Passive non-aggressive smallmouth

Sorry if I'm giving away the exact location where I fished.
Just pull over to the shoulder and walk down to the river!

Fished the Little Patuxent River today and had better success than the last time -- a bit further upstream than before.

We had heavy rain the previous weekend, and the river had been really high (5-6 feet, which is close to overflowing its banks).  But while there was moderate rain the previous couple days, the water level was close to normal and surprisingly the clarity wasn't bad either.

The second fish of the day and the only one that
found the Zara Puppy worthy of an attempted meal.

This part of the river has three or four good spots and a few more that are worth checking out.  This section is where I caught my first Little Patuxent smallmouth and the first 15-incher a few months later.

I tied on a Heddon Zara Puppy topwater lure on my trusty Bass Pro Shops "Extreme" rod with an old 1960s-era Garcia Mitchell 300.  The other rod/reel combo I brought -- a more conventional St. Croix AvidX with a Daiwa Tatula LT reel -- had a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper swimbait.

The Little Dipper had the most interest throughout the three hours or so I was on the river.  Lots of passive non-aggressive fish, though.  Because the water was fairly clear, I could see fish ambushing the rubbery swimbait, but in most cases, they wouldn't stay clamped on.  Nip at the tail, swipe at it but not actually bite, whatever.  Most weren't that big so it wasn't as frustrating as seeing a big fish get away.  One little redbreast sunfish followed it and attempted to pounce as I lifted the lure out of the water.

Always like the variations of coloring -- this
smallmouth bass was exceptionally dark.

I managed two smallmouth bass on the Little Dipper -- both under 12 inches, but I had one that was easily 12-plus that did an SDR (short distance release) just before lifting it from of the water.  Not a lot of interest in the topwater lure until one wee smallmouth bass pestered it and finally got a hook in the side of its jaw.

Weather was overcast and close to 75 degrees.  I actually saw one fisherman getting out of his car as I was ambling to the water trail.  I think he was after trout because he asked if the river had been stocked recently.  Sorry, bro, rather fish for smallmouth bass that have been here for a hundred years instead of stocked trout.

One of my "tricks" -- removing the rear treble
hook.  Smallmouth almost always get hooked on
the lead treble hook.  The rear treble is more akin
to going into their eye or gill or whatever. Also
the failfish and sunfish slurp the entire rear treble
into their tiny mouths which means minor surgery
to remove those fish.

Milestone birthday Lake Erie search for smallmouth footballs

Since I (re)started smallmouth bass fishing a few years ago, one of my bucket list items was to fish Lake Erie.  Well actually my bigger bucket list fishing spot is La Reserve Beauchene, but Erie or even Lake St. Clair is more attainable.  Like how my dream car is a Ferrari F40 but an FD Mazda RX-7 is more likely to end up in my driveway.

Anyway, Karen started pestering me about what I wanted to do for my milestone birthday.  I immediately thought of Lake Erie.  The only thing hindering such a plan, especially this time of the year, is weather.  We actually fished Lake Erie a few years ago on a charter for perch.  It was late October and with the weather, it was like fishing on the ocean.  Huge waves tossing the boat, all the land lubbers aboard getting seasick.  

Karen started searching around for a guide and contacted Corey of A2Z Guide Service.  This time of year, he starts off in the Detroit River, which connects Erie and St. Clair, and he moves from there.  If the weather is bad, he shelters in the river.  If the weather is decent, he moves up to St. Clair or Erie depending on where the action is.

Karen booked the trip and circled the date -- April 30, a Saturday 10 days after my birthday.  It was like being a kid counting down the days until Christmas morning.  

Corey's boat, a 2020 Ranger with a 
350HP Mercury.  Super quiet with good power.

Checking the weather in the days leading up, the forecast was up and down.  Fifty degrees and rain, 60 degrees and no rain.  High winds.  Low winds.  That Thursday, the forecast for April 30 called for mid 50s and a chance of light rain later on in the day.  I don't mind fishing in the rain because the fish don't care -- they are already wet.

