Stream Smallmouth Love May

From Kentucky Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Resources

FRANKFORT – I have an old friend who was reluctant to go wading in streams for smallmouth bass for many years.

“The fish are too small,” he said.

One May a few years ago, I convinced him to wade a small creek in central Kentucky the weekend after the Kentucky Derby. From the time the water lapped over our ankles until nearly dark, we caught nice smallmouth after nice smallmouth. Many of those topped the 15-inch mark. I also hooked an unusual 22-inch largemouth bass on a 4-inch lizard that only had one eye.

We caught over two dozen...