New Preserve Opens in Hopewell

New Preserve 

Two River Smallmouths

 

Going on 10 years since I last fished here. Matt and I caught little that day, but previous outings here had resulted in an 18 1/2-inch largemouth and smallmouths almost as big. Today we came with Matt's Uncle Rick and his cousin Kyle. A family reunion precious as those are, everyone involved not so sure when the next one will work out as each of us go our own ways. I first fished here in 1977 or 1978. By serendipity, Matt & I arrived here with a Cub Scout friend of his and parent after an event further north. That was 2007 or so. 

The place always offers the possibility of a big fish. One of the bass that took a live killiefish from me might have been one of them. (I kept leftover killies from fluke fishing yesterday.) 

Flat shallow water overlooked by Rick & Kyle as they made their way downstream yielded the only two smallmouths we caught. I saw the edge between visible bottom and some weeds, and I decided to wade as far out as I would find possible, which wasn't very far as appearances deceive. Then I let current drift a killie through that dark water near the edge where things become visible. A smallmouth took the bait on my first or second cast. 

And others did, too.

In general, we tried six spots, all of which, besides two of them, have yielded bass and one pickerel over the years. Today, that edge just beyond the flat offered us the only action.

There's a presence in that whole area encompassing the spots we tried that I encounter everywhere else I fish. As much as I'm out to sink a hook into a fish's jaw, I'm out to let the uniqueness of the place I fish pull me into its gullet. There's a tension, a tenacity about the gravity of a place as it tries to claim any condition that colors it--as its own. It does so with some degree of absolute success, and yet there's something sad about any place on this Earth, because anywhere you go not only belongs to the whole planet--the whole planet belongs to something larger.

Smallmouths

Laurie's Report

 

The Knee Deep Club’s Catfish contest was held this past week, with first place going to Jack Dziduch with a 10 lb  14 oz Channel Cat.  Second place went to John Hogan, his channel weighing 9 lb 7 oz. Greg White of Hamburg took third with a 9 lb 1 oz Channel. Randy Gutwein placed 4th with a 9 pound fish, Mike Truglio,  5th with an 8 lb 15 oz, and Charlie McBrides 6th place fish was 6 lb 14 oz. Knee Deeps next contest for  Fall Hybrid Striped Bass, will be held September 19th & 20th. Other noteworthy catches for the week included a 5 lb 4 oz walleye caught by Jerry Freeman & another channel cat weighing 9 lb 3 oz, caught by Jim Welsh. Have a great week !!!

One Fluke Island Beach

 

Island Beach crowded with vehicles, my family still had plenty of room. 

Surf was moderately rough. Enough for great belly surfing and too much to use my five-and-a-half-foot St. Croix and split-shot weighted killies. I used my eight-foot Tica and a two-ounce bank sinker. Caught one fluke that way.

A Little Fly Casting

 

My family hiked two-and-a-half miles along the river with a friend this morning. Sadie came along and so did Michael's dog, Quincy, who is 13-years-old if I remember rightly. Sadie is almost 11. Both took their time but were quicker than I expected.

Afterwards, Matt and I fly fished a nearby stretch for smallmouths. The river is in beautiful shape. The water is clear and cool. Not at all bath-water warm. So clear that with sunlight on it, bass had made themselves scarce.

We fished subsurface for a half hour at most, caught nothing, but the experience made me look ahead to late September or October. Hope to be back when the light is low, the temperature not too cold, and--I hope--the river is clear.

Leech/Worm Fly We Used