Small fish

[salmotrutta]

After besting 2 previous personal records on Sunday, with my PB pike in the morning and PB smallie after dark, today was the opposite as I caught my smallest pike ever and about 10 tiny largies. No pics of my PBs, I was nowhere near my camera when I got my thick 3 foot pike, and though I could have probably gotten to my camera with my big smallie in time for a safe release, perhaps I have matured as an angler as I was content with just letting it go immediately. The smallie action was furious, and I wanted to take full advantage of the window of fury and not waste time getting my camera. This was my first time using spoons for smallies. I had on the spoon with which I caught my big pike earlier that day, and since I was fishing a section of the grand for the first time, I just left it on as I didn't know what I was going to catch. I caught 3 smallies, all over 16", with the biggest around 20" and well over 3lbs, maybe or 4 or even 5lbs. They were only hitting the spoon on a super fast retrieve, which made for exciting fishing.

Stopped by a "ditch on the side of the road" that looked tempting today, and got into a bunch of small but fun fish. With so many small ones, the big ones must be in there too, just a matter of working the water a little bit more.

This little guy inhaled my mepps, and was bleeding from his gills where he was hooked, luckily someone took him for the table:

Caught a bunch of these afterwards:

I am really enjoying the warm water species lately. The ardent steelheaders are impatiently awaiting the first fresh run of steel, I am quite content right now chasing walleye, pike and bass.

 

[grubman]

Nice catches. Did it rain hard out there Sunday and raise the river level? You know the old saying that fish won't bite for a couple of days after a rain or cold front. Seems you dispelled that "myth".....lol.

Thanks for the report.

 

[salmotrutta]

So having missed photo ops of my PB pike and smallmouth last week, I opted to bring my camera along with me today despite my leaky waders. This proved to be a bad idea as my phone got wet later in the day while I was wading, but fortunately it's working fine again.

Ended up with 2 personal records, again, for smallest pike and smallest LMB.

First off was the smallest pike caught on a Mepps black fury:

I lost 2 Mepps today, and was down to just my Mepps minnow. I'm not a big fan of the minnow, so I tore it off and was left with the bare hooks off the minnow. I wasn't expecting to catch this little guy on it:

And got some decent pike on the dollarama spinner, too:

 

[NOTTA STEELER]

Nice pics , it's nice to see the little guys in a clear photo because their markings are so defined and colour rich .
I wish I had more time to fish in the summer , but as things go , I cut a deal with my wife to leave me alone in the fall , winter and spring Steelhead times.
So therefore I get all the jobs around and in the house done in summer and then I'm free !!!

 

[Blair]

Nice pics , it's nice to see the little guys in a clear photo because their markings are so defined and colour rich .
I wish I had more time to fish in the summer , but as things go , I cut a deal with my wife to leave me alone in the fall , winter and spring Steelhead times.
So therefore I get all the jobs around and in the house done in summer and then I'm free !!!

lol


A well worked DEAL!

How years of Marraige Notta?

 

[Blair]

Salmo,

I love the "little aggressive ones"...

Up north this weeekend was getting all kinds of them.

It's neat to see a fish hit a lure that can be half it;s size.



ps: Yes Notta, the colours are beautiful and so prononced with the smaller ones.

 

[DEVIN]

Really neat to see these small monsters

 

[salmotrutta]

It's neat to see a fish hit a lure that can be half it;s size.

That tiny largie was actually smaller than the blade, let alone the entire lure!

I saw a bunch of very silver minnows swimming around today in a marina, I wish I could have figured out what they were. Possibly smelt, man they were silver as heck and taking tiny flies off the surface in a large school.