First Smallie Attemp

Well, I have been hearing lots of reports about amazing local smallmouth fish, so I thought I would give it a try. The weather was absolutely phenomenal, beautiful blue sky, low 80's, and not much humidity to speak of. We don't get many days like that in August. I got off work on Friday around noon and headed for Townsend. Since this was my first attempt at smallies, I was somewhat lost as to where I should begin my search. I knew of a public access area just past Walland, and figured that would be as good of a place to start as any. When I arrived there were some people there playing in the water and another guy just upstream fishing. I got geared up and made my way into the water fishing downstream as I went. Not long into the day, using a tiny chartreuse popper, I hooked into my first rock bass. Not big, about the size of a bluegill, but a decent fight nonetheless. So, I continued to work my way downstream and picked up a couple more rock bass on the popper. When things began to slow down, I checked the water temperature and it was around 79 degrees. Wow, I couldn't believe it was that warm. I chose to move farther upstream looking for cooler water and a little more privacy. Unfortunately, I found neither, and needless to say no smallies. Well, after talking to Daniel and Bill at LRO, I learned that I was probably out there at the worst time of day. They suggested that I give it a try during the two hour window around sunrise and sunset when the smallmouth are most aggressive. Well, the opportunity to get out and enjoy the mountain scenery was nice, and I am looking forward to my next smallmouth trip. I plan to do some more research into locations and how to approach this wary fish.

God Bless and tight lines to all.