Friday on the Smith

[5xTippett]

I was hoping to be able to go to the SoHo with Peewee and Dean for a long weekend, but when I realized I was not going to have that much time, I went to plan B.  I headed up to the Smith Friday morning for one last fling with the beetles.  I had decided to try the tail end of the special regs first.  I normally avoid the special regs like the plague, especially with beetles.  When they are really on the beetles they have a tendency to eat them kind of deep and I absolutely, positively, hate to throw back a fish I am reasonably sure will die.  Also, the special regs are normally full of people and if I am going to fish within sight of people I want to make sure they are my buddies.  However, I went to the tail end and fished for about an hour and caught 5.  I could tell they weren't really thrilled about the beetles and I decided to head upstream to my normal haunts and see if it was the spot or beetle season was officially over.  My honey hole had somebody standing in it.  I didn't see a car anywhere in about a mile, so I assumed he parachuted in.  I rolled on upstream to hot spot # 2 and nobody was there.  I parked and hopped out and fished the beetles for about 20 minutes.  Nobody was remotely interested in my beetles, so I walked back to the car, changed rods and officially closed beetle season for the year.   I headed back to the water with a caddis and a midge dropper.  I fished back through the same stretch and picked up 5 in short order.  I then walked on up to the next pool which is my favorite midge spot for the fall and winter.  I could see fish sipping midges on upstream above me.  I picked up a few before I got to where I wanted to go.  Right when I was just about where I wanted to cast it started raining.  It rained just hard enough to make the fish quit biting.  I just stood there mumbling under my breath for about 10 minutes when it suddenly stopped.  Just as soon as the rain stopped, the fish turned back on with a vengence.  I caught 2 on one cast just like Al did a couple of weeks ago, except both of mine were about the size of one of his.  My camera died right after that picture, but I got proof of that one.  I caught fish steadily for the next 30 minutes or so.  They started the generation 15 minutes ahead of schedule which did not particularly amuse me.  However, I had already moved next to that bank, so when I saw the water coming I hopped on out.
I took a few pictures before my camera died, but most of my fish were fairly small.

















I ended up with close to thirty in an afternoon's fishing with about 4 or 5 rainbows and the rest browns. All thirty would probable equal one good fish from the SoHo, but they are pretty!  The fish were fairly small, even for the Smith!

[Al]

That was me in your honey hole - Sorry. Right after you left I caught a fairly nice one. Rainbow but so what?  Wish you had been there to net it for me. Had to slide it up on the bank all by myself.

Here is photo. I put him back so he may be still there next beetle season.

[Fire-Fly]

That was me in your honey hole - Sorry. Right after you left I caught a fairly nice one. Rainbow but so what?  Wish you had been there to net it for me. Had to slide it up on the bank all by myself.

Here is photo. I put him back so he may be still there next beetle season.

I didnt know the Smith ran flowed through New York.