I did catch 4 smallies out of the river and missed another 3. Out of the creek I picked up 11 more smallies, 5 crappie and missed a lot of fish.
In order to do that I think I hiked about 4 miles, over half of which was while in the water. These adventures of mine are getting hard on these old bones, but I can't imagine not doing it. No matter how much it will hurt later.
I went to a stretch of the Fox on the south end of Batavia that I probably haven't fished in almost three years. Considering that this is the stretch where I spent most of my time in years past, the long absence even surprises me. Starting at the site of the old dam, I hiked a good mile down stream, staying close to the shore and out of the higher faster water.
The edges of the shore looked good and the water was in great shape.
There were plenty of eddies, current breaks, depth and clarity, but a surprising lack of fish.
In this stretch there are flowers I remember from years past. I'm not convinced they are wild flowers because I don't recall seeing them anywhere else.
I have a feeling they are wash outs from gardens up stream. Bulbs that were uprooted during floods and washed down stream. I also never see them off in the woods. They are right on the waters edge and there aren't that many of them.
One of these days, maybe, I'll look up what they are. In spite of my inability to name them, they are quite beautiful.
The whole point of coming to this stretch while the water was a little high, was to fish a length of the shore in an area that under normal water flows, sees virtually no water flowing through it. I knew with the water up the way it is, there would be plenty now flowing through. There is a high ridge of river rock and ever present log jams that seem to prevent the water from going through. That was not the case today. The water was making a pretty good run around the jam and over the rock.
On the other side the shore looked just like I expected. More eddies and current breaks. But again, no fish. The 4 I caught and 3 I missed all came from the stretch before this.
I eventually just gave up, never making it as far as I had planned and was already making mental plans to go fish a creek by my house in Yorkville.
That never happened. Another one of my favorite creeks was on the way. As I drove past, there was nobody in the closest parking lot. I quickly decided to save myself the drive and spend the time fishing. It paid off, but it was still a little slower than I wanted. I guess catching 16 fish and missing a lot more in two hours is actually pretty good.
I guess it was more of a steady catching of fish and not hot and heavy. Part of it too was that I was getting tired. Or at least my calf muscles were. Wading on all this rock is a bitch on your legs. One hell of a workout.
Here the flowers of spring were already starting to die off. There were practically none on the forest floor. There are flowering tree like bushes that are everywhere. The flowers on these are dying off. These are the plants/trees that make hiking on shore so difficult, both here on the creek and on the river. One of these days I'll look up what they are. Then again, maybe not.
I do know that the next time I'm out fishing I'm going to be a lot less optimistic. Then if I catch but a few fish, I'll think I'm having the time of my life. Come to think of it, I am either way.
