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.