In Reel Time Fishing: May 2023

Casio Active Dial Multi-Task Gear Sport Watch

My Casio "fish watch" had two fish icons lit,
indicating it was time to catch smallmouth.

Whether by dumb luck or actually utilizing experience, I stumbled across smallmouth bass in a frenzy this morning where I induced seven fish to bite lures in about 30 minutes after Karen and I camped along the Potomac River.

Air temp was brisk after I rolled out the tent -- around 55 and climbing -- and water temp was 65 degrees. Overcast skies.

After starting off the morning wading a secret spot on the river where I caught a 20-inch smallmouth last year (only caught one dink at the same location this morning), I moved down off a point that created a seam between fast and slow water. I cast a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper a couple feet into the faster water and slowly reeled as the swimbait drifted into the slower section. And nabbed a smallmouth (another dink) just as it crossed the seam.

I switched rods to one with a Heddon Zara Puppy tied on, cast to about the same area, and the lure disappeared in a small whirlpool of disturbance! Another hungry smallmouth, but this one seemed a little bigger. The fish submitted and sure enough, it was about about 14 inches.

The 14-inch smallmouth that nailed the Zara Puppy.
And my blood on my thumb after the fish weaponized the
treble hook to stab me.

While holding the fish and fumbling for my camera, four or five baitfish jumped within a couple feet of me. The spooked baitfish, I think, were trying to evade another smallmouth that was trailing the one I caught (fairly common for them to chase a hooked fish either to snatch whatever "food" is in their mouth or to say, "Hey man, don't worry, everything is going to be alright.").

Figuring there was at least one more smallmouth bass on the prowl, I snapped a picture of my fish, released it and cast the topwater lure again. Another fish attacked but used the Zara Puppy like an orca uses a beach ball at Sea World. The fish nosed the lure through the air a couple times but didn't actually chomp it.

The action went off and on for about 10 minutes with swimbaits (nothing else with the topwater lure), and I landed two more fish -- the tally was up to five at that point.

Then there was a lull for a little while, but it picked up again about 10 minutes later after shuffling a few feet downriver along that seam of fast/slow water. Again casting barely into the fast water and "drifting" the lure across to the sluggish water, I caught three more smallmouth bass -- one was in the 13-inch range, and the other two were dinks. I had another fish on that felt really good, but it freed itself before I could get a look at it.

The Reaction Innovations Little Dippers are really lively and oscillate wildly even drifting through current.

Then the frenzy was officially over -- no more fish were enticed after that.

I wandered back down the C&O tow path to our campsite, and Karen and I had a breakfast of eggs and sausage.

Itching to try again, I waded in the river behind our campsite. I caught a 12-inch smallmouth last night on a Little Dipper, and this area usually yields fish anyway. Peppering the water with casts even up past the last site on the campground, nothing was interested. I returned to the area directly behind our site, cast a Little Dipper and got smallmouth No. 9 for the day. This one was about 12 inches, and I pulled it out of the water just as Karen was coming down the bank with her fishing rods.

Karen gets a picture of me just
after landing a 12-inch smallmouth
behind our camp site.

A few casts later, No. 10 found its way to the end of my line. Nothing else after that, and Karen didn't catch anything (although she caught four smallmouth yesterday). I'm pretty sure it was my best day on the Potomac since 2016 when trying "Ned Rig" Z-Man Finesse TRD worms for the first time.

That made it ten this morning plus one last night.