Situation

Got word from Noel Sell about the current situation. He read the previous post and wrote, "Totally agree! Fishing is very tough lately. We need rain and cooler temperatures badly."

Forecast mid-80's tomorrow, last I heard. Feels that warm this afternoon.

I'm concerned because I got an invitation to fish Culver Lake on Wednesday, and don't want to exit this outing having caught nothing. We will just have to see how it goes, and in any event, it should be a good time.

Tough Transition Time

Forty three degrees upon our daybreak arrival at Split Rock Reservoir this morning, Fred and I didn't see a cloud in the sky. I didn't think about how tough the fishing could be until 10 or `15 minutes into it, while fishing a shaded cove with plenty of depth and rocks, a very bassy-looking spot with nothing happening. I sat in one of Fred's kayaks.

Fred did catch a little smallmouth on his four-inch Senko, just to the side of that cove in water brightly lit. Four rocks penetrated the surface some 50 yards beyond, and I worked them thoroughly with a Chompers worm, getting no more than the pecking interest of a sunfish. We pulled out two hours later.

Skunked again on Split Rock, I changed my mind about fishing Merrill Creek Reservoir with Oliver Shapiro in about two weeks. Now I want to put my squareback on Split Rock to settle the score. We can troll. I really like the structure I see here for that purpose.

From the reservoir, we rode over to Saffin, me feeling mixed confidence. In any event, my best fishing at the pond has been early and late; although I have caught some nice mid-day bass there, today was no typical late morning and early afternoon. It certainly was not summertime, but it wasn't an October day after bass have adjusted to the new season and slam spinnerbaits, either.

I began along my favorite steep shoreline with its heavy cover, and soon realized it wasn't going to happen, and it never did. I switched from the Chompers, after fishing deeper water out from the bank thoroughly, too, and snapped on a spinnerbait, feeling that most of the bass had slipped into any deep water out away from shore, although, judging the terrain, the more likely case is that they had dispersed in water about eight feet deep almost anywhere out there, not feeding at all. By this scenario, true or not, the bass are like blues and striped bass as they slip into the surf to feed, then abandon it. Not many bass would be near enough the shorelines to perhaps take a reaction swipe at one of the lures Fred and I threw. 

I did get one definite hit. By the feel of that, I knew it was a bass about 10 inches long. A good hard smack. It didn't get the bait fully in its mouth. 

Reluctant South Branch Smallmouths

Went to my favorite spot at sundown, missing a hit on the first cast and catching an average stream smallmouth on the third. Clear water flowed moderately, but it was chilly after this morning's temperatures in the 40's. I saw nothing but some killiefish in the shallows, and with a cloudless sky overhead, it became quickly evident to me that the cold front had put the bass off.

I came with killies I bought when my wife and I last visited Island Beach. I did bring my fly rod, but not only was I pinched for time, I don't think I could have caught any with it. Definitely a fall feeling on the river this evening. I do hope next summer I get a chance to fly fish the river at length. A whole morning and early afternoon. I have plenty of flies to try.

I worked my way down the stretch, and having waded about halfway to the back, got a big bass on, but the hook pulled. That's what I came for, a big one. A bass of nearly four pounds, and I really want to hit that mark fair and square, judged by my tested Rapala scale. I trudged back to the bucket, half hoping to hook another, half convinced I missed my only shot at one, baited my hook, and put another killie in the left breast pocket of my Woolrich, a heavy flannel shirt I needed. And it was getting progressively chilly while I wet waded.

Way down at the bottom of the stretch, my big killie flew off the hook on a cast, so I baited that hook with the other, soon getting another bass on, catching it--12-inches.

Gave myself a pat on the back for putting that killie in my pocket. (They live forever out of water.)

So I lost yet another big bass here where I expect them, but it's better by far to have had one on today, than to have never encountered such a fish.

https://littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/2013/09/four-pound-smallmouth-bass-south-branch.html

A Week Too Late

Excellent article on party boat fluke by Fred Golofaro in this week's The Fisherman. I just wish I had read it last week!

