Boy, you got a purdy small mouth

Date: July 14, 2007
Location: iRiver
Air temp: 70s
Water temp: ???
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: a few smallies and a pan fish

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Quickdraw
Xan


Dead fish. The stench wafted through the small gravel parking lot when we arrived. This was our first outing at the iRiver. Quick's coworker has fished these waters, so we thought we would give it a try.

Walking along the path toward the stream, QD's sharp eye spotted a nice little treat, wild raspberries. We plucked and ate the finest looking of the bunch as we giggled like little schoolgirls (or farted, I forget which).

After sampling the fruits of Wisconsin, we got into the water in search of trout. After a short walk downstream, we came upon a fishy looking run and began to cast. Not long after, I saw a fish attack one of my flies and the battle was on. I only saw a glimpse of the fish as it bolted downstream. After a short but strong fight, it popped the fly and made its escape.

It didn't look like a trout, and my suspicions were later confirmed. Further upstream, I began to bugger a slow, deeper stretch of water. I started landing smallmouth bass.

I'm a trout angler by name, station and creed. In moments of levity or drunkenness, I may confess to be a more general salmonidae fellow. My experiences with "rough" fish are limited, but I dare say my prejudices were challenged this day.

The smallie, while an ugly and stupid creature, has one fine feature, they are quite the fighters. Like Michael Vick, I likes me a fighter. While not as fierce as the 22"er I pulled out of the V, or a trout in a raging Montana river, the smallies put a strain on my arm.

However, it was trout we were after. After we both landed a few decent smallies, we decided to drive to another spot of the river where we hoped to find our prey.

A ways downstream, we found an area that did hold trout. Unfortunately for the trout I found, I false hooked it in the eye. Sorry, little guy.

That was all the action we would find there. We called it a day and finished our session with cheese conies at the local A&W.

All in all, a beautiful day filled with fresh raspberries and my first smallies.