JONN
GRAHAM

Stream Stalker

Weekend Bronzeback Report

Tue, May 22, 2012

This past weekend was a busy one for me.  Started out on Saturday with a guide trip with Tim Williams and Mike Tracy.  Tim and Mike were from south-central Illinois.  We floated five miles on the Vermilion.  Air temps. were perfect with a high near 90 degrees.  The water levels were good, but slightly stained.  I still had a great feeling as we launched our boats around 11:00 AM.

After a few hours, my good feelings about the day began to dissipate.  The smallies were just not biting.  The clients and I tried every bait under the sun, but were only able to get the occassional bite on soft plastics.  Tubes and Senkos did all the damage.  To make matters worse, the fish the clients were catching were small. 

At about 5:00 I knew that the bite was not going to turn on and my only hope was that maybe I could get the clients a big smallie to make the day a little more tolerable.  About 5:30, Mike and I were anchored in the canoe and big smallie came up a pushed minnows twice in a matter of minutes.  It was definitely a big bass as the bass had its whole back out of the water as he rushed the school of minnows.  I quickly told Mike to throw his tube right at the busting fish.  He did and hooked up with this beauty:

Just a shade over 17 inches.  Mike was really excited.  Before the day started, Mike had never caught a river smallmouth.  For him to get that nice fish really made his day.  The totals were 16 smallies landed between Mike and Tim.  16 is well below the average of bass caught on this five mile stretch of river.  The bite was definitely off….........for whatever reason.

Then on Sunday, I hooked up with a couple of my buddies for a float on the Fox River.  I met Randy and Jim around 10:30 and we unloaded the Coosas and hit the river:

Unbelievably, the bite was horrible on the Fox as well.  We floated almost five miles and could only come up with eight smallies between the three of us.  We were puzzled and frustrated…..........to say the least.  The river was in GREAT shape and the warm air should have had them really chompin’.  Overall, it was just a crappy weekend for catching.  I hope things pick up soon.  Tomorrow is my last day of school…......................look out smallies…........................HERE I COME!!

AS ALWAYS…................HAIL TO THE SMALLIE

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Big River Walleye

Wed, May 16, 2012

My good buddy, Gabe sent me this photo of this great river walleye he caught two Sundays ago:

28 inches and very robust!  I think Gabe said it weighed in at around 7 pounds.  While Gabe has caught and released many, many walleyes in the river over the years, he has decided to put this one on the wall….............congrats to you Gabe!

He caught on my swim jig and swim bait trailer combo.  While you may think this was an accidental, or fluke, catch by a guy trying for bass, you would be mistaken.  Gabe and I have learned over the past few seasons that walleyes absolutely love the swim jig/swim bait combo.  While we never expected it, we have caught many, many walleyes while trying to catch smallies the past few years.  In addition, I fished a pond a few years back that was stocked with walleyes and smallies.  I, of course, was targeting smallies, but caught at least a dozen walleyes on the swim jig.  Any fish that eats baitfish and has a large enough mouth will eat a swim jig.  I have caught many different species on this versatile bait.  Flathead catfish, channel catfish, Rock Bass, Northern Pike, Muskie…........you name it.

AS ALWAYS…........HAIL TO THE SMALLIE

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A Weekend Dedicated to the Fly Rod

Mon, May 14, 2012

I promised myself last week that it was time to get out the fly rod.  Water temps. are warm and the fish are active…....no better time to have a little fun with the long rod.

On Saturday I fished a little creek close to my house, as the Vermilion is still a little high.  I have been fishing this creek for years and it is great fun…........especially with the fly rod.  At this time of the year, the creek is full of smallies, largemouths, and Rock Bass.  While you may not catch a giant, you can always get steady action….......even with the fly rod.  I had a wonderful time catching 7 smallies, a couple of Largies, and a multitude of Rock Bass.  Deep streamers, like the Clouser Minnow, were the ticket.

Then, on Sunday I headed home for Mother’s Day.  Saw my mom for awhile and then, of course, hit another creek.  This creek I know intimately as well.  Matter of fact, this creek gave up my first smallie ever back in the day.  I chose to wade an area I had not fished in years.  It is about a 1/4 mile stretch with lots of bends and meanders.  The water was very low and SUPER, SUPER clear.  Think tap water clear.  With the high sun, I knew this was going to be tough.  I would need to go into stealth mode.  Long, careful casts to the small holes this creek is known for.

So I set out upstream armed with only my 7 weight VT 2 fly rod and a few flies.  First couple of spots I screwed up as I got too close and the fish spyed me.  Next spot I got into perfect position and made a great cast and let me streamer swing downstream and watched a big smallie come up right behind and follow it.  Problem was, he followed it back so closely that he saw me and refused to bite.  A few casts later, two more smallies come charging at my fly at the same time.  Once again, they followed to closely and saw me and then refused to bite.  So, I told myself I would have to switch to some type of offering that would force the smallies to make up their minds before they followed the bait up to my feet.  In other words, a different fly that would make the bass commit early in the retrieve.

I walked upstream and found a PERFECT hole.  One of those spots where I would have bet $100 there were smallies there.  Sure enough, first cast and three smallies come charging after the fly, but no committment.  Now it was time to think out of the box.  I had not thought about topwater as the sun was so bright and the water so clear.  But, I figured at this time it was worth a shot.  I tied on a Blockhead Popper and flung it into the hole.  “Pop”..........pause….......“pop”.........nothing!  I did this a few times and got no response.  But, on the last cast with the Blockhead, as I was quickly bringing the fly across the water so I could tie on something different, a little smallie blasted it.  Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.  Now, I wondered maybe those fish were looking for a fast popper retrieve.  I quickly casted in again and began ripping the popper across the water very quickly.  Sure enough…...............wham!  A nice smallie crushed it and three other smallies following.  Next cast…..........same thing….....another nice smallie.  Now the fish were responding.  After a couple more misses on the popper, I was almost ready to leave the hole, but I figured I would change flies one more time.  I tied on a clouser minnow and made a perfect cast.  Immediately, I watched a nice creek smallie come out from his lair and blast the clouser.  That one hole made my whole day.

I ended up with ten smallies on the fly rod.  In addition, I lost a couple more and had the follow-fish that I could not get to commit.  Great way to spend a Sunday…..............wet-wading a creek, catching smallies on the fly rod.  Here are a couple of pics:

AS ALWAYS….................HAIL TO THE SMALLIE

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