I Am Still Here

 

Hey everyone, I just wanted to check in. Cathey and I have been supervising a renovation project at our son's house, which started in late September. Unfortunately, this has really disrupted my fall fishing plans. However, as the saying goes, you'll do anything for your children. 

 Jason works in California and doesn't get home often, but when he does, he tries to fish as much as he can. So, the renovation project was something he didn't want to handle himself. Being retired allows Cathey and me to follow a flexible schedule, so we were glad to help him out. 

I hope to go on a couple of fishing trips before the weather gets too cold for me to cast a popper at those spotted bass on Smith. I'm looking forward to learning how to tie some flies for the upcoming spring and sharing them with you all soon. 

Some Fall Top Water Action

 There is nothing like landing bass on top during October, especially if you are fishing with your son. Jason is home for a couple of weeks. We launched at Duncan Bridge on Smith Lake this past Tuesday morning and fished the main channel north of the Duncan bridge. 

We were blessed to witness one of the most scenic early morning sunrises ever on Smith Lake. Of course, that is our opinion. 

The blue Boggle Bug size 8 was the popper that got the most attention for the morning. Jason landed this largemouth by moving the popper slowly. Notice the scar on its side, evidence of something attacking the fish.

This largemouth may have been wounded, but it still had enough fight to engage the drag on Jason's fly reel numerous times.

 I landed this bass on my second cast right after we launched the boat. Little did I know that would be the only quality bass I would land for the morning. As stated before, the blue popper was the winner for the morning.  Guess who had the only blue Boggle Bug popper?

Fall and spring seem to bring out aggressive hits using poppers on Smith, as shown in this video right after the sun hit the rock wall where the bass was feeding. This fish hit the popper 10 to 12 ft. from the base of the wall. I've learned, and Jason has learned, to always work the popper some distance from the wall before you make your next cast. The fish will follow the popper some distance before they decide to nail it. You've got to love this fall fishing!!

A side note: I really enjoyed today's trip because it was my first fall trip for this year. I mentioned this in one of my previous posts, but I have only one guy to fly fish with now, and he will not be able to join me again until next spring. I do have individuals who fish, but they are not into fly fishing like me. There is a big difference in having someone in the boat with you who loves the sport as much as you do.