Early bird gets the bass

Hi Folks,  Guided a spin trip yesterday morning for smallmouth bass.  We got on the water around 6:30am in order to avoid the heat and sun.  The water temperature was 70 degrees and level was low.  Excellent clarity.  Right as we entered the river we were lucky enough to see a female black bear and her cub cross the river.  The first 2.5 hours of the morning was pretty cool.  Once the sun rose in the sky things heated up significantly.  Saw a great #22 Trico spinner fall.  However, no self respecting smallmouth is going to waste energy eating the tiny may fly.  I did see a few subtle sips by Fall fish eating the spinners. We landed 18 smallmouth bass and missed or lost another dozen fish including a legitimate 4 lb bass that jumped and tail walked its way to freedom.  We hooked a large percentage of our fish in one big primary pool with some good rock cover.  Not a bad top water bite with the fish readily rising to take a floating perch Rapala off the surface.  When that bite slowed down we dead drifted 3" craw fish and baby bass colored Senkos with great success.  The fishing slowed the last hour of the morning as things heated up.  Pays to get on the water early when it is hot.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy