Big Bend Farm, May 10th 2017
What are the best conditions/times to fish? That’s a question we hear often.
Anytime you can get out, is the best answer we can give. I’ve lived/fished all over the country and around the world. That question definitely has different answers in other states and countries however, in Virginia we have such a diverse fishery it’s very rare if we are not on the water chasing something every day of the year. Conditions seem to apply to anglers much more then fish. I admit that I’m not the best to be writing this blog. I love fishing in a snow storm, I love fishing in the rain, I love fishing on bright sunny days, I don’t really love fishing when it’s blowing 30+mph but, if that’s the conditions for the day I’ll take it and be a better caster at the end of the day.
On to the fun stuff.
Fishing in Virginia couldn’t be better. The James, Shenandoah and Rivanna are fishing great. The smallmouth and largemouth bass are wide awake, hungry and willing to get into a fight with any angler that drops a fly next to them. The gar are still hiding and moving slow. On bright sunny days you might be able to convince one to eat.
The frequent rains we’ve been getting have been keeping our brookie streams/rivers fishing very well. Sulphur’s, yellow sally’s/stoneflies and caddis are coming off in good numbers. Keep in mind brookies are very opportunistic feeder. I find it’s more about the presentation of the fly rather then the fly most times.
Big wild browns. Rain is a good thing. The Jackson is producing some great fish. The large browns are much less timid when the water levels are up. Again, we stress using caution and good judgment concerning landowner and fishing rights on all rivers especially the Jackson.
Larger private and state stocked waters have plenty of fish in them right now. Water levels are right on the high end of what we like to fish. Wading the bigger rivers in high off color water can be challenging. It’s not out of the question to see some fish rising even with the high water. There was plenty of dry fly action yesterday. Any sulphur that hit the water didn’t make more then a few feet before an eager trout inhaled it.
Big Bend and Big River both received stockings yesterday.
