Been itching to go fishing for some smallmouth. Here in central VA the rivers are still cold, but I had to go. Headed out the past two days to a small broken down dam to wet the lines and ended up wading out chest deep in ~50° James River water. Hundreds of casts, 1 bite, 1 fish. 19.5" fat smallmouth. Made my day. Close to a citation in VA. This should get all the fishermen out there juicy. I'll post a pic when I can figure out how to.

Finally put a new fan in my laptop and figured out how to get a pic up. Hope it works.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Virginia sheepdog,

19.5" smallmouth? What did it weigh? You might check the state record.

I've caught a lot of smallmouth in Wa, Id and Mt and never landed one that size.

Jim

I have had many wonderful fishing days that were no where near catching my limit.

I borrowed my cousins fly rod, why , I'd never fly fished before, did not have a clue as to how it worked.

after 45 minutes of bait casting w/o a nibble , I started whipping and flailing , and trying to figure stuff out.

I aimed at an old tractor tire and missed it 4 times, the fifth time it hit exactly where I wanted it too.

amazed at my luck , I let it set for 40 seconds and twitched it exactly like god had planned it and Boom !splash , , a dandy 3.5 pound bass attacked the top water popper.

and ! I got it all the way to the bank , unhooked it and released it.

I left elated

^^^ Fly fishing for bass (and panfish) with poppers is one of the great, simple joys of fishing. You got off to an enviable start!

Where on the James were you fishing?

I'm getting set to go panfishing this year using a fly rod (3 and 5 wt) and kayak. Looking at kayaks now, lot's of choices.

Take care.....

In the past 2 weeks the Bass have starting biting. Depending on where you are (water temp) in some places they are also bedding.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo54:
19.5" smallmouth? What did it weigh? You might check the state record.

I've caught a lot of smallmouth in Wa, Id and Mt and never landed one that size.

Jim

They can get fairly large around here. I've fished the James a lot and the New River and caught some nice sized ones. Biggest I ever caught was in the New River at around 22 inches. I think a citation for one in VA is 20" or 5 lbs. Haven't looked it up in a few years.

quote:

Originally posted by towershot:
Where on the James were you fishing?

Lynchburg. It was a nice spot that was secluded and I fished it for years rarely seeing anyone other than canoes/kayakers. Sadly the city put in a running trail that passes right by it now.

Salmon season opens in a few days!

Got the boat all primed and ready.

I hear ya bro. I fly fish all year round but the winter wears on me. I went out yesterday to explore a new creek about 60 mile from my home. It was small(30" wide) and brushy and my favorite type of fly fishing. Fishing it required lots of crawling on all fours and stealth to get in to position. I saw a couple of little guys lurking and had a single splashy refusal but no success. I spent four hours and tore my waders on some unseen barbed wire on a rainy afternoon. It was great...

quote:

Originally posted by gw3971:
I hear ya bro. I fly fish all year round but the winter wears on me. I went out yesterday to explore a new creek about 60 mile from my home. It was small(30" wide) and brushy and my favorite type of fly fishing. Fishing it required lots of crawling on all fours and stealth to get in to position. I saw a couple of little guys lurking and had a single splashy refusal but no success. I spent four hours and tore my waders on some unseen barbed wire on a rainy afternoon. It was great...

Yeah, it is hard to have a bad day fishing. I try to fish all year. I did not do much this winter even though it was mild. I enjoy fishing in the fall the most out here because it cools off, less bugs, less people, and the water is still warm enough to wade. I used to really enjoy fishing for trout up in the mountain streams we have here, but my new dog gets so wild around water that trout is out of the question for me now.

quote:

Originally posted by Virginia sheepdog:

quote:

Originally posted by towershot:
Where on the James were you fishing?

Lynchburg. It was a nice spot that was secluded and I fished it for years rarely seeing anyone other than canoes/kayakers. Sadly the city put in a running trail that passes right by it now.

Bummer, I went to HS in Lynchburg and fished the James there. I've got a place on the James a bit further down in Nelson County, near Howardsville.

TS

Pics or it didn't happen.

Can't figure out a way to add pics on my mobile. Having to do everythimg from my phone since my home laptop cooling fan went out last week. Picking up another one this week and will get a pic up.

quote:

Originally posted by towershot:

quote:

Originally posted by Virginia sheepdog:

quote:

Originally posted by towershot:
Where on the James were you fishing?

Lynchburg. It was a nice spot that was secluded and I fished it for years rarely seeing anyone other than canoes/kayakers. Sadly the city put in a running trail that passes right by it now.

Bummer, I went to HS in Lynchburg and fished the James there. I've got a place on the James a bit further down in Nelson County, near Howardsville.

TS

Thats good fishing down there too. A good habitat for bass between Lynchburg and Richmond

quote:

Originally posted by Virginia sheepdog:
Been itching to go fishing for some smallmouth. Here in central VA the rivers are still cold, but I had to go. Headed out the past two days to a small broken down dam to wet the lines and ended up wading out chest deep in ~50° James River water. Hundreds of casts, 1 bite, 1 fish. 19.5" fat smallmouth. Made my day. Close to a citation in VA. This should get all the fishermen out there juicy. I'll post a pic when I can figure out how to.

You sure that wasn't a striper? 19.5" is a big smallmouth.

Yeah it was a smallmouth. Thats all i really fish for anymore around here. Rarely hook any largemouth any more and if I do theyre usually rather small. I don't think we have any stripers this far up the james, maybe farther down near the chesapeake bay. There are a few man made lakes around here with stripers, the only ones I ever caught were in salt water though. And you are right, that is a large smallmouth for around here I rarely catch them over 18" this far down the river, it was a good catch and really got me ready to go this year. With the good weather we've been having in my area I see a few more outings this week in my future.

Me too! THe weahter here in Florida has bean BEAUTIFUL. Last weekend it was 78, clear, sunny, with big white puffy clouds and warm enough that I wore shorts to work. Don't hate me.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Rotndad,

quote:

Originally posted by showpro:
Pics or it didn't happen.

Exactly and what did you use for bait???