After a big fireworks show in Lebanon on the third I had the evening of the fourth free to slip out for a few hours to fish the Little Miami.
The river was in fantastic shape(finally!). And the weather was great, a few stray raindrops, overcast, maybe not classic cookout weather but perfect fishing weather.
Right off in a big eddy below a riffle a big saugeye nailed a grub. I figured it was a drum right up untill it was close, then things got real exciting real fast.
Right above the big eddy was a great looking riffle which produced some nice bass on an inline spinner.
Then I walked down to the tail of the pool. This was the deepest pool in several miles of river and with nice fish biting I was pretty pumped. A long riffle too fast to stand up in stretched across the river here. About a third of the way across things shallowed way up and submerged weeds formed a bed right in the middle of the riffle. In a couple weeks this would be a tiny island about ten feet long but now was covered in a half foot of water and weeds. Past the island the riffle poured across in a run too fast even in late summer to wade. Above this things deepened fast. Here I cast a yellow rooster tail quartering across. Five feet into the first cast a big smallie nailed the spinner, then tail walked across the riffle and right into the submerged weeds of the island. The only thing to do was go in after. Somehow after slogging thru the riffle the fish was still on when I got across. Then the smallie swung into the slack water below the riffle and shot skyward. It seemed to me she jumped waist high, one of the prettiest jumps I can remember.
Finally lipping the fish, I realised the camera was back across the riffle on the bank! Back across with the fish trying to hurry but not drop her. I snapped a quick (and bad) photo before turning her loose. Working the fish back and forth in a shallow backwater, I was relieved when she recovered and shot off back into the river. A very good forth indeed.
