The fallfish didn't get the memo that it's spring

Usually catching five fish in a few hours of fishing on one of the skinny Maryland rivers is cause for celebratory fist pumps.

Hoping the failfish would free itself.

But when they are all just fallfish, it's a lot of meh.  As far as I can gather, fallfish have zero redeeming values.  They fight like a wet sock, they don't have interesting colors (like panfish or trout) or patterns (like smallmouth), don't grow to be very big, and as far as I've searched on the internet, they are inedible.  Not like catching a catfish, which taste pretty good, and they are good fighters, too.

Which is why I call them failfish.

The meal ticket for the fallfish yesterday was a Z-Man Finesse TRD worm.  They absolutely loved them.  Like when you drop a piece of food on the floor in a cafeteria and you don't want anybody to notice when you pick it back up.  Everybody saw you drop it.  Just leave it there.  Oh man you're going to pick it back up and eat it??!!

At least the turtles think it's spring.
There are two in the middle of the branch
and a third just poking its head above
water up and to their right.

Did I mention fallfish fight like a wet sock?  That's probably offensive to socks in this day and age, though.  They casually bite the lure, and not sure if it's a fish or a snag, I instinctively set the hook ... and ... there's ... something ... on the other end of the line.  Maybe.

What's surprising is that I went back and looked at my Excel log from last year, and I didn't catch a single fallfish.

Edit: The state record fallfish was just caught on the Potomac River -- 2.07 pounds.  I caught one on Antietam Creek a few years ago that was pretty close to that size.

I went to the same spot as a couple weeks ago, and the water was a bit clearer.  Water temp was about the same 50 degrees, though.  I had a few bites on a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper, but those were probably fallfish, too.

Today is the traditional opening day in Maryland for  trout fishing.  So I probably won't fish this weekend because I don't want to rub elbows with a trout fisherman.  Last week, I went to a spot where I've seen one person fishing in about 10 visits.  This time, I counted six people armed with fly rods already scattered out in primo spots.

Stay tuned, though, because next Sunday (April 7) Karen and I have a trip with Susquehanna Smallmouth Solutions.  The river and Mother Nature look like they may cooperate.

New toys

First smallmouth bass of 2019!  An Undercover Baits Mini-O
turned the trick.

After two previous attempts this year on the little "P" rivers and getting skunked, I finally caught some fish today.  Two smallmouth from the Little Patuxent River -- the first about 11 inches and the next one a bit smaller.  Both fish were really pale.

Weather was nearing ideal spring levels -- 65 degrees -- and water temp was just above 50 degrees.

First catch of the season on a coppertreuse/red flake
worm from Undercover Baits.

With a humdrum winter comes a desire to experiment with something new.  I picked up a few new-to-me lures during the offseason and soaked them in the river today.

The first were "Ned Rig" style worms from two different manufacturers, Undercover Baits and River Rock Custom Baits.  These look exactly like Z-Man TRD Finesse Worms, but they aren't made from durable elaztech like the Z-Man offerings.  However, Undercover and River Rock have unique colors/ patterns, and both businesses are in the mid-Atlantic area, so why not support local business?

A coppertreuse/red flake Undercover worm hooked my first fish on the second cast of the afternoon.  I tossed the worm into a slow eddy next to fast current, and the fish barely hit the lure on the bottom.  A feisty Patuxent Special 11-inch smallmouth.

I snagged that lure on the next cast, snagged a smoke/blue green flake Undercover worm a couple casts later, then tried another new (to me) plastic -- Cabela's 3.5-inch Swim Minnow in a watermelon ghost pattern.  The Swim Minnow is a typical paddle-tail swimbait.  It didn't have as much action as Reaction Innovation Little Dippers, but the smallmouth seemed interested in it for awhile.  A few bites but no hookups.

Rapala BX Brat looks appealing to me,
but is it appealing to the fish?

Some more snags later, I sauntered down to a bigger pool that has always looked fishy but has never yielded fish.  This spot has all the telltale signs for smallmouth bass -- slow, deep water bordering fast water -- but nothing has ever even sniffed at a lure.

Today, I was in luck for some reason.  After a few casts, a 10-inch smallmouth bit a coppertreuse/red flake Undercover worm -- same lure that got the first fish.  Same subtle bite, too.  A few more hits in this area, too.  I mentioned I had been skunked on my previous two fishing attempts -- well I didn't get a single bite at all then.  Even getting some bites today and even seeing fish follow lures was a win in comparison.

Next up, I tried a new Rapala BX Brat, a shallow-running "squarebill" crankbait.  With all the lures I snagged on the bottom by this point, this stubby crankbait seemed like a good option for running above the danger zone while still being in the smallmouth strike zone.

First impressions using this crankbait -- it has a very tight, slow wobble and not much action.  But it dives down three feet at most and rises quickly when stopping the retrieve.  I didn't get a single bite on it but maybe as the water temps warm up, the fish will show more interest in little crankbaits like this.

I switched between the Undercover and River Rock worms after the second fish but couldn't get a fish to bite.  The Undercover worms seem like they might be more durable of the two, but I'll hold out on making a declaration until I see how they hold up to multiple bites.

A jerkbait would have been nice to use today (but I didn't bring one). Their hovering action when stopping the retrieve might have gotten some bites.

Mother Nature is supposed to dump rain tomorrow, but the cusp of smallmouth season is near.