Smallies In The Fall

I've heard rumblings over the years that Natoma was once a great smallmouth fishery, and I have caught them occasionally while chasing trout. But the last month they are really coming on, and the average size is surprising. The first one I got recently was 16 inches long, and had to weigh 4 pounds EASY-at least 2 inches thick at the shoulders! Nick hooked up with an even bigger 17 incher that was also quite fat. Although I am targeting the trout on most occasions, I now have a fall-back method for catching more fish. Too bad for now, the weather just got perfect for the trout bite, expect pictures soon!

Smallmouth on the Fly

Friday evening Nicole and I fished Lake Natoma. I was expecting to see a dozen novice kayakers and a couple boaters but the dock was empty. We got on the water at 7:00pm and headed upstream. I brought my fly rod out to sink some flies and try stripping some streamers. We anchored above Rainbow Bridge and I cast my quick-sink line with four feet of leader tipped with 4x fluorocarbon. The first bump felt like a bite but I wasn't sure, so I let the streamer sit for a couple seconds, and BAM! I lifted the rod and hooked into the smallmouth bass pictured here. It was 16" long, fat like a football, and easily the heaviest smallie I've ever caught. I got another little smallie about 8" long that completely inhaled my streamer.  I've read that Lake Natoma at one time was considered a great smallmouth fishery, and we are definitely going to target them more often.