The hybrid hilton...

It pays to explore new water. This past week I've been fishing a new place. A completely new place, which after 40 years of going several times a week is kind of a big deal. I try to explore at least a little once every week or two but finding completely new water is rare.  Here a small river hits a long diagonal rock bar and ninety percent of the current is pushed all into one slot right along the bank. A classic summertime fish trap. The only problem is access. You park on one road walk it a hundred yards or so till it dead ends into another. You walk that another hundred yards then down some railroad tracks. Way down some railroad tracks. I haven't timed it but its got to be 15 or 20 minutes. Then when you get there the obvious spot to fish from is horrible to reach down over a shoulder high cliff. The first time I fished it I thought, well, I might have to swim to get out as I lowered myself  over the undercut cliff hanging from a small tree trunk with my feet dangling in midair. But once you get down there you see some exposed tree roots that almost let you climb out comfortably. A bit of rope tied to a tree has since made things easier. I fished it last week in daylight to get a feel for the place and blaze a few trees so I could find it in the dark. But I really wanted to be there before daylight and be fishing just before sunrise which I did the last two mornings.
Turns out the swift slot right along the cliff is full of saugfish right before daylight, I've caught several every trip on a ribeye paddletail. But what excites me is what happens right before daylight. Then throwing a lipless crank both days I've had big hybrids strike. A nice hybrid in really swift water is a glory to behold as it will make your drag scream for mercy.  Most places get a nickname, I think I'll call this the Hybrid Hilton. Then as full daylight came I switched back to the ribeye one morning and found a big smallie hanging out where the saugfish were in the dark. It's been a nice couple days.