Smallmouth on the James and Shenandoah Rivers

 Smallmouth bass on the beautiful Shenandoah River.        

One of our favorite guided fly fishing trips! If you haven’t done a smallmouth float trip you need to try it! Our guide fleet consists of three different styles of boats allowing us to float a wide variety of rivers safely and comfortably. We seat two anglers plus a guide. Floats on the James and Shenandoah are usually limited to a full day but we can sometimes make exceptions. If you are looking for a shorter day or would like to stay closer to Charlottesville, the Rivanna river that flows just to the east of town is a phenomenal and often over looked fishery.

We accommodate spin anglers if you prefer not to use the fly rod or if your companion does not fly fish. The day can be very diverse. One can expect to employ various techniques from dredging deep clawdads to lightning fast vicious topwater eats on poppers and wiggle minnows. We love targeting the other species that inhabit these rivers; such as Carp, Gar, Musky, Bluegill and Catfish. There’s nothing like seeing a smallmouth blast a popper on the surface or a 3′-4′ gar viciously attack your fly.

Not only are these beautiful rivers outstanding fisheries, their history in settling Virginia makes floating them a truly remarkable experience. Starting with the James River. We fish this amazing river from the confluence of the Jackson and Cowpasture all the way to Bremo Bluff. With in-depth knowledge of hundreds of miles of river to choose from our guides will have you on the most productive float for your outing with us.

The Shenandoah river is hands down one of our favorites. Even tough over the years the Shenandoah has had some issues with fish kills, it’s still one of the most beautiful and productive rivers we fish.

Our closest and most overlooked smallmouth fishery is the Rivanna river. Not only does it have an amazing history, it’s diversity of catchable species is second to none.

Our 2019 spring/summer smallmouth season is off to a great start. We are running trips daily. If you’d like to spend a day floating and fishing one of Virginia’s beautiful smallmouth rivers, give us a call.

Full day floats start at $400.00

All smallmouth trips require a valid Va freshwater fishing license. If you need to purchase one please, follow the link and scroll down to fishing license.