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Last Updated: September 1,
2010
|
Date:
8-31-10
Time: 9:30 - 3:00
Water:
clear
Water temp: 80
Weather:
sunny
Temp: 97
I decided to fish a different
part of the South Fork, so I did the trip from Karo Landing to the
Front Royal Canoe Co.'s landing. Its a little deeper through this
section so I had no trouble getting down the river. Not as much
grass growing in this section either. I started the trip off with
a little paddle upriver to the beginning of the deep section above
Karo. Just slowly drifted down this section tossing 4"
ringworms 9green pumpkin) on an 1/8 oz. Texas rig. Managed
to catch a couple of foot long smallmouth in the process. After I
slipped through the Karo Rapids I pulled over and got out a #3 Mepps
inline spinnerbait. Over the years I've caught some nice bass
pulling a spinner across the tail of the rapids. No such luck
yesterday. I usually have some luck fishing that mid river
stump just a little ways past the rapids. Yesterday, sure
enough, the stump produced a couple of smallmouth. The
morning fishing was somewhat slow. I was catching a few here and
there but there were some pretty long waits between fish. I
was fishing the same lures I've been using most of the time for at
least a month now, 4" ringworms and 4" soft stickbaits (green
pumpkin). I use the worm in shallow water and close in
casting. I use the stickbait in deeper water or when I need to
cast farther and let the lure drift around a lot. Through
this stretch of river most of the fish were hanging in deep pools
between the rock ledges or swimming around in the
deeper spots in the flat areas. I had about equal
luck with both patterns. As usual, the bite
improved in the afternoon. The best fishing was in the middle
third of the three mile trip. Slow drifting the stickbait in
deeper flat areas worked well. I didn't catch a ton of fish
yesterday. Size wasn't brag worthy either, biggest bass was
a fourteen inch. Got one thirteen and every thing else was a
foot or less. No super dinks though. I don't fish this
section all that often and I generally don't score as well as I
do on my usual trip. With that in mind, it wasn't a
half bad day. Not an exciting day of fishing, but not bad
and definately good fun. It was interesting to try some
different water. I'm thinking about trying a trip next week on a
section of the South Fork I've never fished. Yesterday was
the last day of August. F.R.C.C. will only be open for two
more monthes, something to bear in mind if you're thinking about
getting out on the South Fork. Good luck with your fishing.
Ed T. Date: 8-25-10 Time: 9:30 - 5:30 Water:
clear
Water
temp: 76
Weather: overcast, shower
at
4:00
Temp:
80
I fished my usual stretch
of the South Fork, the Sp2 trip, from the State Park to Karo
Landing. The river level was up just a little bit. But a
little bit helps a lot. I only had to drag the canoe over a few
shallow spots. Sure was a lot of grass. Growing all over
the place and lots of it was free floating as well. Pulling a
lure through that junk was no joke. But, you know, we go through
this every year. Try to think of it as a challange. The
fishing was just so-so. Not too bad, but kinda slow. Not on
the same level as my last three trips. I took an hour to catch my
first bass. I caught a few more in the next couple of hours, then
the bite got a little better from about one o'clock on. But it
never really took off. I caught a decent number of fish
yesterday, but not up to what I've been catching the last few
weeks. I fished soft plastics all day. They were the
easiest thing to fish in the grass and the bass didn't seem all that
aggressive for chasing spinners or crankbaits anyway. I fished 4"
ring worms (green pumpkin) on a 1/8 oz. Texas rig and 4" soft
stickbaits (green pumpkin). The worms caught a few more fish than
the soft stickbaits, but both lures worked fairly well. I tend to
use the worms in shallower water. I like to use the stickbaits in
deeper water and I usually fish them very slowly. I caught bass
in a variety of locations yesterday, but the best pattern was to work
the deeper holes of flat bottom areas, deeper water and slower
water being the key. It also helped a lot when I could find
a grass free area or at least a good sized hole amongst the grass
for a little toss of the old lure. Remember, think of it as a bit
of a challange. Not many fish were holding around the rocks
or in the faster water. I didn't have much luck around the banks
either. Bottom line, the fish like the grass. The fish
like to hide in the grass. You have to fish the flats and
just work with the grass. One nice thing I have to say about
yesterday, I caught mostly good middle size smallmouth. Lots of
nice 10 to 12 inch fish, a few a little bigger. My best fish were
three 14 inch smallmouth. I only caught a few bass under ten
inches and not a single "sardine" the whole day. I got three
bluegill on worms yesterday. I saw quite a few bluegill in the
water yesterday. Might have caught a few more if I wanted to mess
with tossing a spinner, but with the grass and all I was content with
the few that wanted to hit a worm. The thing that's been popping
into my mind the last few weeks, strange as it may seem, is
catfish. No surprise. I see tons of them, constantly, while
I fish this stretch for bass. There are so many catfish,
including some fairly big suckers, through this stretch of the South
Fork. So the last few weeks I've found myself wondering if I
should maybe catch a few catfish for a change. Just thinking
about it for now, but who knows, its a tempting idea. The fishing
yesterday was not all that speecial. Not all that bad either, but
not as good as I've come to expect of late. Still, I had a good
time. Just about always have a good time fishing the South
Fork. Good luck with your fishing.
Water:
clear
Water
temp:
81 Weather:
mostly
sunny Temp:
90 I did the
SP2 trip, as usual, from
the State Park to Karo Landing. The river is a little low.
I had to
drag the canoe over a few shallow spots, but it wasn't too bad.
