Small Fry

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the summer progresses, the weeds and lily pads continue to shoot up in the river.  Casting along the bank is getting harder with crank baits.  I now have to run shallow running baits (with a slow retrieve) or I get a lot of 'salad'.

I am starting to transition to top water lures.  Hula poppers are always a good choice, as are stick baits.

We have had a ton of rain lately, and the fishing has been harder (the water is very discolored for a day or so after a big rain).  Its been a couple of weeks since I caught any sizable fish, but I can usually get a few rock bass and smaller largemouth bass.  I've been using lighter tackle lately, just having fun in the shallow water.

The rock bass really attack smaller hula poppers, but they tend to hit the skirt on the back.  I was casting along the shoreline yesterday at twilight.  They would grab the skirt and I could see them pulling the lure around.  Without a hook in the back, I missed a lot of strikes.  Fun, but also frustrating.

Today I started with the hula popper again, and got a small rocky.  I still was missing quite a few strikes.  I switched over to a small Rapala and fished it with a slow retrieve so I would not grab any weeds.  I got my first bluegill of the year (I usually fish larger lures which the bluegill won't strike).

I forgot how pretty and colorful bluegills are.

I paddled around and went looking for a few more rockies.  I wasn't the only one fishing for the small fish.  The blue herons were about.

I think I was having better luck.

Nothing big, but still a lot of fun!