Last Bronzebacks of the Season

Perfection on the North Fork of the Shenandoah

After last weekend's trip with Bryan I was convinced that I had a shot at a 100 smallie trip if I could just stay on the river long enough and with the season fast turning to trout I wanted to give the North Fork one more shot.  

James headed out with me this time and we took my trusty canoe in case the river proved to be longer than our legs and backs could handle.  It was gorgeous and 58 when we started out, the mist rising off the water and the sun burning off the marine layer hovering over the river.  I started with a clearwater 4wt that I love for its smooth and relaxing mid-flex action and took an old 6wt Fenwick glass rod my grandfather had given me to put it through its paces too.  

Almost snook shaped

James worked a Fenwick glass rod as well.  My plan was to pass over shallow water and unproductive stretches to focus my fishing time using weighted buggers and streamers in the deeper holds that I knew from last week were harboring smallies.   I started out with a weighted olive bugger followed by a size 8 barbell-head golden retriever.  It soon became apparent that I was not going to match my catch-rate from last weekend as the fish seemed to be coming about half as quickly, but the beauty of the river was incredible made up for it.

Several times we stopped to make sure that we were taking in the majesty and peace of the river as we walked through it.  If you reference the map we put in at point A and fished to point B with the most intense fishing happening in the bend of the horseshoe. By the time we closed on the straightway before point B we were pretty darn tuckered out. 

We did find the smallies in the deeper rocky pools and they generally hit on short strips and were stimulated by movement.

I do have to find better tactics to lure the larger bronzebacks as  most of our smallies were again trout size.  James had his best day on the river and pulled in many a water dancing prize.  I missed my goal of 100 fish (45 to hand) but it didn't matter as I had a great time closing out the smallmouth season.

Bass delicacy along for the ride

Perfect

 

 

 

 

James with river smallie

Golden day for the Retreiver

Love these guys

When Henry and I last fished the North Fork we turned around at the end of the straightaway down-stream of the low-water bridge off South Hollingsworth Road and the bend of the 180 degree horseshoe teased us.  I was determined to fish all the way to the next low-water bridge on my next visit and found a willing partner in Bryan. 

Bryan & Brookie

We got on the river at 0740 and planned to fish this section in 4.5 hours, but as they say the plan didn't survive contact with reality as the fish started hitting quickly.  The air was cool at 70, the water clear and low, the clouds thick and heavy sending tendrils to the surface of the water.  There was an amazing hatch all day and clusters of juvenile smallies were rising to feed on the surface.  About an hour in we wished that we had brought a few dries to temp the bronzebacks rising from the cobble, but we continued to swing tandem streamers with good success.

Rt 33 Feather Golden Retriever

 By far the most effective streamer today was a #10 golden-retriever trailing a heavier streamer.  Scott taught me how to tie these goldens so it was with alot of pleasure that they were so productive. The smallies were, well, smallish today, none exceeding a foot, but what they lacked in size they made up for in exuberance many tail-dancing across the river to our delight.  While I expected the bronzebacks to be concentrated in the deeper runs on the shoulders of the riffles and in the pools at the bottom of the runs they were actually very much spread out wherever the cobble bottom was three or more feet deep.

Bronzeback

When we completed the bend of the horseshoe, 2/3 of the way to our destination, we were both pooped and sore from the rock bottom and began to move more quickly downstream.  If we had fished more slowly there's no doubt I could have caught 100+ smallies today.  As it was, we ended up climbing out of the river, skirting corn and soy bean fields and climbing a ridge to the back of an old-timers house (don't shoot -- hands-up).  I ended the day with 63 smalmouth, 1 large chub and 4 sunfish.   Bryan didn't count, caught a few less, but caught the biggest smallie of the day, an acrobat that etched a smile that's still on my face.

One of the few today on a crayfish pattern from Murray's

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

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.