Earlier this year I lamented there were no bigger Smallmouth Bass in a nearby stream. The biggest I could catch were 12"-range fish. I’m glad I didn’t give up on it!
I caught multiple Largemouth Bass, Bluegills, Green Sunfish, a Creek Chub, and decent numbers of Smallmouth Bass on Saturday. Finally found some GOOD ones. Even caught my new Fly Rod Personal Best Smallmouth… 18.5". By fishing a Blockhead Popper much of the time, I was hoping to select for larger fish…and it paid off.
16":
16.5"
18.5"
13"
And some other good ones I didn’t measure:
Another big one broke my line and stole my popper. It jumped a couple times trying to throw the popper. I felt bad about that.
Yes. I fished from 10:30am-3:30pm, and caught fish on top nearly that entire time. I did fish some other subsurface patterns and caught fish, but the Popper caught the biggest, and probably the most fish as well. It was cloudy before noon…the fish did seem more aggressive on the topwater after the sun came out, even though most hit in shady areas. If I saw a bass darted up and back down without striking the popper, repeated casts to the area would usually eventually trigger an aggressive strike.
I’m going to have to try on top here in Pennsylvania in the middle of the day. I always thought that smallmouths were only anxious to feed on top early in the morning or late in the evening.
Yes, give it a shot…its really fun when the fish are willing! In my limited experience, the hotter the weather the better (last Fall and this year late June…the fish didn’t seem interested in topwater, but right now and through August can be VERY good)…sunny days are better, even though the fish might tend to be in shaded areas.
I have fished this stream off and on since 1988. This was the biggest bass I’ve caught here. The population took a hit when the stream pretty much dried up to stagnant pools 2-3 times over the past 6 years. Seems to be rebounding.
My previous fishing experience at this stream (mainly fish <12") wasn’t far off. I just heard a professor at a nearby University is doing a long-term study on the Smallmouth Bass in this stream. They haven’t sampled any Smallmouth over 12" in the past 2 years. So… this was a pretty special day!
In my limited experience, the hotter the weather the better (last Fall and this year late June…the fish didn’t seem interested in topwater, but right now and through August can be VERY good)…sunny days are better, even though the fish might tend to be in shaded areas.