Spring Break Tour: Epic Creek Float Trip

Weather: 75, passing thunder storms into sunny skies
Water: Clean and clear
Lures and Techniques: Texas Rigged Zoom Trick Worms and White, War Eagle Spinner Bait

 Finally, back on the river.  I have been pounding lakes and reservoirs all winter and into spring. but my heart lies in the river.  This trip covered eight miles of a small, Coosa River tributary loaded with strong Spots, Red Eye and the occasional Large Mouth.  Fishing began slow and with low, ominous thunder clouds rumbling overhead.  Luckily, the weather and the fishing both took a turn in the right direction after a couple of hours, reaching a crescendo where seemingly every rock, tree, and weed held an angry river fish.  The pattern of the day was a Zoom Trick Worm rigged Texas style.  Pitching them to cover or bouncing them over rocks, angry Spots, Red Eye, and Rock Bass hit them with equal enthusiasm.  The catching was so fast and furious that I never bothered to keep count; stopping only to photo or measure a few.  The steady stream of ten to fourteen inch Spots was highlighted by multiple fifteen inchers, and eighteen incher and two ten plus inch Red Eyes.  Close encounters were had with multiple large fish, but no giants were netted on this day.  At the boat, a twenty plus incher tried her best to take my worm out of the mouth of a hooked up fifteen inch spot.  I hoped to woo some really large fish with one of my swimbaits, but could not seal the deal with any of the numerous, sulking followers.  With a pattern as hot as the trick worm, I did not dare fool around with anything else for long.  I hammered fish all day until I completely ran out of all of my stock of trick worms.  The body count for the day was far, far over the thirty mark; the best day I have had in some time.  Even without the wholesale, hammer fest it is my favorite place in the world to be.  Despite all my tournament preparations, tournament aspirations, and quests for larger fish, I hope that most of my summer-time is spent some way, somewhere on some river.