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| A chunky smallmouth bass on the first cast of 2024! |
I got on the 2024 scoreboard early with a Potomac River smallmouth bass on my first cast on Jan. 1. The fish slurped up a Z-Man Finesse TRD Worm that I was working s-l-o-w-l-y on the river bottom.
On the cast, the worm got snagged initially on a rock or something, but I managed to free it. About 30 seconds later, it felt like I had another snag, but the fish started moving.
On the cast, the worm got snagged initially on a rock or something, but I managed to free it. About 30 seconds later, it felt like I had another snag, but the fish started moving.
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| The fish was caught with a Mitchell reel made in 1964. |
Snags were the story of the rest of my time on the river, though. I had numerous snags and ended up losing five or so lures. I tried a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper to avoid bouncing the bottom but got nothing on that.
The water was a little high -- about four feet going by the Shepherdstown gauge -- and water and air temperatures were both around 45 degrees.
The water was a little high -- about four feet going by the Shepherdstown gauge -- and water and air temperatures were both around 45 degrees.
I used a couple rods with classic Mitchell 300 reels, and the one that caught the smallmouth was made in 1964 (serial number 567XX64). So 60 years later, the reel is still catching fish!
