I had a great time guiding Ryan and his two sons Sam and seven year old A.J. When we talked prior to the trip Ryan said that A.J. had limited fishing experience. I assured him that I have kids in the boat all of the time who have never fished or who have gone only a few times. Children are fast learners and I shared with him that after some casting lessons most of them are up in fishing with my spinning gear in a matter of minutes. A.J. would be no exception. He picked it up very quickly and was casting the bait half way across the river in short order. All of the conditions had come together that I hoped would improve today’s bite. It was cloudy and humid, with a high near 80 degrees. A cold front was draped across west Tennessee and was advancing to the east. Couple that with a dropping barometer and you have all the ingredients in place for those river smallies to strap on the feedbag. Today was the first day that I have seen some big fish show up. And show up they did for young A.J. We were fishing a hole that has a reputation for holding big fish when all of a sudden A.J.’s spinning rod doubled over. A.J. did all that he could to control and land what turned out to be a “Citation Smallmouth” that was 20 ¾” long and weighed 3 lbs. 9 oz. But this newbie master angler was not finished. On his very next cast he stuck and landed another hard fighting “Citation Smallmouth” that was 20 ½” long that pulled my Chatillon Scale down to the 4 lb. 5 oz. mark. Back to back “Citation Smallies!!! Not bad for someone who learned how to cast with spinning gear a couple hours earlier in the day. A picture of A.J. with that 4-5 and proud brother Sam looking on is included in this report. By the end of their four hour trip they had caught a total of 13 smallies. In addition to those two trophy fish the three of them caught several other fish that were between sixteen and 18 ¾”. It’s always a thrill to see young anglers enjoy themselves when the fish cooperate like they did on this memorable trip. Ryan, Sam, and A.J. were a lot of fun to have in the boat. I hope to see them again on another River Smallie Adventure during Spring Break 2022!
River Smallie Adventures Fishing Report April 8, 2021
