A river tale

[raw69]

Many, many, many moons ago, during the halcyon days of college, we fished the Scioto (sigh-oh-toe) River and it was not in the best of shape. We caught what we referred to as "syphilitic catfish". If you have ever seen the 3-eyed fish on The Simpsons, then you know what I'm talking about. I had not fished the river since the late 70's.

The Scioto is a major river in central Ohio that starts in the central NW area of the state and runs all the way to the Ohio River. I have been fly fishing for the last 5 years, but had been spending most of my time on a smaller river in Columbus. Guys on the local forum kept talking about how good the fishing was on the Scioto, so last weekend I decided to give it a try.

The fish I had been catching in the smaller stream were mostly small Rockies and 4-6 inch SM. Some great Carp action, but smaller fish are the rule. On Saturday morning, the first fish I pulled out of the Scioto was a PB for Rock Bass, followed by more that were filetable. Then I hit a string of SM, all 8 to 11". I was using my 6 wt and throwing a James Woods Bucktail in the traditional blue & yellow. I probably landed 20 Rockies and a dozen SM in 3 hours of fishing and in a 1/2 mile stretch of river. Now that's what I call fun.

My second and third trips were equally successful, only these times I was using Mallard Flank Minnows in Natural and in Chartreuse. So last night I decided to head out again, only this time I would take my 3 wt and really get a fight out of these spunky handfuls. To my surprise the water level was up a foot and it made wading a bit more adventurous. It was up from 3.5 to 4.5 feet and I am just 5'7". Yea though I walked through the rising water, my rod (fly) and my staff (wading) comforted me. I headed straight across to a spot I had consistently caught Rockies at and started casting a JW Bucktail, but this one was olive and yellow. I caught a beautiful 8" Rockie and she really worked the 3 wt. About 5 casts later, I mended the line and just as I started my retrieve the line tightened and the rod bent in half. For the first few moments, I thought I had hooked a Carp, but then the fish left the water in a 3-leap display. After 2 more water-clearing leaps, including one complete mid-air 360 and about 5 minutes of fight I hauled a SM out that I estimate at 17+" and 2-3/4 pounds. WOW! For a river around here that is a good sized SM.

This was an incredible fish, but what really makes me happy is how much the quality of the river has improved in 30 years. Maybe there is hope.