smallmouth retrospective

down the road i go

Shorter days certainly signify a change in season but it's also a harsh reminder of the empty fly boxes that need filling before fall. Gear needs to be grouped and cycled and standards must be maintaned.

My reflections on my passing smallmouth season this year have been mixed. On the positive, my first year fishing river smallies by fly has been a blast. Spring in the Rhinelander area was super productive and the upper Wisconsin River is certainly world class. Many new miles of river have been scoured and plenty of picture worthy fish have been landed. My confidence in my streamers and ability to land bass on the fly is higher then its ever been. The Fox river in both Illinois and Wisconsin really shined when other rivers barely had a flow. The Fox River also produced some big healthy river smallies.

river smallies

On another hand, I have lacked the ability to see a few of the bigger bites through to the end. Loosing the three best bites in the late summer sucks. For me, the memories of the spit flies, broken leaders, and slipped knots seem to stand out more then the countless fish that have come to hand. The upper reaches of the Milwaukee produced higher numbers of fish but the average sized seemed to suffer. Scenic as all get out, don't get me wrong, but smaller fish indeed.


As the 5wt relinquishes the passenger seat in my car to the beefier 8, I already make mental plans for 2013. New waters, different flies, and a steady diet of palomar knots all season long seem appropriate. For some reason the clinch knot doesn't seem as sturdy with flouro as with some other lines. I want to spend more time on the Kishwaukee and the Fox in hopes to understand them better. Here come the salmon, hold on tight.

hidden gems

Illinois does have some real hidden gems. Cold water creeks with deep blue pools do exist here!

This certainly isn’t my spot. More a spot from a friend of a friend. I’m content just being allowed to capture some of it on film, but that’s all your getting from me.

If I ever go back to smallie fishing on spinning gear I’ll have to make a mental note to buy some chigger craws. Damien put on a show worthy of an T.V. advertisement with them.

Stay tuned as we wrap up our warm water wading season and stat to transition to our fall fishing haunts.

fox river illinois smallmouth

fishing the fox river in Illinois

I remember this boy named Michael from grade school who happened to live in the next sub-divison over. He was never somebody that I was overly friendly with but never a guy who I ever had any trouble with either. To be honest, he was quite the awkward boy. A tad bit more then slightly overweight, with sweaty palms, a noticeable lisp, and a mild odd odor, one couldn’t help feeling bad for the kid. Needless to say, he wasn’t the most popular kid on the block. Quite often he was last on my list of neighborhood kids to hang with after school and it wasn’t until I exhausted the possibilities that Jimmy, Peter, Russell, and Bobby were around that I would finally pick up the phone and dial Michael’s number.

Kids are so superficial, they always want the flashy friends with the newest gear, games or whatever. Really it’s sad because what Michael had was a good natured personality, harmless as a fly, willing to bend over backwards just to have a friend.

One may wonder where exactly I’m heading with this one right now, or exactly how does this relate to fishing the Fox River. Well, for me fishing the Fox River has always been like hanging out with the fat smelly kid down the street. It’s the place or person who doesn’t fit the mold in my brain as ideal, that last resort if you will. The Fox is a tad bit bigger river then I normally like, and it sure has mild odor to say the least. It lacks any sort of clear water and where the hell are the plunge pools that I have grown to love from fishing the rivers and trout streams of Wisconsin.

my boy Matt and his first smallie ever!

Society, television, magazines and the internet are a bitch sometimes. They put these images of what perfect is or should be in your head and sometimes its super hard to look past things that aren’t perfect. The drought of 2012 has basically turned most of the rivers in our area into nothing more then a trickle. Fish are bunched up in deeper water and on these clear water rivers they have been spooky as all get out. So, as I cross out option after option I start to search for some of those last resort places.

Being a larger river with a decent base flow, mostly from treatment discharge, right now there are some excellent spots on the Fox that are producing and in a big way. The reduced visibility here has actually helped the bite in these low water conditions keeping the fish feeling secure and willing to spread out. It doesn’t take a dummy to see that our biggest smallmouth bites this summer have come from the Fox, fishing from Algonquin and south in Illinois and from Burlington and north in Wisconsin. This river has treated us well and has given a big fish opportunity every time out regardless if landed or not.

a nice Fox river smallmouth bass

My point here is, so what if wet wading here kinda creeps me out or if my sneakers smell like death the next day. The Fox River has been kind to me when no others would, so this summer I feel like I've been taken back to my youth and am hanging with Michael.

