and head upstream, and I could see from the bronze flash I had a good-sized fish on. Matt knew it was a smallie right away and it was by far the biggest I had ever hooked. The fish made several good runs and if I didn't have an 8wt the fight probably would have lasted twice as long as it did. The fish finally came to hand it was just shy of 20inches.

The fight definitely lived up to the hype. 

The rest of the day we had plenty of chances at fish, but they either didn't cooperate, or we spooked them. I did get one that did something even Matt was surprised at. The fish came up checked out the fly, refused it, then I cast in front of it again. The fish let the fly drift over it, then I gave it a small twitch and it slowly swam up and inhaled the fly. 

The coloring on this fish was gorgeous. What was surprising is usually the fish wanted the fly dead on the water not moving at all, but this fish wanted a little action. That's what was hard about the day there was no consistent technique to get fish to hit. Even with the challenges it was an amazing day and I look forward to fishing with Matt again. If you want to catch big smallmouth and are in the VA, TN area give Matt Reilly a call. You won't be dissapointed. 

Pellet Pig

It's been way too long since my last fishing post. I've been fishing here and there I haven't been motivated to write anything. It's been a year or so since I fished for trout and to be honest, I started to wonder if I could even remember how to catch one anymore. I ran out of excuses and checked out a delayed harvest stream to try my luck. 

I couldn't have asked for better weather. I wasn't surprised to see people fishing the usual spots. It was encouraging to see fish swimming around from the bank. I saw a school that was in a peculiar spot and worked my way to them. It didn't take long to catch my first trout of 2024. 

I started to feel more confident after that and the fish kept coming. It's easy to get full of yourself fishing stocked delayed harvest water. If you can get on a school of fish, it's not uncommon to catch 20 fish in 30 minutes. You catch one on almost every cast. I'm not saying it doesn't take skill. You need to know when to set the hook and how to fight the fish, but the fishing is artificial in a way. The longer the fish are in the water after being stocked the more their behavior will change. 

I hit them when they were still in the discovery stage checking things out. There were a few that would act natural and hit the flies on a good drift or when the flies were falling. Then you had the fish for a lack of better words are dumb. They hit the fly after you twitch it or made erratic movements. These types of things would normally scare a fish or turn them off when a fish has been in the stream for a while. 

Even understanding the fishing was easy and that was the main reason for my success I enjoyed myself and even managed to hook an absolute pig. This fish didn't put up an extraordinary fight but it sure was something to look at. 

I didn't bring my net so I worked the fish into shallow water where I could get a hold of it. The fish was so tall I couldn't get my hand around it. 

It's nice to hook one of these monsters once in a while. I'm hoping this trip will motivate me to get out on the water more. The drive and thoughts of a bad fishing day usually make me look for other things to do but this trip reminded me of how much I love being on the water. 

Hurricane Helene Perspective

It's hard to believe I haven't posted in almost 2yrs. So much has happened since then but more of it was related to things in my personal life rather than fishing. I had back surgery, got into playing pickleball and didn't fly fish much at all. Kids sports have really cut into my free time but other than that I don't have a lot of excuses. This fall was going to be my season to get back into trout fishing but hurricane Helene changes that. 

If you don't live on the east coast or have seen news about the damage from the hurricane but don't know what's true and what fake, I can give you some incite. 

4 days after the storm hit my wife and I took supplies to the people in Todd, NC. 

On the way to the mtns from Raleigh we saw several trucks with long bed trailers loaded with supplies. 

We were able to get there fine but on HWY194 there were signs of flooding and several places where debris was on the road. It literally looked like some parts of the road were cleared with in 24hrs of us being there. We saw lots of destruction, military vehicles driving around, destroyed houses, and people sorting through what they had left, but we also witnessed several people helping each other and offering hot meals. 

Many people lost all they had and in the rural mountains and that's not a ton to begin with. My brother-in-law works as a volunteer rescue squad member and he told me most of the severe damage was west of Boone, NC. The main issue was over 30 inches of rain fell in a span of 3 days. The flooding caused landslides and took out bridges. He told stories of several being killed or trapped in their collapsed homes and even more of people who were stuck in their location and couldn't be rescued because it was just too dangerous at the time. 

I have not been back but have had several friends and family that have went to Western North Carolina to offer help. The stories have been mostly the same. There's so much damage and destruction but those that survived are happy to be alive and resilient that they can rebuild. 

The article below has a donation link and even more about the facts from this storm and the damage it caused to NC. If you're able to donate to the relief of this tragedy, please do. 

Rapid Reaction: Historic Flooding Follows Helene in Western NC - North Carolina State Climate Office

Finding Waders for Tweenagers is tough.

 My kids are at that age where they can't wear small adult sizes but they are out growing the largest youth sizes. Trying to find waders for them was a daunting task. I either found waders for toddlers or young adults but nothing for that sweet spot in the middle. I finally ran across BASSDASH IMMERSE Kids Breathable Chest Fishing Waders.

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These were more than I wanted to pay but I it was hard finding breathable waders that fit what I was looking for. I was impressed by the quality of the waders when I received them. They felt just like my breathable waders from Sims or Redington. The stitching and material seemed to be high quality and I think these waders will be fairly durable. Time will tell. I plan to use them this weekend with the kids for the first time.

Finding boots was another interesting adventure. Luckily both my kids wear around a size 8 wms shoe and I found some boots at BassPro.