I had the idea halfway right. Yes, the use of light tackle is preferred. Jigs as light as a half ounce, let alone the ounce of tungsten I selected. And instead of 20-pound braid on the seven-foot rod, 10 or 15 would be better. (Lighter test=less water resistance as the jig sinks.)

We fished near the stern. Wrong spot. Golofaro recommends the bow. You cast the jig upstream of the drift, and let it swing on down. Cast, retrieve, cast, retrieve.

So now I get it. While Oliver and I fished, I kept looking at all the lines out, and it bugged me...as if all this was too damn simple. Golofaro says much the same when he points out that taking position along with a dozen or so other lines closely lined together is a losing bet.

Too bad the thought never occurred to me....so go up to the bow and cast. This is why it's a good idea to read fishing magazines. I can't always count on my original thought.

Headboat Fluke Trip out of Point Pleasant

The anticipation of hooking a really nice fluke has me looking forward to going out on a headboat for them. When I fish the surf, I might catch a keeper. Once, when fishing a beach of Sandy Hook, I caught two over 18 inches long, but not by much. It;s not surprising that my biggest so far--22 inches--hit when I leaned against a rail like the one in the photograph. I've fished behind Beach Haven plenty for fluke, and in Manasaquan and Barnegat inlets, catching them as large as 20 inches, but they're just as rarely keeper size there as in the surf. It seems every time out on a headboat, a few over four pounds get caught. If you go, you just might get one over seven pounds. That happens.

Not today.  If you pay attention to reports, you've heard it's a bad year for fluke. Just the same, Oliver Round and I had our hopes. He quickly pulled four shorts over the rail, one of them 17 inches long, while I had to make do with a couple of small sea robins. If they were big enough, I would have taken them home. I hear they're very good eating and might as well taste for myself. Finally, I caught a fluke of about 16 inches, and as always, I had enjoyed that head-shaking dance on the end of my line. The pool winner was the only keeper caught today. About 19 inches.

I began by seeing if I could get a one-ounce tungsten jig with a squid strip and squid strip teaser to bottom and keep it there. Oliver had just told me he heard the water was 80 feet deep, so I knew this trick wasn't likely to work. I did catch a sea robin on my first or second drop, but I gave up on my seven-foot rod and the jig for the obvious reason, finally settling on a four-ounce bank sinker and my eight-foot Tica. Even that much weight didn't hold bottom very tightly, but it did keep direct contact, and by keeping the bail open and a finger on the line, it was easy to release a few yards every now and then, letting the rig distance from the rail. Oliver did the same and caught as many fluke as some using 12 ounces. 

I brought along my Penn Squall 60 reel and a pool cue stand-up rod, just in case I wanted to rig two four-ounce bank sinkers together and drag those on bottom. If the water was deeper and I felt my control compromised, as it was with that tungsten jig, I would have, but I never felt the situation called for the heavy rod.

https://littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/2017/08/last-lady-ii-charter-beautiful-day.html

Fluke on Bunker

Kept bunker in the surf all afternoon. Finally, something small tapped repeatedly at it near sundown, and then after sundown, it happened again and got more involved. I set the hook into this Island Beach keeper, 16 1/2 inches. 

The bait intended for a bluefish, reports have plenty of them around, but nothing seemed to be in the surf at all there today, until things got a little interesting during the Magic Hour. Very calm, most waves about a foot high, using my five-and-a-half-foot medium power St. Croix with six-pound test monofilament and a couple of split shots for weight was an effective way to fish live killies, but I got only two hits, after catching the fluke.

