The often underrated and overlooked GAR.
Mother Nature is the one who says when we can and can’t fish. Well, I guess I should say, is the the one that dictates when fishing is most likely to be productive and safe. HAHAHA. You can fish anytime you want.
Our main focus this time of year is warm water rivers. If you are still looking for trout, you can scratch that itch on the Jackson tailwater and the brookie streams. Brookie streams are starting to get on the low side however, a well placed dry with a good presentation should produce some nice fish.
The smallmouth are on fire. If you are the kind of angler that prefers quality over quantity, the James river has been producing some very nice fish. Your numbers may not be big but, most the fish you catch will be. You can also expect to find some great gar, carp and catfish. Catfish on the fly can be a lot of fun. Although, they will hit a wide verity of flies, when we target them we throw wooly buggers and/or crayfish patterns. If you are looking for a wide open day with big numbers and a few big fish thrown in, the Shenandoah would be my first choice. The top water bite is coming on strong.
On to some new and exciting news for all of you that use are guide service this time of year. For over a decade and a half we at the Albemarle Angler have been fishing a number of the smaller warm water tributaries of the James river. They are such amazing smallmouth fisheries that years ago we did run a couple guide trips using canoes. After a couple trips we came to the conclusion that from a canoe we just couldn’t provide the quality of service the Albemarle Angler is known for. We have kept fishing these rivers ourselves over the years and not a float/day went by that I fished them wishing I could share these water with my friends and customers.
My days of wishing are over. Thanks to Ethan S. for making such a great small water boat that can accommodate two anglers. I wouldn’t say it’s changed the game, it’s just made the playing field much, much larger. If you’d like to experience one of these great fisheries with us, give us a call. I would also encourage you to give our gar trips a try. You will never look at gar the same way.
