7.13.2009

Mondays are for Fishing

The Ozark mountains on a hazy afternoon.

Swan Creek

Missouri or a Montana trout stream?


Today, I had one of my most enjoyable fishing trips in a long time. As today was rainy and overcast, it was probably not a day that many people would choose to go fishing. But overcast skies are actually ideal fishing conditions, and sometimes the rain helps too. Today, it was definitely a good thing!

As I was selecting lures for my trip, I threw in three topwater lures on a whim. Topwater lures are normally effective at dawn and dusk, but not in the middle of the day... unless it's overcast. Boy was I glad I packed them! As it ended up, I didn't use anything but topwater. To be specific, I had a tiny torpedo, a baby spook, and a small locust jitterbug. And all three caught several fish.

After about three hours, I had caught several nice goggle-eye, two smallmouth that were 14 inches plus, and I lost two nice smallmouth that spit the hook out a few feet from the bank. The second of the smallmouth I lost was easily the best fish I had hooked in years, somewhere in the 17" to 19" range. If you've fished topwater, you know there's nothing more exciting than when a fish breaks the water to explode on a lure.

Not only was the fishing good, but the scenery was stunning. The pictures don't do it justice. Swan Creek cuts a beautiful valley through Christian and Taney Counties. It's small and clear and takes some work, (and I have killed one cottonmouth on Swan) but the fish are sure in there.