BelAirSteve
Member
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2009
- Messages
- 680
Posting while enjoying a cigar on my porch, with a cucumber and ginger infused martini...doesn't get much better than that!
So since I didn't get around to posting a report from last week (Saturday) and I was able to get out again this morning, I thought I would combine both trips into one.
Fished the upper stretches of Deer Creek, in Rocks State Park - last week was a section I don't fish often due to the fact that it takes some time to get to, and today was a section that I have fished a couple of times with limited success. Took care of both of those over the last two weekends.
Last week I started early, hoping to get the smallies to look up, and was able to get into a few 12" smallies. Typical holding spots, along steep shaded banks with rock ledges. All fish were taken on smallish bluegill size poppers and sliders. The highlight of the morning was sight fishing to red breasted sunfish and rock bass - just when I thought I caught the last one at the edge of a rock ledge, they just kept coming up. Probably caught about a dozen in 15 minutes the size of my hand, from middle finger to wrist, which in my case is about 7". Moved from holding area to holding area, taking fish in just about every "fishy" looking spot. When things slowed down a bit, switched to streamers, without much luck, so went back on top. Nothing new here, but I will never tire of a smallmouth bass exploding a popper.
I have commented in other posts about the fact that the smallies this far up in Deer Creek don't get much bigger than 12", but I am not too humble to correct that statement...it's more like "I can't catch smallies over 12" in Deer Creek. While fighting one of the larger sunfish, I saw 3 smallies following it, and 2 of them had to be pushing 14-16". I then switched over to a clouser, but could not get anything to play.
Today was more of the same, less the smallies, since I started a little later than last week. Hightlight of the day today was a 8" rock bass, holding in a grass bed in about 9" of water - I wish rock bass fought more than the first 3 seconds, but I don't see many rock bass over 6" in Deer Creek. Something else interesting today - big fallfish were literally launching themselves out of the water. I could not figure out what they were eating, and didn't really have a desire to figure it out (we're not talking about trout here, after all) but they were not interested in my popper or beetle, but it was an interesting show nonetheless! The only smallie today was a yoy, very clean and healthy looking.
Steve
So since I didn't get around to posting a report from last week (Saturday) and I was able to get out again this morning, I thought I would combine both trips into one.
Fished the upper stretches of Deer Creek, in Rocks State Park - last week was a section I don't fish often due to the fact that it takes some time to get to, and today was a section that I have fished a couple of times with limited success. Took care of both of those over the last two weekends.
Last week I started early, hoping to get the smallies to look up, and was able to get into a few 12" smallies. Typical holding spots, along steep shaded banks with rock ledges. All fish were taken on smallish bluegill size poppers and sliders. The highlight of the morning was sight fishing to red breasted sunfish and rock bass - just when I thought I caught the last one at the edge of a rock ledge, they just kept coming up. Probably caught about a dozen in 15 minutes the size of my hand, from middle finger to wrist, which in my case is about 7". Moved from holding area to holding area, taking fish in just about every "fishy" looking spot. When things slowed down a bit, switched to streamers, without much luck, so went back on top. Nothing new here, but I will never tire of a smallmouth bass exploding a popper.
I have commented in other posts about the fact that the smallies this far up in Deer Creek don't get much bigger than 12", but I am not too humble to correct that statement...it's more like "I can't catch smallies over 12" in Deer Creek. While fighting one of the larger sunfish, I saw 3 smallies following it, and 2 of them had to be pushing 14-16". I then switched over to a clouser, but could not get anything to play.
Today was more of the same, less the smallies, since I started a little later than last week. Hightlight of the day today was a 8" rock bass, holding in a grass bed in about 9" of water - I wish rock bass fought more than the first 3 seconds, but I don't see many rock bass over 6" in Deer Creek. Something else interesting today - big fallfish were literally launching themselves out of the water. I could not figure out what they were eating, and didn't really have a desire to figure it out (we're not talking about trout here, after all) but they were not interested in my popper or beetle, but it was an interesting show nonetheless! The only smallie today was a yoy, very clean and healthy looking.
Steve
