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Last Updated: July 18, 2008
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Date:
7-16-08
Time: 9:30 - 3:00
Water:
Clear
Water temp: 84
Weather:
Sunny
Temp: 85
Well I promised I would try some
other sections of the river, so yesterday I did the section from Karo
Landing to the Front Royal Canoe Co.'s landing. Haven't done that
trip in a long time. The water was a little low, but
reasonable. There were only a couple of spots that entailed a
very short bit of canoe dragging. The river seemed in pretty good
condition through this section. But, alas, the fishing was a bit
on the slow side. Not real bad by any means, but I've had such
hot fishing the last few weeks and, well, it was a bit slow
yesterday. Now you must bear two things in mind. One, I never do
as well through this section as I do in my usual SP2 trips. Two,
there have been huge crowds of folks going through this section during
the holiday weekend and the week since. Mucho pressure. The
bluegill fishing wasn't half bad. Not as good as I've seen
upriver the last month or so, but it was still pretty easy to get a
bluegill on an inline spinner like the #3 Mepps (gold blade) I was
using. Just keep pulling that spinner close to the rocks and
fairly soon Mr. Bluegill will grab on. The smallmouth bass were a
little harder to come by. It was slow fishing for the
smallmouth. I averaged a few per hour, from morning 'til
afternoon. A few of them hit the spinner, but I caught the
majority by slow bottom fishing 4" senkos (green
pumpkin). Caught most of my fish in the slack water
around rocks. I also caught some of them fishing shallow areas of
flat water. I had very little luck near the banks and not a whole
lot of luck in the deep areas. Caught a fair number of small
fish, but also some good medium and larger bass as well. My best
were two thirteen inchers. I got out kinda early, for me, at
around three. Late afternoon is often the best fishing of the
day. So who knows, it might have improved if I had stayed
later. Really can't figure exactly why I wasn't nailing 'em the
way I have been the last few weeks. The water was a little
warmer. But not by very much. It wasn't my usual stretch of
river. But I've fished this area many times. Oh well,
that's why they call it fishing, Just no way you don't
get the occasional slow day. It was a nice warm day.
Good weather. I always enjoy being out on the South Fork.
I'll be back on my usual SP2 trip next week and most likely
I'll get in some good fishing. Which is just what you should
do. Come out to the South Fork and do a little fishing.
Ed T. Date: 7-8-08 Time: 9:30 - 5:30 Water:
Clear
Water temp: 82
Weather: Partly
sunny
Temp: 85
Well I know I said I was going
to do some different trips and all, but I got out there and the river
had come up a bit and I couldn't resist doing the SP2 trip again.
The water level was just about perfect. It was a breeze getting
down the river but at the same time there were plenty of rocks showing
to get my pattern going. The river is in such great shape.
A few little patches of grass are just starting to show. The fish
population is very good this year. Don't remember the last time I
saw such plentiful bluegill and bass. Loaded with nice mid-size
smallmouth. The fishing yesterday was top notch. About
average in the morning, a tad slow in the late morning, the afternoon
was non-stop fish after fish. Once again, catching bluegill was
about as hard as finding your butt with both hands. Tossing out
an inline spinner a few times is about all it takes. My good ol'
#3 Mepps (gold blade) was getting them left and right. The
spinner was getting a fair number of bass as well. But then, the
bluegill were sometimes hitting crankbaits and soft plastics.
Everybody was pretty darn hungry. I fished my usual pattern,
working the slack water around the rocks. In doing so, I caught a
ton of fish. Count wise, it was the best day I've had this
year. I must point out, I had little success in the deeper flat
areas or the creeks. All the action was around the rocks. I
used several lures with varying success, but 4" inch Berkley Power
Worms (pumpkinseed) on a 1/8 oz. split shot rig were the real
killer. Catching a boatload of fish is great, but getting some
decent size is good as well. I caught the whole range, from
sardines to pretty big, a fair proportion in that nice 10 to 12"
slot. My best were a couple of 14's, a 15 and a 16. Pretty
good size for summertime fishing. Lordy, from two o'clock
on, the fishing was really nice. Just fish after fish,
practically every little pool around some rocks. The best spot of
the day was just below the last big ridge of rocks about a hundred
yards upriver from the twin islands. But honestly, there
were plenty of fish all the way down the river.
