Smallies on the Shell Rock

The smallmouth bass are rockin’ on the Shell Rock river. The last two evenings have provided great smallmouth action with seven fish one night and eight the other in less than two hours of fishing. The river is high and dirty right now, but I have been able to develope a pattern to catch these feisty critters. With the water high I have been finding the bass literally huging the bank. Rock bank seems to be the best, and working a crankbait parralel with shore has been the ticket. Almost any spot that looks like it should hold a smallmouth IS…large rocks, and points being most productive. The key is to be persitant. Most of the fish I am catching I don’t think are actually hungery. I just keep moving the lure by them enough until they get pissed off and hit it. More of a reaction strike. Rattlin’ fat raps have worked best for me….they get down fast and dart off the rocks, and the wide lips seem to help keep it from getting wedged or hung up. Most of my fish have been of good size as well with only two of them being sub-legal fish.
good luck
Keith

Nice report there Keith. Nice to see you are hitting some of my old territory where I grew up. Sounds like the fishing has been good. Were you fishing above or below the dam in town there? Not to get off of the smallie subject but my grandfather use to be in charge of a local walleye stocking hatchery that sits back behind the school in town there. Just go to the east on the road next to the school and you will come across the an old white shed where they use to raise and stock walleye fry. It was shut down about 15 to 20 years ago becasue of the DNR . They said it was ruining there data they were collecting about the walleye in that stretch of river. But I know for a fact that BIG walleye still live in that stretch of water. Anyway, thanks for the report. It’s good to hear that you are catching fish down there.

Jim L

Keith, good to see your post. Have been doing well for Smallies on the Shell Rock lately myself. Keeping your crankbait close to the shore is definately the key. Fire Craw and Crawdad colors are the paying off. Keep them banging against SOMETHING, e.g. the rocks, and you will catch fish. Can you believe how muddy the water is for this time of year?

bigdog,
No, I can not believe how dirty the water is. Even earlier this summer when the river was low the water seemed real dirty. I don’t know what the deal is. But as long as I am catching fish I am not going to complain too much. Just wish the water was cleaner so I could cover more water in less amount of time.

Yes, even earlier this year the mud was rolling down in clouds. Can’t understand it. Given the rock and sand in those rivers you would think it would clear up fairly well. With our recent rains I can see how things will mud up, at least a little. Still……a mystery…

I drove over the Cedar and Shell Rock this past Sunday (25th) and it looked a little high but not bad.

If you don’t mind me asking, where have you been fishing?

Good luck. Bigdog

Update on the Shell Rock from last weekend…Smallies are still going strong. Some nice ones caught including a 3 lb fish and some in the 2 lb class range. One nice walleye around 18″. Crankbaits and large jigs accounted for all the fish. Water clarity has improved a great deal over what it was 2 weeks ago. Actually, quite clean. Wonder what the difference is and why the water had cleared up a little? Take advantage of it if you can and pound those Cedar River and Shell Rock River Smallies the first chance you get! Remember to practice catch and release so we can have some fun with those bronze beauties down the road.