With a drift boat, a lot of potential water opens up for me. Weeks ago buddy Andrew and I hatched a plan to fish the opener, and his friend Brad joined us. Andrew's rowed for me before and Brand was game to give it a shot. All the work I put into the boat last year really paid off with minimal prep required to roll out to the Huron River. Hitch up the trailer, tie down the boat and GO!
Mike Schultz' S4 Sculpin fly pattern has become a proven performer for early season smallies (and trout all year), so I'd tied up a half dozen just for this trip in a few color combinations. This was one of the flies I made a real effort to master this off-season, and I think mine look pretty nice.
Our only real challenge of the day was access. We had to drag the boat about 50 yards across grass to a launch point. Drift boats are heavy. And they don't slide all that well! With a little huffing and puffing, we managed to splash down. A quick truck shuttle and we're ready to rock.
The upper portion of the float consisted mostly of me trying to remember how to row while Andrew and Brad worked on their rusty casting skills. Brad stuck one pretty early, but it popped off about as fast as it struck.
A bit later Andrew gets a hard hit. At first we're all thinking it's a dink - even the angler connected to the fish. But as it gets closer, we quickly realize this is a solid fish. Some quick net work and we're on the board with a nice fish that taped out at a shade over 16"! And with that, Andrew proves my S4's are getting it done.
Now it's my turn to fish while Andrew rows. It takes a little while, casting into some nasty wind, but eventually my fly gets mugged. This is one of the things I've come to love about streamer fishing - especially for smallmouth - is the visual component. Seeing the chase, the strike, and the fight unfold is SO cool! And smallmouth hit flies like a truck; with little or no hesitation. Mine turns out to be about 14". Respectable, but nothing that scores me bragging rights.
This is my first day casting the Scott Radian 907/4. It's hard to judge a rod when you haven't thrown an overhead cast in 6 months and the winds blowing upriver at 15mph. But early impressions were very good. It's got good speed, and is incredibly light (especially with a Ross Evolution LT 4 reel mounted). It's not the rocket ship that the S4s's I've cast are, but it's plenty fast. And it's definitely got better rod feel. Since this is one of my main rods for April - September, I'm very happy with it. A more detailed review will be coming when I've got some more time in with it.
All in all, a might fine day on the water with excellent company! What a great way to welcome in the smallmouth bass season.
-Sean-
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