Twenty One Inch SMB

Ok so this has been the best week of smallmouth bass fishing I've ever had. I'll admit that, there's no way to act like "oh yeah, I've done that before". I've found big fish in two places and have hit em everyday. It's not often you catch three smallmouth that probably total 15 lbs and your not in lake erie or canada. I'll be the first to say I've been lucky and blessed. Today was the GMR. I bribed a guy that works the early shift to trade me today. Eric I owe you one buddy. The GMR had been a degree or two warmer than the LMR lately. I ran into Fischa yesterday on the LMR and he measured 52 degrees. That's pretty much getting down to saugeye fishing temps in my book so, desperate for that last bit of smallmouth bass action, I hit the gmr. Right away I did okay catching a 15 inch fish, losing another and catching one maybe eight inches long. Then things stopped. I hung up my grub and lost it and retied on a 1/8 ounce jighead instead of the 1/4 I'd been using. I also put on a 4 inch grub that I'd bitten about a half inch off of, making it a bulkier profile. My idea was that it would fall slower and I wouldn't have to reel as fast to keep it off bottom. I don't know if that did the trick or not because I only caught one fish. But what a fish. I threw like I have all week into a hard current break. The currents ripping along then 6 inches over way slower. Thump. I set the hook. The fish jumped. I didn't get a good look at it but it seemed pretty big. Then a screaming run and it jumped again. Time stood still. I swear everything stopped and it just hung there like in a magazine ad. Or at least it so seemed in my excited brain. Then everything went into hyperdrive. It's running, jumps once more, kinda wallows on top. And then I lipped it. A few days ago I was using braid in dingier water when I caught the 20 but things were clearer so I had 8lb mono on. So now swinging the fish up on the bank like the other fish was out of the question. I was so happy to lip that fish. Pictures, measuring, then holding in the water to rest then one last photo. I released the fish in a quiet little 8 inch deep pocket. It just kind of hung there resting. I snapped a photo then bent down and touched its mouth to lip it again and put it in the river. I jerked it's head away angrily and swam off strongly into the river. I swear it looked po'd even then. Gotta love that smallmouth attitude. I didn't fish anymore. From the sounds of the forcast things are about done after today anyway. I gotta admit I'm still a bit jacked up two hours later writing this one up...