Unexpected Surprise

[akoop]

I grabbed my fly rod and a box of streamers and hit one of my favorite brown trout stretch in one of my favorite rivers. I have fished this stretch of the river for the past 3 years and I have only caught browns which included my largest NJ brown. I got a late start and didn't get to the river until a few hours after I intended to. As soon as I got to the water I saw what looked like caddis flies coming off the water. I thought to myself that figures, all I brought was my streamer box. I watched the water for a while and did not see any rising trout so I decided to start working an olive slumpbuster. I had one fish on after my 3rd cast but it came unbuttoned and I never saw it. I continued to work upstream and got to the pool where I caught my largest NJ brown the prior year. I worked the streamer along all the current seams until I got the most aggressive strike I have had in a long time. I immediately thought big brown on! After a few seconds of fighting the fish it took a run across the river and went air born and I got to see that it wasn't a brown but a nice smallmouth bass instead. In the 3 years of fishing this stretch I have never caught or seen a smallie there. Just proves that you could be surprised on any cast.