Its
rained a lot since yesterday, so next week this stretch should be a
little
deeper. There's quite a lot of grass in this section,
particularly the
half mile or so above Thunderbird Farm. The grass wasn't so
thick
that it was hard to paddle through, but the way it got on my
lure
almost every cast was a definate pain in the butt. Using any
lure
besides soft plastics was frustrating. Seemed like
every time
I retrieved a lure it would either get caught in a grass
patch
or covered up with floating grass. Best bet was fishing soft
plastics
like worms or grubs on weedless rigs. (You make a lure weedless
by
burying the end of the hook into the body of the lure.) But I'm
not gonna
complain too much about the grass, 'cause the fishing was fairly
good. Pretty similiar fishing to the last couple of trips I
made. My very first cast, with a Beetle Spin, got me a
bluegill. Turned out I only caught three bluegill all day, but it
was
still a pretty cool way to start the trip. Got a few smallmouth
in the
park and the bass fishing steadily got better through the rest of the
day. I mostly fished 4" Zoom Dead Ringer worms (green
pumpkin)
on 1/8 ounce weedless rigs. I also got a few
with 4"
Berkley Power Grubs (green pumpkin) and 4" Bass Pro soft
stickbaits
(green pumpkin). The worm was my main thing. Caught
most of
them with the worm. Worms have been my go to lure for weeks
now. No distinct pattern yesterday. I
found bass
hanging in the grass in the flat areas and I found them hanging in the
edges of
the fast water around the rocks. Found them in the deep
spots, found
them next to the bank. It paid to keep trying all kind of
spots.
I caught some nice bass in the deep area out in front of that
big
group of houses using soft stickbaits. The final tally
yesterday was
pretty good, caught roughly the same number of bass as the last couple
of
weeks. Nothing special as far as size, lots of small to medium
size bass. Biggest two yesterday were a fourteen inch
largemouth and a fourteen inch smallmouth. It was pretty much the
usual
summertime South Fork fishing. Lots of smallmouth,
but not a
whole lot of big ones. I would rate the fishing on my last
three
trips as about average for this part of the South Fork in the
summer.
Nothing wrong with that. Its been pretty consistant fishing and
when I
say its been average for these parts that's in no way a put down.
I
caught a lot of smallmouth yesterday. I had a lot of fun.
It was a
good day of fishing. On a side note, I saw a Bald
Headed
Eagle fly over the river at Thunderbird Farm. Don't know
about you,
but I never get tired of seeing eagles. Only a few weeks left in
summer, hope you get out for a trip. Good luck with your
fishing. Ed T. Date: 8-10-10 Time: 9:30 - 5:30 Water:
very
slight
stain
Water
temp:
84
Weather:
sunny,
then
overcast
Temp:
100
I
fished the SP2 trip once again. The river was about the same
level as last week, which ment I had to drag the canoe over a few
shallow spots. Not a big hassle by any means. Lots of grass
now. Not as bad as it is most years 'round about this time.
Lots of grass floating in the water and that can be a bit of a hassle
so far as keeping your lure clean. And oh yeah, it was hot as the
devil's playground yesterday. But like I've always said, hot day
no problem on the South Fork. Just jump in. Fish were
biting good. Got a couple of smallmouth and several bluegill
right off the bat in the State Park. I used 4" Zoom
Dead Ringer plastic worms (green pumpkin) on an 1/8 oz. weedless
rig and #3 Mepps inline spinnerbaits (gold and silver
blades). A few times I also used 4" Bass Pro soft
stickbaits. The fishing was pretty decent all day. It
slowed down a little once or twice, but always picked back up.
The smallmouth were scattered about. I caught bass around
the rocks like usual, but I had no problem finding them in the flat
open areas as well and also did pretty good when I tried the
banks. The bluegill were hanging around the fast water close
to the rocks. I caught all my bluegill, with one exception,
pulling the spinnerbait near the rocks. One bluegill hit a worm
late in the day. I had fair luck with the bluegill
yesterday. It was the best day I've had this year for
bluegill. I spent most of my time yesterday bottom fishing with
the worm. A few smallmouth hit the spinner, but the worm got
about ninety percent of 'em. Let me give you a little tip about
worm fishing. Don't over do it. Don't be jigging the heck
out of it and swimming it back all the time. Slow down. Let
it just sit on the bottom a lot. Give it a very small little hop
every once in awhile. Move it in about one turn of the reel at a
time. SLOW. Take my word for it. Just try fishing
your soft plastic lures like worms or grubs or senkos real slow.
You may get a nice surprise. The smallmouth were generally
bigger than last week and really not bad size at all for
summer fishing. My best fish was a 16" smallmouth. Also got
a 15" smallmouth and a 15" largemouth and a couple of 14" bass as
well. The rest of the bass were about evenly divided between
small and middle sized. Hard to figure out why one week I get
mostly small fish and the next week I do better.
The water temp yesterday was hotter than last week which is
supposed to mean smaller fish and a slower bite. Go
figure. Honest to god, I will never really figure it out.
But anyway it was nice having two good trips in a
row. But that's not really all that unusual for this stretch
of river. Its a fine place to fish. Whether its bass
or catfish you're after, there are a lot of fish in the South
Fork. Good luck with your fishing.
Ed T. Date: 8-3-10 Time: 9:30 - 5:30 Water:
clear Water
temp:
78
Weather:
overcast
Temp:
88
I did my usual fishing trip, the
SP2, from the State Park to Karo Landing. Shallow through this
section, had to drag the canoe over a few shallow spots. Not too
bad. I've fished it at lower levels earlier this summer.
Some grass growth, but again, not too bad. Less grass than we
usually see this time of year. Fair amount of loose grass
floating in the water, so I had to clean my lure off a lot.
Pretty good conditions as a whole. But I sure would like to
see enough rain in the next week or so to bring the water level
up. Let's cross our fingers. The fishing got off to a very
slow start. Not a single fish in the first hour. About
10:30 things got rolling and got reasonably good in short order.
