View from a bridge

[jude]

On weekend mornings when I'm not actually fishing I always head into town for a cup of coffee from the local gas station. I then walk out onto a railroad bridge over the Kish and watch the river slide by underneath me for a while. Lately I've been doing it on my way home from work, too. (What can I say? It's an illness.) It's the perfect vantage point to really observe. I may spook a few critters on the way out to the middle, but, if I don't move, it doesn't take too long for me to become part of the landscape. Earlier this year a flock of cedar waxwings feasting on a midge hatch payed absolutely no attention to me, sometimes hovering just a few feet from me. One landed on the rail about ten feet away from to rest up after gorging himself.

 

For years I've looked down to see smallies trailing behind carp, looking for easy pickin's. Usually these are not huge fish, maybe 8 to 12 inchers. Yesterday after work I was observing a few decent smallies when a large dark shadow turned into a snapping turtle. As it swam under me, sure enough, three medium smallies were right with him, never more than six inches away. I made a mental note to cast to turtles in the future.

 

Then, today after work, I was watching the same area when a large soft shelled turtle swam towards my roost. As he got closer, of course I was keying in behind him to see if he had a following. Sure enough, two smallies were close behind. But these were NOT ho-hum ten inchers! Both were definitely in the upper teens. This was the first time I've seen large smallies trailing like this. My mental note to cast to turtles in the future is now written in permanent marker.

[SmallieJonze]

That's one helluva mental note!!!! I'll be doing the same thank you. My brain is a bit fuzzy these days (in the 90's I was a big fan of the 60's) so I'll have to have it tattooed on my body

[jude]

"In the 90s I was a big fan of the 60s" That's a great line! (Unless it means you wore go-go boots and a mini skirt.)

[skjordan]

Yesterday after work I was observing a few decent smallies when a large dark shadow turned into a snapping turtle. As it swam under me, sure enough, three medium smallies were right with him, never more than six inches away. I made a mental note to cast to turtles in the future.

 

 

Ha!

 

I was fishing Sugar Creek in Indiana Tuesday and noted the same behavior with a soft shell.

Came to the same conclusion.

[Paul Trybul]

I observed something similar the other day with a softshell turtle. Also the smallmouth in the spring seem to follow the sucker runs up tributaries and eat the little morstles they kick up too. You have to love the opportunistic nature of the smallmouth bass.