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Today was the last day of our
fun visit down here in Kentucky
with John and Betty Reesor. Naturally
the Reesor's made our last day special and would you believe they booked us a
guide for Dale Hollow. We were fishing
in the land of enormous smallmouth!
Our guide was Capt. Johnny Rush. Johnny not only guides Dale Hollow
for smallies but also the Cumberland River for
trout and stripers. Unfortunately Johnny
was quick to tell us that we were at the tail end of their coldest spring in
recent memory and the fishing wasn’t just slow, it was flat out lousy. Although he’s normally one with faith in the
fly rod, he highly suggested using the live shad he captured for bait at 4 AM
this morning.
Unless after a rare bottom
dwelling catfish 5,000 miles from home, you won’t find me watching the bait
rod, but having them out around me while I’m fly fishing is ok. By having them around I know what to expect
for myself. If the bait is catching fish
– I know there’s fish around and there’s hope for my fly. If the bait isn’t producing – I’m probably
screwed!
After a three hour drive
southward in darkness on the windy roads of Kentucky followed by a cold boat
ride to the Tennessee part of Dale Hollow, John, Granny and me and my queasy
stomach found ourselves at Capt. Johnny’s first spot. It was a cool 40º and while Johnny carefully tossed out the shad rigs I strung up my 6-weight
Ross RX with Scientific Anglers Uniform Sink line and a large heavy weight
Warpath Fly. By the time I stood up to
make my first cast, John was wrangling a respectable largemouth bass.
I watched Capt. Johnny net
then release John’s bass as I let my first cast sink down deep. Then, another of the shad rods bounced. John set the hook and line pealed off. “This ones bigger.” John stated. And it was.
A moment later John landed this 5 pound largemouth.
I was now letting my third
cast of the crisp morning sink when I got jolted. I was far from ready as I stupidly had my
line hand warming up in my pants pocket.
Luckily I instinctively keep my line secure against the rod in my rod
hand and the impact of the strike hooked the fish itself. This too was a good one.
My line pealed off towards
the deep as I clumsily got my deal under control. I knew right away this wasn’t a bass. There were no head shakes and the fish was
running too far. I felt certain I had a
freshwater drum, a fish common on Dale Hollow.
But just as fast as the fight became a furry, the fish gave up and I
reeled him in. I caught an 8 pound channel catfish!
Although catching members of
the catfish family isn’t the norm on a fly rod, it does happen. I’ve caught bullheads and various catfish
species on fly over the years, but the channels come consistently. I’ve caught them on several occasions and
once on the Red River in Manitoba
I caught one of nearly 20lbs on a Clouser!
Despite the fast start, the
rest of our day was less than productive.
We literally caught almost all of our fish at the first spot. John went on to land two chubby smallmouth
and several channel catfish of his own on the live shad rigs. But me and my fly – I cast at least a
thousand more times, but it was only that third cast that produced anything for
me. Nonetheless it was a great day. I’ve now not only put a day of fishing in Tennessee under my belt,
but also touched the waters of the world record smallmouth.
Granny and I have had a
fantastic long weekend down here in Kentucky. A lot of new and fun experiences from
Keeneland to unique and memorable fishing adventures. A very special thanks to John and Betty
Reesor!
Nice cat fish Jeff. Rob and I fished on Friday, he is a fantastic angler. I picked up a few tricks just by watching him fish.
ReplyDeleteRobs a very good angler and a good fun guy. I'm looking forward to his return to Victor. He's been gone weeks.
ReplyDelete