I was using the same three lures that have been my basic arsenal for
the last month or so. I was using 4" worms, Zoom Dead Ringers
(green pumpkin) and Berkley Power Worms (pumpkinseed) on 1/8 oz. Texas
rigs. I also used a #3 Mepps inline spinnerbait (gold blade)
and 4" Bass Pro Stick-O soft stickbaits (green pumpkin). I caught
fish with all three lures, but the worm accounted for about two thirds
of the final tally. I used the spinner mostly in the fast water
around the rocks. Got some nice smallies that way, along with
five out of the six bluegill I caught yesterday. I fished
the soft stickbait in the deep slow sections for the most part,
although late in the afternoon I started scoring with it in shallow
areas as well. And the worm? Well the worm was my go
to, I used it everywhere but the fast water, and the smallmouth were
hitting it pretty good. I fished the rocks and the flat
areas, mostly looking for holes and underwater structure when I fished
the flats. I only flipped the banks a couple of times. Not
much luck there, so I stayed out in the river. Spent most of
my time bottom fishing the worms in flat areas of water. The
fishing was kinda off and on through the day. Nail a few and then
it would die down for awhile. But it was more on than off, and
when it was on it was a pretty good bite. As usual, the last
hour they were hitting better than they had all day.
Overall, not a bad day. If you take out the first hour that I
went fishless, I averaged over five an hour for the other seven hours I
was on the river. Not what I would call HOT fishing, but not half
bad either. On the other hand, I have to wonder if I actually
caught maybe five pounds of smallmouth yesterday.
That's adding them all together. The majority of the
smallmouth were ten inches or under. I caught a few elevens and
twelves, a couple of thirteens, and the grandaddy lunker of them all
was (drum roll) a fourteen incher. So size was not my strong
point yesterday. I can give you the usual lame story about how I
had what a think was a pretty big one on the soft stickbait, only to
have it break off before I could loosen up the drag. But I've
told that one too many times for it to have much
effect. Most of the time summer fishing means more
fish - less size, simple as that. Yesterday was pretty
much the norm for summer fishing. Anyway, I had a good time
yesterday. Caught a fair number of bass. Even caught a few
bluegill, something I haven't seen a whole lot of this
year. Yesterday's fishing was about what I expect in the
South Fork around this time of year. The South Fork of the
Shenandoah is a beautiful place. A good place to fish, too.
Good luck with your fishing.
Ed T. Date: 7-27-10 Time: 9:30 - 5:30 Water:
clear
Water
temp:
81
Weather:
overcast
Temp:
89
I took my buddy Tom fishing with
me yesterday. I'm not much for taking other folks fishing, but I
occasionally make an exception for Tom. For one thing, we
both ride motorcycles. So we get a nice ride back and forth from
D.C. on top of a day of fishing. We did the SP2 trip from the
State Park to Karo landing. It was summertime low. We ended
up dragging the canoe over a bunch of shallow spots. It wasn't
that big a deal, Tom was by no means bummed about it. Grass is
starting to grow pretty well and there's a fair amount of loose grass
floating in the river as well. The water temp was down a little
and it wasn't a steaming hot day, so I was hopeful for some good
fishing. Well, that's not how it turned out. It
wasn't what I would call a great day of fishing. We
caught some fish, off and on, but as a whole it was a little on the
slow side. The morning was pretty slow. We only caught a
few fish before noon. But that happens pretty often, and then the
bite usually picks up in the afternoon. It did pick up some in
the afternoon, but it never got really rolling. Got a little
better the last couple of hours, but still not what I would call good
fishing. We were using pretty much the same lures I've been using
for the last few weeks. We caught a few on inline
spinnerbaits. I was using a #3 Mepps (gold blade). We
caught most of our fish on 4" ribworms (pumpkin and green pumpkin),
fishing them on 1/8 oz. Texas rigs or 1/8 oz. jigheads. Also
caught a few on 4" soft stickbaits (green pumpkin). The bass were
scattered. No clear pattern as to where they were hanging
out. Best bet was fishing deeper areas and targeting any
underwater structure like rocks or ledges. But we caught bass in
open water next to the banks as well. Like I said, there really
wasn't a clear pattern working. We ended up fishing all over the
place, little bit of this - little bit of that. Just lookin' for
fish. Most of the bass we caught were small to medium
smallmouth. Not that many even went a foot. I did manage
one sixteen inch largemouth with the soft stickbait, but that was the
only decent bass we got all day. Between the two of us I think we
caught four bluegill. Oh well. Sometimes you win,
sometimes... Anyway, it was a fairly nice day and even
though the bite never really took off we were catching enough fish to
have a good time. I'm still surprised the fishing wasn't better
yesterday. But it's history now and all I can do is look forward
to the next trip. Good luck with your fishing.
Ed. T. Date: 7-13-10 Time: 9:30 - 5:30 Water:
stained
Water
temp:
78
Weather:
overcast
Temp:
82
Went back to my usual trip
yesterday, from the State Park to Karo Landing (SP2). The water
level was a bit higher, so I got through this section pretty
easy. Only had to get out of the canoe a few times. There
was very little debris floating in the river. No algae at all and
very little in the way of grass or trash. Nice conditions and the
water temp was lower as well. Expected some great
fishing. As such, the morning was a big letdown. It
was slow. I only caught a few fish before noon. I
was mostly fishing 4" ribworms, Zoom Dead Ringers (green
pumpkin), on an 1/8 oz. Texas rig. Caught a few reasonable size
smallmouth and a few decent size bluegill. The bluegill were
either near the banks or in the fast stuff near the rocks. Most
of the smallmouth were caught fishing deeper pools in the flat
areas. The bite improved after noon. I started tossing
a #3 Mepps (gold blade), occasionally getting a nice one at the edge of
the current below the rocks. The worm was still my money
maker. Nine out of ten times it was the worm that
got 'em. It was getting them pretty good, too. By
about two the bass were hitting good and solid, at a rate I would call
about average for this time of year. Nice fishing.
