I love fly fishing…have to admit I am a total junkie! Anytime you can get out on a gorgeous day with your best friend, spend 6 hours in nature…and catch a slew of smallmouth, well, let’s just call that a great day!
Such was the case on July 30th of 2019. Frank (Terkhorn) and myself wander and meandered down about 7 miles of Sugar Creek, casting and catching smallmouth from as small as 8-9 inches and as large as 19 inches. We put in at the High Bridge; now just in case you are thinking about this as an access point, let me be clear that it is a downhill portage of a few hundred yards and not for the faint of heart.
I hadn’t gone more than a ¼ mile til I started hooking into smallies; it was evident that the fish were up and chasing. A dose of clean rainwater had fell the night before and the fresh water always seems to invigorate the fish. As usual I was using one of my own hand-tied white streamers along with my 7 weight St. Croix Bankrobber and a type one sink tip line.
Both Frank and I were in our Creek Company Voyager boats. These small, one man float-boats are perfect for the DIY fisherman who doesn’t want to shell out big bucks for a guide to row them from place to place. I love the fact that I can hop out between the foot peg and seat and use the boat as a big, water-walker to get from place to place and to land a big, hefty fish.
As the day progressed it was clear to me that the fish wanted my streamer pulled down-stream, through boulders and other ambush points. The largest fish of the day, a hearty 19 incher came as I allowed my fly to drift in and under a boulder (the shade of the boulder to be clear) and it was scarfed up by a true Sugar Creek trophy. Don’t forget that Sugar Creek is a trophy fishery and you are allowed to keep only one fish per day and it has to be over 20 inches…but hay, let’s be clear, when a smallie reaches 20 inches…it is indeed an old fish and I know you wouldn’t want to keep and eat something as old as one of your grandparents, right?
The day was special with lots of blue skies, hearty fish and nature all around us. If you haven’t yet had the joy of fishing Sugar Creek…then by all means get out there and get going. Remember that if you have any fly fishing questions you can send them to me at flyfishingwithjeff@gmail.com. If you like the video that accompanies this piece…then give it a like and remember to subscribe to my YouTube channel for future fly fishing outings.
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