Outstanding! Wore out worm after worm. Beautiful day as
well. Doesn't get much better than good weather and good fishing
on the South Fork. Get out and get some, especially if you like
the SP2 trip, 'cause the water level is excellent and the fishing this
year is not to be missed.
Date: 7-1-08 Time: 9:30 - 5:30 Water:
Clear
Water temp: 78
Weather:
Overcast
Temp: 80
Once again, I did the SP2 trip
from the State Park to Karo Landing. I know I keep doing the same
trip over and over, but I feel it has the best fishing. However,
I promise to try out some different trips through the rest of the
summer. This section of the South Fork is getting a little bit
"boney", as they say. Lots of rocks. Not real bad, as yet,
but you can figure on dragging the canoe in a couple of spots.
Other than that, the river is in good shape. Hardly any grass
yet. Easy fishing. Just fish around the rocks.
Pattern the slack water around the rocks and you can't miss. If
you just want to catch half a million fish, tie on an inline
spinner. A Roostertail, a Mepps, any old inline spinnerbait will
work. The bluegill will kill an inline spinner. Its just
amazing how easy it is to get bluegill. I was using my old friend
mister #3 Mepps (gold blade) and the bluegill were loving it.
Actually, I got a few smallmouth on the spinner as well, and not
just little ones. The bass fishing was pretty decent all
day. Not super hot or anything, just regular good summer fishing
in the South Fork. Caught plenty of bass. One kinda slow
period around noon, but the morning and afternoon were pretty
good. Used several different lures during the day, caught a few
on this, a few on that. I usually keep trying different lures
throughout the day. You never know what might start working like
crazy. I caught something like 90% of my bass, including a
few decent largemouth, with 4" Berkley Power Worms (pumpkinseed)
on a 1/8 oz. Texas rig ( 1/8 oz. worm weight, #1 worm hook, worm rigged
with the hook point embedded in the worm). Plain old plastic
worm fishing. Simple and effective. I even managed to get
some fairly large bluegill on the worm. A lot of my fishing
was on the bottom and slow, just a little bit of hopping
and dragging, often just letting the worm drift with the current
or movement of the canoe. Believe me, if you want to catch lots
of fish with soft plastics, just slow down. Let that lure
linger just a bit longer on the bottom. Try it. You'll be
surprised. My bass came in all sizes, from pee-wee to fifteen
inches. A fair number were mid-sized smallmouth, around 10 to 12
inches. I got a few 13's, a 14, and later in the afternoon, the
one 15. The big guy came out of that area just to the right of
the twin islands, which has been quite a little honey hole
lately. I had very little luck in the deeper slow flat areas
yesterday, and not much luck in the creeks either. The banks were
pretty good the couple of times I tried them, but you know how I feel
about the banks and leaving lures in the tree branches and all.
For my money, you can't beat working the slack water around the
rocks. So, in a nutshell, I predict pretty fair fishing for the
next week. I also predict substantial crowds for the July 4th
weekend, and more than a little "pressure" on the fishing. If
you're trying to fish and its crowded as all get out, here's
a little tip. Find a little piece of water kinda out of the
main traffic. Relax and take your time working that area
thoroughly. Work your way down the river by trying to find spaces
where the crowd is not so heavy. Or..., just GO with
the flow, ENJOY the party, and don't worry about how many fish you
catch. Either way, the important thing is to enjoy
yourself. Relaxing and having a good time, that's what the South
Fork is all about. The beauty and joy of the great
outdoors. The rewards of spending time on the river are hard to
put into words. Instead, I hope we will share
them. Remember, everyone is special on the South Fork. Be
courteous to others on the river. Take your trash with you when
you leave. Love and peace to you through the holiday.
