It has been a few days since my wife’s “encounter” with the largest smallmouth I have seen in quite some time. The hope was that she could return to that same spot, and reconnect with that impressive fish. I realize that the likelihood hood of that smallie remaining in that same hole is remote, but you never know when it comes to the unpredictable behavior of fish. That pre-spawn giant could be sitting in that very same area, waiting to ambush an unsuspecting prey item, as she continues to ravenously feed before she makes her way to spawn. But as luck would have it, the day before our trip, a cold front settled into East Tennessee. Even though the majority of the fishing conditions were perfect for a potentially productive day on the water, that one fishing fly in the ointment was a drastic drop in water temperature. On March 30, when she last wrestled with that monster smallie, the water temperature was sixty-six degrees. Today, the temperature was fifty-three degrees. A thirteen degree drop, that inflicted most of the fish with a serious case of lockjaw. But not all of those chilled down smallies had left the buffet table. Cindy did manage to catch ten smallmouth ranging from twelve to nineteen and a quarter inches. Not too bad on a day when we were experiencing those classic “cold front conditions”. The picture of that nineteen plus inch fish is included in this report. That fish of a lifetime didn’t show herself today. However, all the stars may align on a future trip, when Cindy and that behemoth smallmouth have another go at each other, and this time my wife ends up the victor. We shall see…
River Smallie Adventures Fishing Report April 2, 2019
