Monday Sep. 20--Smallie-smalls in the Maury

Mike put me onto a place off Stuartsburg Road, just before the Maury connects with the South River. Mookie and I caught about 10 juvenile smallmouth bass

and while none was over 9" or 3/4 lb [see pic of lure below for scale], they were enthusiastic. Hard fighters, fun on microspin, and a couple even jumped. So, no trophies, but I also learned a few things.

Mookie, however, did not:

"Hey--did you see that fish? I think you did, because you were holding it in one of your paws. It was just here. Where did it go?"

1. I fished with a grasshopper lure all night. This should be a topwater bait, and I got some decent strikes, but I also put it in the right spot about 60 times and didn't get a thing. On the other hand, I started retreiving it, because G-d knows why, but it has a crankbait blade on the front

and it swims in a way that, apparently, juvenile smallies can't resist. I think I caught 8 fish on underwater strikes and 1 or 2 on topwater. This lure also has bad hooks--small, which is good for these mighty minnows, but a drag to unhook, and really, after a few messes, I wanted single hooks. I was able to identify a repeat customer because of some hook damage, and I don't feel good about that.

The nice thing is that this is a dual-phase bait--one on top, and then again underwater. Plus it has some instant results for guys like me with short attention. After 10 seconds, if you don't have a topwater strike, you're not getting it, so start swimming, cuz smallies love, um, swimming grasshoppers.


I also took a long time getting the camera out for the first one, and this one flopped into the dirt. Sorry, little guy.

2. Smallies like to hide on the upstream side of rocks.

3. I probably need waders to get into some thicker water. A bigger fish wants bigger cover and a little more water.

4. Mookie just really doesn't get it, but he does ok for a fishing dog.
"Honestly...ok, look, I know I'm not like a genius, or, you know, um, at all smart--but really, there was a fish here! I know, cuz you trew it in da water! And now it's gone! WTH?!? Ooh, look, a squir-"

Also, I'm trying to keep a low web profile until job season is over, but if you want the picture of my stunning muscles [in spite of a cruddy workout today, stalled at 105 on OHP, but squatted over my body weight for 5x5 for the first time] and a fish alongside, you could ask.