6. Fishing intermediate lines in rivers. (6 of 18)

In this early season smallmouth fishing, the water is cold. The fish are going to be pretty lethargic so we're going to fish a subsurface fly and we're going to try to move the fly pretty slowly because the fish aren't going to chase anything very far. Oh, nice smallmouth. So he was right in the back on the inside here, in this kind of slow swirly slack water.
The same kind of water we've been catching these guys, with a slow retrieve in this cold water. So I'm using a seven-weight rod, nine-foot seven-weight rod, and an intermediate line.
Typically, later in the season, you'd use a floating line for smallmouth but we know the fish are going to be relatively deep and the water isn't terribly deep here. But the fish are going to be closer to the bottom so an intermediate line should get me in the right place, in conjunction with a weighted fly. I've got a weighted streamer fly on the end. Oh, that feels like a heavier fish.
The water this cold, I never would've thought we'd be catching smallmouths like this. Oh, that's a nice smallmouth, too. That's a beauty. Nice fish. See you later.