We headed out Friday -- roughly an eight-hour trip from Maryland.  A little scare with the Crosstrek when the TPMS light came on somewhere on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  The left-front tire was a little low, we filled it back up, but the TPMS light came on again about 30 minutes later.  We pulled into a service area, and the tire pressures were EXACTLY the same.  The warning light blinked and came on at various intervals throughout the rest of the trip, and after Googling symptoms, chalked it up as either a dying battery or a faulty TPMS sensor on one wheel.  (I've driven the car to work this week and the warning light hasn't come on).

Old school jigging blade.

Anyway, stopped at a brewery that had awesome wood-fired pizzas.  Kept driving.  Got stuck in a traffic jam about 10 miles from the hotel around 10 p.m. because of a weird accident.  And then made it to the hotel.

The next morning, after maybe four hours of sleep, we were ready to hit the water.  We met Corey at a boat ramp on the Detroit River.  The forecast called for high winds but at that point things were rather calm.  Corey said we could go upriver and chase walleye or venture into Lake Erie and try for smallmouth.

I didn't have to think much.  "Smallmouth."

We motored down and setup in about 15 feet of water among scattered rocks that peppered the lake floor.  Corey tied on a Buckeye Lures Jiggin' Blade for me and Karen.  This lure is about as old-school as they come.  It's basically a flat piece of metal shaped like a baitfish with a weight on the front. Cast it out, let it reach bottom, lift or rip it up, let it flutter down.  Rinse, repeat.

We did OK with that lure, but Corey was doing even better with a swimbait.  Catching walleye.  While trying for smallmouth.  He was texting and calling other guides who were actually trying to catch walleye, and he was having better luck than them.  While targeting smallmouth bass.

Double smallmouth! What's it mean?!

The smallmouth were on par with the fish we had caught on the Susquehanna River but they were noticeably chunkier.  All 15-plus inches but FAT.  I caught an 18-incher that Corey said might be around three pounds.  It tipped the digital scale at 3.75 pounds.  Which is probably just an average size for Lake Erie.

Karen and I landed about six smallmouth each while Corey caught the same number of  smallmouth and walleye, the latter going in the livewell.  

After about four hours and going through a dry spell of not catching anything, the wind picked up.  This made it difficult fishing because we were basically jigging off the bottom, and the wind numbed the feel -- boat rising and sinking with the waves, wind catching slack in the line.

Corey suggested either trolling in the same are or heading upriver and out of the wind to jig for walleye.  Trolling doesn't really appeal to me -- unless I'm fishing for food, I would rather catch fish with more skill instead of dumb luck.

Crispy walleye fillets.

We headed to Canada, which would be my second time in Canadian waters, although I've never actually set foot in Canada.  We hit a few spots with no luck.  Even our guide was getting skunked.

Off to another spot, and we drifted down current and didn't get anything.  We motored back up a little further and Karen caught a small (eater size) walleye, so at least we had something to contribute to the livewell.  Then I caught another walleye about the same size.

Professional guide: 6 keepers
Two amateur fishermen: 2 keepers

We headed back to the ramp just after noon.  Corey loaded the boat up then filleted "our" walleye.  I was worried he would keep his fish but he generously put all the fillets into one bag for me and Karen.

It was a fun trip but I think there's unfinished business on Lake Erie.  I'm looking forward to going back with more stable weather whether it's Erie or Lake St. Clair.  Or fishing around Bell Isle on an Indycar weekend.

It's in the net! Corey unhooks a smallmouth bass.

Even searching for Lake Erie monsters
you don't need heavy tackle.

You will never guess what I caught on the Little Patuxent River *click bait* read more here!

Never caught one of these before you will never
guess what it was read below to find out! Or just
hover your pointer over the picture for the tl;dr answer.