Most of the smallmouth were about the usual size for summer, running
from eight to twelve inches, a fair number between ten and
twelve. Only caught a few over twelve, the best two smallmouth
went fourteen inches. My best bass for the day was a nice sixteen
inch largemouth. Caught her by pulling the spinner
between two ledges in shallow water. A nice surprise to say the
least. Another big surprise was the twenty-four inch catfish I
caught in some fast water behind some rocks with the spinnerbait.
That one hit like a freight train and gave me a darn good
fight all the way to the boat. I've caught several
catfish on spinners this year, but it still amazes me. What are
the catfish up to this year? It was an interesting day of
fishing. Managed to catch four different species and saw some
good fishing in the afternoon. Caught a lot of smallmouth.
I usually catch a lot of smallmouth on this part of the South Fork in
the summertime. Get out for some summer fishing if at all
possible. Make time for it. You"ll be glad you did.
Good luck with your fishing.
Ed T. Date: 7-6-10 Time: 9:30 - 2:00 Water:
clear
Water
temp:
83
Weather:
sunny
Temp:
100 (high)
Had myself a hot fun day on the
South Fork. With the high yesterday expected to be triple
digit, I decided to do a shorter trip from Karo to the Front
Royal Canoe Co.(Trip 1). Don't do that trip very often, but
I was glad I did 'cause I had an enjoyable trip. Got my
first bass, a decent twelve inch smallmouth, within about fifteen
minutes. I was tossing a 4" Zoom Dead Ringer plastic worm (green
pumpkin) on an 1/8 oz. Texas rig. About as simple as bass fishing
gets. That was pretty much how I spent the day,
fishing worms. Tried some other lures through the day, but
the worm was the ticket and I was good with that. I like
using soft plastics. Found most of my smallmouth fishing the
deeper water in flat areas. Had next to no luck in the faster
water around the rocks. The best pattern was tossing a worm into
a deeper spot and working it along the edge of a rock ledge.
The smallmouth were fairly aggressive, nice solid hits when they
spotted that ringworm. Near the end of the trip, I caught a few
bass with 4" soft stick baits, Bass Pro brand (green
pumpkin). I caught fifteen bass in about four and a half
hours, averaged out to three or four fish an
hour. About half of them were eleven or twelve inches
long. Only a few dinks. My biggie for the day was all of
thirteen inches. No lunkers. But still not a bad
day. Not bad when you consider how hot it was and the several
thousand boats, tubes, and people that plowed through that stretch
of water during the preceding holiday weekend. That
much pressure can really turn off the fishing . Between the
heat and the recent crowds, I was expecting a pretty slow day.
Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. Got in several hours of fun
fishing and called it a day before it got brain frying hot. Maybe
I should hit this stretch more often. Plenty of summer fishing
ahead, hope you get in on some. Reading about it is one
thing. Doing it is way better. Good luck with your
fishing.
Ed T. Date: 6-22-10 Time: 9:30 - 5:30 Water:
clear
Water
temp:
82
(average
for
the
day)
Weather: partly
cloudy
Temp:
95
Summertime fishing. It was
a hot hazy day yesterday, a good time to be on the South Fork.
Fish awhile, take a little dip. Go on, put your head under.
Feels real good. When its a hot steamy day like it was yesterday,
you can't beat getting out on the river. I did my usual float
from the State Park to Karo Landing. I'll be up front with you,
if you have an aversion to dragging your canoe over rocks you might
want to take a different trip. This stretch is starting to get
shallow. I was in and out of that canoe a bunch of times
yesterday. I'll tell you how shallow it was. Down in the
lower reaches, just upriver of Thunderbird Farm, I watched a deer
walk out to the middle of the river. I swear she barely got
her ankles wet. Well, maybe she got a little more wet than that,
but it was pretty darn shallow. There was a lot of floating
blobs of algae, leaves, and assorted trash floating in the water.
The level is drawing down and sort of concentrating the
floating debris. Not a ridiculous amount or anything, but
still somewhat of a hassle. The water was clear and shallow
yesterday so it was so easy to see the fish. I could hardly
believe how many catfish I saw. Big schools of them all over the
place. Plenty of carp and bass as well. Last week I wrote
about how I was worried about the bluegill. Yesterday I heard
about a guy catching almost nothing but bluegill on a trip last week,
fishing a spinner. So I tried my trusty #3 Mepps (gold blade)
throughout the day and did manage to catch a few bluegill. And I
did see a fair number of them chasing up on the spinner and
swimming around the ledges. So yes, there are bluegill. But
I still don't think we're seeing the usual population. But at
least they're not gone by any means, and I'm pretty sure that in time
they will get back to normal. The bass fishing yesterday was
on the slow side. Started out well enough, I did okay in the
morning. But the bite slowly declined after noon.
By three o'clock or so, it was really slow, couple or three fish
an hour. I think it got soooo hot in the afternoon, the water
temp was about 85, it just punked the smallmouth out. I mostly
fished 4" soft stickbaits ("senkos") all day (green
pumpkin). I got my best results fishing them real slow, dead
stickin' and just letting them drift around a lot. A lot of
times it seems the slower I fish a soft stickbait, the better
it works. Seems if I work a soft stickbait fast, I get the
smaller, more aggressive bass. Slow deadstickin' gets me the big
girls. I had better luck yesterday fishing the flat areas instead
of working around the rocks. Working the rocks and ledges was
best for getting a few bluegill and small bass with the
spinner. Working the flat areas with deeper water, using the
stickbait, got me the best smallmouth. Between ten and
eleven I caught several nice size smallmouth, including a nineteen
inch beauty. Biggest smallmouth I've caught in quite
awhile. Sure felt good. Lit up a celebratory cigar
after I let her go. I firmly believe in catch and release.
