Surface fishing for smallies doesn't get any better than an early season
dusk 'til midnight mission on those long sunny days and warm water temps
that keep them to the depths. The wind will die just after seven 'o'clock
and this will be the prompt for you to start the thrill that awaits!! Even
if you don't land a fish it could be the most memorable time of your life!
From the smell of the charcoal fluid, the glowing coals of a BBQ with the
fat borders of a steak searing away, cold one in hand while standing on my
large sunset vantage deck overhanging the bay of my lake reminiscing of
nights spent in my early years, in a boulder field just around the point to
my left with grandpa and my own dad bring a feeling of peace that too many
will never know overtakes me to a point of fulfilment. (I know too few of us
could ever hope for.) A full belly and a hope for a new confrontation on the
surface with the biggest meanest "motherhead" while scouring the lakes topo
and watching for those tell tale rings on the lakes surface........WOW did I
just get caught up in a dilly there or what??? Sorry guys but this is the
stuff for the past forty-five plus years I've lived for at this time of
year.
I don't think there is any form of fishing that will compare if it's action
and excitement, bar none! Well maybe night fishing for peacocks on the
Amazon or shark fishing naked off the New Jersey coast while water skiing
behind a slow moving shrimp boat!
Smallies of size usually remain in the depths on days like we have been
having of late and move to shores and island shallows just slammin' surface
presentations. Long, long casts over shallowish boulder fields and rock
structure at night near thirty foot depths of the main lake basins that hold
them during the day and move out of when the sun sinks below the horizon.
Main basin locations that have lake edges of flats of rocks and spotty
healthy weedbeds, weed walls, near flowing currents, island cuts, saddle
areas, falldowns, overhanging veg, steep walls with drop offs, banks with
pockets canopy covered to attract hiding and young forage and fauna. Lilly
pads at night can be good too LOL!
Cunning, tantalising presentations include a variety of retrieves to no
movement at all. The use of surface rings and ripples encourage deeper
laying smallies to move from their shopping trips for emerging crawdads.
Splash-down of your lure should be made with great consideration, if it's
smallies, that could mean anything though and with bigger smallies they
could be spooked by a large splash while on other nights , like when an
impending cold front with thunder and lightning is coming I have seen some
of the best and biggest crashes hit my lure and splash means nothing, brings
the big and hungry a running. Even the ones that think they're big.
Color doesn't matter so much as I believe the action on the surface is what
they home in on, that being said, I will always use black first and go from
there. White can be productive too, a frogs belly is white and I know I can
use a frog on the surface at night and draw some bite in ten feet of water
near structure or cover on just about any given night any time of the year.
Varied retrieves, splashes, twitches, darts, stops and gos is how you will
best pattern an evening bite so try different methods to switch it up and go
down town. Sometimes using a small surface lure is best while other times
the big one will turn up a scaly lip snag. Use a long spinning reel loaded
with 10# mono for those extra, extra long casts with a medium action.
Lighter line tests, shorter softer rods only make the experience more
dramatic and skilful and more likely produce a fish story than anything I
know on the face of this earth! TAKE A NET THOUGH!! And for GOD's SAKE, BE
CAREFUL, bring back a memory to share with us sometime! And do yourself a
favor, take your kids or gandkinds with you, makes it evem more special, you
can't take anything better than this with you when you leave this world.
In spite of a dwindling libido and athletic abilities, this is something I
will do until the good Lord calls me yonder!!
--
Steve


"Pat_RI" wrote in message
news:rqCpe.69006$sy6.48026@lakeread04...
I am going to Maine next week to fish for smallies and I was wondering if
anyone can recommend what to use for topwater?