And so it begins ...

Cookie-cutter smallmouth, first of the year.

With the unseasonably warm weather, I decided to venture out to my secret spot on the Little Patuxent River.  Water temp was right around 60 degrees!

I ended up catching only one fish, but it was the first fish I've caught this year.  I tried a Z-Man TRD Finesse Worm with no luck and then switched to a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper.  After about the fifth cast, I felt what I thought was a strike but nothing clamped on.  A couple more casts in the same area and a fish was hooked -- a cookie-cutter smallmouth bass.

I had about four or five more hits on the swimbaits but couldn't hook anything.  Nothing was interested in the Z-Man worms.

I fished a couple sections I hadn't really fished before -- didn't go down far enough to find the dogs.  I did find a pack of two new curly-tailed grubs, so while I've never seen anybody fishing in this area, somebody knows about it.

At one point on the opposite shore, I spotted what I thought was a ferret or weasel of some sort.  It was a solid, chocolate brown with a long fuzzy tail.  Poking around on the internet when I got home, I'm pretty sure it was a mink.   

Time spent on the water was around 90 minutes, and I finished up just before a smattering of rain turned into a downpour with hail!

My first smallmouth last year didn't come until March 12, and my first Little Patuxent smallmouth didn't come until April.  So already ahead of the game.