Ed T. Date: 6-24-08 Time: 9:30 - 5:30 Water: Slightly stained
Water temp: 76
Weather:
Sunny
Temp: 75
Back on the river again after
missing last week. Did my usual trip from the State Park to Karo
Landing. I heard this stretch was getting a mite shallow last
week, but recent rain brought the river up to a fairly nice
level. If you really watch where you're going, you can get
through with a minimal amount of walking the canoe. Lots of
rocks showing, but that makes it easy to find the fish. The
best pattern yesterday was to fish the pools of slack water near the
rocks. Pretty much the standard South Fork pattern. I
fished the banks a little, and they were reasonably productive as
well. Once the sun got up fairly high, there were quite a few
fish hanging out in the shadows under the tree branches. Bluegill
were still hot to trot. This has been the best year I've seen for
bluegill fishing in a long time. I like a #3 Mepps (gold blade)
for bluegill, and man, they were tearing that sucker up
yesterday. In the last few weeks I've already seen the size go up
on the bluegill. They're getting fatter already, and I was
getting some nice sized ones yesterday. The bass bite was a
little slow in the morning. I was getting a few on the Mepps and
a few on 4" senkos (green pumpkin). In the afternoon it picked up
to a fair pace, about average fishing, I'd say. In the last two
or three hours, the smallmouth were hitting pretty good. Not long
between fish, and they were extremely aggressive, hard fighting
fish. From about noon on, I switched off between a 4" tube (green
pumpkin) on a 1/8 oz. split shot rig and a Rebel Wee-R crankbait
(crawdad). Both lures worked pretty well. The tube was more
productive, but the crankbait was more fun to fish and produced
bigger bass. A very odd thing happened with the crankbait.
A decent size catfish, about 28 inches, actually chased down and nailed
the Wee-R. I could hardly believe my eyes when I reeled it
in. What had he been drinking? I caught a whole range of
size through the day. Lots of pretty small bass, but lots of ten
to twelves as well. No real big smallmouth, but a few thirteens
and fourteens and one fifteen incher. The hot spot for the day
goes to the area just to the right of the "twin islands". Loaded
up on a bunch of bigguns in a matter of about ten or fifteen minutes,
including the fifteen incher. Some real fun fishing that
spot with the crankbait. Wham, bam, thank you mamm. I
had great weather all the way down the river, typical good South Fork
fishing, and lots of nice things to see. I especially enjoyed
watching a Bald Eagle slowly circle pretty much directly above my
canoe. Throw in a good cigar and a quiet peaceful day, away from
the hustle and the talking heads, and you know why a day of
fishing the South Fork is pretty hard to beat.
Ed T. Date: 6-10-08 Time: 9:30 - 5:30 Water:
Clear
Water temp: 81
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 99
Felt like summer. I
don't care what the calendar said, with the temperature hitting close
to 100. spring felt long gone. I did my usual float down the SP2
trip, from the State Park to Karo Landing. The level has come
down a little, so there were plenty of rocks showing. You got to
really read the river and watch for rocks if you want to avoid
dragging your canoe. The bluegill, or perch, as a lot of folks
around here call them, were still biting like crazy. I was
getting them with a #3 Epps inline spinner (gold blade). I'm
sure a Rooster Tail or a Beetle Spin would have worked just
about as well. So easy to catch them it was laughable. They
were just about everywhere I cared to toss the spinner. But the
best way to get them is by drawing your lure parallel to the
ledge in the pools behind the rocks. Bluegill are usually hanging
pretty close to the rocks. They sure have been aggressive and
hungry the last few weeks. I don't know how long its been since I
saw them bite so well. Its not just me, either. Everyone I
talk to has been catching tons of the little buggers. The
smallmouth fishing was not as productive as the bluegill action, but it
was still pretty fair fishing. It was a bit better than average
for this time of year, which is a roundabout way of saying it was
pretty good. Fairly consistent most of the day. The
smallmouth were in their usual pattern. Just fish around the
rocks and you can't go wrong. I also caught a few fishing the
deeper flat areas, but it was REAL SLOW bottom fishing and
didn't yield any big fish like it usually does. I went
through a couple of slow periods during the day, but that was mostly
because the bass kept changing up on what they were willing to bite and
it took me a little while to figure out what they would hit.
