The right and wrong way to end a 4th of July Holiday Weekend

As the Monday of 4th of July weekend started to wind down I decided to take out the Tarpon 120 sit on top and do some fishing.  Since I got a late start I was only going to do a quick trip.  I dropped the truck off at Kettering Fields down along the Great Miami River and headed back to the put in up at Whitewater Warehouse on the Mad River.  The plan was to fish while floating down the Mad River to the Great Miami River confluence.  Once I reached the Great Miami River I would try some trolling and maybe hook into a smallmouth or possibly a saugeye.  Then the plan was to finish the night by paddling up the Great Miami River towards the lowhead dam near Kettering Fields. I figured I could fish that area until it got too dark or until the bugs were too much to handle.  What I didn't plan on was something else entirely telling me it was time to hang it up for the night, but I will get to that later.

After launching the kayak not five minutes into the trip I hooked into a nice respectable 15" smallmouth (the first picture).  At that point I just knew this was going to be a great little trip.

Once I got down to the Great Miami River I tied on a stickbait and tried trolling and paddling down to the I-75 bridge and back.  I didn't get any fish, but did get a nice view of downtown.

So after the sightseeing and NOT catching any fish it was time to paddle up to the low head dam and get back to the plan of landing some nice sized fish.  As soon as I got up near the dam I found a really deep hole and positioned myself to cast into it.  As soon as I started reeling in the lure my drag started screaming!  I hooked into a really, really nice smallmouth that I got within five feet of the kayak and he promptly shook his head and spit my lure.  What a bummer almost landed another nice smallmouth that had to of been at least 17" or 18".  After about a half an hour of not getting a hit I decided to tie the kayak to a small island in the middle of the river and try wading in a couple of spots.  Soon after wading I hooked into a smaller fish in the middle of a pretty fast moving chute of water about two foot deep.  At first I thought it was a tiny smallmouth, but then realized I hooked into a crappie!  I couldn't believe a crappie was feeding in such fast moving water and hitting a 4" stickbait.  I can't tell you how many different types of fish can be caught below a low head dam....ridiculous.  Of course with that said you must use a lot of common sense and even more caution when fishing near them.

The sun was now starting to set and I figured I would float down the river 300 yards or so to where the truck was parked since I wasn't having any luck at the dam.  While floating down I was casting at the bank and instantly had another 12"+ smallmouth hooked.  While fighting him to the boat through the current he also shook his head and spit out my lure.  Ok, I 'm not too discouraged I have lost two fish, but maybe they are starting to turn on.  I started casting at the bank again and the same thing happened again with another 12"+ fish!  At this point I am looking at the hooks on the lure to see if they need sharpened.  Anything to take the blame off me, right?  So after a quick check of the hooks on the lure, which was brand new, I cast to the bank again and got an immediate hit...a monster smallmouth and easily the largest of the day!  The only thing on my mind was to get this damn fish into the boat.  I got him up to the boat and hoisted him right in between my legs.  Only one problem...not only did I hook and land the fish I ended up breaking a personal record of mine.  This record has gone an entire lifetime with countless hours fishing until this moment.  I've never had the pleasure of hooking myself and of course I had to do it first class if I was going to do it all.  Not only do I have a 19" smallmouth flopping around between my legs with the front treble hook in his lip, but the back treble hook is buried in my leg!  That is some instant pain to say the least.  After settling the fish down I tenderly unhooked him and wanted so badly to take a picture, but had other things to attend to.  I then cut the line on the rod and headed to shore since it was pretty dark at this point and I couldn't see the lure let alone the hook engorged in my leg.  I loaded everthing up in the truck and took the short drive back to the kayak shop and used the old mono line in the round part of the hook and press down on the eye to yank it out.  I know they say it is supposed to be pain free, but whoever said that is a complete liar.  And I know some of you kayak fisherman out there are yelling at your screen saying what an idot for not investing in a net or lip gripper...I forgot them in my truck!  So a short fishing trip to end the holiday weekend ended in what I thought was going to be the right way by hooking into a 19" smallmouth instead ended in the wrong way with a treble hook buried in my leg.

 -Neil