A couple of years ago I posted about an unamed river in MI which supposedly held good numbers of smallmouth with the chance at catching 20"+ fish. Being in the area somewhat regulary for work at the time made it possible to scout out access points. It turned out to be just overflowing with smallies. A regular fishing buddy and I kept it under our hat for about a year until a local guide service started advertising trips on it...the cat was out of the bag.
Since that time, my buddy and I have used it as a starting point for any new friends that think they might like to get aquainted with floating in a toon or yak for smallies. Two reasons - 1) They will catch a lot of fish and its more likely that they'll get hooked. 2) The stretch we take them on is an all day affair so they'll also decide whether they really like to fish & row for a 9 hour stretch.
Had a chance to fish it again today with 2 friends, one new to the river. The good news is that the river still seems to hold just incredible numbers of smallies. I bet you could catch 75 while floating blind folded.
One of the guys mentioned today that this river has spoiled him for other rivers...oh well.
The tough part today was that the river is 6 to 8 inches lower than normal and the WEEDS have just taken over huge stretches. So, we had to paddle, pull, and walk the toons a LOT today. The newbie on this trip asked me about 7 hours in if I had invited him to fish or to row...he couldn't remember.
One good thing - the low water and weeds had the fish stacked up in clear pools and you could watch them attack your fly. Which brings up a question - why are the smallest fish always the fastest at going after my fly?
One buddy and I took turns throwing the idential fly into a pool with 6 visible fish. He managed to hook a 13+" fish twice, while a 3" and 8 " smallie beat the rest of the pack to mine...
Well, toward the end of the float this 18 incher slammed a bloody minnow and the fight was on.
Tought row? Lots of fish and some good fighters made it totally worth it.
Fred
Topic: Tough Row (Read 2175 times)