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/cabelas-extreme-wading-boots-for-ladies

This wasn't the cheapest setup but it fit my criteria. I wanted waders that would fit properly and wouldn't be prone to filling with water if the kids fell in. I also wanted boots that wouldn't be slippery even in mud. Keeping the kids safe is my highest priority. I posted this in the hopes it will help anyone else in the same position looking for gear. My kids are just under 5ft and these waders fit them great. They fit properly around the legs and chest. The waders come with a belt and have reinforced legs to help with going through thick brush. 

Getting the Bug

 My blog has been severely neglected. When I read that my last post was from the summer of 2021 I almost felt maybe this blog should die. When I read the old posts I'm still very entertained by my past experiences and I think no matter what notions I have to killing this blog I'll keep it around. If not only for my own entertainment. 

What have I been up to? 

Nothing worth bragging about. My family survived Covid and I was able to fish some last year and even a little this year. My last few excursions with the kids were fun but they never had that bonding aspect I was hoping for. The fishing trips usually ended prematurely and the kids looked forward to where we were eating out after more than the trip itself. 

My daughter and I hit a river that should have some white bass and I was knew if she could get in a school she'd have a great time. The problem was there was considerable hiking involved and her waders aren't the most comfortable. We made the trek to the spot I had picked out and were able to get to the water without much incident. Even after I mentioned the ground bees along the trail and she couldn't walk after without staring down the rest of the time. She was terrified they were going to attack her. 

The water was dingy and visibility was horrible. There was random debris in the water but I figured fish still had to be there. While I was rigging up I heard on my right "oooh, oooooh, I got one!" 

On her second cast she hooked her first white bass. I thought it was on at that point. Usually after one white bass many are soon to follow. All we seemed to catch though were leaves and sticks. I couldn't tell if the fly wasn't getting deep enough or the fish just weren't there. 

We tried a different spot and I finally found some fish. Caught on a white wooly bugger of course.

I got into a few more after that but by white bass run standards this was a pretty slow day. At least the blue skies of NC didn't disappoint.

My daughter started to get bored and at one point I saw her in a tree messing with her sketch book. She showed me this later and maybe because I know it's me I'm fascinated by it.

We talked on the trail about our philosophies on life and I think just maybe she understood other reasons why I love fishing. It was exactly the kind of day I had imagined I'd spend with my kids fishing. The smile says it all.

Colorado Vacation: Day 2 Garden of the Gods

 I was really excited to visit Garden of the Gods from the pictures I had seen on the internet. The rock formations seemed unreal and seeing them in person is amazing.

The parking lot gives you a glimpse of how majestic these formations are but it's the walking path that really shows them off.

The path winds its way through the rocks giving you different angles and views. The rocks seem to jut up from the ground out of nowhere. 

It's hard to gauge just how massive they are until you get right up next to them.

This location isn't just a place for sight seers many rock climbers and hikers come to enjoy the park.

There's a lot of good places for kids to climb and crevasses to check out.

The Siamese Twins formation has a small window where you can see Pike's Peak. 

Even with the 90 degree heat the rocks weren't too hot to touch. 

What's nice is if you wanted to avoid the crowds there were several trails that lead to more secluded places.

I liked this place so much I almost came back again before we left Colorado. We spent 4-5hrs there and I still feel there was plenty more to discover. I think this park is a must see if you're in Denver.

Colorado Vacation: Day 1

 The family went to Colorado again this year. We stayed a few more days in Denver checking out some of the sites near town. The following week was spent in the Rockies. 

We had heard about Mt Evans and the draw for me was the opportunity to see mountain goats. Even though they are not native and were brought to this country years ago it's still neat to see them in person. The views driving to the top were spectacular and Summit Lake is a site to behold.

The drive to the top of the mountain had some breath taking views.

The picture above is from Echo Lake. This is the first lake you pass near the gift shop. 

There are postcard views all the way up the mountain. 

If you're lucky you'll run across these guys playing in the rocks near the road.

We talked to a ranger and they said because of the pandemic some of the babies had not associated people with danger. They actually started a program of intentionally hazing the animals to create that relationship. It makes sense but seems like a strange practice. The goats were definitely used to the crowds. They seemed to almost pose on purpose at times.

Near the top is Summit Lake Park. This place is amazing and worth stopping to hike around the lake and check out the views.

Depending on the trail conditions you can almost hike around the whole lake. There was still a lot of snow blocking parts of the trail which I found surprising since it was late June. 

We hiked to the right along the lake and could see down into a valley where I believe Chicago Lakes is.

The view was incredible and the cliffs were so cool looking.

This is the first time the altitude was really effecting me. I had a really bad headache since we landed in Denver the day before. The drive up to the to of Evans made it worse. The sensation was like having a really bad sinus infection. I made sure I was hydrated but nothing seemed to make me feel better.

At the summit I was about at the limit of what I could bare. My wife wanted to hike even further to a marker at the top of a hill. I felt worse with every step I took gaining elevation I decided to just go back to the car and take it easy. My wife got some great views at the top of the trail.

At the very top near the parking lot is a old restaurant that was destroyed in a explosion.

There is also a observatory that has events open to the public at certain times of the year. I bet that is an incredible experience. Probably a once in a life time chance to get certain views of deep space objects.

The experience overall was amazing and I feel like it's a must visit if you're in the Denver area. The drive is around 1.5hrs to the summit from Denver.