Didn't go through the whole tackle box or anything, but it took me a
little bit of switching around to keep finding the right lure. So,
in order, here are the lures I used for bass through the day: 4" senkos
(green pumpkin), Zoom Super Flukes (green pumpkin), back to the senkos
for awhile, then finally I went to 4" tubes (green pumpkin) on an 1/8
oz. split shot rig. I switched off to the tube in the afternoon,
right about the time the bass started biting better, so in the end
I caught the majority of my fish on tubes. If you were to
ask me, I would advise you to start out with the tube. They
were also hitting tubes well last week, so I'd say the tube is a
pretty good bet. I fish tubes on jigheads most to the time, but
the split shot rig has been working well for me lately.
Slip on a 1/8 oz. worm weight. Tie on a small swivel.
Attach nine to twelve inches of line and about a #1 worm hook
to the bottom of the swivel. Rig your tube Texas style.
but push the hook through the far side of the tube to expose the
hook up against the outside of the tube. The beauty of this rig
is that you can either jig and hop the tube or you can let it stay on
the bottom and drag it slowly like a Carolina rig. Dragging it
slowly works pretty well sometimes, because it stirs up dirt on
the bottom and moves along like a crawdad. The fact that you
can either jig it or bottom fish it makes the split shot rig
pretty versatile. I was occasionally getting a few bass on the
Mepps as well, 'cause I was throwing it for bluegill. But the
smallmouth that hit the spinner were usually pretty small. I
caught a fairly substantial number of bass yesterday, but with the
water temp up fairly high, it was hard to get any big ones. In
fact, I didn't land a single big bass yesterday. Almost all
the smallmouth I caught were ten to twelve inches, with a few thirteens
and fourteens. Nice fish, to be sure. Healthy and full of
fight. Lots of nice tail dances. The single large fish I
caught yesterday, which looked pretty big at a quick glance, gave two
really hard jerks, whap,whap, and swam away with my hook. Never
even got a chance to touch the drag handle. Another one of those
coulda been, shoulda been, lunkers. It was a good day of fishing,
and a very pretty day as well. But, lord have mercy, it was
hot. Did a lot more swimming and wading than usual, and to be
honest, that actually felt pretty good. Like I always say, if you
got to be out on a hot day, best to be on the river or at the
beach. Look, guys, the fishing this year has been consistently
good. You really can't go wrong. So drag your butt out here
and get in some good fishing. One final little note.
I can't make it next week. Me and the missus are riding our
fine German motorcycles down to the Honda Hoot for several days of
hillbilly scooter trash madness. Then a day at the Tail of the
Dragon. Should be outstanding. But I'll be back the next
week. So soldier on without me, and good luck with your fishing.
ED T. Date: 6-2-08 Time: 9:30 - 5:30 Water:
Clear
Water temp: 72
Weather:
Sunny
Temp: 78
Another fine trip down the South
Fork. Did my usual trip, the SP2, from the State Park to Karo
Landing. The water level has dropped to a normal level.
Good fishing level, and I was able to get through this stretch without
a single bit of canoe dragging. Had to pick the right spot to get
through the rocks a couple of times, but who's complaining? Not a
lot of debris in the water, either. Clear water, and pretty clean
as well. So, basically, we're talking real nice
conditions. This section of the South Fork is in great
shape. Throw in some beautiful weather and some good fishing and
you got a pretty happy camper. The bite was not quite as hot
as last week, but it was pretty good. The morning fishing
was fair. The afternoon was pretty darn good. Like I
said, the water level was about normal and the water temperature
was about normal for this time of year, so as you might guess, the
fish were hitting in their normal pattern. I caught the
majority of my fish by targeting the slack water below the
rocks. I tried the banks, but didn't get a whole lot of
luck. To be honest, I'm not really crazy about fishing near
the banks anyway, since the potential for throwing a
lure in the branches is, in my personal experience, extremely
likely. Anyway, the pools below the rock ledges were working
well, so that's where I did most of my fishing. Once again, the
bluegills were going nuts. Not as crazy as last week, but it sure
was mighty easy to nail one. I was getting them with a #3
Mepps inline spinner (gold blade) and pretty much anytime I felt
the urge. Throughout the whole day, all I had to do was pull out
the Mepps, drag it across the river close to the rocks, and
bingo. It rarely took more than five or ten casts to get a
bluegill on the spinner. The bass were hitting a little slow in
the morning, but picked up better in the afternoon. Maybe part of
the problem was figuring out what they wanted. I kinda expected
them to hit spinnerbaits like they have been the last few weeks, but
that wasn't the case. I finally started getting them pretty
good on 4" tubes (green pumpkin) on an 1/8 oz. split shot
rig. They were occasionally hitting Super Flukes (green
pumpkin), but the tube was much more productive. I'd say I caught about 80% of my bass on the
tube. Overall, I caught quite a few smallmouth, and a few
largemouth, for the day. It wasn't as hot as the fishing was the
last couple of times I went, but it was still very good
fishing. One thing different though, I couldn't get any of
the lunkers to hit. I sat over a bunch of big largemouth in
one of my favorite deep holes and worked my butt off to no avail.
