Upper Sugar Creek

The smallmouth bass is quite frankly…one of the top fighting fish anywhere; certainly here in our local waters of southern Indiana these striped beauties will fight you like a hungry bulldog. Maybe if we had trout in our local waters I would spend time chasing a toothy brown but smallies are just an epic fish; I love the way that they can change colors from stream to stream…but inside each one of these predators is a ticking time bomb that explodes every time you set the hook.

Saturday, August 9thfound me and dad loaded up and heading north to Sugar Creek; if you know your geography then you know that Sugar Creek runs from northeast to southwest through Crawfordsville. Most folks are familiar with the stream because they have camped at Turkey Run or Shades State Park; both parks are downstream from Crawfordsville about halfway between there and the confluence point where the creek meets The Wabash River. You may have canoed or kayaked the stream at some point along the way…but more than likely you didn’t think much about fishing. Over the past few years I have been on the creek many times when various ‘flocks’ of river runners have made their way through and by me. Most folks seemed honestly interested in my fishing…and a bit surprised. I usually get a “What-cha-fishin-for” as they approach and if I happen to catch or be landing a fish…that is when it really gets a bit odd because most folks get really excited no matter how small the fish might be.

On this particular day the two of us were going to take a different route. North from Crawfordsville on highway 47 to the small town of Darlington then a few more miles east…a left onto a county road and we would be smack dab atop Sugar Creek. This was my first time into this country and this stretch of the creek; I didn’t know what to expect but as we slowed the truck above the stream it was quickly evident that this was indeed the same body of moving water that I had fished so many times south and west of Crawfordsville.

It’s hard to explain but I really get excited as I near and ready myself to fish a good piece of water. I don’t want to sound like I am getting ready for a tournament round of golf or coaching a sporting event…but I like the buzz that comes with knowing that today I might just hook up with a true twenty inch fish. I grabbed my 5 weight Cabela’s TQR rod (7’6”), tied on a shiner pattern in a size 4 fly…and was off.

It didn’t take me long to notice that the water was way down, lower than I thought from up above on the bridge; not only was it low but quite clear. The two together make for some very tough fishing and I knew that I would need to move cautiously-any unwanted ripples (or waves) can and does send fish heading for cover. Case and point as I was about halfway down the three miles stretch towards dad when I noticed a big wake ripping its way directly at me; I caught a glimpse of a true 20+inch smallmouth as it blew past me and into the pool just above my point.

I didn’t miss them all, as on my way downstream I was able to catch 8 nice fish; most were in the 12 inch range with the largest coming in right at 15 inches. The scenery was quite spectacular and in the three hours that I slowly maneuvered my way from pool to pool…I never saw another person, not one. To say the least it was an afternoon of peace and quiet mixed in with a few moments of sheer excitement as I landed the occasional smallmouth.

As I made my way up and out of the creek canyon I could see that my timing was perfect…dad was just finishing up his read of the daily paper. He was parked in a nice shady area and was just moving my way when I hopped over the bridge railing. My early excitement was now waning as I was a bit hot and thirsty and the only thing I really wanted was a nice cold Diet Coke. We cleaned up, loaded up the truck and headed back west towards Crawfordsville, a sandwich and DC at the local McDonald’s; I’ve never claimed to be a complicated person and this day was a great example as the two of us had a father/son adventure into some new country. Once again it was another awesome day being blessed by Mother Nature as we both Enjoyed the Great Outdoors.

If you’d like to see a video of my day fishing the upper part of Sugar Creek then click here to see the video entitled Upper Sugar Creek.