Swift Water Shoals on the Shenandoah

Swift Water Shoals = very uniform w little character

I had scouted Swift Shoals upstream of the Rt 50 bridge over the lovely Shenandoah several seeks ago and today I returned with James determined to fish in and around the shoals for 3 hours to begin my Labor Day Sunday.  The shoals were an easy 12 minute paddle straight upstream from the bridge which is still visible from the shoals.  I had hoped to find a defined rapid so we could cast into the strong current and slowly swing barrel-head-weighted black and green buggers into the deep slack water on the shoulders of the rapid.

Pretty Feeder -- yielded one smallie in pool on left near stump

To my interested disappointment the rapid was so uniform that it didn't readily present those shoulder seams I planned to work and was so gradual that there never was a defined pool at the end of the rapid.  The rapid just ended in a seemingly featureless lake. We fished in and around the wide shoal/rapid and up an unnamed feeder stream below the rapid.

Typical smallish Shenandoah Smallie

We picked up a half-dozen bronzebacks generally in 3-5 feet of cobble bottomed water and as many sunfish, but the shoal was very readable and didn't seem to have many secrets.  This place is very accessible but less fishy than James and I had hoped.

Emerging from the Depths

Smallie bends James Rod

Pohick and North Fork Weekend

The Brown water should have been my first clue!

My brother-in-law Henry was visiting with his family and we were determined to fish both Thursday and Friday.  I planned on fishing for bucketmouths on the Pohick Thursday and smallies on Friday.  We staged the jeep at Pohick Regional Park and as we slid the canoe in the upper Pohick it became apparent to me that I had miscalculated and the rain we received Wednesday afternoon had added 6 inches to the flow and clouded up the normally crystal flow.  If the wind had been blowing we might have given up right there and gone for a sail but

with the air still we slid the canoe into the river with the hope that the water would clear downstream.  This didn't seem like a problem as I was planning to begin fishing at about the half way point, but it did turn into an issue as we still had to walk the canoe down much of the river and, as those of you know who have fished the Upper Pohick, those stumps, deadfall and drop-offs are a menace when you cant see them! I won't count our misadventures and twisted limbs, but suffice to say I will NEVER walk down this river again when the water is soupy-tan

I think this is a wild vine-hibiscus

and high.  The fish were also turned off and Henry ended up catching a sunfish and nice catfish in the snake-pool about 60% of the way down.  We did find this gorgeous flower alone in a field of green on the bluff leading to the campsite.  We floated from end of the snake pool to out to Pohick Bay and the water did clear up enough to let Henry stand in the bow and try to try to sight fish but the fish did not cooperate and we were soon in the hydrilla chocked bay heading back to the van.  I have never seen the bay as chocked as it was Thursday and we had a rough time pulling our way through the high weed.  I may hit the Pohick again this summer but I'll make sure that its clear and I have a plan to get out once I hit the bay.

Fortunately Friday was another story...once bitten thrice shy, I began the day checking the river gauges on the Shenandoah, they were a tick high, but stable and in the low range so we headed west to Edinburg in a light rain.  My plan was to fish the North Fork off Palymyra Chirch Road but we decided to stop in Murray's Fly shop and I'm glad we did.  Note: Always take local knowledge and if your in this neighborhood Murray is always happy to give it away free of charge.  Murray suggested that we fish downstream from our planned put-in at the Hollings

standard shenandoah smallmpouth

worth Bridge in Woodstock, he said that if we did, the river wold be a few degrees cooler with the input of both Narrow Passage Creek and Little Stoneyman and this would make a difference.   He also suggested that I swing dumbbell streamers down and across instead of going with my standard hopper-dropper combination.  He said I needed to get deeper than the popper-dropper would allow.  He was right.   We put in as he suggested off East Reservoir road in Woodstock walked down a 100 yards and began to catch fish.

don't discount the river chubs!

Henry was armed with a light spinning rod and beetle-spin and I worked a 6wt and a selection of the Murray recommended flies I bought to thank him for his advice (support your local fly-shop). We fished down about .5 miles (not far) hitting pools, rapids, shady banks and all the likely spot.  Any place with a cobble or rock bottom more than 3 feet deep held smallies as did the deep seams on the sides of outflows from riffles and rapids. We didn't count fish but we caught them steadily and the the majority of them were smallies with only the occasional sunfish and chub. 

long casts needed or you'll be getting wet to reach the bank

We waited expectantly for a large bronzeback to bend our poles but it never happened, but the day was filled with those great moments when your best served to slow down and enjoy the river, the smallmouth and the company.  We had a great time and I'll be back to this put in again.   

Furthest point we reached downstream...it looked great below here

right side of riffle's outflow produced nicely for Henry

Henry on the wiggly suspension bridge upstream of the bridge

North Fork of the Shenandoah Morning Adventure

Fritz and Jacob heading up from the Van to the put in ...Jacob's getting tall.

