smallmouth bass fishing – Page 14

An Update on my Simms Boulder Flats Sneakers…

I bought these boots for wet wading back in 2018 and fished them hard for the 2018, 2019, 2020 and now the 2021 season. After countless miles the soles have started to delaminate.

Both boots are delaminating at this location.

The left boot is worse than the right one.

I have looked at buying either the Simms Flyweight boot or the Simms Freesalt boot to replace these. I have used ShoeGoo to fix the heel on the right boot before but it did not hold so I may find a local shoe repair business to see what they can do to fix these. The uppers are holding up really well and the boot is still the most comfortable I’ve worn so I don’t want to give up on these boots or waste money on another pair.

Time to use my Google-Fu and find a local cobbler!

Sand Bar Access on the Cossatot River…

Next stop was the Sand Bar Access and Campground. With it being after 4pm we opted to grab a campsite. There was only 2 other sites taken when we arrived so we grabbed one that was away from everyone else. Again, no running water and only pit toilets for $15 per night. The campsites were spacious but poison ivy was everywhere.

This area also has a Day Use Only Area and it was packed! Apparently it is a favorite swimming hole for the locals and they were everywhere on both sides of the river. With it being our last day, we opted to hang out in camp, cook dinner and get organized for the trip home. We would have preferred fishing this section but there was just too many people around.

It didn’t take long for the campground to fill up with all sorts of people. I’ll never understand why people have to drive through a forest and into a campground with their stereos maxed out. Campground etiquette was out the window! Some guy decided to start chopping wood at 10:30 pm. It literally sounded like he was building a log cabin.

We slept fitfully until 1:30am when some locals in a truck showed up, again with their stereo blasting and were trying to party at the river. Someone at the other end of the campground got up and started screaming at them at which point they promptly turned the stereo off and left. Finally we could get some sleep. NOPE!

From two tent sites away a little girl woke up screaming that she was afraid of the dark! And I do mean SCREAMING! Her mother ended up packing up and leaving.

We slept till 5:30 and packed up and headed home. If I ever camp there again it won’t be during summer. Probably early Spring or Fall.

Again, sticking to our original tenet of exploring new roads and areas, we chose a route home that was off the beaten path. We gathered a lot of new information on this river and thoroughly enjoyed fishing it. We became familiar with the GaiaGPS app which was a definite asset to the trip, especially since we didn’t have cell service for most of our trip. We consider the cost of the upgraded app money well spent. I’m sure we will be back.

I hope you enjoyed this series of blog posts. There will be a few additional “addendum” blog posts to cover some of the gear we used and why. Thanks for reading!

Ed Banks Access Area on the Cossatot River…

With this trip being our first to this river it was tough to fish as much as we wanted to. I’m sure that sounds odd but we wanted to explore as much as we could and considered this trip more of a reconnaissance run than anything. All told, we only covered about 6-7 miles of river. We wanted to get a feel for the place, to see what kind and size of fish we might encounter and to scout out access and camping spots.

The forest roads to the Cossatot River weren’t too bad.

We drove through sections of clear-cut areas and since this is logging country it was to be expected. It was nice to see large swaths had been replanted and were doing well.

Upstream from the Ed Banks Access was a “snot rock boulder fest” and wasn’t a lot of fun. I’m not a fan of snakes and we had seen our fair share. Thankfully none of the ones we encountered were venomous. But where I was, I was on constant alert.

She wanted no part of the upstream side and opted to head downstream. Wiser choice I will admit. After about an hour I joined her on that side and it is much easier. We caught a ton of perch and little Velox. All told we caught 27 fish with one being a nicer smallmouth bass.

After several hours of fishing some local kids showed up in trucks and on ATV’s. There must’ve been 20 of them and they were rowdy. We decided to move on to another access point we had seen on the map.

Brushy Creek Access on the Cossatot River…

We pulled into the Brushy Creek Access Area at the northern end of the park area and noticed it was Day Use Only. No water and pit toilets but they were nicer than the others we had encountered.

Since we had left before dawn, we pulled out the camp kitchen and stove and made coffee. We talked and decided on which gear to use for fishing this area and suited up.

