I probably should have kept going a few more miles west to a creek, but I was compelled to stop and fish the Fox. Even though it's running a little high at 2600 cubic feet per second, I know my way around the river enough to be in water running that fast and be comfortable.
I didn't like it much though. I've been spending too much time in the creeks and they are just a lot more interesting to fish. After work, by the time I get to the river and suited up, I have about an hour and a half of daylight left. It was too late to head to another spot once I got to the river. Had to make the best of it.
It did pay off with catching 4 smallies, a 17 inch walleye and a foul hooked quillback.
Like I said, wading in this water isn't all that difficult. I can go through this stretch when it's flowing as fast as 3500 cfs. The fastest it was going when I waded here a couple of years ago was 4500 cfs and that was just stupid on my part. I almost got swept under a log and it was the first time I actually thought the river was going to kill me.
Didn't have to worry about logs this time. All the flooding we've been having for almost two years now has moved everything out. Trees that had been laying in the water and along the shores, trees that I've relied on for years to catch fish around, are all gone. One in particular really surprised me, I thought for sure it would be there forever. But I guess the floods had other ideas.
I imagine as I get out wading more I'm going to start finding where all these trees went. Maybe new fishing spots.
The problem when the water is running this fast is that it covers areas that are normally slow moving pools at normal levels. Pools that generally hold fish were just fast to bother with. That kept me along the pockets on the shore, which were surprisingly devoid of fish.
Maybe I just wasn't into doing this. I seemed to get bored and wrap things up much sooner than my creek trip the day before. I think it may be the fast water. Just don't like fishing it anymore.
Till about the end of June the smallies should be pretty far up the creeks. Usually by July they get low enough that the fish seem to move out. Unless we're lucky and keep getting rain.
If the river comes down soon, I do have to go fish the stretch from Orchard Road to Saw-wee-kee Park. It always produces.
But other than that, I guess I'm going to learn some new stretches of a few creeks.