I have been out a couple of times on the local river and caught my first smallmouth (truly small), not to mention several trees and bushes. The fact that I also found some morels has been making the trips more encouraging.

I purchased a set of hip boots as they were the only thing I could find locally, and while they serve a purpose I am not very impressed. It has become obvious that waist and chest waders are worth the investment. What are you using? Do you use the separate boots?

I am looking forward to that first smallie of size.....

Thanks for the tips on the Mad River. I was actually driving over it today on my way from Newark to Troy going the back roads via Springfield.

My rod is complete with the new line and my son and I were in the back yard practicing casts. I invented serveral new knots in the end of the line very quickly. I can see this is going to take a lot more practice before hitting any streams with trees and brush nearby. Aaron did pretty good, maybe that is because he doesn't have any habits that need to be changed.