We Caught a Bunch of Average Smallmouths

Fished a favorite North Jersey stream with my son, and we caught a bunch of average-sized stream smallmouths, nothing big, though I sighted a bass of about three pounds. This time we brought along our black Labrador, Sadie, and instead of tying her to a tree, Matt found a cinder block to lug about as we moved up a long stretch. She enjoyed plenty of swimming, and of course, always does if opportune.

Just a very nice afternoon of getting far away from routines. Besides stopping once for trail mix, we hit a Dairy Queen knock-off, and the vanilla soft ice cream tasted a lot better than I anticipated it would.

Got home about seven. Had left at about one. We did try some new areas of the stream, but they didn't produce. Nevertheless, it's interesting exploring. I brought a map along I never used, nor did I rely on Matt's mobile, and I own no GPS. The back roads, hamlets, towns, hills, and gullies all surprise when new to me, but never present a problem as if I can't find a way back to the familiar.