Poor little thing.
I first picked up Dan Gapen's product catalog around 11 years ago. Tucked in with all the products are river fishing tips. If all you ever do is read these few tips, you will know more about river fishing and increase your ability to catch river fish well beyond those that know nothing of Dan Gapen.
Got out end of day Sunday to Saw Wee Kee and was immediately welcomed by almost crystal clear water clarity. That is a rare treat on the Fox. Generally this clarity doesn't occur till almost December. But it also makes things difficult. Normally I think you can get away with using almost anything on the Fox because the fish are striking out of pure instinct. Visibility is so low that if they see something flash before their eyes they just hit it and then decide if it is edible. Under these conditions they have more time to look over your offering.
I've been reluctant to go to live bait. Just don't feel like dealing with it anymore. But I know it would increase my catch ratio dramatically. During our next warm spell, and it will come, I may have to just give in to hauling a bucket around. There is nothing like a large or extra large fathead wiggling on a hook to entice a hit.
I thought I had layered enough clothes under my breathable waders in order to stay comfortable for a couple of hours while standing in water that was somewhere in the 55 degree range. I had on a pair of relatively thick fleece sweats and a pair of SmartWool socks. Within 15 minutes I knew I wasn't. Should have had one more layer, even if it was thin. With the water up and flowing around 1250 cfs, there was a considerable amount of waist high water I had to stand in. By the end of the two or so hours of fishing, I was pretty numb from the waist down. Obviously I wasn't bothered enough by this to call my day short, but my numb legs at the end of the day didn't quite agree with my decision.
Fish were sitting in typical fall spots. Off on the side out of the quick colder current. Would you sit out in a cold wind? I see anglers still throwing things out into the riffles this time of year. That might get you some white bass, they seem to like sitting in that kind of colder faster current. But there is a better chance that fishing the riffles this time of year will get you nothing.
Along the north shore are some nice current breaks. I've caught fish out of these spots as late as Thanksgiving weekend and sure enough, they were sitting there today. Of course, Cantsetahook was fishing that day and he missed some nice heavy fish, a good half dozen. I did manage to foul hook a big quillback carpsucker. Getting that out of the current sideways was a real challenge.
The next hour produced nothing and my cold legs were telling me to give it up for the day. I was getting hit, just not able to connect. Then I fished a spot that was one of those Zen spots I was discussing with my daughter the week before. It's one of those spots that you are no longer aware of, you just know how to fish them. Three casts produced 3 smallies and then more casts produced more missed fish. I then realized I was fishing like a page right out of Gapen's catalog. Something I knew to the point where I no longer had to give it any thought. I did forget that it's an area I should have been focusing on and I could have skipped the rest of the river.
Simple idea, riffle, run, lift in any pool of any size. In the spring you should be fishing the riffles right where they end and flatten out into the run. In the summer you should be fishing the run, the area smack dab in the middle between the set of riffles into the pool and the set of riffles out of the pool. In the fall you should be fishing the lift at the end of the pool. The area in front of the next set of riffles.
This is where the fish were today.
Did manage 5 smallies and missed considerably more. The majority came in the 30 foot stretch just before the next set of riffles. Directly in the lift.
I also hooked a good sized carp that was feeding on the surface and I was able to get a jig and twister right in its mouth. The fight alone on that one more than made up for the severe case of shrinkage that occurred from not layering up enough to be standing waist deep in cold water for over 2 hours.
Every now and then I had to get out of the water to try to warm up my legs. I've waded this stretch of the river a lot and have seen the old fences coming down to the river. But I've never bothered getting up on shore to get a closer look. These are throw backs to when the houses that now line the river weren't even there. Probably old farm fences put up to keep farm animals from straying along the river. Going by the condition of the fence posts and the barbed wire, I wouldn't be surprised if they dated back 75 years or more.
Further down stream is a ravine I've walked past and stopped at it's little mouth numerous times. But I never bothered walking back up into the ravine. I found an old collapsed dam that was made out of concrete and cinder blocks.
At the point where the dam was built, the ravine widened out to not quite 100 feet wide and maybe 100 yards back. A nice little farm pond. The ravine I live next to still has it's old dam and farm pond. It looks to be about the same size. At it's deepest point it would have been about 6 feet deep.
These things have long been abandoned. I come across stuff like this practically every where I step on shore or on an island. A civilization lost to abandonment and the relentless claim that nature will make on anything abandoned. Even the trees will swallow up barbed wire that was once strung too close. I love finding these things.
As for fishing in the near future, the metabolism of the fish has not slowed down yet. In the spring when the water hits 55 degrees the smallies go on an aggressive feeding binge. They do the same as the water cools down to that level. So when you can get them to hit, they’re hitting hard and running like freight trains.
With the clear water, large or extra large fatheads are in order if you are going to fish for numbers. My best month for numbers on the Fox was in November a few years ago. But it was minnows or go home.
Maybe I'll learn to layer up better. And buy a minnow bucket.
Not posting too much anymore but I am still Fishin.... 