Winter smallmouth fishing

Large springs are some of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I have always tried to make it to the springs at first light, this gives me the chance to explore the spring outlet in solitude.This particular spring is always green, even in the dead of winter...which makes it feel as if you are on another planet, or in some enchanted forest. I encourage anyone who reads this blog to witness it firsthand. It is hard to describe the beauty of such a wonderful place, so I will let my pictures do the talking for me.










Now for the real reason I visit the area. The fishing! The eleven point is a place that I always enjoy visiting, because the fishing can be downright outstanding. Greer spring pumps an average of 220 million gallons of water into the river, which creates an outstanding rainbow trout fishery in the middle of a great smallmouth stream. I visited the area for a spur of the moment trip in late november. It was a constant drizzle, overcast, with overnight thunderstorms and around 45 degrees. In other words, perfect fall fishing weather. In 5 hours of fishing my first day, I caught 35 smallies and 2 trout. I could have caught many more trout, but I will always choose the brown bass over the pesky non-native trout. The second day of my trip accounted for 48 smallies and 1 trout. These are the highlights.








Notice the color of the water in this photo.





Campsites are usually empty in the winter. I will never complain about that.