First outing of the season and not exactly worth writing home about.  Or blogging from home.  Or something.  But temps were in the low 70s, sunny and clear, so at least the weather was nice.

Went to my secret spot on the Little Patuxent.  For some reason, fish have been hard to come by the past couple years here.  One of the first times fishing this spot, I landed a 15-inch smallmouth and think of that on every visit.  Probably have had a few instances of four or five fish in just a couple hours, too.

But not today.  Although I ended up with only one fish, it was a rarity and the first ever of its species I have caught.

The river looked like its usual self in this section.  Low and murky.  Other areas of the Little Patuxent are really clear but it's never like that here.

I switched between the usual suspects -- Z-Man TRD Finesse worms on 1/10th ounce jigheads, Reaction Innovations Little Dippers on the home-grown eBay special jigheads, and a Heddon Zara Puppy -- all in assorted flavors except for the Zara Puppy which was of course the usual bull frog pattern.

There were some followers on the Little Dipper swimbaits but small fish from what I saw.  Like would rather not even handle those fish because the danger of them stabbing me with their dorsal fins outweighs the glory of catching a fish.

Zero interest at all in the Zara Puppy.  Not even a nice topwater blowup to get the heart pumping.

I had a bite on a Z-man worm but the fish didn't get hooked.  Then finally a fish did clamp on.  As I was reeling in, noticed the silver coloring and thought it was a failfish.  But then the body didn't look right.  Maybe a really pale smallmouth?  None of the above -- it looked to be a white perch, which I don't think I have ever caught.  Poking around on the interwebs, they are common in the Chesapeake Bay, so not out of the ordinary to catch one on an indirect tributary.  

I know the Patuxent River has chain pickerel and keep hoping to catch one on the Little Patuxent.

Ferris Bueller's Day Of Dinks

BFOD -- Big Fish of the Day! An 11" 
smallmouth bass!  OK, maybe it was 10.5 inches.
Or 10.  But it was HUGE!

I haven't been fishing much the last year or so because I'm trying to get my autocross Camaro running.  It actually runs and makes #Merica noises but hasn't been reliable, even failing while trying to load it on the trailer the Friday night before an autocross. Even routine maintenance on the tow vehicle has been a chore.  Work the past couple of months has been a huge grind stapled to a desk answering phones, so like Ferris Bueller, since life moves pretty fast, I took a "sick" day for fishing this Friday morning.  No phones.  No people.  No stupid cars.

FFOD: First fish of the day, a surprise
largemouth bass.  This seems to be
the ideal size on the little Maryland 
rivers -- nothing over 10 inches.

Weighing the options, I decided on the Patapsco River, which I haven't fished in [searches blog] five years.  Parking in this area on the weekend is usually sketchy, but since it was a Friday, I was hoping it wouldn't be a problem.

Sure enough, easy pickings.  And of course nobody else was fishing.  

It looked to be ideal topwater time, but the trusty Zara Puppy didn't get much attention at all today.  The other trusty lure -- Reaction Innovations Little Dipper*-- had the little smallies swing batter batter batter swing.  

The water was really clear and low.  I basically waded up the middle of the river casting to spots close to shore on both sides.  A protruding rock here, shaded area from over-hanging trees there, some fast ripples.  Fish to the left of me, fish to the right, here I am stuck in the middle.

One previous time I was in this section [searches blog, can't find a writeup], I had encounters with some meaty smallmouth, but not this time.  I landed six smallmouth bass and one largemouth, and they were all of the dink variety.  Really soft bite on the swimbait.  One smallmouth might have been 11 inches.  Maybe.  Didn't even see any big fish but a lot of small bass were cruising the water, and had three or four fish that got off before pulling them out of the water..

I'm pretty sure I haven't fished here since at least the last flood that devastated the area and since the Bloede Dam was removed, so I'm not sure if the smallmouth population is in a recovery mode or what.  The terrain seemed a lot like the Middle Patuxent River -- flat water and not many hiding areas -- so maybe it is what it is.