This is a really nice area as the stream flows through a mountain pass here. I opted to use my fly rod for this section since there was no wind and the river just screamed “FLY ROD.” I used my Loop Evotec Cast 390-4MF and the Hardy Ultraclick fly reel.

In short order I hooked 5 fish and had a blast with the 3wt. Upstream the river changed into a mine field of boulders, slippery rocks and trees, so I broke down the fly rod and strapped it to the Yeti Panga 28 and continued fishing with my baitcast setup. 4ft 6in rods are easier to maneuver with than 9ft rods lol.

We traveled upstream quite a ways until we came to a spot where we would have to swim across to continue. There is a lot of boulder hopping to get to certain fishing spots so if this is not your thing keep that in mind. My fishing backpack is waterproof so swimming/floating across wasn’t a big deal for me but her pack is only water resistant and she didn’t want to attempt the crossing.

A big shout out to the wife here…I get so focused on fishing that I rarely take pictures. If it wasn’t for her…this series would be really short!

After hitting the obstacle, we decided to head back to the car and try another section of the river. On the way back we ran into some locals who were cooling off in the river. We chatted for a bit and continued on our way.

Looking over the map, we opted to drive to the Ed Banks Access Area.

Trials and Tribulations…

We were up before dawn and camp was taken down and loaded into the vehicle in 10 minutes. Off we went.

We drove out of the forest and back to a highway and pointed the car West towards Oklahoma. We enjoy driving the backroads and seeing new scenery so we took a meandering route to get to Pine Creek Lake.

We even found a McDonalds and bought two coffees and a quick breakfast since we left without making either. Gotta have coffee!

We had never been to this part of southeast Oklahoma so were looking forward to seeing what we could. We drove over the Glover River and were stunned to see that the river was bank-to-bank and flowing fast. Really fast! Something wasn’t adding up.

After a long and winding route we finally arrived at the campground only to find the gate locked and a CLOSED sign in front of us. We looked on GaiaGPS and headed for another campground on the lake with similar results. When we drove over the dam we saw that ALL of the gates were open and discharging as much water as possible. Looking around we noticed about 2 feet of telephone poles sticking out of the “lake” with the power lines themselves being underwater. Holy crap! This lake was flooded…the campgrounds were underwater as well.

The Glover River was out of the question at this point. We quickly decided on a Plan B and started driving north towards Talihina Oklahoma. The Talimena Scenic Drive runs from Talihina OK to Mena AR and follows the mountain tops the whole way. We had never done the complete route so decided to do it today.

As we were driving by the Queen Wilhelmina State Park we noticed the campground was pretty empty. And with it being later in the day, we stopped and got a camping spot. The price was $19.89 per night. The real motivator was not time, but the showers we both needed and wanted.

When we checked into the campground, you have to go into the main lobby of the hotel. I guess we smelled really bad because they rushed us through and told us our campsite was #36…all the way at the end of the road LOL.

The plus side to camping here was the altitude. It was roughly 2600 feet so it was 10 degrees cooler. 85F is better than 98F back home! This mountain chain is the first significant barrier to any weather coming up from the Gulf through Texas. We could hear thunder in the valley below and saw dark clouds approaching so we rigged for rain. It never happened. The low that night was 70F so it wasn’t too bad. But it wasn’t the low-60’s like we had at Cossatot.

Needless to say, we were up early and on the road by 6am. We headed to Mena to complete the Scenic Drive and decided to head back to the Cossatot River.

Average Size of Velox in Our Favorite Streams…

As I’ve stated before, the Neosho-strain Smallmouth Bass does not grow to the same size as the Northern-strain Smallmouth. Habitat and other environmental conditions severely limit the growth potential of the Velox (Neosho-strain Smallmouth Bass.)

Our local stream conditions vary greatly during the course of a year. Floods and droughts are the biggest factors. Some years there is barely enough water to get your ankles wet and other years you are pushing the limits of safe wading. Yet the Velox perseveres!

