Niagara River Bound

"Good to great, depending on species and day."

That's the report from Capt. Frank Campbell of Niagara Region Charter Services, who is spearheading the trip I depart for tomorrow afternoon. Species apt to be in mix include smallmouths (jumbo variety), steelhead, lake trout and salmon, among others.

Campbell and a group of other guides he works together with work the Niagara River, which connects lakes Ontario and Erie, plus both lakes in the vicinity of the river. The abundance and variety of high-quality fish certainly puts the Niagara Region among the nation's elite angling destinations.

Making things even better, the trip will assemble writers, editor and industry friends from across the country for a few days. Fishing, food and fellowship will all be wonderful, and I hear there's even a big waterfall up there somewhere.

Fishing reports to follow. Maybe as I go. Maybe upon my return. That depends upon where I find an internet signal.

The Grand Tour & Boat Dock Bass

Gary Dallahon gave Nathaniel and I the Grand Tour today. First we fished the Grand River for hard-hitting white bass, throwing Bobby Garland Stroll'Rs on Garland Mo-Glo jigheads. Little current was running, so the fish were widespread, with some tight to the banks and others out in the open water and close to the bottom. I managed to fool ten white bass, plus one tiny spotted bass.

In the afternoon we moved upriver to Lake Hudson, and impoundment of the Grand, where we targeted largemouths with the added direction of Tulsa pro Bobby Meyers. Nathaniel caught the best fish of the afternoon minutes after we launched and within sight of the ramp with a Sebile Crankster.

The Grand Tour actually began yesterday, when we fished Fort Gibson, another Grand River impoundment, with Tommy Biffle. Nathaniel almost managed the same trick there, hooking a fish that was probably close to five pounds, also on a Crankster, before we ever pulled the boat away from the loading dock. That one broke off at the boat.

Biffle Bug Bass

"I probably should have thrown that in the last tournament," Tommy Biffle said with a smile as he landed his fourth bass in four casts after picking up a rod rigged with a Gene Larew Biffle Bug on a football head.

He had rigged the bait that way at Smith Mountain Lake, where the BASS Elite Series had been the previous week, but had never thrown it. He actually did catch all of his weighed bass in that event on a Biffle Bug - just not on a football head. Instead he had been removing to legs to lessen vibration and Texas rigging the bait to sight fish for bass.

Biffle uses the Biffle Bug, a flat ribbed creature-type bait that he designed, for everything from a trailer on fast-moving baits to his go-to lure for flippin' and pitchin'.

He showed me its virtue yesterday, using it to put Fort Gibson Lake largemouths in the boat with a variety of techniques. He also showed himself the virtue of putting a Biffle Bug on a football head and dragging across a rocky flat. I even managed to wrangle in a few fishing it that way!

White bass are on the agenda today. Them maybe a few more largemouths.

Nantahala Report

"We need to remember that spot!" TJ Stallings said of the big boulder-strewn pool he'd just finished fishing. The trout, including one brown that he described as having had some "shoulders," had been gobbling his 1/32-ounce pink/white Road Runner Original Marabou in the big plunge pool.

I'll remember.

I'll likewise remember the hole that produced the biggest trout of trip. That fish, a brown that we guessed to be 19 or 20 inches long, was tight to a bluff, in a deep, dark eddy, and it pounced on a black Road Runner Marabou as the bait fell along the rock wall. Actually, that spot was already one of my favorites because it yielded a 23-inch rainbow to me several years ago.

Trout weren't quite as abundant as I've sometimes seen them in the Nantahala's runs on April days, but there were plenty to keep the action steady, and they definitely liked the Road Runner Marabous, which combine a Woolly Buggerish sort of a look with the flash of a small blade and great castability on an ultralight spinning outfit.

In the morning the fish were low in the pools and pockets and seemed to favor slow presentations, with the current doing the delivery work. Afternoons brought more aggressive fish that preferred faster, more erratic retrieves, including cross-current and even upcurrent presentations.

Brookies dominated our catch, which is common at the Nantahala, but we caught all three kinds of trout in a couple of days of fishing.

Nantahala Bound

I'd better get my fish stories written today. North Carolina's Nantahala River and it's trout-filled runs beckon, and the forecast for tomorrow and Wednesday looks fabulous. This week's trout outing is especially exciting for me because Nathaniel and I get to share the Nanatahala with a friend who fishes a lot but who has never fished for mountain trout. Report to follow later in the week!

Trading Places

"Do I get to drive?!" Nathaniel asked as I sat down in the front of the canoe he had just put in the water.

"I'm just along for the ride," I answered, whipping a cast toward a dock before he ever pushed the boat from the bank.

We'd fished the same pond from the same canoe many times - just not from those seats. I'd always worked from the back and had done the paddling, letting Nathaniel, who is 11, do the bulk of the fishing.

We'd actually started the afternoon bank fishing and had learned that the bass and bream were over shallow grass near the banks. Nathaniel knew of some similar spots across the pond, and he was convinced the fish would be there. He'd asked if he could take a boat out, and then whether I wanted to go with him.

It turned out he was right about his spots, and I caught several bream and one bass on YUM Wooly Curltails fished on 1/32-ounce Road Runner Heads. Nathaniel managed to catch a couple of fish as well, but he did really fish much. He kept the paddle in his hand and did a good job maintaining good boat position so that I could catch fish.

He said later that it was fun paddling the boat, even without fishing much. "I wouldn't want to do it that way all the time, though," he added.

Spring Specials at Georgia State Parks

If you're still pondering Spring Break plans or just want to take a couple of days to play, check out the great specials being offered at five Georgia State Park lodges. Amicalola Falls, Unicoi, Red Top Mountain, George T. Bagby and Little Ocmulgee state parks recently announced great lodge room rates for weeknight stays during the month of April.

All five parks offer great fishing and fine settings for family-friendly trips. Amicalola and Unicoi both feature stocked trout waters with easy bank access. Red Top Mountain and George T. Bagby, meanwhile, offer both boating and bank access to major reservoirs and fine fishing for everything from bluegills to channel catfish to bass. At Unicoi and Little Ocmulgee visitors can rent boats to fish smaller waters. The lake at Little Ocmulgee is currently closed to power boats because of extensive aquatic vegetation, but that's not all bad for anglers seeking bass or bream from the bank or from small paddle-powered boats.

Beyond the fishing, opportunities for family play range from hiking a really cool top-to-bottom, step-system trail beside the highest waterfall in the eastern United States (Amicalola Falls) to exploring the Alpine village of Helen near Unicoi to possibly spotting indigo snakes and gopher tortoises at Little Ocmulgee.

For reservations, call (800) 864-7275.