Thank goodness fishing is about more than catching, because there wasn't a lot of that Saturday morning on the North Fork of the Shenandoah, but it didn't matter in the least. The weather was crisp and cool in the Shenandoah Valley. The river was spectacular running clear at low pool and compared to the air warm, releasing a white blanket of mist which filled the tree-lined chunnel of the North Fork.  I was chilly when we rigged up so I stepped into my chest waders while Fritz and Jacob elected to wet wade.

a casting lesson...Jacob doesn't need much instruction!

The North Fork off Palmyra Church Road is clear and deceptively deep, beckoning another step as you attempt to cast to the far bank.  All three of us found that one more step....just another 6 inches....dropped off a foot soaking us and protecting the far bank from all but the best crafted casts.   I fished with a stiff 6wt to try to hit that far bank and Jacob and Fritz alternated between a medium spinning rod and Fritz' first fly rod a 9' 5wt which, with its medium flex, lent itself to a graceful casts.  Jacob has a really developed a nice stroke. 

Thankfully we ran into a school of these aggressive little fellas

I really enjoyed listening to the good natured banter as we chased sunfish and ungracefully stepped into deep holes searching for smallmouth.    Jacob and I finally found a bend which produced 7 small smallies in 10 cast and that was the bronzeback action for the day.  Interestingly, we tried all manner of presentations and the only fly to incite a strike was a brown bead-head bugger like the one on this picture.   We fished down to the low water bridge, around the island, along the cow field on the eastern bank and walked back up the muddy jeep trail to end a great morning.  On the way home we drove up Rt 11 to Strasburg soaking in the beauty of the valley and thinking about our trip to the Salmon river next Month....Bill get ready for us.

Long Rodding on the Shenandoah

Earlier in the week James asked me to go fishing on Thursday and I was only too happy to work an early day at the Pentagon and head out to some of my favorite waters.  When presented a ripe peach, always take a bite, never turn it away as you never know when you'll get another.  

James with his first feisty smallie

We met in south parking and slipped out 66 West enroute to the Shenandoah's intersection with Rt 50.  Our plan was to fish a timeslot later than I fished this area last week and see if once the sun fell beneath the tree-lined west bank the east bank fishing would heat up.  We arrived while the sun was still high in the sky with few shaded banks so we drone south along Swift Shoals Road for a mile until we found the shoals that are the road's namesake.  The river is generally deeper south of the Rt 50 bridge, steeply-banked and looks very fishy.   Both sides of Swift Shoals Road is posted so the best way to access this portion of the river is via canoe from the traditional Rt 50 put-in.  I think I'll hit this next time I try this area. 

The smallie action today was subsurface -- note the bugger in mouth

We went back to the normal put-in, suited up and headed to the river.  The river was at an optimal (low) level reading 1.76 at the Millwood Gauge and flowing clear at 80 degrees.  James decided used an LL Bean reel (7 wt line) paired with an 9' Okuma SVR 6 wt.  This combo paired VERY well and the heavy bellied-line shot like a champ as we'd uplined it by one-weight.  I paired my Access 5 wt with 6wt WF line and the tip flex rod loaded earlier and better than with 5wt line. We began by fishing down the west wide of the river and found sunfish on the bank as expected.  

Visit Duber, Kaitlyn and Mark at the Orvis Woodbridge store to learn more about local smallmouth -- tell'em Scott and Matt sent you

The water got too deep after a 100 yards so we turned around.  I tried to cross the river 50 yards upstream of the bridge, Conor may have been able to make it, but unless I went into UDT-mode, I wasn't going to make it -- I ended up swimming back.  James and I practiced tossing mends and long distance roll-casting (hammer that nail) and saw some interesting wildlife as we worked back to the bridge where we crossed to the east bank.  We worked our way downstream (South) and James caught his first smallmouth in downed-tree structure along the bank.

James works the east bank above the bridge

It wasn't a monster, none of them were today, but jumped it for him a couple times.  A fly-fisheman's first smallmouth is a treat and James deservedly had a monster smile on his face.   He'd go on to catch alot more fish today but this first bronzeback was a highlight.  We worked our way down the river for another 200 yards then made our way back to the bridge.  I ended up catching my largest smallie of the day not along the bank where I had planned, but in the center channel by the bridge pilings snapping my popper on a long drift through the swift, center-stream current.

Shenandoah peach -- take a bite

Unfortunately it turned out that the fishing actually slowed as the sun fell.   This perplexed and frustrated me as I had expected the east bank bite to heat up as the sun fell beneath the west side trees.  The last 90-minutes we both ended up catching a fish here and there, but nothing remarkable.  We both ended the day sore (lotsa casting) but happy.   Reminder: Make sure you bite the peach when you can.