I missed the run last year by 2 months, and since I really
like fishing for smallmouth bass, I wanted to get in on the action this
year. Back in February, Adam S. at Orvis
in Eastern Hills Mall told me the run is best mid-April –to mid-May, so I thought
I was good for this weekend. The Lake
Erie hotline said the best action was on the lower river, so that’s where I
headed.
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| Rise on the lower Cattaraugus |
Conditions were really promising – no wind, overcast skies,
fish jumping – most likely for the schools of emerald shiners, and only 2 – 3
others fishing – no competition – what else could you ask for? That’s another story.
I started out matching the hatch with a DFB laser ice minnow
that resembled an emerald shiner. I had
a few strikes, but no hook-ups. As I
changed flies, I discovered that the point on the hook was bent – lesson
learned!
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| DFB laser ice minnows |
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| I tried 'em all! |
From there, I spent the next three hours switching flies,
practicing casting and working my way upstream.
At the Rte. 20 bridge, I noticed what looked
like small hatchery trout not only rising, but jumping clear out of the
water. It looked promising, but I had
the strangest feeling that someone or something was following me.
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| Rt. 20 bridge on the lower Cataraugus |
Anyway, I tied on a black stonefly nymph and worked a slick
just above the riffles. I saw several
rises about 40 feet away, made a cast that was not my best, and while mending
line, I saw a splash. I didn't think it
was near my fly, but – wrong again – I was fast into a brown trout.
After a brief struggle, my 9 weight conquered the 9 incher. I’m still not sure how that little guy got
the fly in its mouth, but, ain't no skunk on this trip!
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| Brown trout and black stonefly |
While I didn't catch them, there were some other fish
lurking in the river. While landing the
mini-brown, a 24” Longnose Gar snuck up within a rod’s length of me, took a
couple gulps of air and maybe an emerald shiner or two and slid back to the
depths.
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| Longnose Gar - photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons |
And on my way back to my car, I saw several pods of 2-3 silvery sided
fish about 15 inches long, as well as one that was struggling in about an inch
of water. With a little help from my
friend Joe, we identified the fish as a Gizzard Shad.
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| 15" Gizzard Shad |
I’m guessing that it completed its spawning
run, and while I tossed it back into deeper water, it probably had worse luck
than I did.
But, that brings me to the end as well – just the blog post
– and I think I know what was following me and the answer to my first question
– “Who knows what lunkers lurk in the hearts of the rivers?”
The Shadow knows! (some of you old timers saw that one
coming!)
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| Me and my Shadow! |
If anyone’s had any success on the spring smallmouth bass
run on the “Cat” –
I’d love to hear about it and post your pictures – let me know!
