Stand up paddleboard fishing and 6 pound smallmouth

Aervax
Aervax
Here are a couple of fun pics from stand up paddle board fishing with my better half yesterday. She caught her first 2 smallmouth ever. I had an epic 8 minute battle with the piggie smallie in the pic. Fished for an hour and went 2/3. Still slow fishing, but that is going to change over the next couple of days. Fish was hooked in 8 feet of water with a 4" purple senko. The little beast threw the hook when I went to lip her for a pic, but she was by far my biggest smallmouth this year. My guess is 6 pounds. It was a beautiful day on the water paddling around with my honey and my dog, enjoying great sunshine and a little fishing, followed by a bottle of wine and dinner picnic on the shore. It does not get better than this.
 
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C_Run
C_Run
Do actually stand up? That looks extreme, especially with the dog along. That looks like some swimming could be in the works.
 
T
TimberTodd
Your lab looks to be ready and lip that smallie for you:).
 
H
Hydrocephalic
That's a great looking fish, thanks for the report!

Mind sharing which river this was in? I'm new up here and have had a hell of a time scraping together a couple of dink smallmouth in a long day on my Kayak.
 
Aervax
Aervax
C_Run. I bought an extra long and wide inflatable SUP to mitigate stability when paddling with my dog on board. It is a stealthy way to get around, and my girlfriend loves to SUP. I get a lot of dual use out of it. My dog goes everywhere with me. Stability is fine when paddling with her on the bow. She gets too excited when I set the hook or bring a fish alongside, so I sit or kneel when fishing with her aboard. I can stand and cast and maneuver stably just fine without her. This is. Ased on relatively flat water of course. It gets dicey with a dog or standing and
casting when the water starts to transition from ripples into small waves. The board also has 6 mounting plates for Scotty Rod Holders built into it. I sometimes paddle standing up and troll with the dog on board. I am heading to Drano Lake this week to troll for Salmon, and that will be done standing up for sure. I will post a report if that trips comes together for me.
 
Aervax
Aervax
I am fishing the Columbia River backwaters and sloughs right now. Do not bother with the main part of the river, it is too cold.

Bass are moving into calm places that are warmer than the main Columbia in preparation to spawn. Look for them in protected marinas, long coves, and sloughs along the highways and railroad tracks with water depths that range from 2-15 feet. That is where the bass are congregating as they approach the spawn.

I found a place like that where the water was in the high 70s on Sunday, which is where the 6 pound smallie hen grabbed my purple senko and ran away with it hooking herself up in the process. What I call a suicide fish because they pretty much catch themselves. The same rules apply to the Willamette River.

Bass in lakes behave the same way, but the timing of temp changes differ a lot depending on lake elevation and average water depth. In any case, this time of year look for bass in places that are warmer than the main body of water. Then check what direction the sun is coming from and fish the banks that are getting the most exposure. Work those areas moving along quickly until you start getting bites. Then slow down and work it really thoroughly. Look for microclimates within those spaces.

When I fish a cove right now I am going straight to the spots in the very back that get the least wind and the most sun, and cast into 2 feet of water and work it out to about 15 feet in depth. Fish close to the bottom and slow until the bass tell you to do otherwise. They will start hitting topwater any day now.

The past couple weeks my bites have happened in 6-15 feet. Later this week they will be biting at 2-15 feet if the water continues to warm up.

I am fishing this Thur, Fri, Sat and with this weather expect to catch 50-100 fish per day in 8 hours of fishing time. I will not name any exact locations publicly, but I am open to fishing together or in a small group and going to some of my spots.

Just send me a private message to connect. It is always more fun when sharing the experience.

Go getem while the bass fishing is hot!
 
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T
TimberTodd
Awesome informative post and a heck of a nice invite to folks!!!:thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
C_Run
C_Run
I would appreciate the tutelage but can't go. I fish from a kayak often and like the stealth aspect of these small craft. I aim to improve my bass fishing. Thanks.
 

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