Smallmouth Outing 9-12-09

[Slartybardfast]

Hello TFFers,

We had a blast today. Met at J&J road house in Brookston at 6am. Afterwords we met at the public access site by the dam. Wayne Merryman came out and fished with us by the public access site for a while. Krebs fished the turbine of the dam with some spinning gear from the shore and he was killing em. Talked to him on the phone later and he said he caught a 20lb carp, multiple wipers and smallmouths. The rest of us had canoes and a pontoon boat. We beached our boats on the conservation club land and a guy in a golf cart came down talked to Rick and asked us to leave. So, it was 10am by that point and we decided to begin the float trip. We caught skip jack herring, moon eye shad, rock bass, smallmouth, pumkinseed and Rick caught a catfish! Fishing was a little slow today but people were catching fish here and there.

For lunch we enjoyed turkey sandwiches with all the fixins and home made chips and guacamole by the river side. I surprised everyone and made creme brule yesterday and brought some on the float trip. I lit the blow torch and caramelized some sugar on top for everyone to enjoy. Next time I think I'll bring an espresso maker too.

We had a great time today and hope that more people will come out next time.

John

[rstaight]

We all had a great time on the float. I only caught 3 and had a long line release but it seemed like every time I seen Ray and Dustin one of them had a fish on.

What shore lunch! Who would have thought that you could deep fry corn tortilla chips in peanut oil. And the creme brule was awesome.

Thanks John for the lunch.

[Slartybardfast]

I forgot to thank Barryl for the use of his canoe outriggers. Those things are awesome! I will be buying a set soon.

[reelteacher]

What a day on the water! Not only was the weather beautiful, but we were able to catch a few fish and enjoy the company of some of our fine club members. The Skipjack Herring are really starting to school up and gorge themselves on forage minnows for the winter. They eat most readily early and late in the day. These fish are dubbed "Tennessee Tarpon" by locals in the know and for good reason. If you hook one you will see that they are every bit as acrobatic as smallmouth bass or Tarpon. While they don't get very large, averaging only a pound, they are extremely fun on light tackle. They will often launch themselves 2 or 3 feet in the air as they try to shake the hook free.
I developed a small minnow streamer about 7 years ago to help me catch these wonderful creatures. I will show how to tie this in the october meeting. It is also a terrific smallmouth fly when the water is low and clear.

Here is a picture of the first one of the day. You can see the "baby tarpon" resemblance.



John's friend Ryan hooked and landed several fish before we even started our trip.



Dad caught a few in short order.



But the big fish of the day went to the "Asian Carp Slayer" Krebsie. His knowledge and skill at catching these huge fish is impressive. He caught at least 4 massive fish! Here are pictures, taken a long way away. Sorry for the poor quality.



Here are a few more pictures, sorry again for the poor quality.




Then we went down river and enjoyed the peace and beauty of the mighty Tippecanoe River.





Shore lunch was second to none thanks to John's impressive culinary mastery. Creme brule river-side is a once in a lifetime experience. His kindness and giving attitude is truly remarkable.



All we could say to describe this is... It's Really d**n Good!



I caught a nice smallie at the end of the trip to solidify this fantastic adventure. Thanks to all who were there to share in the good times. I hope that many of you that couldn't participate this time, try to make one of these trips a priority, for the club and for yourself. I guarantee it will be special, regardless if you actually catch any fish at all.

[krebsie]

Hey guys
Thanks so much for the braging on my part but the fish in the pictures are not wipers, they are asian carp! It is illegal to return these fish to the water, they are an invasive species and are not native. But WOW do they put up an incredible fight!!! Caught 4, one of which was easily over the #20lb mark and the rest probably in the 14 to 15# area. I've tried to fish this area with a fly rod and only ended up cutting my line and tangling my line on everything imaginable, and besides even with a two hand retrieve it's impossible to keep up with the current. So please dont label me a traitor to our sport, Ha Ha.
Went back to the dam this morning with Don Werden, couldn't wait to see Don wrestle with one of those giants, OMG You gotta see what the KING caught!!!! I'm not gona tell his story but I told him to post picks Today!! WOW what a day!!
Till Don Chimes In
Krebsie

[Slartybardfast]

Don the trout king is now wiper man! 32 and a half inches and 15 pounds 4 oz. Although it was caught on spinner gear we wont hold it against him. Dustin and I are trying to figure out how to do this on fly gear. 9 weight or greater and fast sinking line? Gary described trying to fly fish this as chaotic that you cant strip line and keep up with the current.

[phishinincident]

Spey Rod! I fished down there a few times last spring and when i switched to a two handed rod i found it mighty easier to get a mega drift and the pres. i wanted...

But i never did tie into a whiper.

[rstaight]

Nice fish Don! I wish we could have seen more smallies. The residents along the river all gave us the same information. The smallmouth seem to have gone into hiding after the 100 year flood. The smallmouth fishing is spotty at best.

Phishinincident, It looks like the next rod I build is going to have to be a spey. Don's whiper would be a hoote on one.

[krebsie]

I wish I would have had a camcorder to record the look on Dons face when he set the hook on this monster! PRICELESS!! Absolutely PRICELESS!! Hearing a grown man giggle, laugh and OMG OMG OMG OMG, so much, is what fishing is all about!! Thanks for such a memorable fishing trip Don!
Great Job and Congratulations
Krebsie

[barryl]

Wow Don pretty impressive for someone who doesn't have both oars in the water. ;D OK OK that didn't sound right even to me. I'm thinking we all may have to move you up a rung or two on the master angler ladder.

[reelteacher]

WOW! Great Fish Don! That dwarfs the one I caught last year on my 5 weight. Great job! I'm very jealous of that fish. Are you getting it mounted? I would. It is a BEAUTIFUL FISH.

I'm going to take my 9.5 ft. 9 weight with full sinking express line, and a stripping basket. I need to tie a lot of big nasty flies. I heard you lost about 10 lures to the rocks on Sunday. I need to get busy tying those flies.

[TroutKing]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for all of the kudos. It was a great time with Gary and I must agree that a fly line would be a great way to catch a fish like this although the current was running super fast that it took 4" weighted wild swim shad lures straight to the bottom to be bounced off the rocks or hung up on them. Nevertheless, I can't wait to get back there - JCPilot is clamoring to make the trip too, so I am trying to figure out a morning to take off from work! I wonder if I could talk him into serving up "The best creme brule by a dam site."

[Slartybardfast]

I could make another batch of creme brule. I have to work this Friday morning Don so that's out. Anyone up for a camping trip this Friday and Saturday?

phishinincident,

Could you demo spey casting at on of our next events?

[barryl]

I have got into wipers from the conservation club side with a fly rod a few years back using a clouser minnow tied with large eyes and a mono looped weed guard (the looped guard makes for fewer hand up on the rocks). It was tough but fun and we didn't get anything near what Don caught.

John if you want a spy rod demo I'd say Jordan's the man.