After my Sunday long run of fourteen miles (a weekly ritual), Charles called me saying we should drive a ways up highway 74 and go fish Sugar Creek. I didn't argue. Sugar is one of the best smallmouth fisheries in the state and has plenty of other fun fish around too.
We settled on parking at a popular kayak takeout and fishing downstream.
Immediately after getting there I realized I'd forgotten something important. Gar flies.
I had tied up some rope flies with the intent of catching some longnose gar, but had left them at home.
We started fishing the holes and spotted an insane number of suckers, quillbacks, and buffalo. They're so tough to get to eat. I walked across the creek and picked up two little smallies behind a tree on a squirrel tail clouser, then I saw a gar drifting towards me. I threw in the hole and got a green sunfish. By the time I unhooked the slippery little potato-chip sized fish I couldn't see the gar.
Then suddenly, he crept out from under the log 2 feet from my shins. I dropped the clouser a foot from him, then he lunged forwards and grabbed it. After a short thrash about the surface, we were able to grab the fish. I got very lucky and pinned him in the roof of the mouth with the upturned hook.
Charles picked up a good gar as well.
We continued hiking downstream to a big bend. We threw our heavy clousers immediately below a tree. I tried something different and let my fly swing in the current. I almost got the rod yanked out of my hands on the end of the swing, but didn't hook up. We kept swinging clousers and picked up a few nicer smallies up to 14".
A fun day to be sure, we revisited this spot a lot during the summer for smallmouth.
We started fishing the holes and spotted an insane number of suckers, quillbacks, and buffalo. They're so tough to get to eat. I walked across the creek and picked up two little smallies behind a tree on a squirrel tail clouser, then I saw a gar drifting towards me. I threw in the hole and got a green sunfish. By the time I unhooked the slippery little potato-chip sized fish I couldn't see the gar.
Then suddenly, he crept out from under the log 2 feet from my shins. I dropped the clouser a foot from him, then he lunged forwards and grabbed it. After a short thrash about the surface, we were able to grab the fish. I got very lucky and pinned him in the roof of the mouth with the upturned hook.
Charles picked up a good gar as well.We continued hiking downstream to a big bend. We threw our heavy clousers immediately below a tree. I tried something different and let my fly swing in the current. I almost got the rod yanked out of my hands on the end of the swing, but didn't hook up. We kept swinging clousers and picked up a few nicer smallies up to 14".
A fun day to be sure, we revisited this spot a lot during the summer for smallmouth.
