August is typically a slower saltwater month in the NE, and since my boat has been out of action anyway, I've had the chance to branch out a bit. Smallmouth bass action on the rivers in the NE has been red hot, so yesterday I drove up to Cornwall on the Upper Housatonic to fish some smallies and pike. This is a great fishery for kids, and while you won't find the 5+lb fish such as at a place like Candlewood, catching a few dozen 1-2lb fish on ultralight gear is a blast. Everything from small spinners, Cleos, Rebel Crawdads to soft plastics will draw strikes. A nearly skunksafe method with kids is fishing live crayfish. Bring a small pail and bait net, and let them have at it. They'll have as much fun catching bait as the fish. The Upper Housy has several fly only sections, and a two pound smallmouth on a 3wt with a crawdad imitation feels like a mini-tarpon. I finished up my day by jumping in my kayak to target some last light pike with bladed spinners. Little rivers up and down the Mid-Atlantic to the North East will have hungry smallmouth, and now is the time to have at 'em.
-Danny with a Salmon River smallie
-Pike on a white/chartreuse willow leaf spinner
-Pike on a white/chartreuse willow leaf spinner
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