wisconsin river smallmouth bass

It started with steelhead and salmon and progressed to stream trout. Then the local pond bluegills began to fall victim to dries and now it’s the bass that are chasing down the feather and fur. It really has been a transformation ever since I first picked up a fly rod and now the pinnacle of every species is taking a respectable specimen with a self tied imitation.

flyfishing the upper wisconsin river

 Just starting to jump into the warm water fly fishing, the upper Wisconsin River could possibly be one of the best venues in the entire state. Known for the smallmouth and musky fishing, the river here is teaming with an abundance of some of the most desirable game fish in the entire state of Wisconsin. There are plenty of resident fish to keep you busy year round as well as migratory runs from the connecting flowages and lakes that will seasonally pack the river with fish. In one single morning here we caught smallmouth, largemouth, red horse, crappie, rock bass, walleye, pike, and lost a musky on the rocks. If that doesn't speak for the diversity of this fishery then I don’t know what would.

wisconsin river smallmouth bass

the super sugar river smallmouth

This was my final attempt at river fishing for smallmouth for the rest of the year. Instead of beating up some familiar water, I decided to explore something new. The Sugar River has always been a big question mark for me. Every time I pass over, I always wonder what type of good fishing I’m missing out on.

For those who aren’t familiar, the Sugar River is born in the hills of southwest Dane County in Wisconsin. From there, it flows just better than 90 miles to reach northern Illinois where it joins the Pecatonica. Both rivers converge just before meeting the Rock River in Rockton, Illinois. While technically the Sugar River is a trib of the Pecatonica, I would consider both to be tribs to the Rock. Its most sought after game fish are the pike, walleye, catfish, and the smallmouth bass. I’ve also heard rumors of big 20 inch browns coming from under the dams in the spring. That’s one rumor I would love to prove true early next year.

My plan was to start in Green County and hit every bridge pool and dam in the entire county. My first stop was a promising looking dam. The first thought that crossed my mind was to start with a tiny panther martin trout sized spinner. First thing in the morning I just like to get a fish or two on the board and then begin to upsize my baits. Fishing to and from the dam I caught 4 small bass and 2 small walleyes. Not a bad way to start the day.

a nice start to the day, a sugar river smallmouth bass

a small sugar river walleye in sight of the dam

From there, I fished the handful of bridges on the way down to the next dam. Instead of throwing a tiny spinner on spinning gear, I upsized to my bait caster setup with a white spinner bait. Thank God I did upsize my gear because the very next bass I caught was a toad and very well might be the best bass of the year. She was sitting on the inside of the bridge piling just where you would think she should be sitting. I roll casted up and under the bridge and took 3 cranks on my handle before the bait got thumped. The fish hit so hard it caught me by surprise. I quickly reared back and set the hook and all hell just broke loose. That fish dug so hard I had to back off the drag by 3 clicks. A few last minute aerial acrobatics and I pounced on her. Hands shaking I lifted the fish up and did the best I could to fit her completely in the picture.

a big sugar river smallmouth, possibly my best one yet

 After a few more fishless bridges and I arrived at my next dam. This dam funneled a lot of flowing water into a smaller opening. The result was white water being shot out down river. This water was very turbid and appeared deep as well. I felt like a jig and twister would be a good way to pick apart the seems, eddies, and deep pools. I switched back to spinning gear and went with a 1/8th ounce jig instead of my normal 1/16th. I tipped the jig with a white 3 inch grub which is smaller than the 4 inch grubs I have been using. I hoped these changes would get me bit here. After a few minutes of casting a very nice man and his wife walked down to see how I was doing. I explained that I was from out of town and just fishing for the day. As we talked further my jig fell to the bottom and there it sat for the entire length of our conversation. He finished with asking if I had caught any nice smallies. Just as I was about to answer, my light action rod bent in half.  Deadsticked on the bottom the fish crushed that jig. The fished used the heavy current to its advantage but finally gave in to the constant heavy pressure. As I scooped my second fat smallie from the Sugar, the crowd went wild. Not only was the original couple clapping but a few construction workers had meandered down to see the battle. I of course asked for a proper photo to be taken and the gentleman obliged.

another nice sugar river smallmouth bass

That last fish left me completely satisfied. With time to kill I went further into the back country hoping to explore a few of the Sugar’s tributaries. For a parting shot ill leave you with the photo of a pool I found a few miles below some classified trout water. This creek connects to the sugar and looks like a great spot for some pig browns come spring.

a nice pool on a trib to the sugar river

Peace out Wisconsin smallmouth, I will be back next year. I have a lot more water to cover on the rivers I have fallen in love with and a few new destinations that will remain nameless until then...