Creek Fishing with Frank

You know….I have said it before, many times, but we are lucky here in southern Indiana as we have an abundance of outdoor adventures just waiting for us to get up and get going; the same holds true for small creek fishing and recently my buddy Frank and I experienced some great smallmouth fishing…and in all places, Clear Creek. Yes, that’s right, Clear Creek. I know you are thinking that this is the same poisoned creek that for years was the dumping grounds of several large corporations…and it is, but the fishing is good and if you are willing, one can land a nice lunker.

To say that it has been hot this summer could be a great overstatement and for me, there is something special about cruising through cool water that is shaded by stately, overhanging Sycamore trees and in many places locally that is just the case. Sunday, August 7^th found Frank and I heading south on Indiana 37 to an area that contains some awesome clear pools of water that holds a variety of fish, smallies were what the two of us were in search of. The Cedar Bluffs Nature preserve sits just west of 37 and is a nice jumping off point to fishing some of the good water of Clear Creek.

Frank and I both drove so that we could park our vehicles in two places and be able to fish in one direction, downstream and easily get back to civilization before dark. The first pool we came to was a good one and I was fishing my new 5’6”, 4 weight fly rod and a silver fly that closely resembles the shiners, chubs and minnows that the smallies are foraging on during the summer months. I made a cross creek cast and within a couple strips felt a tug, no fish, another cast and this time the 12 inch bronze bomb inhaled the streamer and I was on the board with my first fish. I might add that Frank had already caught the first smallie of the day and a little friendly ribbing had taken place…alas, in the end my good friend is learning how competitive I am and by the days end it was noted that first fish was his big honor of the day.

Clear Creek is a great mixture of runs, riffles and pools. I like fishing them all but one must understand where fish are waiting and where they are lying in wait, trying to ambush an innocent passer by…an easy meal in the form of a chub or minnow will get a great reaction from the bigger smallmouths. I like using floating line and having available to me several silver streamers with different weights so that I can switch up and get my fly down into the deeper pools, where the cooler water is and the big fish are holding.

For Frank and me, we have learned to fish together, Frank being a lefty takes the right side of the stream and I stay to the left side and we both fish the middle together. The giant Sycamores that are so prominent and their root balls make for great holding spots for large fish looking to once again ambush scared and stray bait fish as they wander into their arena. I keep my eyes ahead…looking down the stream for not only great holding water but for fleeing minnows in the shallows as this tells me that a large predatory fish, usually a smallie, is on the prowl and I try to make long cast into these pools and areas before my personal bubble of sound, sight, etc…gives me away.

One narrow portion of the creek dumped a lot of water through a small opening and was a perfect funnel allowing food and bait to dump directly into a nice pool that was just below the rapid. I made a good cast and allowed my silver streamer to dead drift into the belly of the pool and then started making short, erratic strips much like a bait fish trying to escape the flow of water would look like. My fly had not even dropped more than a few inches when a large shadow appeared below and with one twitch of the fly a 16 inch smallie came from below and engulfed the fly…the next 60 seconds were exciting as I maneuvered the fish through the run and into the shallows where I landed the big 3 pounder. Swimming beside the fish was two more smallies…one was clearly larger than mine and they were in a panic trying to figure out why their buddy was going nuts. I yelled back at Frank and he spent the next few minutes drifting his fly through the same water, but it is very disrupting and seldom do you get the other fish to take after the pool has been disrupted.

As the day evolved we both caught fish and had a great time together…4 ½ hours later we were a little thirsty and hot as we neared our pull out area, both of us had had a great time and were back home in less than 30 minutes after leaving the stream. If you are looking for a great experience and don’t want to drop a big dime to do so…get out there, southern Indiana is great and good times and bent rods are just waiting for you; I hope our paths cross as we all Enjoy the Great Outdoors.