The last smallmouth?

The colors are a changing.

With the temperatures going down, I have to wonder with each fishing trip if it will be my last until winter comes and goes, and the temperatures start to go back up next year.  I went to the Little Patuxent River last week and caught one failfish, and no smallmouth.  This weekend, the temperatures were higher than normal, and I decided to hit the Potomac River near Antietam Creek where I caught 10 smallmouth in a few hours in July.

I got there around 11 a.m. with air temps just above 50.  I checked the water temp, and it was around 58.  I figured with my non-insulated waders I would be freezing, but it wasn't that bad.  If I was in a deeper section for awhile, I'd wade back to a shallower section to warm up.

I started off with a topwater and didn't get any action.  Earlier in the year, I had a ton of action in this same area on some topwater lures, and I always hope to duplicate the frenzy of smallmouth bass hitting bait on the surface. But nothing.

This area where I was in is a plateau of a rock formation (very few loose rocks).  It's only a couple feet deep and then it gets deeper when you step off the plateau.  You can't see anything from shore but it's very noticeable when wading out.  When I fished the area in April when the water was more stained, I thought it was much deeper.

14.5" smallmouth on the secret weapon

After nothing with the topwater lure, I decided to try the "secret weapon" -- three inch Berkley Gulp! Killer Crawler worms on a slider jighead.  These always seem to be good at finding fish, no matter the size.  If I find "nibbler" sunfish, I move on.  But those same small worms that attract small sunfish also catch smallmouth.  If they're out there.

After about 20 minutes and no action, I finally felt a tap on the other end of the line.  It felt like a nibbler but when I tugged on the rod, it felt like something was pulling back.  I set the hook and there WAS something on the end of the line!  The line as it entered the water started moving upriver and I pulled back -- it was a decent fish, better than 12 inches.  The fish tried to jump a few times, but I kept things under control (while it's awesome to see a smallmouth leap out of the water, that's when they also shake free from the hook).

After about a minute, I landed the fish -- easily 14 inches, maybe 15 ... and pretty chunky.  Also, very nice coloration, with the dark brown splotches on the side and "war paint" pattern on the face.  Most of the fish I've caught this year are more of a plain brown/gold/white pattern laterally down the side.

A nice fish ... for a fallfish.

A few casts later, I snagged a huge leaf on the bottom.  It felt like there was a fish on the other end for a brief second but realized it wasn't a fish (tree limb or weed or leaf).

Why is this significant?  Because few minutes later, the same thing happened.  Felt like a snag, started reeling and reeling ... but hey, it was a fish!  But not a smallmouth.  Or even a catfish.  A failfish.  Although it was probably the biggest failfish I've caught this year, easily the same length of the smallmouth pulled out of the water about five minutes before.  But man, it didn't fight at all.

After an hour or so with no bites, it was time to move on.  I could see exposed rocks protruding from the water about a quarter mile upriver and decided to bike up the C&O Canal Trail to see if there was an easy access point.  I found a spot where I could easily get to the river, looked out on the water and saw nothing but fast water over shallow rocks and rock formations.  It looked like a really nice spot, but I didn't think the faster water would be ideal this time of year with the colder water.  I figured targeting the runs after the rocks and the pools of slow/slack water bordering the faster water might get something.

Started off at the edge of the faster water and didn't get anything.  Moved down some made some casts and nothing.  Moved down some and got a hit.  It fought back like a smallmouth but didn't feel like the same size as the first one from further down river.  Got it closer and it looked to be about 12 inches, and he was angry!  He had been tricked by the secret weapon Killer Crawler!

Angry Potomac smallmouth bass.

It was smaller than the first smallmouth, but I really liked the color on this one.  The dark splotches on the body were darker, as was the "war paint" around the eyes.

I didn't bring a tape measure so did a comparison to the size of the fish on the end of my fishing rod and noted where each fish sized up.  When I got home, I measured the first fish as 14.5 inches, and the second one as 11.5.  How long was the failfish?  Didn't care so I didn't measure it.

The two smallmouth hit like the smallmouth I caught earlier in the year.  Very light taps on the worm, while during the heat of the summer, the fish really attacked similar jigs presented the same way bouncing off the bottom.

If the weather stays like this for the next week or so, the Potomac might be worth a shot again.  Otherwise, I don't think I'll be fishing for smallmouth again.  The Little Patuxent River has been stocked with trout already, so I might try that with Rooster Tails.  Which actually provides an opportunity to accidentally catch smallmouth.