Smith-Continued

[consumnfire1229]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpAOwJvTOio&feature=share

I've been away from the water for a couple of weeks.  I was asked to sing in a wedding near Myrtle Beach, so my wife and I decided to go ahead and spend a few days at the beach. 

Decided to hit the Smith early this morning, but I didn't want to get out of bed.  I didn't make it to the river until sometime between 9:30 and 10:00.  Fishing was slow for the first hour and things started to pick up. 

First brown was very photo worthy, but about the time I snapped the picture my camera read "Card Error".  So I let him go and started to sort out the technical difficulties.

[attach=1]

Same fish different angle
[attach=2]

Saw a bunch of these in a tree while I was trying to untangle...ID???

[attach=3]

[attach=4]

Is it a bad omen to catch a fish on a fly from someone else that you found in a tree limb???  I think so and you will begin to see why in a second.  Brown Zebra Midge

[attach=5]

Largemouth stogger rainbow

[attach=6]

Dougfish and I were meeting up around 2:30 to fish in town, so I started to head back to the truck at about 2:00.  As I'm walking along, I realize that my net is missing.  MOTHER TRUCKER...I just bought that net 4 days ago.  As I get back to the truck, a woman approaches me and ask if I will help her get a dead cat off of her front porch. 

Story went like this...the woman's words are in quotations.  "Hey, Hey, HEY!!!  Can you help me with something"  Help you with what?  "Get a dead cat off my porch, I can't get it"  What do you want me to do with it?  "Throw it out in the field I reckon"  What field?  "I keep tires on my porch and I went for a walk and went I got back the tires were laying on the cat and its neck was sticking up through the hole and it was dead..."  I phoned Doug and asked for back up...he was still a ways away, so I floored it and got the heck out of there.  Then, the bottom fell out and it rained and rained and rained some more.  Fishing sucked, but Doug said he was going to fish til dark.  I left early...

Oh and I hope you guys enjoyed the video...

[Dougfish]

It continued to suck. I got rained on some more and bagged it within the hour. This road warrior's patience was wore away. Reset manana.

[5xTippett]

At least ya'll went.  I had to work!

[Dougfish]

After getting smacked around the last two times by my bitch called Smith, I decided a little redemption was due. I'll show you mojo. Sunday fishing. And I'll park in the back of the church lot.  Just after services start. Hell, I'm a Baptist, sort of. The late guy to the service saw me putting on my waders. And stringing up. And beers are in the cooler in the truck, dude.  And hey Scott, dead cat lady was walking into town as I rolled by Rosemont....giddy up. The river is my church.




I broke out my Home depot paint strainer and stuck it over my net to sample the stream. The choir sang. The reverend sermonized. Nothing. Almost nothing. A dreadful few little wigglys. It's that dreadful time on the torture chamber when nothing hatches with regularity, the terrestrials are going bye-bye, and the stunted little trouts are living off midges. F#%@ing midges. #20 zebras saved the day. I caught 'em. I missed 'em. I lost 'em. I caught 'em.




Moved upstream after a good to me riffle turned into slack water. Besides, I had to take a leak. Church property? I think I would be pushing my luck.
A recharge with a Devils Backbone beer (what else/) and some nearly burned leftover pizza (again, what else??) prepped me for round two.







I caught a few more. Missed a few more. Some big yellow mayflies started to come off and a yellow elk hair caddis got some fish before I called it quits. I knew that brown zebra midge that Scott found and fished was mine. I lost it in the same place the week before on my extreme suckiest day on the water. It had come full circle as I left the stream. Dangling from a hawthorn branch was a small nymph. Daring me to fish him. Next time bitch. Today was not to be tarnished. A dozen browns washed me clean.

[consumnfire1229]

Copper johns can prove to be effective on the Smith if fished in fast moving riffles.  There is no way I would've left all that copper hanging in that tree limb.  We have some copper thieves around here that would give their right arms for that much copper wire.   

Nice outing!

[Al]

Good job Doug - enjoyed your report.  Hell I may go back to fishing . Been deer hunting down here in NC and so far the skunk is smelling strong    My wife reminds me that every year I start at zero and should not let last years success swell my head.

[Woolly Bugger]

I went yesterday afternoon, go t to the river by 2:30, the water was still up a little, the last 2 hours of generation were at 300 cfs so it was easy to wade. I started off throwing some big articulated flies in the big run and worked my way down stream. I was using the 6wt with a sink tip . The flies were getting deep at some point I switched to a big Nut Butter and had a big fish follow and strike but no hook up. That follow was pretty exciting, just to see a big spotted brown chase after the fly got me excited and I cast with renewed vigor. I worked my way back up and by this time the water had dropped all the way. I hit some of the spots on the way up to the bridge. Went around the right side of the Island and worked the bridge pool with several big flies. Then I worked my way down the left channel swinging the big stuff. I thought about going back down along the island, but it was 6:30 and I had enough disappointment for the day.


maybe I need to be tossing a big crayfish pattern?



The water was still stained from the rain, I had really wanted to get up there Tuesday, but that just didn't work out. It was partly sunny, for the most part, but clouded up later in the evening.  I think I'll try this section with big flies again if conditions are favorable.

[5xTippett]

Fished upstream right after lunch today.  I actually got up a little earlier than normal today and arrived at the Sheetz shortly after 1:00.   I caught about 10 out of the mirror pool in  about an hour or two.  I would catch a few and then it would die for a little while.  When the sun got behind the hills the fish lost interest and so did I.  I rolled down to Basset and fished for about 30 minutes and caught a couple more and that was it.  I left Bassett around six and was home before eleven which was a record for me.  The biggest fish I caught was twelve inches and I was glad to get him.

















I stopped on the way through Bassett and actually took a scenery picture!

[Dougfish]

  Another hit and run spankage by Ben. You are the man!

[consumnfire1229]

I should've went to the Smith this afternoon.  Nice reportage...

[5xTippett]

I went back for what I thought would be a good day.  I was wrong.  I am reaching the conclusion that it is now officially midge time and I am not much on midges.  I fished upstream and caught a few.  I rode by the Mirror Pool parking lot and spoke to Keith as he was rigging up.  I went downstream a few miles and caught a few more including 1 rainbow.  I think I am ready for duck season.  Wait, that is over a month away.  What the heck they are pretty in their spawning colors.  These are the three biggest and they aren't real big at that.

[Dougfish]

They are damn pretty! And I've been going blind tying midges.......

[Woolly Bugger]

With chores done and daylight left, I took to dog up to the river.
I got there around 5, not much time to fish, Ben tried to be social,
I cut him short. Sorry Ben. I fished tilll dark, there were fish rising and
Sulfurs, Midges and Rusty Spinners were working!

[5xTippett]

Keith, I was in a hurry myself!  I was just being polite.

[Phil]

Mr. Ben 5X -- Maybe you could take a hint from Keith's pics of trout, the way he handles 'em, and stop doing the complete Death Squeeze on every fish you catch at the Smith. Jist sayin,  dude.....