* Seriously, follow this link, choose whatever of the 31 flavors of swimbaits you like and fish them.

In search of the big Little Patuxent monster

Looking upriver to "The Spot."  This looks like
several sections of the river in this area, but for
some reason fish like this one more.

It's been a rough couple of years on the Little and Middle Patuxent Rivers.  I've had several trips where not only have I not caught anything, I wouldn't even get a bite.  Today was a little weird in that I caught one small sunfish but had a lot of interest and just about encountered a Little Patuxent monster.

With temps down during the week, it seemed like the dog days of summer were trying to exit.  The river was down to normal level but a bit cloudy.  Of course I felt it was ideal to try top water but instead of the usual Heddon Zara Puppy, I tied on a H.C. Baits Hub's Chub.  Why don't I link to their website?  Because the lure is no longer produced!  I have several still in their original packaging, so maybe unload them on eBay in a few years.

The Hub's Chub is similar in size to the Zara Puppy but doesn't have as much side-to-side slithering action.  It's sort of like a popper but also has a small propeller on the back. The lure doesn't churn through the water like a Whopper Plopper, though.  It seems to work best with short flicks of the rod in between pauses.

There seemed to be immediate interest in the lure but mostly what looked to be sunfish.  On the other rod, I decided on a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper.  Actually, it wasn't much of a decision -- these have become my go-to lure just about anywhere.  There are stupidly easy to use -- cast, reel in, cast again.  They have great action in the water -- kind of a wobbly motion and almost feel like a crankbait.

Anyway, went to a couple spots, had interest in both lures but mostly just soft pecks.

I moved down to The Spot.  This section has produced maybe 50 percent of the fish I've caught on the Little Patuxent.  OK, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it sure feels that way.  I've caught a couple 15-inch smallmouth bass here, which are huge for a trickle of water this size.

Made some long casts with the Hub's Chub with the usual nips from below the surface.  Made a short cast and when the lure was maybe 10 feet from me, a GIANT smallmouth appeared from the depths and flashed its side at the lure and disappeared.  Again, "giant" on this river is 15+ inches, and it looked like it was an easy 15 inches.  Biggest smallmouth bass I've caught on the Little Patuxent is 16 inches and ... well ... this fish was probably close.

Not a giant -- a redbreast sunfish.

I reeled in, dropped the rod and picked up the other rod with the Little Dipper swimbait and made a short cast.  Just as the lure was entering the danger zone, a tiny fish emerged from out of nowhere and thieved the swimbait!  By tiny, I mean it was maybe twice as long as the rubber lure.  And just after it hit, that big bass flashed again.  For a brief moment, I thought the bigger bass was going to gobble the little fish but that didn't happen.  The bigger fish disappeared, the little fish shook loose, and that was it.  

This encounter was almost exactly like one downriver from this spot a year ago where a big smallmouth bass emerged from the cloudy depths and attacked a Rapala floating minnow.  That fish also didn't manage to jab itself in treble hooks.

Made some more casts with both lures but the bass had decided it had enough.

Wandered down to another spot, and then another, still getting the same action from little fish but no giants in site.  Eventually a redbreast sunfish managed to actually hook itself after switching to a white Zara Puppy.

Just one fish to show for my efforts, but the encounter with a potential Little Patuxent giant still has me shaking my head.  And cussing a little bit mainly at the little fish that struck just before the bigger smallmouth bass.

Weapons of choice. Old-school Hub's Chub
and Zara Puppy with a Mitchell 300, and a Daiwa
Tatula with Reaction Innovations swimbaits.

Blame Canada

Karen with the biggest fish of the trip --
a 22-inch walleye.

