I was finally able to make it up North for my favorite other fish. The one that lives in the fresh water. No, it is not the graceful trout or the precious salmon. It is my buddy the smallmouth bass.
I went up with a bag full of tricks. New ones and old ones. My tackle box consisted of a Cabela's bag inside a Dick's bag inside of a Walmart bag. Flies, plugs, jigs, rubber worms, rubber grubs, rubber lizards, and an open mind. I had a fist full of spinning rods and fly rods.
With my Pop and lady friend we plied the waters of the Middle Penobscot River, too South and too North away from all those other prissy fish.
I had one of Mister A's new rods that I really wanted to give a work out with clipped deer-hair bugs and a 330 grain floating line, who needs a Sage bass rod. It had the strenth to throw a heavy line with the added benefit of its long length to mend over riffles and back-eddies. I also had a nice old glass fly rod that I had recently received as a gift.
It was lots of fun to try striper, trout and steelhead tactics on these little fish full of piss and vinegar. Unweighted rubber worms sank to hungry stationary fish in heavy current due to greased line swings and dead drifts with long spinning rods and fine light lines.
It was fun to watch my Dad hunt for the bigg'ns with his tried and true techniques as well as teach my girl how to throw a good loop and work a plug.
I like hunting river fish whether it be in the salt or fresh water. Current is always part of their life. Everything revolves around it, not the other way around. Just as in the ocean the current can plane up a sinking line or even a lead jig if fished incorrectly.
Ray's flies, GP's and clipped mice flies were the way to go on the flyrod. Large bombers, thundersticks, and shad raps worked their magic on the spinning gear as well as the unweighted soft plastics on the drop.
All in all it was a lot of fun to wash the salt off my gear and refresh my freshwater roots.
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