Evening on the Big River

There are three channels in the river here...formed by two islands.  The smallest channel is behind me.  My toes are actually in that channel.  I am lying on my stomach on the sand at the downstream end of the smaller island.  My elbows are resting on a boat cushion and if I wasn't holding my camera I could reach out and touch the second channel.

At the downsteam end of the second island, Ben and Kyle from Black Earth Angling Company are anchored up in Kyle's boat.  The bass, as Kyle says, "are Crashing."

They know I am here because I asked them to drop me off on this deserted island so I could get some photos of them working over this roving pack of ravenous smallmouth bass.

They are North of me and the sun setting in the west made for some really good light.

The fact that an hour ago, Kyle put me onto what I am sure is the biggest smallmouth of my life  (21 inches) also makes it a little easier to put the rod down and take up my camera.  It ate a topwater fly and a certain level of satiation occurred when I lifted it out of the net, admired it and slid it back into the river.

And so, with a front row seat, I watched and photographed two seasoned anglers and a large hungry school of smallmouth bass do their thing.

Enjoy.