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I stalked extreme shallow water that the late summer had rinsed clear. I took calculated long casts and moved with stealth. My hunting skills were sharp and my presence went unnoticed. I could see many smallmouth stacked up on my pursuit down river. They are clearly beginning to group up and seek out their fading prey before winter. Not ten casts deep into my smallmouth search a small but extreme storm cell pounced on me and let loose a soaking I was not prepared for. I moved into the woods to take shelter but even here under a thick layer of leafed canopy there was no shield that could fend off the hard rain. I moved under an enormous trunk that had a small hollowed opening. Not wanting any of my electronics to be ruined I crouched my way into the opening to wait out the storm. I took in my surroundings and pulled out a flashlight and walked the light slowly up the interior of the tree trunk. The light went higher and higher and I began to fear that directly above me I may not be alone. All I could think was that my flashlight was sure to spook a nest of bats my way. The void within the trunk was vast and I stood straight up and the light finally stopped at the end of the opening that went up almost fourteen feet within the trunk. I was pleased to find there was no residence occupying the dark space high above me. By this time the thunder was sounding farther off to my East and the rain weakened to a trickle and I left the woods and the sleepy hollow I had took shelter in.
Cave Man
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Standing Inside the Hollow
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Making up for lost time the storm had stolen from me I moved quicker through the river and twitched a C-Shad fanning the water for a strike. I received my first fish with a hard thump.
1st Bite
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After not receiving the response I expected after the fist smallmouth on the C-Shad I switch my presentation to a topwater plug. The intense rain tore off every loose leaf from the trees and I had to work hard to pop the plug between a constant flow of fresh floating leaves. I got into a bunch of dinks that kept the evening exciting but I got bored quickly with them and moved on but let the plug remain at the end of my line.
I had so much fun exploring new areas today working the surface of the river. I had some great explosions on top and most were in clear enough water that I had a front row seat watching them follow or come up hard to take a bite.
Topwater Bronze
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Eventually I found myself in a space on the river where some push water flowed out leaving a perfect seam that cut a border that walled off the current from the slack water. Here I positioned a perfect cast on the partitioned line that separated the still water from the fast water. I took an aggressive approach and knocked the plug forward with a pair of hard twitches. The plug pushed a copious amount of liquid in a ball of splatter. Before the lure or the water it sprayed could come to a rest a massive fish performed a full breach exposing the entirety of its mass as it attacked the lure. My heart pumped a hard beat. My eyes gapped and I set the hook knowing this could be the moment. When the weight I expected never came my entire being felt disillusioned. As panic, disappointment and frustration set in like a fire set with gasoline I threw my line out in another cast. To my surprise this time not only did I duplicate a perfect cast I replicated the same action that first drew this water dragon out. This time I was not disappointed. I had a solid hook up. The fish took to the air more than once. At first I thought he was foul hooked because I could not locate the lure on any of the first few jumps it took. But as the fight drew closer to me I could see he had taken the whole bait down in one bite. I feared I would lose the fish now knowing it was thrashing around with the line sawing back and forth in its mouth. But, the line held and I brought her in and was shocked once again that this fish only measured out to 19 inches. I am starting think that my tape measure is defective.
Night moved in and I walked back under a crescent moon that glowed through the fog lifting from the rain that fell earlier. I was guided home by a lit path along the bank where glow worms faded in and out of sight with beautiful bioluminescence. The woods were alive and everything seemed enchanted after such a great night fishing the river.
BEAST
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Took the Whole Thing
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Cave Man
Standing Inside the Hollow
Making up for lost time the storm had stolen from me I moved quicker through the river and twitched a C-Shad fanning the water for a strike. I received my first fish with a hard thump.
1st Bite
After not receiving the response I expected after the fist smallmouth on the C-Shad I switch my presentation to a topwater plug. The intense rain tore off every loose leaf from the trees and I had to work hard to pop the plug between a constant flow of fresh floating leaves. I got into a bunch of dinks that kept the evening exciting but I got bored quickly with them and moved on but let the plug remain at the end of my line.
I had so much fun exploring new areas today working the surface of the river. I had some great explosions on top and most were in clear enough water that I had a front row seat watching them follow or come up hard to take a bite.
Topwater Bronze
Eventually I found myself in a space on the river where some push water flowed out leaving a perfect seam that cut a border that walled off the current from the slack water. Here I positioned a perfect cast on the partitioned line that separated the still water from the fast water. I took an aggressive approach and knocked the plug forward with a pair of hard twitches. The plug pushed a copious amount of liquid in a ball of splatter. Before the lure or the water it sprayed could come to a rest a massive fish performed a full breach exposing the entirety of its mass as it attacked the lure. My heart pumped a hard beat. My eyes gapped and I set the hook knowing this could be the moment. When the weight I expected never came my entire being felt disillusioned. As panic, disappointment and frustration set in like a fire set with gasoline I threw my line out in another cast. To my surprise this time not only did I duplicate a perfect cast I replicated the same action that first drew this water dragon out. This time I was not disappointed. I had a solid hook up. The fish took to the air more than once. At first I thought he was foul hooked because I could not locate the lure on any of the first few jumps it took. But as the fight drew closer to me I could see he had taken the whole bait down in one bite. I feared I would lose the fish now knowing it was thrashing around with the line sawing back and forth in its mouth. But, the line held and I brought her in and was shocked once again that this fish only measured out to 19 inches. I am starting think that my tape measure is defective.
Night moved in and I walked back under a crescent moon that glowed through the fog lifting from the rain that fell earlier. I was guided home by a lit path along the bank where glow worms faded in and out of sight with beautiful bioluminescence. The woods were alive and everything seemed enchanted after such a great night fishing the river.
BEAST
Took the Whole Thing
