Crayfish tubes and smallmouth
What a day. While most anglers have put up their fishing gear and are focusing on football games, etc., October for me has been something I look forward to all year. It has been said that “September is hot, and November is sullen, but October is like a fine wine”. I couldn’t agree more.
On this particular October day I had decided to kayak float fish my favorite stretch of the Huron River, and simplify things a bit by cutting over to my ultralight spinning tackle, a handfull of circle hooks, and some soft plastic “tube” lures which imitated crayfish.
The morning was slow, and even though I could see fish and casted to them, they were uninterested.
A few hours later everything changed. Things warmed up, and I felt like I was in a different world. There was life everywhere; squirrels, deer, insects, birds, and yes, fish. I heard slurping and splashing along the banks…obviously the feed was on.
It was fish after fish, anywhere from 8″ to 18″. Smallmouth, rockbass, largemouth, bluegills, and a warmouth. Grand slam plus. They were mostly concentrated near the bank, so the cast had to be a good one. In fact, the most productive cast was one that actually hit the bank, then was dragged off.
The best action for any crayfish lure or fly is what I call a “twitch, twitch, twitch - drift” retrieve. Remember when you were a kid and were catching crayfish? Remember how they would scoot when you chased them? That’s what you are trying to imitate.
It was a terrific fall fishing day. For those anglers that put everything away when the weather turns a bit cooler, I’ve got just one thing to say: get your stuff back out, and go fishing.
