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| Always take a picture of the first fish, no matter how small it is. The Reaction Innovations Little Dipper was the ticket over the weekend. |
It's been a rough year fishing, in fact a rough couple of years. Quite a few times fishing trips have ended without any fish. Last weekend when Karen and I camped on the C&O Canal along the Potomac River, I had one swipe at Heddon Zara Puppy, and that was it!
We camped again this weekend, and I didn't have any expectations. There was some rain during the week, but otherwise, conditions were about the same, although temperatures were a bit cooler. Sunday morning, water temp was actually a tick higher than air temperature.
On Saturday, I waded out in a spot that I don't usually fish hoping to change some luck. This was the same section of the river where I caught a catfish on a topwater lure a few years ago.
After a few casts, a little smallmouth clamped onto a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper swimbait with furious anger. These swimbaits are really simple to use -- cast, retrieve steadily through the water. With a lightweight rod, they can even feel similar to a crankbait pulsing through the water.
Over the next hour or so, the Little Dipper enticed three more smallmouth. Actually five total counting one that broke the line, and another that shrugged the lure free after leaping from the water. The latter was likely a 14- or 15-inch fish. And then another dink while fishing behind our camp site.
Every smallmouth fisherman loves to catch them little brown fish on a topwater lure. I tried enticing bites, and despite all the conditions screaming TOPWATER, I didn't get a single bite. Zara Puppy, Rapala X-Rap, Hubs Chub ... nothing.
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| I must be in the front row! Rather than crunch-crunch-crunch along the trail in the morning and waking up campers, drove the super stealthy Crosstrek to the other end of the campground. At 7 a.m., you get prime parking |
Sunday morning, I returned to the same spot, and caught two more smallmouth. Nothing of size, but at least it felt like the monkey was off my back.
I ended up landing seven smallmouth, all dinks but better than nothing.
Be sure to stay tuned to the blog because in just over a month, there might be another post. Hopefully it doesn't rain on anybody's parade.
