Sunday morning the Fox had come down to a tolerable wading level if you know what you're doing. Thought I would break out the crank baits and stick baits I never use and plow the muddy high water trying to coax a hit. On the way to Orchard Road I had to cross a little no name creek. It has no name because I never bothered to look it up. It's small and shallow and other than pretty, not enough water in it at any given time to hold much of anything other than probably creek chubs. It remotely registered in my brain as I drove over it that it looked normal and relatively clear. The rain from Friday was pretty spotty coverage and maybe this didn't get hit. I drove on.
Combed a quarter mile stretch with baits that made noise so the fish could find them in the muddy mess and didn't get a single tap. Other than a nice morning to be out, this had turned into the waste of time I try to avoid. Fishing high muddy water is now right up there with walking shores on ponds and lakes. Detestable adventures going into them.
Headed for another stretch of the Fox in Montgomery that I knew I could walk in the water. Stopped to look at a creek in Oswego on the way. Almost normal and just a little stained. That was twice I was being told what to do and it wasn't registering in my brain. Kept going to Montgomery.
Wasted more time combing another quarter mile long stretch of high muddy water. Then gave up.
I had to cross the creek in Oswego on my way home so I may as well stop and fish, finally. As I was getting ready to head up the creek a guy pulls up. Tells me about the 4 nice fish he caught yesterday in this creek, all released. Tells me that one of them was a 5 pound smallie and it was released. He got out his cell phone and dug for the picture to show me. Nice fish. I looked around me. Funny, I didn't see any kitchen cabinets hanging in the background like in his picture. I personally think that anglers keeping bass out of rivers at any time of the year has no real effect on their populations. Too much river, not enough anglers, not convinced of the impact. But then, I'm no fisheries biologist so what do I know. If you're going to keep the fish, then keep the fish. Quit harping on how it was released and for sure don't show anyone pictures of it while you're standing in your kitchen.
I headed way up stream and the water was stained and not all that bad looking. The rain some how had missed this little watershed. Which was good. If I had been paying attention to what I was observing all morning I would have come here first thing in the morning rather than last. Now the sun was high, the sky was clear and the fish were all sitting in the shade of any hole deep enough to hold them. Wound up picking up 10 smallies and one of the worlds smallest largemouth bass ever to hit a lure.
I have no doubt that I would have done much better if I had paid attention to what my observations were telling me earlier in the day. I probably would have gone even further upstream. There's always a next time.