May 7th, 2008: Big Smallmouth

This was a really nice fish! It actually ended one of the best weeks of fishing I have ever had. I fished six of seven days on the New River from May the 1st through May the 7th, during which time I caught roughly 110 fish. Most were smallmouth with a few red eyes thrown in, a bluegill, fall fish and an 18 inch musky to boot, not to mention the brown trout from who knows where. In addition I got a hold of a monster carp that felt more like Moby Dick. I fought him for quite some time never gaining any ground, but alas he broke me off. The smallmouth pictured here is probably the nicest one I have ever caught. I thought for sure it was a trophy fish. I wasn't able to get a length measurement, but it weighed in at somewhere between 3 3/4 and just short of 4 pounds. Since 4 pounds is needed for the citation and this guy fell short I let him loose to grow bigger, but at least I got this cool picture. I caught this fish on a black Joe Fly Elite with a number 4 blade that I made myself. This is fast becoming my favorite lure and color as it was the same one that landed my 18 inch musky this year and a 28 inch musky I caught last year, in addition to the mystery brown trout, a flathead catfish and several carp. It is quite the versatile lure.