Road Trip No. 3 (for me) started Aug. 6 when I flew to Missoula, Mont., and Karen met me at the airport after she started driving out a little over a week prior.  It's kind of a tradition now to schedule a fishing trip during the middle of the return stint, and this year we went back to Rainy Lake on the Minnesota-Canada border to fish with Rainy Daze Guide Service like we did two years ago.

This time, it was a little different.  Because of that virus thing, Canada had made it difficult for American anglers to cross the border (no walls, no checkpoints, just open water) to fish.  When I scheduled the trip, Canada wasn't allowing ANY boats across the border.  By the time we got to Thunderbird Lodge on the following Wednesday, we learned from a couple other guides in the restaurant that Canada had just relaxed restrictions.  Some. Maybe.  American guides needed a work permit, which meant taking a full day to drive across the border, present the proper paperwork, and if all your I's were dotted and T's were crossed, you should be OK.  But that still usually meant a full day away from the water.

A Potomac-sized smallmouth followed us!

Wednesday morning, we met up with our guide Brent Amy at the lodge.  He's a seasonal guide and had his boat docked a little ways away and could just motor over to the lodge to pick us up.  Really convenient to just roll out of bed and wander down to the dock -- like a fishing Uber guide service!

Brent kind of echoed what we heard from the other guides the previous night, but he heard from his best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going with a girl who is a Canadian official at the Thunder Bay office that it was OK for American boaters to cross the Rainy Lake border.  If they weren't guiding.  Or maybe it was alright?  Brent had decided that it wasn't worth the risk because worst-case scenario, the Canadians would confiscate his boat!  Maybe if the Canadiens had done better at hockey and didn't let a U.S. team beat them in the Stanley Cup Final, the folks north of the border would be more lenient.

The forecast looked OK for Wednesday morning -- high 70s to low 80s in temps and partly cloudy.  But the wind would play a big factor.  The choppy waters proved difficult to find fish and entice the bite.  The fish were there but they didn't seem to be hungry.  We were jigging leeches off the bottom in 30-plus feet of water.

I started off hooking the first fish and got it close to the surface, but it got off.  It looked like a really nice walleye, probably more than 25 inches.  Brent I think was more excited about it and speculated throughout the day that it may have been 28 or even 30 inches.

The bite throughout the day was spotty at best.  I caught four or five early while Karen didn't get anything.  I even caught a small northern pike and a Potomac-sized smallmouth bass.

We moved around to a few spots with limited success.  Karen finally got on board with some walleye and another smallmouth bass that seemed to have followed us from home. She even caught the biggest fish of this trip -- a 22-inch walleye.

Here's where the Canada complaints come to fruition.  Even though Rainy Lake is huge, only about 25 percent of it is on the U.S. side.  The Canadian side has more islands and coves which would have made it easier to hide from the wind and choppy waters.

We decided to go to plan B and try for crappie.  While they aren't big or good fighters, they are tasty panfish.  We anchored in a small cove and used small spinners.  Brent pulled out this contraption that looked like a massive ultrasound.  He mounted it to the side of the boat and could see the fish on a computer screen.  I don't know, I couldn't see anything, but he said the fish were there.  

I caught a decent sized crappie, which would be my last fish of the day.  Karen got one, too, then we moved to another spot.  She caught two more, and Brent caught a few using minnows.

Fresh fish is fantastic.  Not what you get from
the local grocery store.

Kind of bummed at the weather putting a damper on things, but we caught a few eater-sized walleye and crappie.  And the Thunderbird Lodge was great -- good selection of beers at the restaurant bar and walleye on the menu.  The walleye "taco" was fantastic!  We also had a great view of the water from our room and the lodge had real room keys!  Not some card that you swiped and swiped and swiped and hoped it worked, a real, actual room key that we haven't seen since maybe 1998.

Not sure what to do next year.  I keep wanting to try the Columbia or Snake rivers in Washington/Oregon.  We drove through trout territory in Montana, too, and hitting an isolated river or stream would be fun, too.  That's kind of a bucket list trip, to fly fish a "River Runs Through It" trickle of water with a chance of hooking a monster trout.

