Unbelieveable Bass Numbers, Deep Water Tu Jiggys #4 of 4

Bass Fishing Clouser Minnow Patterns Smallmouth

I was expecting to fish deep water even though the lake levels had dropped over a foot from last year.  I was rigged with a clear intermediate slow sinking line. (A type 3 shooting Head works better). Lead eye Clousers or a similarly tied Tungsten bead head pattern would get down deep enough if counted down long enough before retrieving.

Tungsten Jiggy Smallmouth Fly Patterns
Olive & Brown Tungsten Jiggy fly patterns

In the lower Pinnebog River a few spin fishermen were catching fish on the east bank.  I had kayaked in so I landed on the west bank and mostly had that to myself.  I was averaging pretty close to 2 hits on 3 casts and after a couple of hours I realized if that held, getting 100 fish would be inevitable. 

UV Olive jiggy fly pattern for smallmouth
Brown jiggy pattern deep for smallmouth
Chartreuse & Black Tu Jiggy Fly deep for smallmouth

When the hits stopped coming, moving a few feet down the bank, changing flies or retrieve style would speed things back up.  Fairly late in the day I found increasing the count down to 13 seconds got me close enough to the bottom to get hit at the end of a long cast. 

A strong wind blew up for a few hours which started a current that oscillate between flowing up river to back down river every 10 minutes.  Just trying to drift with the flow with a short crisp rod tip tap every two seconds let me keep contact with the fly and feel for any for tell tail extra tension in the line.  Some times I suspected I was dragging on the smooth sand bottom but it was clean and I felt I was getting hit then also.  When the current was ripping pretty good, my line was swept straight downstream laying in an eddy line where fish were holding.  retrieving it back upstream would get hit.

current rip holding feeding smallmouth bass

A bass charged up from the depths up into an inch of water.  After he turned around a 2 inch minnnow Bolted from a quarter inch of water.

I caught this White Perch and foul hooked another one who was spraying milt as I released him.  I had caught one of these here years ago so now I know they are actually spawning in this current.  In years past I have caught a few Pike, a Walleye or a Carp here, but today only Smallmouth. 

White Perch deep wth smallmouth

I fished sitting down at the waters edge and quickly releasing the fish.

Fly fishing smallmouth deep on Tu Jiggy Pattern
Smallmouth deep on White-Brown Tu Jiggy Fly
White-Brown Tu Jiggy smallmouth pattern

 

114 Smallmouth on Tu Jiggy fished deep.

The last fish, #114 was photographed well after sun set, the White-Brown #1 Tu Jiggy was falling apart, a good time to quit and paddle back to the launch.

 

 


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