General Conditions
Fishing for smallmouth bass has really been picking up even with fairly low water conditions as the temps have dropped a bit the past week. The water levels on the James River and Shenandoah are not as low as you would think with quality floats available on both rivers. This next 6 weeks or so should see some of the most quality fishing of the year as the big boys start bulking up for winter and go on a feeding rampage. Last week netted an 18 1/2″ smallie on the James on the newly re-opened Bremo float with several other nice size fish to 16″ and a 24″ monster was spotted on a recent float in the Shenandoah. Fish are feeding top to bottom with favorite patterns being poppers (bigger is better) on top. We recommend Walt’s Poppers. Fish CK Baitfish, Clousers, Thin Mints etc in the mid level of the water column. On the bottom, especially in the morning, we are fishing clawdads or hellgrammit patterns low and slow.
We are getting sporadic reports that brookie fishing is picking up in the park especially in the rivers like the Rapidan with better water levels. Cooler days will be the best fishing. I would try any terrestrail patterns especially small foam ants. Size will most likely trump pattern selection or color.
We’ve also been getting good reports of lots of fish on the Jackson Tailwater on small mayflies, especially soft hackles fished on the swing. Mossy Creek has also been producing good numbers of fish on hoppers and small PT’s.
The James River is in prime form and we are now booking full day float trips for smallmouth bass. The James is regarded as a top smallmouth bass fishery where large fish are fairly common and the numbers can get very high quickly. This is a big river with lots of good floats. We like to fish with poppers, clouser minnows, and various crawdad patterns for smallmouth during the warmer months. Most floats on the James River are about 6-8 miles with some as short as 3 miles. Nothing beats taking large smallmouth bass on poppers thrown up against the bank. If you’ve been fly fishing for trout but have not tried fly fishing for smallmouth bass, give the James River a try on one of our guided float trips. The bridge to the Harware river is now open but waters levels are a bit low to fish it.
Shenandoah River
The Shenandoah River is floatable on a dy-to-day basis due to fluctuating water levels. You can fish it from a canoe or wading but you will have to 4 wheel drive your boat off the rocks. It is known as a top smallmouth bass fishery where large numbers of fish are common, however, due to the fish kills a number of years ago, big fish are possible, but not common. Most floats on the Shenandoah River are about 6-8 miles and some wading opportunities exist. The fishing to date has been spectacular! Our trips right now are averaging about a 100 fish for the boat for the day. We are also landing small numbers of really nice largemouth bass up to 5lbs. Most fish are coming on poppers since the damsels have started hatching. If you’ve never fished surface poppers for smallmouth you’ve got to give it a try. Think of dry fly fishing for 18″ trout all day on a river. That will give you some idea of what is happening right now on the ‘doah.
Moorman’s River
Closed for the season until Sept. No future stockings scheduled due to warmer weather and rapidly dropping water levels.
Blue Ridge Mountain Streams
We are getting sporadic reports that brookie fishing is picking up in the park especially in the rivers like the Rapidan with better water levels. Cooler days will be the best fishing. I would try any terrestrail patterns especially small foam ants. Size will most likely trump pattern selection or color.
Jackson River
Check the flows before fishing the tailwater. It fishes best between 200-500 cfs. If you are fishing the tailwater, you will need to float to access the best fishing. Call for details and directions. Most days now we are getting a mixed bag of browns and wild rainbows. These are beautiful fish in the 6-20″ range that almost always go airborne when hooked. If the tailwater flows are up (300-600 cfs) you should plan on fishing streamers. Otherwise, your whole box is in play escpecially soft hackles.
Rose River Farm
Closed until fall. Book your spot now.
Hayfields Farm – Highland County
Hayfields Farm is our newest guiding destination and is located in beautiful Highland County, VA. We now have access to over 4 miles of the Upper Bullpasture River! Not only is the scenery grand, but solitude is assured and the fishing is spectacular. We have run a half-dozen trips thus far and the results have been stellar. When you aren’t hooking and landing 20″+ rainbows, you’ll be taking 12-14″ brookies off your hook! The caddis hatches are prolific here and the nymph life under the rocks is very much alive. We have taken fish on mostly subsurface patterns from streamers to a variety of nymphs. The largest rainbows have measured 23-24″ and the largest brookie has come in at 16″! Check out our Hayfields webpage for all the booking information and make plans to fish this exclusive water today! Will reopen late September 2010
Big Bend Farm on the Cowpasture
We have currently entered into an agreement with the owners of Big Bend Farm on the Cowpasture river to stock trout this coming fall. This is a fantastic fishery where water levels hold fish all year long. Initially, we will open 1 mile of river to fishing with our initial stocking of about 1500 fish. This will be a fee water like Rose River Farm and Hayfields Farm but anglers will be able to fish without a guide. Rod fee is $85/day. This fishery will open when temps drop sometime in September.