Especially the big ones. Give somebody else a chance to catch
it. After nailing that big smallmouth, the
fishing went downhill. The bite started slowing down
during the next hour and got slower and slower through the rest of the
afternoon. The last couple of hours I was mostly just working the
shadows under the trees, that was about the only place I could get
a bite. Most of my fish yesterday were under a foot. Some
of them were really small. Its a little bit sad when you catch
a bass that's smaller than the lure. I know when this
happens its tempting to leave that sucker on as bait, but Fish and Game
frowns on that. Take it off and throw it back and hope its a
little bit bigger next time you catch it. Throw your fish back in
the river, but that's all. Don't throw your soda cans or
your empty Cheetos bag and for god's sake don't throw your wadded up
ball of messed up fishing line in the river. You can't imagine
how much I hate getting tangled up in someone's old fishing line.
Anyway,enough ranting, sermon's over. I just don't have any
love for folks that trash up the river. In a nutshell, fishing
was slow yesterday. Oh well. But getting a nice
big smallmouth went a long ways. On top of that, being out
on a nice river, getting in those cooling dips... all part of a
good time on the Shenandoah. Summer fishing ain't nothing but the
truth. Good luck with your fishing.
Ed T. Date: 6-15-10 Time: 9:30 - 5:30 Water:
clear
Water
temp:
80
Weather: overcast, light
showers
Temp: 80
I fished my usual stretch of
the South Fork from the State Park to Karo Landing. The water
level was somewhat lower than last week. Had to get out and drag
the canoe over a couple of spots. Not too bad yet, but it sure
would be nice to get enough rain to bring it back up a little
bit. There was some debris in the water, a little bit of algae, a
little bit of grass. Not a big deal, but I had to clean off my
lures quite a few times. Morning fishing wasn't half bad for
once. Caught a fair number of bass before noon, even got a few
bluegill. I was tossing 4" tubes (green pumpkin) on an 1/8 oz.
split shot rig and throwing a #3 Mepps spinner (gold blade). It
was nice to finally get a few bluegill. I threw the spinner all
day long trying to catch more bluegill, but the tally for the whole day
was only five fish. At this point in the season I am quite sure
that something eleminated a lot of the bluegill through this part of
the river. So far this year I have only caught a handful.
In years past there were often days when I would catch almost equal
numbers of bluegill and smallmouth. I have no idea what happened
to the bluegill through this stretch, but I can say for certain
that a lot of them are gone. I'm hopeful that in time they
will return to their usual numbers. Well at least the
smallmouth were biting good yesterday. I was getting most of them
on the tube. I didn't spend much time working the banks.
Did most of my fishing out near the middle. I worked the rocks a
lot but also had just about as much luck fishing the flat areas.
Late in the morning I chatted with a nice couple out for a few hours of
fishing. Told me a cool story about recently nailing a citatation
21.5 inch smallmouth. I never get tired of hearing that kind of
news about South Fork fishing. Because I noticed those
folks were using some senkos, and 'cause I've also seen some other
folks using senkos lately, I thought what the heck and I tied on a 4"
senko (green pumpkin) in the afternoon. I don't know if
it was switching to the senko or just the usual time the
fishing gets better, but either way the fishing really picked up in the
afternoon. I was steady catching smallmouth. Sure caught a lot of
fish. I caught a few with the spinner, but the senko was the
real money maker. Now I must say that most of the bass
I caught yesterday were small to medium. Lots of eight to
ten inch fish, a few up to twelve and hardly any over
twelve. My best two were fifteen and sixteen, both caught with
the senko in medum depth flat areas. Lots of fish, but so
many were kinda' puny. It was overcast all day. I sat
through a light rainstorm right after I got started. Not what
you'd call a pretty day. But the fishing was pretty good.
What I consider about average for this time of year on the South
fork. In my book, decent fishing makes up for so so
weather. Lots of good summer days of fishing ahead on this
beautiful little piece of river. Good luck with your fishing.
Ed T. Date: 6-8-10 Time: 9:30 - 5:30 Water: slight
stain
Water
temp:
74
Weather:
sunny
Temp:
78
Wow! A truly beautiful
summer day on the South Fork of the Shenandoah. The weather
yesterday was perfect. I'll fish in rain, cold... whatever.
But when the weather is like it was yesterday, can't help but make a
big difference. I fished the stretch from the State Park to Karo
Landing, the SP2 trip. The river level is holding nicely, just a
smidgin lower than last week. Slight stain and a few degrees
cooler. Fishing pretty much sucked in the morning. Only
caught about six bass before noon. I was using the same lures
I've been using the last few weeks, a 4" tube (green pumpkin) on an 1/8
oz. split shot rig, a Rebel Wee-Craw (ditch) and a #3 Mepps spinnerbait
(gold blade). The tube accounted for most of the fish, but I did
get a couple of decent smallmouth in the rapids with the
Wee-Craw. I fished around a bit at first, but soon started
concentrating on fishing around rocks. Seemed like fishing the
banks was pretty much a waste of time. After noon the bite picked
up pretty quick. Both the Craw and the tube were getting bass,
but the tube was much more productive. On the other
hand, the Craw got full body slam hook ups in the fast stuff
around the rocks. And it provided my only halfway big bass
yesterday. I was pulling it through a little valley in some rocks
and scored a nice sixteen inch smallmouth. The only fish I got
all day over thirteen inches. I was catching mostly small to
medium size bass yesterday, the majority were under twelve
inches. I did get another large smallmouth bass on the Craw in
the afternoon. I got a good look at it and thought hmmm, that's a
big one better loosen up the drag. Just as my line went ping
and the smallmouth went swimming off with my crankbait. The
fishing in the afternoon was fairly steady, especially the last few
hours. The tube was really pulling them in when I worked it in
the deeper pools around the rocks. I started getting a few fish
in the faster stuff with the spinner. I didn't get any
bluegill all day. Sure would like to start catching some bluegill
again. Good day of fishing. Slow morning starts are often
the case in the South Fork, my friend says the bass are late
risers. Afternoon fishing was decent. Nothing special, but
pretty good fishing all the same. Had a good time as usual.
