I have no clue why I didn't wander to this creek in September or October, especially with the outstanding weather we had all fall. Those are the months where a 100 fish day is a definite possibility. A somewhat mild day in November wouldn't be the same, but I had to make a much delayed pilgrimage.

The water was clear, but the deeper pools were stained enough that I couldn't see the bottoms. There would be fish there, but in no great numbers or size. I scaled down to a small jig and a 2 inch twister in pearl and gray. Most bait fish aren't much bigger than this and everything eats them.

The little taps of fish came immediately and even this diminutive offering was too much for them. Eventually a hand sized smallie was hooked.



If all you saw was the fish with no size reference, it's perfect shape and color would have led you to believe it could be much bigger. The largest I've caught from this creek was 20 inches, this one had possibilities.

The high limestone bluffs lining the creek topped with a canopy of trees seemed to protect some of the leaves from shedding and disappearing. This first week of November still offered fall colors both reflected on and floating on the water. The frosts of night seemed to have skipped over this spot temporarily.







In between the floating leaves I cast to small pools. I would swim the bait a few inches below the surface. Hordes of river shiners would follow along with schools of baby bluegills nipping at its tail. Every now and then a baby largemouth would try to inhale the 2 inches of plastic.



Many years ago in the fall I noticed a lot of bluegills mixed in with baifish all around in the river and in the creeks and ditches. A fisheries biologist told me that the gills and baitfish migrate up the river and creeks in the fall. Many years ago I read a fishing tip from the river god Dan Gapen. In the fall fish the lift before a set of riffles, this is a typical fall holding spot.

At the mouth of this creek, just down stream, was a lift before a set of riffles. Based on the fish migrations and the fall holding spot , you couldn't have created a better fishing location in your dreams. Initial casts into the lift went untouched, then a hard thump was felt and something was trying to get to the middle of the river while hugging the bottom. It never jumped, just kept bull dogging along the bottom. Even at my feet it just kept turning and running, not a single jump.

The fish looked big, but it's mouth didn't keep up with its length.



It wasn't till I lifted it from the water that it's size became apparent. It's gill plate was the size of my fist, but that mouth was deceptively small. I thought of getting out my camera, setting it up on shore, setting the timer and getting myself in the picture, but that seemed like a form of torture for the fish. I held out my hand and took the shot. Held it up against my rod, marked the spot and got the fish back in the water.



A few more casts produced a couple more fish, baby brothers of the big one. Then the sun went off the water and the bite died. On the other side of the river were more bluffs sitting drenched by the sun. The slow moving pool in front of them was inviting. Getting across the river was impossible, unless I felt like swimming. I estimated in my head how long it would take to drive and walk to the other side. The sun would be gone by then. Another day perhaps.

I used to diligently measure the fish I caught, but gave up on that years ago. Now I guesstimate, I have nothing to prove anymore. Catching the fish is enough. Till you get one this size. When I got home I ran the tape measure to the spot I had marked on my rod, 19 inches. But then I didn't straighten out the fish, close it's mouth or pinch it's tail to get an official measurement. It could have been bigger, but I'll settle for a 19 inch smallie in November.

It's amazing how you can read something without pictures and get antsy to finish up before it ends. I was almost chewing on my fingernails when I read the words on Dale's blog.

This however has a few much needed intermissions with eye candy to reset your attention span clock. Thank you.

I can't read newspapers for the same reason.


19" is massive for November sans live bait. Well done sir.

I wonder if the little creek that flows into the DPR over here by me has the same fall pattern......

Special Ed wrote:I wonder if the little creek that flows into the DPR over here by me has the same fall pattern......

Won't know till somebody goes.

I keep trying to edit my stuff down and it doesn't work. I need to break them up. I think what I sent to Dale is 3 posts in one. This is the first one.

He laughs at their length. I talked to him the other day. Snarky. He said I am snarky . . . and verbose. Thanks Ed.

nice post as usual Ken. thanks, really like teh reflection pix. sometimes i daydream in teh reflections on the river, usually when i'm drowning minnows

i hear ya with the measuring... in my past life i weighed my stripers (some guys measured length but usually new guys looking for legal fish) and after the first couple hundred your hand gets calibrated. mine was accurate within 1/2lb+/-. once or twice a season after the initial calibration i would weigh a fish here or there just to keep the hand honest or wiegh something over 25lbs as "proof". i always carried a 30lb boga, mostly for aiding in realeasing toothy critters or to help in a deep hooked fish caught ona 12" plug with 3 trebles....anyway

since most measure length of smallies i found that my eye wasn't nearly as accurate as my hand and trying to calibrate my eye required me to get the tape measure out and lay the fish on the ground which isn't that great for the fish (arguably not as bad as everyone might think but best to err on the cautious side). so i just marked my rod with white permanent marker every inch to 24" , looks kind of ghetto but i don't really care and the fish don't mind. i dont really care so much about all the 14-17" fish its the 18" + that are really hard to gauage since i want them all to be 20"

Brian,
I painted a ruler on my one piece St. Croix the same way. Then I broke about 8 inches of the tip off. Fixed it, but a really nice med. light fast action was now a medium. I can't get the control I had without that really flexible tip.

Now I'm using a 7 foot one piece medium fast action. I can cast accurately again. It's a custom made Jim Grandt rod that a friend gave me. St. Croix blank. Beautifully done. I can't bring myself to paint over all the details just so I can measure a fish.

I can eyeball smallies to the quarter inch usually. For the bigger ones I like to be a little more accurate. One of these days I'll match the color of the details on the rod and try to do something that blends in. My other rod looked much worse than what you show, but it was accurate.