North Carolina River Fishing

[SmallieSam]

Dry late summer, early fall weather, yes! Man, it's been a rough season for the WNC riverbasser. With the weather breaking I've decided this week I'm fishing every chance I get with the season winding down. With my recent split with my wife, I have every Monday and Tuesday as well as every other weekend free now. So, I decided, you got it, I'm fishing Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday this week.

The water is still fairly stained from a big storm late last week, but it's clearing nicely and should be perfect come this weekend. I waded one of my favorite sections the last 2 nights. The area I've fished is my favorite for wading, but the fish just aren't in there or cooperating like they usually do this time of year. Normally, you catch mostly 12-14" fish that feeding hard on bait getting ready for cold weather. That just ain't happening right now. Even though I got 8-10 smallies each night, a few 12", as well as a 14" and a 15". Some took small bait colored streamers or fodders, but most liked a Yellow/Black Stealth Bomber. The larger fish suprise you a little becuase in the low water their not crashing the bait as much as following and sucking it in. So they seem like a smaller fish until they jump and you realize what you've hooked.

Monday night I pulled a brainless stunt. Thinking I only had a couple hours to fish I could take my Droid on the river without it's dry bag. Wrong! The bite didn't get going right until dark, so I hung in there as long as I could, waded out as it was getting dark, fell and busted my rear when I could see where I was stepping. Literally, I've got the knot to prove it where I landed on a jagged ledge rock right on my butt. The Droid got soaked, but luckily I had insurance and the replacement is coming today.
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How far can you run, standing deep in the flow? FJB