Tuesday, May 5, 2015

3 day Ozark float - SMB on the fly

Wow!  That's about the best way to describe the past weekend.  Me and a buddy were fortunate enough to talk our wives and family into covering all our grown up responsibilities while we cut ties with the real world.



We packed up Thursday night, dropped the kids off at school Friday morning, and made the 4.5 hr drive north into the Ozarks for some canoe camping and smallmouth bass catching.  Around 2 pm on Friday we were waist deep and the catching started shortly after.




We packed light...sleeping, eating and fishing required gear only.  This trip was all about the fishing, so we brought as many SMB patterns as we could carry and just enough food for calories.





We wanted to fish from first light until last light.  So setting up/breaking down elaborate camp's and cooking gourmet meals was abandoned for MRE's and a cot beside a camp fire.  It got a little chilly 45-50f each night but nothing to complain about.






Each morning we would pack our gear in about 10 mins and be wading in ~60f water with a mouth full of breakfast bars.  The water was much warmer than the air temperature at 6am, and that took a little "1, 2, 3...go team" encouragement.




Neither of us wanted to be wet wading that early but you didn't want to be "that" guy standing on the bank while your buddy was toughing it out.  So we'd both inch out slowly making sure to not throw down a man challenge.  Every guy know's where the line is when you're wading in cold water...neither of us were going to cross, "the line".  We went just far enough to avoid suffering any brain freeze.





If a nice fish hadn't been caught in the first few minutes on Saturday morning I'm not sure we'd have repeated the process.  But, a nice fish was caught...so it was a race on Sunday.  No need for any motivational speech's...last man in get's to take his buddies picture holding a nice smallie.




I had barely blinked, when I noticed my buddy had packed his gear and set out 2 breakfast bars on the canoe seats.  Game on!





We paddled down to the nearest shoal and before I could get out of the canoe, he was in the middle of his deep breathing exercises, slinging and stripping.  Wait up bro....




So I did what you do when you're the last man out of the canoe...I walked down and did the wade of shame.  The river was loaded with fish so it wasn't that big a deal.  But I could hear him laughing as he watched me seek out new real estate.




He was even gracious enough to capture it on camera.  And wouldn't you know it...it's a cool pic too!




A conversation we had during our time on the water was about those few special trips that are so great, you're always trying to repeat them, but seldom do.  The kind of trips that motivate you to wet wade w/o hesitation, on mornings when the air temp is ~50 degrees and the water isn't much warmer.  We called it, "trip chasing".  This was one of those trips.

The photos tell the story better than I can.  Enjoy...





strainer


another strainer









13 comments:

  1. Man that's pretty down there!!! Congrats on talking the wives into this!

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    1. Thx man, the pictures don't do it justice. One of those places where the fishing is 2nd to the view.

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  2. Nice!! I see a couple of shots that I might recognize in that report...looks like you stayed on the Arkansas side of the state line and had a memorable trip. I fished a smallie stream on Monday and we caught good numbers but the size was lacking , saw some big girls on beds but we didn't bother them. We threw big streamers all day and looking back we probably should have downsized and went deep for the bigger fish. No complaints though...beats work!

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    1. Thx Jeff, yeah we stayed in AR this trip and I'm sure you recognize the area. We saw a few beds, but not many. I suspect they are mostly post spawn now. The fishing wasn't slow but it wasn't red hot either...some quality and some quantity, except Sunday...expected after a Saturday. Hope to get up that way very soon.

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  3. Drew
    Smallmouth fishing at its best is all I can say. Were the bass spawning? Enjoyed the post!! Thanks for sharing

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    1. A few were but not many that I could see. But I didn't really go looking either. I tend to not fish beds. The fishing, company, and scenery made it a great trip. Thx for reading!

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  4. I've got to get down to your home territory one of these days. I love your waters and those bass look great. I will need a tent.

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    1. Come on down. There's nothing wrong with a tent, but you'll also want something cushy to sleep on. Not much sand in the Ozarks, just big rocks. That's why I like a cot and sometimes a tarp.

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  5. First thing first, Drew. What a great post and wonderful pictures. Yes. every picture tells a story! Secondly, I have had the experience to catch a few Smallmouth on a fly rod. I will say this. They are the best fighting fish I ever had on a fly rod. What a set of shoulders on those fish. Just don't have the opportunity to fish them like you do in my part of the country. Maybe someday......

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    1. Thx Mel, you're correct, not many fish fight like a smallmouth. They sure know how to bend a fly rod. Hope you get a chance to target them again.

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  6. Looks like an awesome trip! Hoping to get many of these in this spring/summer!

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    1. Thx Brent, it was awesome! I'm hoping for a few more trips this spring/summer also. Can't get enough SMB and Ozark float trips. The rain has everything blown out right now...otherwise I know where I'd be this weekend. Stop back in and let me know how you do, if you don't mind.

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