Saw some nice big fish in the creeks, but couldn't make it
happen. On the other hand, I didn't catch a lot of little guys,
either. Last week I caught a lot of sardines. Instead,
I caught a lot of nice middle size ten to twelve inch smallmouth,
nice healthy bass. And I got a few fairly
big fish. In the late afternoon I was fishing a 3/8 oz.
Bomber Fat A (dark crawdad), and between that and the tube I got
several fourteen and fifteen inch smallies. Yeah buddy, it
was a some fine fishing. The latest in a series of really
good trips. This has been one heck of a spring this year.
Some of the best spring fishing I've seen on the South Fork in a good
while. Seein' how good it's been so far, I have pretty high
expectations for the summer. Man, what a great day I had
yesterday. Sunburned, tired, riding the motorcycle home...
feeling blessed. Happy trails.
Ed T. Date: 5-28-08 Time: 9:30 - 5;30 Water:
Clear Water
temp: 67
Weather: Partly
cloudy
Temp: 72
Another fine spring day on the
South Fork of the Shenandoah river. I had a real fine time
floating the SP2 trip, from the State Park to Karo Landing. The
river level was at a high "normal" level, a good level for easy
floating, but low enough for good fishing. The river isn't
exactly tap water clear, but there was only a slight bit of stain
in it. Really good conditions. The fishing was real
nice. It was pretty good in the morning and even better for the
second half of the day. With the river at a normal level, the
rocks were showing and the bass and bluegill were hitting in their
usual patterns. I got the majority of my fish by concentrating on
the slack water pools just past rock ledges. Very
productive. In a lot of cases I caught fish really tight to the
rocks, sometimes just a few feet downriver from the ledge. Other
times they would be a good ways down, at the very edge of the
slack. I tried the banks a few times, but with limited success,
so I mostly fished the ledges. Like I said, it was very
productive fishing. Never had to wait very long for a bite in the
morning. It just got better. From about one o'clock on it
was REAL good, at times one fish after another.
Lots of smallmouth, lots of bluegill, an occasional largemouth thrown
in. During the morning I mostly fished various
spinnerbaits. I mainly fished a #3 Mepps inline, mostly gold
blade, sometimes the silver. I tried soft plastics, but without
much luck. I did get a few fish on a Rebel Wee Craw. In the
afternoon, I tried a Lew's Speed Minnow and nailed a few fish on or
near topwater. I switched off to a Zoom Super Fluke (green
pumpkin). They started clobbering the flukes, Sometimes
they hit them on the top. Other times it was better to let
it sink a bit. I was already nailing them pretty good with the
Mepps, and all of a sudden I had an option. So I spent the
rest of the day switching off between the fluke and the spinner, and
catching a lot of fish with either one. All day long I caught a
lot of small smallmouth (no pun intended). Lots of flurries of
small ones on the spinner, like you get in the summer sometimes.
But I also caught plenty of decent midsized fish, in the 10 - 12 inch
range, and a fair portion of bigger fish, up to sixteen
inches. The biggest fish of the day was an eighteen
inch largemouth out of the deep hole in front of the rock wall across
from the creek. For deep hole fishing, its hard to beat a slow
drifted senko (green pumpkin). I had tried both of the creeks
without a bite, so I went across the river to that deep area.