View of the Thunderbird Lodge docks, grey
clouds just passed through opening up sunlight.

Summer swimbait smallies

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.

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.

One topwater smallmouth is better than none caught on the bottom

Hitting the water for the first time in 2021.

If the first trip of 2021 is an indication of how the rest of the year is going to be, it will be awesome!

Or it will suck.

Maybe it will be awesome?

Karen and I camped overnight along C&O Canal Trail like we've done so many times to start fishing season (she calls it camping season, but whatevs).  Rain hit the area in the middle of the week and I expected a high Potomac River.  But monitoring the gauges throughout the week, it seemed like the water level would be OK.

Arriving at the camp site, the water was a bit higher than Thanksgiving Football Weekend, but not much.  It sure seemed safe for wading.  And I would strap on my new L.L. Bean wading boots purchased in part with a Christmas gift certificate.  These are really trick -- instead of traditional laces that are tied by hand, they are tightened with a "Boa closure" system that is snugged down by twisting a knob on the boots.  Tighten down, then pull the knob to loosen.  

New shoes and a new reel!

And also purchased in part with a Christmas gift certificate and using for the first time was my new Daiwa Tatula LT spinning reel.  As it turned out, the new reel caught no fish while a Mitchell 300 reel from the 1960s caught the only fish of the day!

The river was slightly higher than Thanksgiving Football Weekend and fairly clear.  The skies were partly cloudy, temps in the mid-60s, and the water temp was around 55 degrees.  It seemed like conditions were perfect.  Except the fish didn't cooperate.

I started behind the camp site and waded upriver.  Z-Man Finesse TRD worms, Reaction Innovations Little Dipper swimbaits and, because the water was high enough they shouldn't get snagged, Rapala Shadow Rap jerkbaits.  These are basically my go-to lures.  After two hours of fishing, they were no-go lures.  Not even a single bite.  I made the walk of shame back to the camp site.

Kind of regrouping with the sun sinking low, it seemed like a good time to try a topwater lure.  Actually, this time of year isn't ideal for topwater fishing.  But in my opinion, there is never a bad time  to try enticing a topwater smallmouth strike. If it's the middle of summer or the dead of winter, might as well try because anything can happen.

I lumbered down the bank behind the campsite and tossed a Heddon Zara Puppy in a bullfrog pattern.  This is my go-to topwater lure.  Even though it's a smaller version of the famous Zara Spook, it fires like a bullet and is easy to work in a "walk the dog" pattern.

After a few uneventful casts, I made a cast hoping to let the current steer the lure underneath some overhanging trees protruding from the shore.

Cast.

Plop.

First smallmouth bass and first
fish of 2021 ... on a Heddon Zara
Puppy ... in March.

Five seconds later, without even twitching the Zara Puppy, a fish smashed the lure like it was The Fourth of July when The Topwater Bite is on.  Not like late March when smallmouth bass are between winter slumber and spawning mode.

There was immediate tension on the other end, and the fight was on.  The fish thrashed on the surface, and I yelled for Karen, who I could see up the bank at our campsite.  It wasn't a huge smallmouth, but it was a good size by Potomac standards.

I had a blowup a couple casts later but that was it for the rest of the night, and I got skunked the next morning.  Still, getting the first catch of the year on a topwater lure is still pretty cool, especially considering it didn't seem -- by a long shot -- conditions were ideal.

Also kind of funny, I stopped by a flea market last week and stumped across a guy selling a new Zara Puppy, unopened, exactly like the one I used, for $5 in a bundle deal with a Rebel Wee Craw.  He also had a classic Mitchell 300 reel but it was basically just usable for parts, so I passed on that.