I have spoken with biologists and have read various papers on the Neosho-strain Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu velox) to gain insight into this magnificent little fish. How they over-winter, seasonal stressors, forage and feeding patterns etc. etc.

And that’s also why I refuse to fish a stretch of river to death…I just pick a few prime spots and move on so that I am not negatively affecting a larger proportion of fish.

Knowing what this fish endures during a one year cycle makes me respect it even more. And the fish in the picture above is estimated to be between 8 and 10 years of age! Long live the Velox…

Holistic Fishing?

I was tasked with “riding shotgun” over our chickens today to make sure they were safe while free-ranging, and while sitting there on the porch, I began thinking about what my style of fishing might be called. The only concept that I kept coming back to was Holistic Fishing.

Definition…”Holistic”-adjective-Emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts.

Makes sense to me. Fishing is such a multi-faceted sport that I don’t believe you truly stop learning during the entire lifetime of your endeavors.

I drew upon the Celtic Knot for the simple reason that it personifies the uniqueness of “perpetual endings and beginnings.”

There are an infinite number of parts that make up the Whole… some we are aware of and others we are not. I factor in the Mind, Body and Soul aspect when I go fishing. Again, it’s about the Whole. The weather, stream flow, season, water depth and clarity, who I’m fishing with and why I’m fishing on a particular day. How is my physical strength, am I stressed or relaxed, do I feel pressured by time or other people? And more specifically, how do these all inter-connect to produce a desired result? Do I actually need a result?

Everyone has heard the reference to “Being in the Zone,” and that is something I strive for whenever I fish. That to me, is the culmination of a good day. When I take in all of the sights, sounds and smells and my situational awareness is pegged. When the fish cooperate and I truly feel that I am in my element.

Being “One with the Fish” is such a cliché, but it is a valid sentiment. But it is bigger than that. Much bigger! Sometimes I feel as if my vocabulary isn’t polished enough to come up with the proper words to convey the message so other people might understand.

I need to do some more “thinking” on this topic and as such, I will consider this subject a Work in Progress…

The Reel Arrived…

So the reel (Daiwa Presso LTD 1025) finally arrived yesterday. In fact, Friday turned out to be a great day, despite a 4.2 earthquake, and with everything else going on. Now we can move on and stop the trivialities…we have more important things to do.

The coldest temperature I registered here without wind chill was -13F which was on a Wednesday if I recall. And next week by Tuesday we’ll be up to 66F. I’m ready for Spring as I’m sure many people are.

We have plans to make, reconnaissance trips to consider and map explorations to do. We’ll have to purchase licenses and get gear and tackle ready. All of which comes from wanting to fish new waters.

Sometimes I sit back and think, “how absurd all of this is.” All of this energy and focus and expense for a fish that rarely grows to 3 pounds! But I can assure you that we earn every single fish we catch. Just getting to these waters takes planning and effort.

We would much rather listen to the river churning and bubbling than to the mindless drivel pouring from a TV. A brief excursion to escape the outside world.

I am reminded of a quote from Charles Bukowski…”We have nothing to lose, But ourselves.”

What’s My Fascination With JDM Gear?

For the last several years I have noticed that Major League Bass fisherman from the US head to Japan to learn new techniques that the Japanese use to catch big bass in heavily pressured waters. I’m not a diehard Largemouth Bass fisherman by any stretch of the imagination, but I like learning new things.

One day while going down the YouTube algorithm generated “rabbit hole,” I stumbled across Randy G. at TroutMagnetMan, and he was fishing with Japanese ultralight fishing rods. My curiosity was piqued and I began researching JDM tackle.

I look for “Quantum Leaps” when it comes to gear. Kind of like the Bamboo rods versus Fiberglass rods. And let me warn you now…if you get into this JDM gear, you will be doing a TON of research and language translation.

The Japanese are “Graphite Wizards” when it comes to graphite fishing rods.(For you golfers out there…Japanese made graphite golf club shafts are in high demand.) How they create these rods is impressive as well as the technological advancements that go into them. I used to think my fishing rods were light but I was wrong. My St. Croix 6ft 6in ML tips the scale at 4.5 ounces while my TenRyu 6ft 10in ML comes in at exactly 2.0 ounces. That’s amazing to me. And the sensitivity is off the charts!