Drifted the senko for awhile, and thar she blows! Well, as good
as the bass fishing was, I have to admit that what really turned me on
was the simply top notch bluegill fishing ALL day long. If I
tried to tell you how many 'gills I caught yesterday, I fear you might
think you smelled a bit of the dear old state I was born in,
Texas, and take note of the tall tales that state is so well known
for. But honestly, you would find it hard to believe how many
bluegills I caught yesterday, mostly with the Mepps spinner. Most
of them were small to middling, but a fair number were up to eight
inches. And just so many of the scrappy little buggers.
Wham, wham, wham, all day long. I really can't remember the last
time I caught so many "perch". Well, all in all, it was a heck of
a sweet day of fishing. Last week was such good fishing,
Yesterday was such good fishing. There are just a lot of fish in
the river this year, no doubt about it. I've really seen
some good fishing the last few
weeks.
Ed T. Date: 5-21-08 Time: 9:30 - 5:00 Water:
Stained
Water temp: 60
Weather:
Variable
Temp: 70
Well folks, I missed last week
because, once again, the river level was too high. Sure been that
kind of spring this year. Rain, rain, rain. Got rained out
Tuesday, but managed to get on the river yesterday. The water
level was pretty high. Not a lot of rocks showing. A little
pushy and stained. But not much debris in the water, which was a
nice change. Pretty good spring conditions. I did my usual
float, the SP2, from the State Park to Karo Landing. And the
fishing was very good. I spent the whole day throwing various
spinnerbaits, most of them were 3/8 oz. with a single gold blade and
chartreuse skirt. I also tossed a gold blade 1/8 oz. beetle spin
with a chartreuse grub trailer. The bass were just nailing those
spinners all day long. High, cold, stained water, but they
were biting like crazy. Caught my first three bass
in the first ten minutes. Pretty consistent fishing for most
of the day. Pretty good bite in the morning, even better in the
afternoon. With the water being high, the bass were
scattered. It payed to fish around. Most of the fish were
out cruising, not much action near the banks. Some fish were in
the normal spots near the rocks. But a lot of the bass were
cruising the flats. In fact, the flats produced my biggest
smallmouth. I caught a ton of smallies yesterday. Most of
them ran eight to twelve inches, a few bigger. I caught a couple of
fifteens and a couple of sixteens. As usual, I had several nice
big bass shake loose or break off. I managed to lose three
spinnerbaits. All in the game, right? A lot of times when
the water has been pretty high, it pays to check out the creeks.
The high water flushes bass, particularly largemouth, up into the
creeks to escape the current. I didn't get a single bite in the
first creek. In the afternoon I tried the second creek, the one
across from the houses. I paddled up to about thirty feet short
of the end of the creek and proceeded to clean up. It was loaded
with largemouth. I caught a dozen largemouth in less than an
hour. The two biggest went nineteen inches and nineteen
plus. Not bad. Paddled back into the main river and spent
the rest of the day catching loads of smallmouth. On a side note,
I didn't catch a single bluegill all day. Don't have a clue as to
why not. But the bass fishing was so good I'd be a fool to
complain. The weather was all over the map. Went from
jacket and pants to shorts and t-shirt, then back to jacket and
pants. Finished off the day with light rain for the motorcycle
ride home. Again, I'd be a fool to complain. It was a darn
good day of fishing. Spring fishing kicks butt. The rains
come and go. The water level goes up and down. You can
never depend on the weather. But fairly often everything just
kinda' falls into place and you get some really top
notch fishing. I've heard some other folks have had some
real good days on the South Fork this spring. Only a few weeks of
spring fishing left. If you still haven't done a trip this year,
well, what can I say? You need to get out on the South
Fork. The beauty of the place and the quality of the fishing keep
this old boy coming back year after year.
Ed T. Date: 5-6-08 Time: 9:30 - 5:30 Water:
Stained
Water temp: 67
Weather: Partly
sunny
Temp: 72
Well, finally back for a day of
fishing. The South Fork is still a little bit higher than
normal. Not a lot of rocks showing. Real nice level.
Easy to get down the river, but still low enough for good
fishing. There was a fair amount of debris floating in the
river, leaves, pieces of grass and stuff. The last leftovers from
the high water last week. Still had to clean my lures a lot,
but it wasn't near as bad as all that algae was a few weeks back.
