Local Smallmouth Update

Local Smallmouth fishing continues to impress!  Stop by the shop to talk strategies for catching big smallmouth!

-Ted

Delamere & Hopkins
Hyde Park Square
2708 Erie Avenue
Cincinnati, OH  45208
513-871-FISH

Mon-Thurs  10-8
Fri-Sat  10-6
Sun  11-5

Smallmouthin' is hot in the Cincinnati area

the D&H crew keeps hooking up with some awesome smallies this season.  The action has been great and the fish size has been extremely strong.

Delamere & Hopkins
Hyde Park Square
2708 Erie Avenue
Cincinnati, OH  45208
513-871-FISH

Mon-Thurs  10-8
Fri-Sat  10-6
Sun  11-5

let's see what is swimming in the small creeks around Cincinnati

these were caught Monday morning

Delamere & Hopkins
Hyde Park Square
2708 Erie Avenue
Cincinnati, OH  45208
513-871-FISH

Mon-Thurs  10-8
Fri-Sat  10-6
Sun  11-5

Local Smallmouth

               Smallmouth fishing has been on fire recently. We have been getting out a ton and fishing lots of different water and rivers/creeks. We have yet to find anywhere that isn't productive! Stripping large bucktail flies and murdich minnows on 6-7wt. rods with intermediate lines has been my, and other guys in the shop, preferred method. Stop on by and talk about spring and load up on flies!

-Alex

Great Day for Smallies and T&T Rod Review

   I've been hearing some good Smallie fishing reports so I played hookie today and went fishing. I decided to hit up a small stream up in Warren county that I hadn't fished since I started at D&H 11 years ago. Back then I had a worn out messenger bag for my random flies, was borrowing wading boots, fishing some 1996-era Redington rod, and had virtually no idea what I was doing.  Things have changed a bit since then.

   Turned out to one of the best local Smallmouth fishing days I've ever had.

hookin' smallies!

Got out last night after work with some of the guys on a small stream.  Man, we hammered them! This was the best of the night. A solid 18" acrobat...

-Alexander
Delamere & Hopkins
Hyde Park Square
2708 Erie Avenue
Cincinnati, OH  45208 
(513) 871-FISH
shop@bestgear.com
Mon-Thurs 10-8
Fri-Sat  10-6
Sun 11-5

Warm water flies and materials

        D&H is always getting new flies and materials to keep things interesting. With the high water its a great time to start tying some new flies and trying out new materials. We just unpacked a couple shipments with a couple new things and some things we have been out of.

 - Click    Move>>> below to see some more local fish and some of my go to flies and materials for local warm water species.

chasin' smallies around Kentucky

I headed down to Kentucky on Tuesday to chase some smallies with my friend, Alan.  First things first, we needed some lunch to fortify us before the work ahead of us.  Of course, Alan knows where all the truely authenitic Kentucky spots are and this one did not disappoint. 

Right when we walked in the front door, you could feel the history in every nook and cranny of this general store.  In the back of the store, amongst the hardware and field tools, there are a number of tables filled with farmers and locals.  We ordered a couple of sandwiches and stood out from the crowd in our fishing clothing.  The other diners knew we were not going to be putting in an honest days work. 

 Built in 1915, you only have to hang out here for a bit and then next thing you know you are in Walton's Mountain.

  Ok, know that we have the important things out of the way...let's get to the fishin'!
We drove down this road and then turned down that road and then headed down a holler in the deep woods and they we came upon the creek.  You could say that we would have the water to ourselves.

  We started working the water and hoping it would be a top water day.  Well, that was not working so I went to the tried and true fly I used on my last two outings, the bead head brown wooly bugger.  Fish can't resist this fly so I knew that I would start hookin' up. 

