Was having a bad day on the river. First real cast of the day with a popper (I always throw out a fan of cheap .99 cent roster tails to test for snags and what might be biting before I throw out my expensive stuff), very first pop the area exploded as a huge bass took the lure. I could tell it was a big one, right up until my line went slack. My leader knot had failed. Lost the biggest fish (based on how hard he was fighting) I've yet ever caught, AND my favorite lure! Crap.
Didn't feel like messing with tying a leader again on the water, went straight braid. Put on a new popper and worked that. Got a lot of hits, but nothing big enough to take the hooks. Then after about the 20th case, line went limp again on the retrieve. I thought likely my cinch knot I'd used to tie the braid to the swivel had come untied. No. For the first time ever my swivel broke. Part was on the end of my line, the other half was on the lure. It has broken line 4 feet from me, and the popper was floating on the surface. I was able to use my pole to snag it. So that was good at least. Was my last popper.
I didn't fish for about another hour and a half without catching anything. Tried everything in my arsenal. And I have a pretty big arsenal. They weren't hitting on nothing. And it was getting dark. Even though I have a huge collection of Ned rigs, I don't usually throw them because most of my spots are far too snaggy and you only get a few cast before you lose them. But I tested out the bottom here pretty good and I knew it was snag free, So I decided what the heck, it's time for some Ned action.
Wasn't getting anything trying to run it like a jig. So I switched to a constant drag across the bottom style, just letting it bump along the river bed, and my luck changed completely. I could feel things trying to take it like crazy, then quickly caught two Rockies. Followed by the Smallmouth pictured. It was dark and I decided to end on a high note so packed it in.
Just saying, sometimes a trip can turn around. And if it's going slow, just keep trying new lures, different colors, and different styles. Almost everywhere has fish, you just have to figure out what gets their attention that day, that time, and sometimes just that moment.
Posted by doonze