Here's another Smith Canal report...

Met up with Doug of th' Ozarks at the Louis Park ramp Saturday mornin' at the top of high tide. So we get into our tubes and fin our way from the ramp to the end of the no wake zone at the mouth of the Stockton Deepwater Channel, picking up fish here and there. Nothing of size. Started the day with blades and found a good reaction bite--got 'em all tight to cover. By midday I had picked up 5, the biggest at 15 inches. We went into that small cut/canal to the immediate west of Smith and fished the docks for zero bass. There was hardly any water movement in there but I nailed a tiny rockbass and we were treated to a bonus show from a sunbather on the balcony as a bonus...homina homina homina. It was very brief and neither of us were equipped with opera glasses. Dang the luck, or lack thereof.

I picked up six more fish as we worked our way back toward Louis Park, three on the blade and three on Brush Hogs. Got to Smith Canal, finned our way east and picked up nothing but dinkies. I think we got halfway to the I-5 bridge and decided to turn back as we were both pretty tired and I had started cramping up by then. So as we're nearing the the mouth again I stick a nice, strong drag burner on a solitary piece of wood--it measured just over 17" but only weighed 3.2 lbs according to Doug's Berkley scale. It needs to eat more, dang it. As a finale, Doug nails a 14 incher as we arrive back at the ramp. We also ran into Rocky in his new hybrid tube--wow, that thing moves fast and with very little effort!

The day's tally: nine for th' Ozarkian and an even dozen for me. Big fish of the day was the 3.2 pounder with some decent two pounders thrown into the mix. No braggin' size fish but the drag burner was a nice highlight for me at least. Blades n plastics.