Will all of this High Tech Wizardry help me catch more fish? I hope so. But I do know that shaving ounces will help me fish longer so the odds are in my favor.

I haven’t tried JDM BFS (Bait Finesse Style) fishing where they use baitcasting gear. But if you want to see a Master in action…that would be Angler Saito over on Youtube. His channel is named EnjoyFishingChannel.

JDM Spoons…

And here is a quick shot of a few of the Spoons I plan on throwing for the 2021 season.

From left to right:

Smith D-S Line Spoon 4 gram in Yamame Silver
Forest MIU Spoon 3.5 gram in Abalone
Daiwa Crusader 4 gram in Super Hot Blue Pink Tail
Daiwa Crusader 4 gram in Super Hot Rainbow Black

Spoons are huge in Japan for trout in both “Area” and “Native/Stream” fishing. Again, everything is specialized…Rod, reel, line, lure etc. and is geared to a specific fish species or style.

It’s a “DEEP RABBIT HOLE” to go down so be forewarned if your interest is piqued.

JDM Jerkbaits…

Here a few of the Jerkbaits I plan on using for 2021.

I replaced all of the treble hooks with Cultiva SBL-55M hooks in either size 6 or size 8. The only oddball was the Great Hunting 50F Flat Side which required Cultiva S-21 size 8 hooks.

If you ever get the chance to view any of the various Japanese company’s tackle catalogs, you will be amazed at the selection and specialization that you will find. Truly incredible.

From Top Left to Right and Bottom Left to Right:

-Great Hunting Heavy Duty 55S Sinking

-DUO Spearhead Ryuki 60S Sinking

-DUO Spearhead Ryuki 70S Sinking

-Daiwa Silver Creek Minnow 45S Sinking

-Lucky Craft Humpback Minnow 45SP Suspending

-Great Hunting Flat Side 50F Floating

As far as manufacturers go, I know the DUO Spearhead Ryuki 60S and 70S are made in Japan. The Lucky Craft Humpback Minnow Suspending is also made in Japan. The Great Hunting GH50 Flat Sides are made in Vietnam.

Just because it says “JDM” does not mean its made in Japan, rather it’s for the Japan Domestic Market. JDM purists generally do a lot of research before purchasing as they ONLY want “Made in Japan.”

I don’t see myself going down that road, but one never knows.

What’s the Connection?

So what is the connection to some of the stories I share and what my blog is about? The answer is the Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu). It’s my favorite fish to go after. I have made many trips up North to fish for these guys and so I try to share a few of the trip highlights. Be they humorous or fishing related.

Pound for pound, this fish is a great fighter and a scrappy one at that! I have read that a Neosho-strain Smallmouth Bass that is between 12 and 14 inches long could be as a old as ten years of age. As its name implies (Micropterus dolomieu velox) “Velox” in Latin means swift or rapid. Research shows that they mainly inhabit swift flowing streams and have not been known to establish themselves in lakes.

The Northern Smallmouth Bass does quite well in lakes and is highly sought after. At least in the Lower 48. I’ve encountered numerous Canadians that consider it a trash fish and much prefer catching walleye or even crappie. To each their own!

I don’t mind catching either to be honest. I tend to over-glorify the smallmouth bass and definitely place it on a pedestal. Even to the point where I don’t keep them, instead, releasing them immediately.

When I’m up North I tend to target the Smallies almost exclusively. Sure I’ll keep a walleye if the opportunity presents itself, but the Smallies go back. A long time ago I read something about how old a trophy Smallmouth would be…(if I recall correctly) it was around the 15-20 year mark! To me that’s incredible…but I’m not a Fish Biologist. Knowing how many other toothy fish are swimming in the same lakes…living to that age says a lot!

And that’s yet another reason why I have such respect and reverence for the Smallmouth. In my mind, it is a worthy opponent that deserves my best efforts. And I’m grateful for each and every one I catch…dink OR donkey! Thanks for reading.