10/9

                        Reel Bad Start ending @

                                                                                   

Hot Pool

So I pulled the bad Pflueger reel off it's rod and replaced with an old Eagle Claw reel that I have had for years, but have never used. I'm not even sure where this reel came from but I've kept it around for so long because it has very smooth action. Time to give this reel it's time in the spot light. Loaded up with 8lb. Berkely Crystal Fire Line, I step foot in water, wade out about 8 feet and make my first cast with the new set up. Of course I would love to land a nice size smallie on the first cast with this rig, but it didn't happen. What did happen, after two more casts, was a floppiness with the reel handle (52). As I would reel in, the handle would flop a bit and knock up against the bail arm (12). Normally if this happens it's because the lock nut (42) that the handle snug and in place has come loose and needs to be finger tightened. That sound simple enough WHEN THE NUT IS THERE! Damn it!

 Short time in the spot light for that setup. Back to the car to switch with my main GSX.

Back in the water and I start off throwing a tube. I had no hits after about 10 minutes with the tube so I switched up to a topwater popper. I worked an area by tossing the popper tight to the shore and again after about 10 minutes, no hits. Normally if there's a topwater bite, I'll see some sort of action pretty quick. 10 minutes and no chases, splashes or anything, the topwater ain't gonna go.

I tied a tube back on and started wading upstream work the banks and any structures I ran across.

Okay, I've been wading upstream for quite sometime now and I haven't even gotten a bite.

Kind of been getting my ass kicked, but it's such a nice day it's hard to get too upset about it.

I came to a large island in the middle of the river and decided to hit the channelized side where

a few downed trees had been sitting. I started to get hits but no hookups. Must've been small ones.

I couldn't get anything on the hook from the downed trees so I made my way upstream to a hole that I just believed had to show me the money. This area is very rocky with a swift current standing in water just below my waist. The rocks beneath my feet were slippery so one wrong step and I could go down. There is a nice little eddy along the bank that I thought would hold fish, I'm hoping it does as this spot is what all my efforts thus far have been for.

I ended up pulling 8 smallmouth from this pool all of which were over 13" with the 3 largest being

a 15 inch and two 14 inchers. 

I fished the pool out and decided to call it a day and took a dry creek bed through the forest to access the walking path so I could return to my car faster.