Good luck with your fishing.
Ed T. Date: 6-2-10 Time: 9:30 - 5:30 Water:
stained Water
temp:
77
Weather:
sunny
Temp:
92
Summertime fishing on the south
Fork. It was pretty warm in the morning. By eleven I was
already taking dips in the river to cool off. By two
o'clock I was wondering if I had enough drinking water. It
was a real nice sunny day for sure, but it was a cooker as well.
I fished the SP2 trip, State Park to Karo Landing. The river
level was still holding quite well, in fact it was a little higher
than last week. Good conditions. The fishing yesterday was
pretty good. Not quite as good as it was last week, but still
pretty fair. The extreme heat the last few days, plus a few
thunderstorms, may have had a little bit of effect. Maybe the
pressure of roughly half a billion visitors over the holiday weekend
may have had some small effect. Whatever the reason, the fishing
was down a tad from last week. For the most part, I used three
lures yesterday. A 4" tube (green pumpkin), first on an 1/8
oz. jighead, most of the time on an 1/8 oz. split shot
rig, a Rebel Wee-Craw (ditch) and a #3 Mepps spinner
(gold blade). I caught almost all my smallmouth with the
tube. I didn't get a single fish on the Craw, even though I tried
it off and on all day long. I got a few bass with the
spinner, as well as the only two bluegill I've caught in several
weeks. Where are the bluegill in this stretch? I also
caught another catfish with the spinner, like last week, but this
one was a little guy, about a foot long. I heard several stories
yesterday of recent catches of catfish on spinners and
crankbaits. Rather strange, don't you think. The catfish in
these parts are getting a little bit aggressive. Although the
fishing never got real fast paced, it was pretty good from the
morning on. As it often does, it got better as the day wore
on. It seemed like the smallmouth were somewhat scattered
out, so I fished different parts of the river. Spent most of my
time working the pools around the rocks. But I got some nice ones
near the banks as well. I caught more fish out by the rocks, but
both of my biggest bass, two fourteen inchers, were hiding in the
shadows near the bank. I didn't catch as many large fish as last
week, but I didn't catch as many really small bass either. A lot
of the smallmouth I caught yesterday were from 10 to 12
inches. Nice size smallmouth. Summing it up, the
fishing was slower than the last couple of weeks, maybe even a bit
below average for this time of year. But it was still pretty good
fishing, I caught a fair number of bass. I was quite
satisfied. Now that its summer and the water is warm, the fishing
is pretty good most of the time. Odds are you get at least pretty
good fishing just about any day you hit it. With a little bit of
luck, you get a really good day. Either way, its always fun to
spend a day on the South Fork. Good luck with your fishing.
Ed T. Date: 5/26/10 Time: 9:30-5:30 Water: slight
stain Water
Temp: 72
Weather: mostly
sunny Temp: 85
Felt like summer
yesterday. Did my
ususal trip from the State Park to Karo Landing. River level is
holding well, about the same as last week. Plenty of rocks
showing, but I got through with no canoe dragging. Did pretty
well in the morning, caught a fair number of smallmouth. I caught
most of my bass with a 4" tube (green pumpkin) on an 1/8 oz. split shot
rig. That set up has been my go to lure for several weeks
now. I also caught a few fish with 4" ring worms (pumpkin), but
the tube worked better. In the morning the most productive
pattern was working the shadows along the banks. I also threw a
small inline spinner at various times throughout the day, hoping to get
a few bluegill. No luck in that department. Not a single
bluegill all day. I stayed with the tube all day' but late in the
morning I switched to fishing mid river. Mostly fished
around the rocks, but I also had pretty good luck fishing the flats as
well. The fishing got real slow for around an hour after
noon. It's kinda strange that the same thing hapened last week,
the same lull in the bite in the early afternoon. During
that slow period yesterday I tried the creek hoping for some
largemouth. Nada, not even a nibble. I got back out in the
river and caught a nice size catfish on the spinner. That's
right, the spinner! That was one agressive catfish. Put up
a heck of a fight. Soon enough, the fishing picked up
pretty fast. From about one o'clock on the fishing was pretty
good. Like usual, it got better and better 'til the end of the
trip. Late afternoon seems to always provide the best fishing on
the South Fork. Yesterday afternoon that ment lots
of of smallmouth. The area above the twin islands was
particularly good. I can tell we're shifting into summer
mode when I start catching more small fish, fewer big ones..
A good portion of my smallmouth yesterday were ten inches or
less. Only a handful were over twelve. The best bass
went 16" and looked like a monster compared to the rest of
'em. The big ones aren't as easy to catch anymore, that's for
sure. But it was a good day of fishing any way you slice
it. Maybe they weren't lunkers, but it was fun catching plenty of
bass. And I saw the biggest Bald Eagle I think I've ever seen fly
across the river about 30 feet away. Priceless. Nothing
like a day of good fishing on the South Fork. Good for your
body. Good for your spirit. In parting my friends, good
luck with your fishing.
Date: 5/19/2010 Time: 9:30-5:00 Water:
Clear
Water temp: 65
Weather:
overcast
Temp: 70
I fished the stretch from the
State Park to Karo Landing. The water level was about the same as
last week, lots of rocks showing. I still got through
without having to get out and drag. I was nicely surprised with
good fishing in the morning. Yesterday they were hittin'
hard right from the get go. Had a half dozen smallmouth
before I left the park. The best two were fourteen and sixteen
inches. Now that's how I like to start things off. I was
tossing a 4" tube (green pumpkin), 1/8 oz. Texas rig. As I
got farther down the river and started hitting some rapids, I started
getting a few smallmouth in the faster water with a Rebel Wee-Craw
(ditch). I used those two lures, the tube and the Wee Craw, for
the rest of the day. But the crankbait only worked
occasionally. About 80% of my bass were caught with the
tube. I fished different areas of the river, but as usual
concentrated on the pools around the rocks. However, flipping the
tube near the banks was also quite productive. In fact, I
caught my biggest smallmouth, a nice eighteen incher, in shallow
water close to the bank. The bite slowed a little around noon, so
I switched the tube to an 1/8 oz. split shot rig (essentially a
lightweight Carolina rig). Wanted to get into more of a finesse
mode. It wasn't long before the bite picked back up again.
