They live in streams, eat aquatic insects, baitfish, bees and crayfish. In other words, they readily take flies and smallmouth bass can be just as much fun to fish for with a fly rod as a trout. And they are powerful swimmers, so they turn out to be ferocious fighters. Even the small ones.
The Wallkill River in Ulster County, NY is full of Smallmouth Bass. The region also suffers from incessant thunderstorms, especially in August. So on this particular outing I had the misfortune to take part in a nature competition, and I was in a distant third place.
The Wallkill is a long, muddy river that sleepily flows throught upstate towns like Walden, Wallkill, Gardiner, and New Paltz. Lots of easy access near old steel bridges that cross as the river zigzags north through a valley cut by a glacier a million years ago, and not a lot of angler competition if you don't mind hiking in a bit. The vegetation along its banks is thick and lush. I have seen river otters, egrets, and great blue herons amongst the Wallkill's overhanging branches and protruding boulders.
And since it was August and I was in upstate New York, there was a bit of rain to contend with. Every time I suited up to go fishing, the sky would fill up with dark clouds, the wind would howl and blow the leaves on trees straight up in the air, lightning would scream sideways throughout the sky and the rain would mercilessly drench anything and everything that was uncovered. Like me. I had no raincoat or hat and I was standing in the middle of a 150 yard wide river waving a stick. Not a good place to be when lightning bolts are present.
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