Well, It has been a little over 2 weeks since my last blog post. My buddy Ed and I have been floating several rivers in our area in search of the elusive trophy Smallmouth bass. We have been having a spectacular year so far, it seems every float one (or both of us) wind up with at least one fish that eclipses the 18" mark. For the record I believe any Smallmouth over 18" is to be considered a trophy and a true 20 incher is the holy grail of Smallmouth fishing.  We have been doing a lot of fishing floating 3 out of the last four weekends and 5 out of the last seven. Our Outcast "Fat Cat" float tubes have really been getting a workout. I am just about to declare the float tube the most effective way to catch big Bronzebacks! The top water bite has been good and the Boogle Bug, size #4 has been the top producer (maybe because that is the only popper I have fished all year). By and far the more consistent fishing, quality and quantity, has been dragging the bottom with heavy Hellgrammite and Crayfish patterns. The 2 top producers have been the Crittermite and the Clawdad from Eastern Trophy Fly Fishing. Simple patterns that are easy to tie and catch big fish...what more could you want? This video was shot all with my GoPro Hero 4. The more I use the GoPro the more comfortable I am getting shooting and edition the video. I hope you enjoy "Floating for Smallies" Comments are always welcome. till next time...

                                                                                                                        Tight lines

Well, as you can tell from my last post I am a true Smallmouth junkie. I just think they are the coolest fish that swims. I have said many times "pound for pound no true freshwater fish fights harder than a Smallie". When you get them in your hand their body feels like the flexed bicep muscle of a Mr. Olympia contestant. They never stop fighting weather in the net or while you are trying to UN-hook them. The colors are absolutely beautiful, and under the right conditions can grow quite large. Smallmouth are very receptive to flies and fly fishing, I have heard it said that the Smallmouth Bass were made for fly fishing! With several Blue Ribbon Bronzeback rivers near my house, it is no wonder that the Smallmouth bass season is my favorite time of year. 

I have been shooting a lot of video with my GoPro camera over the past month. Anyone who has ever done any video work will understand when I say shooting the video is a lot easier than editing it. I now realize for every minute of finished video there is about 45 minutes of editing! The video I am going to show tonight was shot about 3 weeks ago. I spent that Sunday walk and wade fishing 2 of my favorite Smallie rivers. In the morning  I was with my buddy "One Boot" Ed. The morning started out a little tough, but by the early afternoon we managed to scratch out a pretty good morning. I was fishing the Crittermite seen here and was fortunate enough to have a few decent Bass eat it. IN the afternoon I was on one of my favorite sections of the Brandywine with my buddy Joe G. Joe is a customer from my days at the fly shop and this was the first time we were able to get on the water together. We had a great evening and I think my buddy has been bitten by the Smallmouth bug. 

I used a new mount for the camera when I shot this video. The angle was a little off and you can't see the fish as I UN-hook them. I didn't notice this until I had downloaded the video and I have since corrected the issue. Also, at the behest of my mother I toned down the music a little for this one. I guess she is correct to a point, you cant have '80's hair band music (the best music ever incidentally) in EVERY video...I hope you enjoy "Smallmouth Sunday"