Current Local Conditions

7/24/10 Temps look better for the 1st of the week. Get out and enjoy the peak smallmouth fishing while it lasts!

James and Shenandoah Rivers: Our trips on the Shenandoah are still going strong. Recent rainfall has kept water levels sufficient for floating comfortably on just about every stretch we fish. The weather pattern over the past month has made fishing this summer tricky so far. With random frontal boundaries moving across the region every 4-5 days fish have been really on the bite and then off the bite with changing weather and water conditions. When the water is low, warm, and clear the topwater bite has been excellent. However, once a front pushes through and water becomes dingy, the fish seem to shut down and you really have to concentrate your efforts on fishing crayfish and baitfish patterns deep and slow. We have found some nice smallmouth in the 18-20" range on the Shenandoah but these fish have not been easy to target in low clear water. They will readily eat a large popper that looks like a cicada or large dragonfly if placed long enough from the boat. Fishing in August for big smallmouth on top is our favorite time of year. Be sure to work on your casting distance as large fish are very weary. You will want to be able to comfortably cast 45 feet to be able to cover these fish without spooking them. We only have a few days open in August and the 1st week of September. We are booked mostly with smallmouth trips but have a few carp days on the books as well. If you are interested in fishing for carp, give us a call for details on where and how we fish for these spooky critters. We will be on the water almost every day next week! See you on the water.

Mountain Streams: Keep an eye out for afternoon thunderstorms! Fast heavy rainfall over your favorite drainage can really turn on the fishing. It will be difficult to plan a trip to the mountain streams over the next few months with current water conditions. We have been giving the brook trout a break because of the extreme heat mixed with low water flow. However, the fishing can instantly be great if you hit the streams just right after an inch or 2 of rain falls during a big storm. Cool water and loads of food come washing down stream putting the brook trout into a feeding frenzy mode. These streams are very flashy and will fall almost as quickly as they rise so you need to act fast. If you see rain over a stream in the evening hours, be sure to hit it 1st thing in the morning. 2 days after a storm could mean you hit it when it is low and dry again. If you do go out to scout for some brookies, take your lightest rods, 1-3 weight and long leaders. We would recommend a 12 foot 6-7X leader and size 16-18 ants, yellow sallies, sulphurs, beetles, and small crickets. A small soft hackle wet, unweighted nymph, or small streamer will also move fish. The Jackson Tailwater would be our recommendation for the best quality trout fishing right now. Water levels are good and temps are cold giving some excellent fishing opportunities during this heat wave. We have not been getting many reports from the Bullpasture, Jackson, Maury, South River, or North River. We expect you will need to cover water to find the fish stacked up near the spring seeps, deepest pools, or near the shade. If you really need a trout fix, you could also try the spring creeks as Mossy is producing very well right now! We will be continuing to focus on bass, musky, and carp until water levels improve for the trout fishing.

Spring Creeks: Beaver Creek, Mossy Creek, and Smith Creek are back up and looking prime for terrestrial fishing. Japanese Beetles are all over the place and fish are really starting to key in on these insects. We are also having some action on grasshopper patterns. PMX in yellow, royal, and orange have been crushing a few big fish. Letort crickets and hoppers will do the job on the picky fish. The streamer fishing in the rain over the weekend was great and the hopper fishing Monday morning was as good as it gets. The trico hatch has been solid so far this year but the sulphur hatch has been spotty. Get out at daylight and fish small terrestrials until you see rising fish. If you have difficulty tying on a size 22 trico, just throw a size 18 ant at the rising fish. They rarely refuse a well presented ant, beetle, or small hopper! Susie Q farm will be open for as long as water levels hold. There have been some really nice browns and rainbows landed over the past week. Pressure has been light do to the heat and low water but fishing has really picked up since we received this rain.