Latest / The Articulate Fly / S8, Ep 74: Pennsylvania Smallmouth Wrap-Up: Captain Brian Shumaker on Low Water and Stingy Fish

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S8, Ep 74: Pennsylvania Smallmouth Wrap-Up: Captain Brian Shumaker on Low Water and Stingy Fish · The Articulate Fly

• 0:03
  Hey, folks, it's Marvin Cash, the host of The Articulate Fly.
• 0:06
  We're back with the last Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report of the season with the man himself, Captain Brian Shumaker.
• 0:12
  Brian, how are you doing?
• 0:13
  I'm doing well, Marvin.
• 0:14
  How about yourself?
• 0:15
  As always, just trying to stay out of trouble.
• 0:18
  And you know what a difference two weeks makes, right?
• 0:20
  You were like, we got plenty of water.
• 0:21
  Everything's great.
• 0:22
  The fish are crazy.
• 0:23
  And I talked to you before we start recording tonight, and you're like, it's low and the fish are stingy.
• 0:28
  Yes, they are.
• 0:29
  Yeah, we had.
• 0:30
  Two weeks ago, we had a real nice shot of rain, and we were hoping.
• 0:37
  We had a nor'easter, not this past weekend.
• 0:40
  The weekend before.
• 0:41
  Came up the east coast here, and we were hoping to get a little bit more precipitation than what we did, and it didn't pan out.
• 0:52
  So our river, both our rivers are dropping.
• 0:57
  They're crystal clear.
• 0:59
  And the fish have been a little bit stingy.
• 1:02
  We're catching fish, but they're.
• 1:03
  They're being a little tough.
• 1:06
  And are they tough because they're moody, or is it just tough to get close to them with the water being that clear?
• 1:11
  I think it's a little bit of both because, you know, we're.
• 1:15
  We're having some front starting to roll through.
• 1:18
  So you get, you know, you'll get a stable a couple days, and then we get a front comes through.
• 1:26
  So, you know, drops the barometric pressure, they get a little bit moody because it's my experience that smallmouth like stability, and when they get changes, they can get a little.
• 1:42
  Little fussy.
• 1:43
  So I think that has a lot to do with it.
• 1:45
  Plus, with the water dropping, too, it's, you know, it keeps on drop and drop and drop it.
• 1:52
  Yeah.
• 1:52
  So what do you have to do to kind of put fish in the boat when it gets tough like that?
• 1:57
  I'm throwing a lot of different patterns.
• 1:59
  Anywhere from, you know, downsizing the Clousers different colors, you know, trying.
• 2:07
  Just trying different patterns.
• 2:09
  You know, you'll catch a fish, one or two fish on something that you think, I got this figured out.
• 2:15
  And then you might go, you know, a mile or two down the river and nobody wants to eat and change up again.
• 2:22
  And, you know, it's just like, what's the old saying?
• 2:26
  Wash, rinse, and repeat.
• 2:29
  So, yeah, it's just.
• 2:31
  Just like a chess.
• 2:32
  Chess match.
• 2:34
  Yeah.
• 2:34
  And I would say, too, you know, are you.
• 2:35
  Are you having to also, like, say, make a intentionally present the fly more above the fish, you know, to Kind of deal with the splash, you know, all that kind of stuff.
• 2:44
  Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
• 2:46
  And that's what I've been trying to explain this past week that we had.
• 2:51
  I said to the guys, I said, look, we said, we got the low clear water.
• 2:55
  You've got to make longer cast and you want to try to present, you know, make your cast a little upstream.
• 3:02
  So you try to get ahead of the drop off or ledge and we're trying to come down across.
• 3:07
  I said, because these fish, they see us, you know, and they'll, they'll get spooky.
• 3:13
  Yeah.
• 3:14
  That also gets you to like, you know, don't rock the boat when you cast either, right?
• 3:18
  Oh, my.
• 3:18
  Yeah, that's why I take Dramamine.
• 3:22
  See those big waves getting pushed out with the boat rocking back and forth.
• 3:27
  That and the other kind of funny thing.
• 3:29
  I always, I still haven't figured this out.
• 3:34
  So in drift boats, you know, you have the lean bars, right?
• 3:39
  But people like, don't like standing in them.
• 3:41
  They like to stand towards the edge of the boat, the side they're casting on.
• 3:47
  So then I got, you know, then the boat starts listing one way and I gotta say, hey, hey, can you come back to center, please?
• 3:54
  And you know, so the boat is even.
• 3:58
  You know, it could be the guy in the front, could be the guy in the back.
• 4:00
  I gotta say, hey, you mind going back to center for me?
• 4:04
  Yeah, it's an interesting thing too, but also too, with like two guys in the boat.
• 4:08
  Like, it's one thing if you've got just a guy in the bow and you're saying like, hey, I want you to put the fly here.
• 4:13
  But then you got to have the guy that, you know, you don't have eyes in the back of your head.
• 4:16
  You know, he's kind of got to kind of understand the game.
• 4:19
  So.
• 4:19
  Because you can't coach him as easily as you can the guy in the front either.
• 4:21
  Right, right.
• 4:23
  And basically what I try to tell him first thing where we started off, I say, look, I said the guy in the front of the boat, I said, you don't want to cast downstream.
• 4:32
  I said, the boat is coming down or, you know, it's moving downstream.
• 4:38
  So I said, if you cast directly in front of that boat, you cover no water because the boat's coming towards where your fly landed.
• 4:47
  You're stripping line in, but you're not covering anything because the boat's moving towards your fly.
