Friday afternoon escape

River Smallmouth

Island on rt plan was to fish down the channel viewed here

I had an early-out afternoon last Friday so I ran up to the Shenandoah to get a quick fix as I knew the weekend wouldn't support another fishing opportunity. I really wanted to try deeper/slower streamer tactics on the channel left of the island downstream from the Rt 50 Bridge.  The island channelizes the flow on the left creating deeper & faster water over the rock-cobble bottom.  To get down deeper I used 12 feet of sink tip leader prior to my terminal tippet to sink a size 6 green and black (with flash) barrel-head bugger.

smallie on hand-tied kreelex

As I began fishing a 6wt rod I found that that this pairing found the bottom in all but the fastest current and especially at the end of the sweep.  It felt alot like salmon fishing; tap-tap-tap as the bugger moved over the cobble bottom on the swing.   I began picking up smallies, but not the big ones of my dreams so I switched to a self-tied bead-head kreelex with some white (Rt 33) goose tailfeathers.  This hyrbid kreelex turned out to be the most productive fly of the day.

Swarm of dragon flies rests on downfall

I rounded the bottom of the island with the heavy approaching rumbling of summer thunder reminding me not to linger.  I wasn't planning on fishing the far (east) bank on my way back but its hard not to make a cast (or 50) and I was lucky I did.

Monster carp at my feet

I concentrated on the major deadfall and after catching an oak I walked into the deadfall to find a casting call for River Monsters Shenandoah; three huge carp, 16-18 inch bronzebacks and catfish suspended and patrolling the shady deadfall.  I caught one 11 inch smallie and created such a rucus keeping him out of the wood that I mucked up the area.  With the storm closing in I trundled upstream to Clifford as the rain closed in on a great escape.

Monster smallie hidden in tree limbs