Thanks, Keith, for transferring those pics above! In that first photo, the smallies,sheepshead, and rock bass seemed concentrated in a small section just out from that downed limb on the mid left of the pic. Out there,both a big rock in midstream and a series of trenches(3-4' deep) or limestone ledges gave structure to that deepest(??) section. Maybe a better description is in this small article I did following that short trip, for a small Ohio sportsmen's newsletter:
"Dad, this narrow "crik" is too shallow right now for any real fish,so I'll just go catch a few crayfish in downstream riffles for use in the big lake," said son Sean. We were working a shallow stream that feeds into Lake Erie, normally even lower in level during August, but somewhat salvaged due to the frequent rains in northeast Ohio throughout this wild weather summer.
The flow was slow,water semi-clear, and I could make out most of the bigger bottom rocks, down at 4' in the deepest sections. I figured a home altered, 6'4" ultralight, old fashioned fiberglass rod(really not much more than a 4 weight flyrod) would permit a subtle presentation & easily whip out a 1/64th oz Hawn dart jig on skinny 4 pound test line. The lure,of course, was one of Red Denmark's famous wool& fabric ties, skimpy in material due to such a light jighead. But unique for stream smallmouth fishing was the the small 2" soft plastic helgrammite tipping -an important addition that has produced bass, trout,crappies, carp, and panfish all through this tough summer.
I began by casting upstream and watching my wiggly little offering glide toward bottom while drifting with the minimal current. It certainly looked real, though I couldn't determine whether this brown bait (from crabbybasslures.com) looked more like a helgie, crayfish, or goby. I'm not sure that bass had time to make that decision either, as the first big rock I found near the midstream bottom quickly produced 3 hard fighting, leaping smallies! Also rock bass ,chubs, and fallfish decided this jig n helgie looked tasty!
Initial water disturbance seemed to shut the activity down, so I waded and fished up and around this longish pool. A hit here and there, but no solid takers. Soon, Sean & grandson Dra called across, stating that they had enough crabs to fish in Lake Erie that evening, and the hot afternoon sun was causing them enough discomfort for us to think about leaving.
I walked across the shallow rocks at the head of the pool, and drifted the helgie combo down as I went. Nearing son & grandson, I made one final cast into a deeper cut among the limestone ledges, then detected stoppage and a slight tug! Lifting the long rod just a bit, my no. 10 hook hit massive resistance, and a hard run was under way toward down river. What the heck, I was headed that way anyway, and yelled for Sean to break out the camera! I played her lightly, and in about 10 minutes brought my biggest ever creek smallie to land. Quick photo, and she swims there still!! Of course I couldn't quit without "one last cast (!!!), so made another flick to the edge of a deep rectangular shaped rock that I'd spied . I gently shook my helgie as the jig combo touched down near one corner of the flat rock, and something even bigger than the dandy smallie nailed it! When I glimpsed the profile of this monster I was thankful for a healthy heart ! Turned out, it WAS way bigger than the smallie, but proved to be my biggest ever freshwater drum from a tiny stream!!
It stormed overnight after that,and next day this calm stream hole was a raging,muddy torrent! But I have my special jig n helgie ready for calm Autumn days ahead!