Hot Pockets! L.L. Bean Rapid River Fishing Vest Review

L.L. Bean Rapid River Vest Pack

River smallmouth fishermen share a lot in common with their trout-loving brethren.  Wading in rivers  searching for elusive fish, we all like to have all our gear at our fingertips instead of lugging around a tackle box that's parked on shore.  

However, one thing that stands out among the differences between us (heathen smallmouth fishermen) and them (snooty fly-tying trout fishermen) is the size of our equipment.  Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm talking about fishing tackle!  Where did you think I was going with this?  Let's get back on track -- smallmouth fishermen are going to have an arsenal of larger lures -- spinnerbaits, hardbaits (crankbaits, jerkbaits and topwaters), and jigs and small plastics that dwarf the size of of usual trout flies.

A few years ago I searched the interwebs for a fishing vest like what trout fisherman had but what could accommodate larger bass lures.  I bought a fishing vest that looked "right" as advertised on the web, but after trying it a few times concluded it was not functional for smallmouth fishing -- pockets were too small and didn't hold much tackle.  Christmas time was rolling around and I searched again online for an ideal fishing vest and came across L.L. Bean's Rapid River Vest Pack -- looked to be a good size with lots of storage space.  I put it on my Christmas list and Karen got it for me!

After two years of use, it has held up really well, so I thought I'd highlight some of the features and benefits.

The front pockets are ideal for storing
plastic containers for hardbaits and spinnerbaits

First off, it has a lot of pockets, so many that when I first started using the vest, I would forget where things were.  "Oh my Z-Man worms are in this pocket ... nope ... maybe this one ... nope ... oh here they are."  Or maybe I'm just getting old.  There are two zippered pouches on either side on the front, a zippered pouch on either side of those, and above each of them, a larger zippered pocket.  On the waistband, there are two more zippered pockets.  That makes 10 storage areas just on the front of the vest.

I finally have figured out how to keep track of where everything is -- pockets on the right have jigs and soft plastics, and on the left are larger spinnerbaits and hardbaits.  Or maybe it's the other way around?

But wait, there's more!

Flipping the vest reveals inside pockets with
soft mesh ideal for bulkier items like a cell phone,
small camera or extra spools.

On each inner flap on the front is another zippered pouch with stretchy mesh material that is ideal for holding bulkier items like cell phones, cameras and extra spools. One pouch has a heavy duty "ziplock" bag for keeping those electronic items dry. I use one pocket for a stringer with a thermometer attached for checking water temperature.

We're not done yet!

Even more storage space on the
back of the vest!

On the back of the vest are three -- yes, count 'em, three -- zippered pouches.  This is ideal for storing stuff in between fishing trips.  No need to hunt around the house for sunglasses or a fishing license or pliers or whatever -- I tuck those away in a pocket after each trip.

One of the pouches is suited for a water reservoir like a Camelbak (not included), and it has an opening for the "straw" to slide through for easy access to the front of the vest.

The vest is equipped for a bladder so you can stay
hydrated.

The L.L. Bean vest is lightweight with plenty of storage for river anglers. At $149, it's great for smallmouth fishermen and maybe even trout fishermen, and it comes in any color as long as it's green.

Thanksgiving footballs

 

Greeting me at The Plateau were about 50 geese.
That immediately fled and wanted no part of Thanksgiving.

If you're a regular visitor to this blog, you might have noticed there haven't been any updates since August.  I caught the Covid but it was a mild case and lasted about 8-9 days, and it was only last month.  The real reason I haven't posted anything here since then is because I HAVEN'T CAUGHT ANY F***ING FISH!  Camping a couple times on the Potomac, fishing the local rivers near my house, it didn't matter where, but I didn't have any great stories or hero pictures to share.  Nobody wants to read an obscure blog about not catching any fish.

In a year that has been weird, actually catching smallmouth bass in late November just contributes to the weirdness.  This is when them brown fish are supposed to be in hiding in mystery wintering holes.  And I was lucky to actually find fish this morning, although they weren't anywhere I thought they would be.