I was catching most of the smallmouth working the split shot
rigged tube slowly in the deeper water. Sometimes they hit
the tube pretty fast, occasionally on the fall. I was also
getting a few with the Craw in the faster stuff around the rocks.
The fish started biting better and better as the afternoon wore
on. The last couple of hours I was catching fish at a real nice
pace. I caught a lot of smallmouth yesterday, the most I've
caught on any trip this year. It started out good in the
morning, and except for a brief spell, stayed good all day
long. Only thing missing was some bluegill action.
But I only threw a spinner a few times and I didn't put much effort
into getting bluegill. I was too busy catching bass. It was
a good day of fishing, Made me anxious to get back next
week. The summer's heating up and so is the fishing. Good
luck with your fishing.
Ed T. Date: 5-14-10 Time: 9:30 - 5:00 Water:
clear
Water
temp:
62
Weather:
sunny
Temp:
78
Missed a couple of weeks while I
was on vacation. It was nice to be back on the South Fork.
Picked a good day, too. It was sunny and hot all day. I did
my ususal trip, from the State Park to Karo Landing. The river
was in nice shape. The water level is down some, but its still
easy enough to get through without any canoe dragging
involved. On the good side, more rocks are
exposed, so its easier to read the structure and find the fish.
More often than not, fish hang around the rocks. Started
things off by catching a few bluegill in the park with a #3 Mepps
spinner (gold blade). First bluegill I've caught this year.
Yay! I'm sure there are more to come. Caught a couple
of smallmouth with the spinner as well, but the morning fishing
was pretty slow. Seems to be the pattern lately, very slow in the
morning, then it picks up in the afternoon. And that's just what
happened yesterday. About eleven o'clock it started picking up a
little and by about one the bass were hitting pretty
well. I was still getting an occasional bluegill with the
spinner, but the bass wouldn't go for it. I started getting
the smallmouth with a 4" tube (green pumpkin) on an 1/8 oz.
jighead. Lots of slow fishing, mostly just dragging the tube on
the bottom with an occasional little jig hop. Slow stuff.
Seemed to be the best way to get them. The smallmouth were
not as aggressive as usual. Little interest in crankbaits or
spinners. I was thinking perhaps they were spawning,
something seemed a little odd about the way they were hitting.
When I talked with a couple of the guys at Front River
Canoe Co., they said the bass were most likely bedding.
Bedding is when the smallmouth make their nest in the gravel, part of
the prespawn preperation. The whole spawning process has a
substantial effect on the bite, so we shouldn't be surprised if the
smallmouth act a little weird for the next couple of weeks. But
that said, the fishing yesterday afternoon was decent. Not a
great day, I didn't catch a ton of fish. Nor did I catch a lot of
big fish. I caught a lot of small bass yesterday.
I caught a few true sardines. The biggest smallmouth I got were a
couple of fourteen inchers. But the afternoon fishing was fairly
consistant good fun. Never too long a wait for a fish.
Working the pools around the rocks with the tube and pulling them
in. Half way through the afternoon I ran into a guy I hadn't seen
in years on the river. He had his wife with him and they
were both scoring pretty well. Earlier in the day he'd caught a
major lunker in some shallow water. So I guess someone knew how
to catch a big one. But any way you look at it, I felt like
a winner yesterday, It was just such a beautiful hot spring day
and I was getting in some good fishing on a great
river. No traffic, no noise, nothing but mother nature to
deal with. Good luck with your fishing.
Ed T. Date: 4/29/2010 Time: 10:00: 5:00 Water:
Clear
Water
Temp:
56
Weather:
Sunny
Temp:
70
It was chilly when I put in at
the State Park, but it warmed up in no time. I did the SP2 trip,
State Park to Karo Landing. River level, clarity, and no floating
debris combined for near perfect conditions. I had a good trip
last week and was hopeful for a repeat. The morning was slow,
only caught one smallmouth. Around eleven it picked up
some. Maybe the water had warmed up a bit. I
started catching a few smallmouth by fishing the slack water
around the rock ledges. The bass were hanging in the pools, not
in the fast water like last week. Once again, I was using a Rebel
Wee Craw crankbait (ditch). I tried different lures,
including soft plastics and spinnerbaits, but the Wee Craw seemed
to be the best choice. After a couple of hours, the bite went
dead. Hardly caught any fish for over an hour. However one
of the only fish I caught during that time was the biggest bass I've
caught this year. There's a deep area in front of the houses
across from the second creek. Look for a stone
retaining wall on the bank. The deep area is just
downriver. I always slow fish this spot, usually drift fishing
soft plastics. Yesterday I was dead sticking a 4" senko (green
pumpkin) and caught a 20" largemouth. Nice! Around two
o'clock the smallmouth started biting again. The fishing was
fairly decent for the rest of the afternoon. As a result of
the fishing being an off and on kind of thing, I caught less than
twenty bass for the day. The size wasn't anything special either,
except for the big largemouth. My best smallmouth was 15" and I
caught a few that were pretty small. Oh well. I have yet to
catch any bluegill this year. Where are my old
friends? Where are my bluegill? Saw lots of good sized
catfish, for those of you so inclined. Also saw some bald
eagles. I've seen bald eagles so many times out here on the South
Fork, but it's always an impressive sight. Wrapping it up,not a
great day but not bad either. Caught a few smallmouth, nailed a
lunker largemouth and enjoyed a sunny day on the South
Fork Pretty good way to spend a spring day. Hope you
get some time on the South Fork in the near future. Good luck
with your fishing.
