A day in the bush ......

[David Lee]

Ed Wahl and I hit a very nice Smallmouth stream yesterday .....

After a bit of a slow start (strange .... Ed said he checked the entrails :P ) , probably due to moon phase/super low/clear water , we started to put the peices together .

Around 30 well-fed Smallies to hand between the two of us - most came on the surface :evil: , all fought like the devil was in 'em . Some of the strikes were SO HARD ..... I almost lost the rod on one take ! Lots of 'Grenade Flies' - the ones that EXPLODE as soon as they touch down :shock: !!!! Near the end of the trip upstream , Ed hooked the BIG fish of the trip - as he fought this one , I thought out loud "If we're gonna get a double today , this is the time for it" ....

Wish granted !!

A few casts behind Ed's Smallie , I hooked a large fish !!! As Ed landed his , I got the shot , then tossed the camera to him as I sorted my Bass . After all the years I've put in chasing these fish , I finally get to see something rare - Ed's 2 1/4 Lb. Smallmouth , and my 2 Lb. Smallmouth AT THE SAME TIME - that just doesn't happen .

We covered nearly 6 miles of stream round trip , we saw a Golden Eagle , we had countless blowups , we didn't bring enough water (1 quart per for a three quart day ...) , we survived , we solved the puzzle , we laughed our collective asses off , we talked , we didn't talk ........

All in all ..... one of the most profound trips into the heart of nature I've been lucky enough to be on .

Thanks , Ed - I won't forget this one anytime soon .

David :D :D :D

[mikenewman]

There's a report to cheer up the dullest of Sunday mornings!
Great stuff, David :thumbsup:

[David Lee]

Mike -

Your signature says it all . It was hard to describe the HORROR of some of those hits . Total 'Brown-trouser' moments .....

It's going to be an EPIC year !!!!

David :D

[k.hanley]

Step away from the wall. Put your hands on the keyboard... and give me the name of that river! Now! :D I'm just goofin'.

Nice going boyzzzz. Glad to see you're getting some experience with such a terrific gamefish. Caliornia has great smallie waters (both river and stillwater).
Cheers, Ken

[David Lee]

Hi Ken !!

You know the one .......it's here in the Sacramento valley . No access and all (don't forget those awful Rattlers everywhere out there) .

From when I first picked-up a flyrod (1994) to around 2000 , that's pretty much the ONLY fishing I did . Logging anywhere from 100-150 days a year chasing 4 flavors of Black Bass in small creeks , along w/ Sunfish of several species .

I guess that would count as some experience :)

I've been chasing Stripes on the American since 2000 , neglecting my little urban jewels ....... so it's nice to catch up w/ them again . I missed it .

Shoot me a note when you have a day to play :idea:

David :D

[C. Carter]

David - Nice report. I'll bet that stream gets pretty trouty up near the reservoir. :)

Chas.

[lee s.]

Simply awesome David! 8) 8)

[Ed Wahl]

Just so no one thinks David's just bragging, I'll admit to taking a pretty good skinning yesterday. Experience shows. I don't think it was 2 to 1 but he outdid me at virtually every spot. Freakin uncanny, his intuition of what it's going to take to make them bite. Of course, now I have a little more knowledge myself.:twisted: It was one helluva day. Ed

[David Lee]

Chas -

Thank you . I've heard about those Trout , also . Perhaps in a few weeks ....????

Lee -

It's almost HARD having that much fun , I tell ya ! I'm not quite used to 12-inch Smallies being the 'average' size ....

Ed -

Huh ? What bragging ?? BTW , By my count ..... YOU were top rod . You were into 'em before I was ....

Can't wait for this Saturday :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

David :D

[Hairstacker]

Wow, that sounds like a great trip guys! Hard to beat fishing for "well-fed" stream smallies. And on the surface no less. 8) 8) 8)

[Adam Grace]

Glad to hear that you guys had a nice trip.