White n green bass

Caught a half dozen bass today out of a gravel pit before being ran off by lightning. All were caught on a clear with silver glitter curly shad. Then stopped by the river on the way home and caught a couple small stripey fish on a streamer. River was muddy and rising very fast

Fish Ohio Shovel

A little nippy today but I had about an hour free and stopped by the river. About halfway thru a slow retrieve my grub just stopped cold. I thought it was hung for a second till the snag began to slowly bore it's way across the eddy. A 35" Fish Ohio shovelhead. A very nice surprise indeed.

Spring has sprung

It seems all that exploring I've been doing this winter is starting to pay off. About a month ago I found a little rocky outcropping that stuck out further than all the other riprap along a swift bend pool in the river. The little mini point creates a current break or seam so strong that little mini whirlpools form all along the line where fast and slow water meet.  Today I flipped my little willow leaf blade on a swivel and clear with glitter grub combo I've grown so fond of about twenty feet upstream. It swept downstream and hen stopped.I lifted the rod and it was off to the races. It was easily the best smallie of the short season so far at 19". I caught several more nice smallies in similar places, either stuck close to a rock or small eddy adjacent to fast water. In spots marsh marigold made a butter yellow carpet along the riverbank. Spring is finally here and life is good...

Finally the rivers in shape and starting to catch a few smallies. So far the ones I've found have still been in slower water close to faster water. I've been doing okay on a weird lil rig I put together, first you slide a small blade attached to a swivel on your line then a bead and then tie on a grub. The little willow leaf doesn't have the lift of something like a beetle spin and instead lets you fish it slow and just off the bottom like a grub but with more flash, especially on the fall. I imagine a roadrunner type head would accomplish pretty much the same thing tho in my head I picture this working better on the fall just because the blade would rise above the grub and not be flapping into it. Or who knows it's probably about the same but I like it.

Gillzilla

Was at a pond catching some big gills on the flyrod when this hit.

I don't often fish for green bass but when I do...

Hit a pond today at a local park caught this fat girl on one of Vic's swimbaits..

Years first shovel

With everything flooded I hit a little stream I know that usually is the first to run down. Even it was still up and muddy but I managed a nice cat on a curly shad.

Long Rod Crappie

a few crappie on the fly rod. Funny day, they kept nipping at my three inch grub while trying for bass so I switched to the long rod. At least I could hook them but they didn't seem to like the flies as well as the action of the curly tail. Should have had some tiny grubs along.

The last few days in fishing

I've been doing a bit of saugeye fishing the last few evenings. Mostly below lowhead dams. One trip where I caught one. One trip where I caught two but got schooled by a guy who stood where he could cast up against the dam and caught four or five. I guess I could have crowded in on him and more than I did but I know how I'd have felt so I left him alone. And then tonight where it all came together. A bit of rain, no one on the river and it slowly rising. All good things. About dark they were hitting pretty good on a 1/4 ounce jighead and my go to clear with silver glitter. I think it was at the Dayton show I heard some guy call it icicle. I think that's a pretty good name tho I've taken to calling it "bait" lately. It looks like things are starting. Tonight's fish all hit with a good solid thump too instead of that oh the line got heavy feeling you sometimes get in cold water. I'm liking it.

soaking wet, cold, and happy

Whew... the wind and rain were awful this evening. But sometimes you still just have to go. All the gills were caught on brown beadhead...