Candlewood was something today...

 By something i mean it was not great but it had some positives that made the trip well worth it. I had my roommate Neil out today on the boat for his first ever Candlewood trip and what would hopefully be his first ever smallmouth. We arrived around 1:30 and fished until about 6:15. Water temp was 64 degrees and the weather was all but perfect on arrival. I had 5 rods tied with drop shot, grub, jerk bait, super fluke and a jig. Neil had one rod only and threw a black chatter bait from start to finish.. (smart)  We fished for about a half hour when i turn around and see Neil's 6 foot ultra light bent pretty good. Fish jumped probably 6 times during the fight and i net his first smallie ever! A solid 2.5 lb fish and after the release he goes... "do all smallies fight like this? I said yes and better.. " i love smallies, screw largemouth " haha  We continued down this one bank and again Neil is on! Fish is a little bigger this time and the pulling of drag and jumps were awesome! This one went 3.75 lb and 20 inches on the nose. This fish had its spawning partner with it the whole entire fight and she was even bigger! Here i am thinking.... first off. I need to tie on a black chatter bait. Secondly, why do i feel like the rookie on this trip! I proceed to tie on the same chatter bait and i get a few soft hits but didnt hook up. Now Neil has caught his third smallie and im not even on the board yet.

 We hit some other spots that i have had success over the past few seasons with very little to show for it. Spent 3 hours fishing these spots and as we left the last spot i got the skunk off my hands.. A little 1.5 lb Largemouth on the drop shot. We could not find a solid pattern today. The fish Neil caught were between 6-12 feet but no reference to any structure. Was odd for sure. The sky's started to turn dark and the drizzle started so we headed back towards Lattins Cove and at our last stop of the day Neil gets another nice 18 inch smallie with a crazy ugly eye wound from being previously caught and i start to get the im not going to catch a smallmouth at candlewood for the first time ever feeling. Next cast my chatterbait goes weightless and i miss it. Then miss another. Threw out a big spinner bait and BAM!!! Nope i lost it... nope its there. A small calico spinning on the surface as i KVD the fish back to the boat. The rain picked up and we headed home. I couldnt be happier to take Neil out there today for his first smallies and catch some beautiful fish but i also was pretty dam bummed at not getting one smallie. I tried probably 8 different lures today that should all produce this time of year and it just wasn't happening for me. I think im still in striper mode. Ill be back soon for redemption!  Thank for coming out today dude! Lets do it again soon.