It's funny, but my year always seems to blast by in chapters. You know how it goes. April is turkey month. May is walleye opener. June is trout. July equals largemouth...August is my month of river fishing. For good reason too, I think. I just had friends (and darn competitive brothers) Walt and Dave Larsen out in the Sporting Life driftboat for a day of smallie fishing on the Ole Miss'. Walt is a bit of a fly angling junkie and Dave's no slouch with an eight weight either.
Topwater Flies
We fished a few of my favorite topwater poppers and a sub-surface pattern that's always been hot on the river. It's called a Wiggle Minnow.
Turns out, Walt sorta put on a show, right Dave? Ha! It happened to be one of those days where Walt had all the luck, and it was all good. No matter his fly choice, the fish seemed to bite.
Another Walt Fish
His biggest fish rang in right at 19 inches, which puts it near 5 lbs. Nice fish Walt! Dave managed to catch this nice fish in just a few inches of water on the Wiggle Minnow.
Dave's First Fish
With all the rain we've had, the river has been up running, on average, about 6,000 feet-per-second. That means the smallmouth can push up onto the gravel flats and feed. It also means they often tuck right into shore, which makes for some fun casting. I'll be back on the river tomorrow with a father and son duo. I'll keep you posted on our success!