I had stripped out a fair amount of line, so I brought the fish in without the reel. This always strikes me as a more primitive kind of fishing, and in its own way more appealing.
I felt every surge directly through the tips of my fingers. This fish was a brawler. But everything held, and I prepared to land my prize.
When I finally got a look, I was surprised by its small size. But it is said that the river smallmouth is, for its weight, the strongest of the freshwater sportfish. I admired it briefly, then released it. I was satisfied. I had caught a river smallmouth, with a lure, on a fly rod. It could be my last before the Midwest winter sets in.
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