Ed T. Date: 4-20-10 Time: 9:30 - 5:00 Water:
clear
Water
temp:
55
Weather:
overcast
Temp:
65
I fished the Sp2 trip, from the
State Park to Karo Landing. Last week I reported that river
conditions were nearly perfect. This week it was even
better. The water had dropped to show a lot of rocks, but it was
still high enough to get down the river easy. Water level,
clarity, and the absence of floating debris made for ideal fishing
conditions. My first two trips this year didn't exactly knock me
out. Fishing was pretty slow the last couple
of weeks . Thankfully, yesterday was a whole new
story. After a slow morning start, the fishing was pretty darn
good. Yeah, the morning was bad. I didn't get a fish 'til
eleven. By that time I was already going oh crap, here we go
again. But my very first fish was a fat 19 inch largemouth on a
4" senko (green pumpkin) drifted in that deep area in front of the
first creek past the park. Soon after that I started getting some
nice size smallmouth by fishing around the rocks. At first I
caught a few with a #3 Mepps inline spinner (gold blade). Caught
a few with that, then switched to the Rebel Wee Craw
crankbait (brown). Spent the rest of the day fishing
the Rebel Craw. Tried other crankbaits and spinners, soft
plastics as well, but the Wee Craw was the ticket. The bass
were hitting in the fast moving water around the rocks, usually right
at the edge between the boil and the slack water. A lot of them
were tight to the ledges. They were nailing the lure hard and
fast, aggressive ambush style, and a lot of them put up a pretty good
fight. I got over twenty bass yesterday. For this early in
the year, that's pretty good. But the best part was all the
bigguns I caught. Two 18", two 17", and several 15 and 16"
smallmouth. Sweet! Add that 19" largemouth into the
mix and I call it a truly fine day of fishing.
Yesterday was a good example of the spring fishing I always talk
about. There are problems with spring fishing because it is a
transitional period. So its not always a sure bet. Its not
as consistant as summer. But when spring conditions are right,
its without a doubt the best time to get large bass. In the
summer you will catch a lot more fish, but the larger bass are a lot
harder to come by. Its a trade off. I love spring
fishing. I prize days like yesterday. Good size spring
smallmouth make for exciting fishing. Hope you have time for a
trip in the near future. Good luck with your fishing.
Ed T. Date: 4/14/10 Time: 9:30 - 5:00 Water: light stain Water temp: 55 Weather: overcast, then
partly
cloudy
Temp:
65
I fished the SP2 trip, from the
State Park to Karo Landing. Almost perfect river
conditions. Nice level, slightly stained, next to no floating
debris. A few rocks were showing. Real nice. But the
water is still somewhat chilly. Perhaps that explains why the
fishing was a bit on the slow side. Only caught eight smallmouth
for the whole day. Caught two on a Rebel Wee Crawfish (ditch),
the rest on a #3 Mepps inline spinnerbait (gold blade). Got most
of the bass fishing slack water around the rocks. Caught a couple
near the bank. Not a bit of luck in the creeks. What
happened to those largemouth that were holed up there last
week? Anyway, at least I caught some decent size
smallmouth. Six of them were over a foot, the best went sixteen
inches. Still, it wasn't what I'd call an outstanding
day of fishing. But its early in the season and the water is
still kinda' cold. I'm pretty hyped about just gettin
back in the game again. After spending most of the winter
indoors, getting out on the river and catching a few bass is
enough to put a smile on my face. And I know the water is
getting warmer day by day, so its only a matter of time before the
fishing improves. Remember, as I've told you before, spring is
the best time of the year for scoring lunker smallmouth. So don't
miss out on some spring fishing trips.
Ed T. Date: 4-6-10 Time: 9:30 - 2:00 Water:
stained
Water
temp:
57
Weather:
Sunny
Temp:
mid
80's
This year's first trip.
Sure was great to be back on the South Fork. Did last winter suck
or what. The river was pretty high and stained. Not
much debris floating in the water, which means its been high for
awhile so most of the trash has washed through. Overall, I'd
say the river is in real good condition for this time of the
year. I did a short four and a half hour trip
yesterday, from the State Park to Karo Landing. I didn't do real
well with the smallmouth. Only caught three, running from 10 to
14 inches. Caught all three on a Mepps # 3 inline spinnerbait
(gold blade). All three were caught near the bank, pulled out of
pockets of slower moving water. My best fish were the largemouth
I caught in the creeks. The first creek, by the Stump
Hole, gave up a 16 and a 19 inch largemouth to 4" senkos (green
pumpkin). The second creek, across from the houses, produced a
nice 17 inch largemouth on the spinner. The 19 inch largemouth
was a whopper, probably weighed in around four pounds. I didn't
do real well in the river proper, but the creek fishing was well worth
the effort. If you fish the creeks, be sure to paddle up in
them pretty far. I caught all those bass past the half
way point. Pretty good results for this year's first
trip. Like I said, it was great just to be back on my favorite
little stretch of river. Beautiful hot sunny day. The
four and a half hours were more than enough to give me a slight
sunburn. Get out for some nice spring fishing if you get a
chance. Good luck with your fishing.
Ed T. Clyde reports that fishing has improved a lot since the middle of March. He was catching big smallies off the landing before the water came up. With good river flow and warming water temperatures, the fishing is only going to get better from here. Ed T. will be on the river starting next week and will submit reports the rest of the season. Get out here and wet a line! Don R. |
Guides And Links We Recommend
River Hawk Tours - Tom McFillen - Main Stream-Shenandoah River
Eastern Trophies - Bill Heresniak - South Fork - Fly and Spin Fishing
