POOL 9 TRIP

I HAD THE HONOR OF FISHING WITH JEREMY CRAWFORD THIS PAST SATURDAY. ALTHOUGH IT WAS VERY BRISK, I HAD A GREAT TIME. I WAS HONESTLY GOING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RIVER FISHING FOR BASS, AND TO A CERTAIN DEGREE I DID. I ALSO WENT IN HOPES OF CATCHING SOME BIG BASS. I DIDN’T DO SO WELL IN THAT CAPACITY.
NEVER HAVING MET JEREMY, I WAS A LITTLE SKEPTICAL OF WHAT I MIGHT BE IN STORE FOR. I HAVE ONLY TALKED TO HIM THROUGH E-MAILS AND THIS WEB PAGE. IT ENDED UP BEING A PLEASANT SURPRISE. EVEN THOUGH HE TRIED TO THROW ME OUT OF THE BOAT AND RIPPED ON MY HOMEMADE JIGS.
AS FOR THE FISHING, MANY FISH WERE CAUGHT, MOST WERE SHORT. ALSO, NO SMALLMOUTH. ALL IN ALL, I WOULD CONSIDER IT A SUCCESS. I ACHIEVED THE GOAL I HAD SET FOR MYSELF. AS FOR FISHING WITH JEREMY, I HOPE I CAN GO WITH HIM AGAIN. THAT IS IF HE ISN’T LAUGHING AT ME TO HARD. TBASS

Yep, I had a good time.
All in all our catch rate was good. We caught more fish than one could expect in the 38 degree water. I would guess around 50 give or take.
The best fish we caught were between 2 and 3 lbs but only a handful. 3 I think to be specific. I did talk to some other anglers and they had only a couple fish all day. We did not try hard for the smallies as every where we went we were inundated with floating eel grass. It was literally every where. I would have been fishing smallies all day if conditions would have presented these opportunities. In stead I welcomed the cold and stayed in the bays out of the wind. Getting to fish this late in the year I appreciate anything that bites and when I am not in tourney mode the smaller fish make me feel welcome. I do wish I could have shown you a little smallie fishing but I think you understand the backwater ledges and fishing things other than visible cover. I tried to make it more evident but the more you think about how we were catching fish, where our boat was positioned and how we presented the bait you will have some exciting new spots on your home water. The pattern we were fishing in typical early spring and late fall. It is very predictable and typically the fish are much larger. If year class says anything in lansing I predict 2004 a wondrous year!!!

Tony was a champ, he did not complain a bit even when we hit a wave sideways and tossed him in the driver side chair. I had my head buried in my stocking hat and was not paying attention. It just serves as a warning that even the easy days anything can happen.
Thanks Tony for the company I was pleasantly surprised at your open mindedness as well as your ability to catch fish.

We will have to get together during conditions more favorable to catching big fish. Maybe this spring you can get away for a day and I can introduce you to some 3 and 4 lb smallies.

Side notes…
The largemouth were all relating to an off shore ledge. The 8 inch size were thick however the larger fish were not taking our offering. I think Tony would agree that the fish were there however our abilities were not conducive to catching fish. I am still thinking things over so I might even chine in on myself after further reflection.

PS.
See Tony,
I am not near as bad as I come across sometimes. –grin-
Jc

38 degree water JC are you sure your temp guage isn’t lying again? Surprised to hear its that low – I had 42-43 Sunday on pool 5, but I never spent any time in the backwaters so I don’t know how much cooler it was there. I still wouldn’t have expected it to be cooler that much farther down the river. Floating grass was an obstacle out in pool 5 there as well, but it was tolerable since the smallmouth bite was pretty darn good. Got to get out and catch em before its iced over – it got very cool very early this fall.

Yep,
I am sure of the water temp. yep the main channel was warmer but there were parts that I thought I could get out and walk across the grass. I was amazingly thick. Like I said I would have loved to chase the smallies if I could have only presented a lure to them. It was as if the Smallie God said I had worn out my welcome. –grin-
The main channel in lansing was only 40 but 2-3 degrees I am sure is an acceptable range in determining correct temp. Either way temp is relative. Tony drove up from IL and I did want him to tie into some quality fish however I was more than happy catching a fish just about every cast. Kind of like when I was a kid fishing for bluegills. Maybe the grass YOU are sending down river will clear out by next weekend. –lol-
Actually pool 9 is notorious for this in the fall. Its seems like most has dislodged so I am optimistic it will work its way down river quickly. The area from Deer island to the power plant looks like a tossed salad.

So how are you getting your smallies to bite? I assume they are still out on the main channel and relating to eddies as they typically do this time of year. Are you swimming grubs or are they still on a tube? Have you tried a hair jig yet?
Jc

Yes they were still out in the main river, but the two spots where I found big concentrations of fish were more of what I would consider wintering areas than fall feeding areas – washout below a couple of pretty slow current wingdams. As far as presentation goes I caught maybe 15-20 casting drifing hard(pointer 78) and soft(fluke) jerkbaits from the top of the wingdam to the hole behind it. mostly was leaving them sit still for around 5 seconds and then twitching a couple feet. Most of the rest of the fish (roughly 25+)were caught on a drop shot with a jig as the anchor, and various plastics on both hooks. I did manage 1 on each hook one time (first time I’ve done that on that rig), but there was probably about a 2-1 preference for the upper hook.

I tried swimming the hair jig a little and got 2 I think, but I don’t think it was working as well as other presentations or I just wasn’t good enough at it yet. I think I probably need to get more comfortable with the depth&speed control to be effective using it.