With the pandemic basically cancelling Thanksgiving plans, Karen and I were figuring out what to do.  We kept watching the weather forecast, and it looked like it was going to be unseasonably mild on Thanksgiving day and overnight.  So she rolled the dice and booked a spot at the Antietam Creek Campground on the Maryland side of the Potomac River.

It rained a little on Wednesday night but it wasn't a big deal -- just a little damp, and I guessed the river level wasn't going to be affected.  We loaded up the Crosstrek yesterday and headed out.

First fish of the day!

When we got to the campground, it was like an errant Evegeny Kuznetsov pass -- nobody there.  There was one tent about 10 spots down from us, but that was the only sign of human life other than hikers and bikers along the tow path.  And even then, there weren't that many people.  As we would discover, it was a welcome change from the past few camping trips with loud "neighbors" and unpleasantness during what should be a relaxing time.

After we got the tent set up, I headed to one of my favorite spots, The Plateau.  Site of one of my best fishing days on the Potomac when I caught 10 smallmouth in about three hours, including what was then my personal best on the river, a 16-inch tank.

But the last two years on The Plateau have been bleak.  Everything still looks the same as that 10-fish day, but the action has been virtually non-existent.  It didn't matter if the river was high or low, dark or clear, if the temp was high, middle or low, the fish weren't interested in fake lures to entertain an amateur smallmouth bass fisherman.  

Second fish!

Yesterday wasn't any different, despite partly cloudy skies and 50-degree water temps.  I tried a Z-Man Finesse TRD worm and a Rapala Shadow Rap, and it was an uneventful hour or so other than snagging the Shadow Rap on my first cast with it (but managed to get it free instead of donating it to the river).

Last night on the campfire, Karen and I heated up turkey legs (kind of hoping for a Thanksgiving walleye, but that wasn't meant to be) and cooked baby potatoes and gave thanks for the the silence of nobody within earshot.  Unlike Camp Groinia in October at 15-Mile Creek where the d-bags did lighter fluid shots into the fire until 3 a.m.

This morning, I was planning on fishing another spot past The Plateau but decided that with a basically empty campground, I would try the river behind other campsites.  I usually don't fish these areas because I think those spots "belong" to the campers there, and it feels like I'm intruding, even if campers aren't actually fishing or doing anything near the water.

Third fish!

The game plan was to swap the Rapala for a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper swimbait.  I was basically arming myself with my go-to lures with the Z-Man worm on one rod and the Little Dipper on the other rod to try and get something ... anything ... this morning.  It's like in football when times are tough, you give the ball to your best players.

First couple of spots, it was more of the same from yesterday -- nothing.  These looked like prime areas for smallmouth bass to roam if it was between April and September -- a lot of rocks and boulders peppering slow sections and calm pools. 

At another spot, after no interest with the Z-Man worm, I switched to the rod with the Little Dipper.  On the first cast, there was a disturbance on the other end that I haven't felt in a long time.  It was ... really?  .... could it be? ... a fish!  A feisty 12-inch smallmouth!  Took a pic, let it go, and cast near the same spot.  And another smallmouth bass, this one around the same size (I had to check the pictures later to confirm they were different fish).  Two smallmouth on back-to-back casts, the first fish I had caught in more than three months!

On to another spot, and managed to land a slightly larger smallmouth -- roughly 14 inches -- on the swimbait.  

I mentioned before that it's tough to catch smallmouth bass this time of year, but it was odder because these fish were in less than two feet of water.  I'm guessing that with the mild temps (water temp was 50-55), they stalk shallow areas as the sun comes up to warm the water.  Even though this morning was completely overcast.

Thanksgiving dinner -- turkey legs and potatoes!

Breakfast!

If you notice the red on my thumb, this
smallmouth bass actually bit me!  I felt the
fish clamping down, and it felt sharper than
the normal sandpaper-like "teeth."