Now I have bait for smallmouth bass. The leftover killies. So much for fly fishing them until next summer, I guess. I think I'll try to catch a nice big one on the killies. No, I can't promise, but I certainly haven't forgotten the one that snapped my line two Octobers ago.

https://littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/2018/08/some-fish-in-surf.html

Salmon Falls River and Milton Pond Smallmouth Bass

As I wrote last night, I didn't expect the fish to jump all over our offerings. I learned months ago that Salmon Falls River is trout stocked, so I expected a fairly heavily fished run. We found water deeply stained by pine needles, that black coffee look of tannic acid, and at first I couldn't help but feel we would get skunked. I've fished tannic Big Flatbrook a number of times, and though I've heard of smallmouth bass, I have never encountered one of them. But Matt hooked and caught an average stream bass pretty quickly, just before a heavy rain shower had us running for the car after we had made a fairly arduous effort at finding positions to cast just outside of Lebanon.

We drove on to find more access.

Salmon Falls River marks the New Hampshire/Maine border here in the south of the two states. It flows out of 271-acre Milton Pond. It's a small river difficult to wade with lots of big, slick rocks, but where you can access it on foot, you can manage. We saw some tubers and rafters, so for anyone who wants to try that approach, it could be the best choice. You could get a small canoe on it, but where you might have to get out, the rocks under foot could be a problem.

That first access we found is in the middle of town, whatever that half-Maine, half-New Hampshire town with U.S. Highway 202 running through it--like a side road up here--is named. Not a bridge access. There's marked parking and some seats made available by public money. A trail leads down. Just don't trespass on the property downstream a little. I was very careful about that. I'm not sure what some people in this rural state, which I greatly respect, might do.

The second access we found, at a bridge, has a very worn and beaten path, compared to the first access back in town. We had viewed the water from atop that bridge, and it looked too shallow. (Later we learned that was illusory, if because of the tannic stain. Water we thought a foot deep was at least three feet.) We followed the path downstream, and when Matt chose a spot, I continued to another. The bass photographed above struck my Senko as soon as it hit the surface.

Our regular readers know I have fly fishing for smallmouths in mind this summer. I spent over a hundred dollars on flies and gear for that. And Jim Holland at Shannon's Fly Shop in Califon kindly gave me three sculpin flies with helmet weights, a value of about $15.00, if I were to buy them online and pay shipping. He's caught South Branch Raritan smallmouths on these very flies. Thus far, none of the spots we fished allowed room even for roll casting. The only exception was a spot just downstream of where I caught my first bass, and third and fourth when we later retuned. There a deep hole seemed promising but yielded not a hit. My bass came from three, four feet at most. A little further down, people were swimming, and the trail ended.

From under the bridge, Matt cast upstream and a bass was on his Senko in a flash. He lost it, a pretty good fish. He said another bass trailed his. I resolved to retrieve my Senko meticulously, and soon caught my second.

Upstream a couple of miles, we found more bridge access. Matt had a big crawfish jig tied on. He had plumbed the depths of the hole near the swimmers. He caught another bass under the bridge. I missed a hit, and then missed another downstream. It was evident we could have waded further downstream, but not only was the river smaller here, and the bass probably likewise and fewer; we had only so much time. We had left after noon and needed to be back by five or six.

Matt felt very interested in finding Milton Pond access. Very little of it exists. But we did find some especially for the dam and below it. Both spots hold bass. You can tell that's so just by looking, if you're experienced. And a kayaker told me he caught nice smallmouths earlier both above and below. I felt there was too much sun on the water. but true to form, a smallmouth hit Matt's spinner in plain view below, though he missed the hit.

River bass impress me as more willing mid-day hitters.

Back when we fished the headwaters of Milton Pond, my former favorite Penn 430ssg finally gave out. The internal gear broke. So not only was I forced to fly fish; I found plenty of space to do it below the dam. I saw some sunfish took interest in a Haggerty's Hell Raiser, but though I gave them a good try, I didn't raise a single bass.

Matt caught the first.

 Matt played a bass from under the bridge.

Upper reach of Milton Pond where we found access but only one small largemouth that didn't hit.

Milton Pond Dam

https://littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/2014/08/mount-desert-island-smallmouth-bass.html