Well, that did not seem to be the ticket, so I got serious and put on the olive zuddler.  I worked the water hard and Alan and I came to the conclusion that the fish were going to win this day.  I landed five fish; all dinks.  This is when I started getting thirsty and we headed back to the truck.  While we sat on our coolers and had a coldy, we came up with all the reasons the fish were not biting.  The temp the night before had been 45.  It just wasn't hot enough.  We would try again in the hot summer.

this was the best fish of the day.  what a woopin'

 
OK, let's forget about Tuesday and head out Wednesday morning and hit the Elkhorn on the way back to Cincinnati.  I drove through Frankfort and had the Elkhorn on the mind when I came upon a sign that had me turning my vehicle in a driveway and taking a little diversion.

Well, that was well worth the hour tour and I had to let the water warm up on the Elkhorn because it was 45 again last night.  I even talked fishin' with one of the guys bottling some single barrel bourbon.
I headed out of the Buffalo Trace Distillery with the Elkhorn Creek and smallmouth on the mind.  I got my gear together and hit the water and man was it cold.  I started swinging the bead head bugger and picked up one smallie along the far bank.  I worked downstream for quite a bit and nothing else.  This was a section of the Elkhorn I had never been on.  I decided to work upstream towards a series of rapids.  I also thought I better switch flies and put on the olive zuddler.
  As I was working my way through the faster moving water I had thoughts of slow fishing on Tuesday, but then I started liking the looks of the water and my spirits lifted.  The look of the water wasn't so much smallmouth lookin' water, but very trout like.

If I am not going to catch fish, at least I like to enjoy the type of water I am in.  I picked up a couple of nice fish in the faster moving water and my hopes lifted.

 By the end of the day I picked up twenty fish in four hours of wading, with only three of the fish being dinks.  One of my favorite fish of the day took my olive zuddler in very fast moving water just below a waterfall just like he was a trout out West.

South Fork of the Licking River

big crayfish population; look where we found this guy

I have been thinking about fishing the South Fork of the Licking River for many years and just never spent time exploring it.. Ted and I decided to run down there yesterday and see what it is all about.  It is an easy drive from Cincinnati down 27.  We met up with Glenn Thaxton and he provided us with a canoe and transportaion and a bunch of local knowledge.

The stream has many islands that provide a lot of structure to fish.  The air temp and water temp was cool because it went down to about 47 the night before in Cincinnati, so it was probably even cooler out there in the sticks.  The day started off slow and I tried to get them to take top water with not much success.  I switched over to a bead head brown wooly bugger (the exact same fly I used on Friday at the Elkhorn).  I started to swing and strip this streamer with a bit more success, but still not the action I wanted.  I think the water was a bit too cool for any real action.  We stopped for a little snack at the end of and island and then we split up and worked opposite sides of a long, shaded island.  I had enough and switched to an olive zuddler.  No holding back; I brought out the secret weapon.  No mercy smallies!!

I picked up about four fish as I swung the zuddler off the bank in a somewhat tight channel.  At the top of the island there was a set of riffles; very trout looking water.  Above the riffles off to the left was a flat area I was going to walk through to cast to the "good looking water" beyond.  I remembered my rule of casting to the area before I disturb it and BAMMM...this big smallie SMASHED my zuddler the minute it touched the water.  Did I say BAAAMMMM!!!  It ran all over the place and then headed down to the rapids.  I turned him and horsed him in on my heavy bass leader and landed him.  Big fat 15" smallie.  Now that was fun!
The zuddler kept them busy for the rest of the day and I picked up 32 fish with maybe only five being smaller fish.

Beginner's Luck

   In the past few weeks lots of customers have been coming to us asking for places to fish since so many of our normal favorites are blown out. One of those was Tom Sowar, we suggested one of the local small streams and he went for it.

   

Hybrid update

Got out the last few days and fished for some smallmouth and hybrid striper's. I have had some success fishing at a few of the different access points from Milford down river to the mouth where it flows into the Ohio. Big bait fish patterns have done well for the hybrids even though i haven't seen a huge presence of shad or skipjack yet as I think everything has been pushed back due to the long, never ending winter we had.  I would expect to see more bait coming in as these water temperatures continue to rise, which will help turn the fishing on a bit more. 
Click MORE below for some fish pictures.
Thanks for looking,
-Chip