A rare thing lately, a very rainy day, got me excited to do some fishing. Given the conditions, I had just the place in mind so I decided to show Woz a spot on the Fox River that was passed down to me by a Ed from FSA Custom Rods.
We didn't start until 11am, but with the rain and cloud cover, I didn't think that the late start would matter.
We started fishing the river in what I refer to as "D" water. It's a shallow spot with muddy water that has only produced one fish for me on the occasions that I have tried to fish it. This day yielded the expected results - no fish in the "D" water. We walked and cast our way to "A" water and like I suspected, fishing was great!
We fished in rain that varied from a light mist to torrential downpour but it didn't matter to the fish. They were everywhere they were supposed to be and feeding heavily. We tackled the river and the weather for about four hours and landed over thirty smallmouth, a couple of largemouth, and a carp.
Most fish were in the eight to twelve inch range, but a few bigger fish came to hand. Woz had big fish of the day that eluded the camera due to a technical error on my part. The fish was a solid 17" and put up a great fight for him. As a matter of fact, it was a personal best for him and I really feel bad about missing the picture. My bad, buddy!
The fly of choice seemed to be a #6 clouser stripped very fast through any seam and eddy you could find. They were also found on the down stream side of any sharp drops where they could ambush food as it came over the top. A couple of fish were puking up crayfish but I didn't have any suitable crayfish patterns that were heavy enough to get down in the current so I stuck with the clouser. I suspect that a better number of larger fish would have been caught had I brought something.
A great example of why having something for scale is so important. This fish was 15" |
First carp on "The Carp Slayer" |
© 2012, BrookFieldAngler
WOW! Those are some nice fish! looks like you guys had a great time playing in the rain!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ricky! That was one of my favorite rain outings to date
ReplyDeleteGrat day it seems! The carp on the clouser as well?
ReplyDeleteGregg
Naaaa. As I approached a pool, I saw a group of three feeding in some shallows. I did a quick snip and retie with a backstabber. 1st csst he turned...stared...I have a quick strip...he followed and then turned off. I recast and on he charged on the strip. Hook was set and the battle began
DeleteSounds like a great day of fishing, nice fish!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteWell you had me until you mentioned the fish puking up crayfish...Nice fish anyway.
ReplyDeleteWhat?! Retired LEO and you have soft stomach? LOL
DeleteNice fish...classic touch "accidentally" losing the pic of your buddies big-fish-of-the-day!
ReplyDeleteYeah yeah....make me feel worse. LOL
DeleteSounds like a great day on the water.
ReplyDeleteIt sure was! We have rain coming again this weekend...I sure hope to have a repeat!
DeleteHonestly it was hands down one of the most enjoyable days I've had on the water in a while. Even though I don't have a picture it doesn t matter too much there's gonna be plenty more, and bigger.
ReplyDeleteThere was only one bitter-sweet moment of the day. I finally got to see Nicks new flyrod in person. I told him that I thought it looked nice. Well....he let me cast it. It was like driving a gremlin to the dealership to test drive a Benz. Needless to say, I've contacted FSA Custom Rods to build me not only a new fly rod but a saltwater rod as well. Can't wait to get them. Thanks for doin that to me Nick! Lol