I spent almost all day on the water. I had planned on being on the water at daylight, but something came up and I didn't get there until 9:40 AM. So, I stayed until 5PM. Long day on the water and in the seat, but the fish were on and it was just TOO HARD TO LEAVE!! .

The coolest thing was, not only did I lose count of the fish I'd caught, but they were ALL over 4 pounds. I couldn't believe it. Even though the largest fish I caught was only 17 or so inches and there were no monsters, this one of the best days fishing I've ever had. These fish all seemed too short to weight what they did, so my scale was suspect, but I came home and verified that it was correct. These fish are really fat and fight really hard.

Never have I caught fish this heavy that were this short. One here or there, maybe, but never this consistently. I'm really glad to see these fish so healthy in this river. The running water apparently had things stirred up and the fish were on. .

Conditions were 57 degrees when I started 59 when I quit. Pressure was 29.94 when I started and 29.91 when I quit. Wind was howling all day at 30 sustained gusting to 40. It was horrible. It finally calmed down right when I stopped fishing. At least I didn't have to car top my Trident 15 in that wind. It very nearly got away from me when I unloaded it! .

So here's the biggest fish. He hit the Magnum Trick worm in 10.2 feet of water.

This is the smallest fish. He came in at 4 pounds, a real fatty. I got him in 12 feet on a painfully slowly fished Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper in SS Shad color. I've never caught a fish this small that weighed that much.

Most of the fish were right around the size of the first bass photo. The larger fish went for the Trick Worm and the Skinny Dipper got the smaller ones. The smaller ones were absolutely vicious, hitting the baits really hard and running like crazy. One almost took the rod from me.

So, they weren't exactly dinks, but they weren't monsters, either. Still, though, it's been a VERY long time since I've lost count, and I've NEVER lost count on fish like this. I'm becoming a fan of shaky head fishing. Another bait I've missed the boat on, apparently!! .

About the Author: When not on the road driving his semi or taking care of his small ranch in Northeast Oklahoma; Nate Free is on his kayak fishing. Nate grew up paddling canoes and fishing for Catfish and Crappie. In 2006 feeling burned out with the ranch life and horses Nate turned to fishing.

Originally looking for a small solo canoe, Nate discovered sit on top kayaks and hasn’t looked back. Since 2006 Nate doesn’t go kayaking unless he fishes and never fishes without his kayak.