• 4:54
  And then I, I basically say, from the oar lock to the front of the boat, that's your Window, that's where I want you to put the fly.
• 5:03
  And I tell the person in the back too, it's the same way.
• 5:06
  Do not cast upstream, because now you're dragging that fly and that's all you're doing.
• 5:12
  It's coming unnatural and you're dragging that fly.
• 5:16
  So I said your position is the oar lock to the back edge of the boat.
• 5:22
  Do not cast it upstream from the back and don't cast downstream from the front.
• 5:28
  There's your window.
• 5:29
  Keep the fly in that window, I said, because if you make the cast out there a little bit on the 45, I said, you'll have a perfect drift to work that fly across the water because the boat's moving
• 5:41
  the same speed.
• 5:43
  So now you don't get a belly in your line.
• 5:45
  You don't have to throw a mend in it.
• 5:47
  It's just a perfect drift.
• 5:50
  And that lasts all about five minutes.
• 5:51
  Then you gotta explain it again.
• 5:54
  Any, any kind of like, tips on kind of how you like to work your fly progression when it's stingy like this?
• 6:01
  It's just, I.
• 6:02
  It depends on the day.
• 6:04
  If you got an overcast day, cloudy day, I tend to go with a little bit darker, you know, colored flies.
• 6:11
  And if you got a bright day, then you can go with a little bit of bright, brighter colored flies with a little bit more flash.
• 6:19
  So that's sort of the game plan.
• 6:22
  I'll.
• 6:22
  I'll play depending on the conditions that we have.
• 6:25
  Yeah, and you're probably, you're fishing.
• 6:27
  I think the last time we spoke, you were fishing all floating lines.
• 6:29
  You still doing that?
• 6:31
  Yeah, because like I said, the water's just, you know, we're down.
• 6:35
  It's getting pretty skinny.
• 6:36
  I started two weeks ago, I could float pretty much anywhere I wanted to.
• 6:42
  And by the end of this week, I'm bouncing off of rocks.
• 6:47
  So, yeah, it's dropping pretty good.
• 6:49
  Yeah.
• 6:49
  That probably means Clousers with like, you know, bead chain and so really, really small lead eyes, right?
• 6:54
  Yep.
• 6:54
  You could either do the bead chain or.
• 6:57
  I really don't do bead chain, but I'll go to 1/50 ounce eyes, which are the, the extra, extra small and you know, and this type of water, as long as they keep the fly moving, you won't have any
• 7:10
  problem.
• 7:10
  You, the fly will get down to where it needs to be and, you know, with a good presentation, you won't be hanging up very much.
• 7:20
  Got it.
• 7:21
  And so, you know, probably, you know, unless the rain dance works, you're probably this is the last week you're probably on the water.
• 7:28
  And so, you know, obviously you can't fish with Brian for smallmouth this year, but if folks want to get in touch with you next year, what should they do?
• 7:37
  Just reach out to me.
• 7:38
  You can reach out to me, cell phone, text me or you can shoot me an email.
• 7:46
  Got it.
• 7:46
  And I would imagine you're happy to take deposit money whenever, right?
• 7:50
  Yep.
• 7:50
  Yeah.
• 7:51
  When you book today, I do ask for the deposit.
• 7:54
  So, you know, and it's good to get on the books.
• 7:57
  Early spring is going to start.
• 8:00
  I've already booking for spring, April and May.
• 8:04
  Already got dates for some dates going in the summer.
• 8:08
  I will say if, if you got an idea, especially the springtime.
• 8:12
  Cause that's going to go first.
• 8:14
  Is before I hit the show circuit in January.
• 8:17
  You might want to get in touch with me between now and the end of December if you like.
• 8:22
  A day in the spring.
• 8:23
  Yeah.
• 8:24
  And speaking of show season, you want to let folks, let all of your adoring fans know where they can find you on the road in early 2027.
• 8:30
  Yeah, I'll start out at the Virginia Fly and Wine Festival down in.
• 8:36
  Right outside of Richmond.
• 8:38
  And from there I'll be in Edison, New Jersey in January.
• 8:44
  February, don't have too much going on for show wise.
• 8:47
  And then March, I'll be at the Lancaster Fly Fishing show.
• 8:52
  And then I'll be at the Maryland Fly Fishing show in March.
• 8:56
  Well, there you go.
• 8:57
  Well, listen, Brian, I really appreciate you doing these with me this season.
• 9:01
  Oh, it's been a lot of fun, Marvin.
• 9:02
  And I hope everybody finds it interesting and, and maybe learn something from it.
• 9:08
  Yeah.
• 9:09
  And you know, it's always funny, folks.
• 9:10
  So like when I'm recording, either depending on where the Yankees are playing, we're either, you know, Brian's been missing the first couple of innings talking to me.
• 9:17
  Or like tonight he's waiting.
• 9:19
  We've got an 8 o' clock first pitch with the Tampa Bay Devil.
• 9:23
  Is this still the Devil Rays, right?
• 9:25
  Yeah, whatever you call them, the Rays, they took out the Devil, but it's still in the devil race.
• 9:29
  Yeah.
• 9:29
  So, you know, he's.
• 9:31
  He's been missing baseball for you guys.
• 9:32
  I hope you've enjoyed it.
• 9:33
  As I always say, you owe it yourself to get out there and catch a few.
• 9:36
  Tight lines, everybody.
• 9:37
  Tight lines, Brian.
• 9:39
  Tight lines, Marvin.