Two of a Kind
6/30/25
The reason I camp is to go hunting or fishing and have someplace in the proximity to come back to. This is why I bought a camper in the first place. If I just wanted to camp I’d sit in my backyard by the fire pit, drink beer and smoke cigars.
Being the weatherman said there were possible scattered thunderstorms around 3 I decided to get out early on the river. It started as a gray overcast morning but the sun was filtering through the cloud cover brightening up the morning sky. With that brought the humidity up so I couldn’t wait to get myself in the water. I knew where I wanted to float so I got my gear put in my float tube and drove down River Road. I left my bike at a house along the river that I know the owner and drove back upriver to where I put in. I assembled my Winston 6 weight fly rod, got my flippers on and put the float tube in the water. I was ready for some smallmouth fishing teasing them with my home made surface poppers.
Orange appeared to be the choice color the past few days so I clipped one on my Fas-Snap. I’m not sure if the smallmouth are really that picky with surface commotion when they’re hungry but the orange poppers appeared to encourage more strikes.
I was just feeling my way along the bank casting down river and stripping the popper towards me. The river was on the high side with pretty good current. Being the water was on the high side I knew I’d be swept down river quickly in the float tube so I figured I’d just float near the banks where I can reach bottom here and there and ground myself now and then.
I have found that when the water is on the higher side I’ve caught more smallmouth out in the open water but there’s always a few sticking around near the banks. Knowing this I’d cast out in the more open water when I was able to if I had enough back casting room from the bank side brush and tree limbs.
On one occasion I casted as far as I was able out into the open water. The current was still kind of lazy not far out from me. As my orange popper drifted with the surface current I’d strip it now and then, gurgling it, trying to make enough surface commotion to entice a riverbed hugging smallmouth. Well, he came up and swiped at my orange popper like he was in contention for a jump ball! I waited a second or two after my popper disappeared from the surface and yanked the rod up and back for the hook set. The rod bowed towards the take and tight lined like a guitar string. He took off out in the deeper water as line peeled off the spinning spool and shot up through the eyes. I thought I had a good foothold but the force of the escaping smallmouth tugged me off the riverbed stones my flippers were trying to hold on too. I started to use my flippers to find a boulder I could stop myself as the smallie continued swimming with force out in the undercurrent pulling me along with him.. I found a boulder beneath to steady myself and now was more comfortable to engage in the battle for dominance! I tightened my grip on the fly line without giving him anymore line. The rod bowed deeper and forced him to swim across stream downriver from me. I had 8lb tapered leader so I wasn’t too worried that he’d snap my line as long as I played him out. We had a good battle going on with him being able to dart away from me every once in a while as I got him closer. I was almost waiting for the popper to come out but the force and the way he was fighting I figured I had a good hook set so I kept the pressure on like a full court press seeing if he could deal with it. He eventually had no options and I started to bring him in handedly. Near the float tube I lipped him and found he engulfed the popper into his mouth cavity. He must have been pretty hungry and didn’t want his morning meal opportunity to get away. I didn’t have any trouble retrieving my popper. His big open mouth gave me the opportunity to find the hook and extract it with my hemostats. I had my first smallie hooked by 10:00am.
I continued on floating near the banks in the shallower water trying to keep a foot hold on the bottom stones and rocks to slow me down. I’d cast out towards the open water now and then but mostly concentrated along the bank sides where big boulders jutted out from the banks making deeper pools of water.
I get a kick when a bigger smallmouth takes the popper inconspicuously like a trout taking a helpless grasshopper off the surface knowing it can’t fly away. The water along the bank wasn’t all that deep so when the popper landed I’d give it a good gurgle and then just swim it my way. I was stripping my popper in slowly and letting it drift back with the current now and then and not causing too much surface commotion. I watched as a mouth rose to my popper and nonchalantly inhaled the popper like it was an everyday dying big surface bug. I waited long enough for him to close his mouth and yanked the rod up and back. I felt the rod bow and saw the surface water spiral where the popper once been. The bass took off towards the open water followed by my tight line cutting the water surface. He went downriver in a hurry but my 6 weight was holding him back after a few yards of him trying to escape. I could tell that he wasn’t as big as my last smallie but he had a lot of fight. After getting him near I reached over the float tube to lip him but in his furious attempt to get loose he splashed the surface and got himself free. Oh well, that happens.
I lit another stogie and continued on my way. I caught a couple small smallies that weren’t worth a picture. I also missed a few.
Down river a ways, I made a sidearm cast under pine boughs where it was shady. A lot of times I find the bass hold in the shade along the banks when the sun is up and its rays are shining down upon the river. I straightened out the arc in the line and started to strip it, gurgling, my way. A smallmouth erupted out of the surface water and inhaled my popper. I waited long enough, after he went under, and yanked the rod up and back for a good hook set. The 9 foot rod bowed deep with a tight line straight towards the disturbed water surface. All of a sudden the smallmouth took off towards the open water. The leader cut through the surface so fast I swear I heard the tight line sounding like a straining guy wire attached to a radio tower swaying in a wind storm. I tightened my grip on the cork handle as line sped through the rod eyes. He got into the main body of the current and was swimming downriver, tugging, like a lost wading boot bumping the riverbed as it tumbled downriver. I tensioned my fingers on the fly line trying to slow him down. After putting quite a distance between us he finally turned heading straight down from me. I still wasn’t able to bring in line but at least I got him from taking line out. All of a sudden he leaped up out of the water and into the air shaking his head and body trying to release the popper from his mouth. He dropped into the surface splashing water in all directions. He gave another run out towards the open water with force. I had my wrist locked and my forearm tightened trying to hold him from going any further. I took a chance that my 8lb tapered leader was strong enough, along with my knots, that weren’t going to fail. Slowly I started reeling line in during the battle. He kept on tugging the line as I was binging him near the float tube. Near me I lifted the rod high and he splashed the surface trying to get away from the tube. A couple of attempts and I was able to lip him in his wide open mouth. What a nice smallie. It was if he was dressed in some camo colors that hid him as a predator ready to ambush his next meal.
It wasn’t long after that it started to rain. I didn’t mind getting wet but when I heard thunder in the distance it was time to move onward. It’s not easy picking up speed in a float tube even with flippers on. As I continued floating down river I looked along the banks at all the good looking areas smallies would be hanging out. It was like driving slowly down a street looking at all the souvenir shops already closed because of a power outage. With the dark clouds behind me I wasn’t going to chance fishing and getting caught in a down pouring thunder storm. I got to where I intended to disembark before the heavy storm.
I was planning on returning soon to cover the areas I missed!
Back at the camper what better way to wait out the storm than enjoying a self made charcuterie platter with a glass of white wine?
~doubletaper