All in all, the river is in very good shape. I did my old
favorite, the SP2 trip, from the State Park to Karo Landing. Only
took a few minutes to start nailing some nice bluegills in the
park. They were more than happy to clobber a #3 Mepps inline spinner (gold blade).
Caught a couple of medium size smallmouth with a Rebel Wee-R crankbait
(crawdad color). Pulled into a little spot of slack water next to
the bank and got a nice 17 inch smallie with the crankbait.
Alright! And not even out of the park yet. The first couple
of hours was pretty fair fishing. A few here, a few there.
A mix of smallmouth and bluegill. Not a real good bite, but not
bad either. Tried soft plastics several times, but they weren't
working at all. I stuck with the spinner and the crankbait, but I
changed to chartreuse with black back for the Wee-R. About 11:30
the bite just pretty much turned off. Around noon I was in the
area around the houses, where I usually get some of my best
fishing. Well, I wasn't getting squat. The bite had just
about vanished and I was just a little bit depressed. I switched
off to fishing a 3/8 oz. Rocket Shad (chartreuse), a lure that's sort
of like a beetle spin on steroids. I was slow rolling the
Shad, reeling it in at a moderate pace so it would stay close to
the bottom. But I didn't get many fish for a couple of
hours. Around 2:30 I was in the area about fifty yards up from
the twin islands, still slow rolling the Shad Rocket. A
little sprinkle of rain rolled in. I started getting some fish at
a good clip, bam, bam, bam. I got another big 17 inch
bass. Then a couple more medium size bass pretty
quick. Then whamo, somebody really bent my rod. I loosened
the drag up and took my time, just reeling with the drag nice and loose
and letting her wear herself out, letting her run on the drag for a
good little while. I ended up with a heck of a nice
smallmouth, a bit over 19 inches. My first spring lunker. I
stayed in that area just upriver of the twin islands for better than an
hour and caught quite a few bass and bluegill. A real honey
hole. The fishing was pretty good the rest of the
afternoon. The big lunker girl trashed my Rocket Shad, so I
switched off to a similar homemade spinnerbait I had in the box.
By some miracle, it held out for the rest of the day, although the
skirt fell apart and I switched to a grub trailer. The rest of
the day provided some fine fishing. Never too long a wait
between fish. I was even getting bass in places I don't
normally fish. Overall, a real nice day of fishing. It
was nice to have the blugill in the mix. Got some decent
size "perch". The bass ran the whole range in size.
The majority were middle sized, 8 to 12 inch. But I did get a few
that were miniscule, real sardine size. And, of course, I got
some nice big guys as well. While the fishing never got
"red-hot-a-fish-every-cast" good, it was pretty darn decent in the
afternoon. After my first two trips this year giving me a grand
total of three fish, you best believe it felt like a gift from
God. So you see why I'm always raving about spring fishing.
It can be a little spotty at times, with the weather patterns and rains
and all. But it can also be a really rewarding experience.
Bottom line, do yourself a favor and do some spring fishing. Its hard
to beat a nice canoe trip down the South Fork. The beauty of the
place is beyond words.
Ed T. Date: 4-30-08 Hey folks, I know you've been
waiting for a new fishing report for several weeks now. Sorry
about that. Don't think I forgot about you. Two weeks ago I
couldn't make it because of work. Not my call, had to put in a
little bit of overtime. I think you know how I feel about
the work vs. fishing question. No need to dwell on that.
And then last week, the river was real high and muddy. So what
about this week? Well, I rode out from D.C. this morning,
only to find the South Fork REALLY rolling. River level was
somewhere around five feet this morning, which is about twice the
normal height. Oh well, it was a nice ride out on the motorcycle,
and it was nice to see the folks out at Front Royal Canoe. And
look at it this way, now the river will have plenty of water to
get us through the dry part of the year later on. Also, it should
take care of the algae that was all over the place a few weeks
ago. By now that stuff is somewhere out in the Chesapeake
Bay. I'm hoping the river will be back down
to a good fishing level by next week. The water
temperature has risen a fair amount, that's a plus. With warmer
water and a decent level and a little bit of luck... perhaps a
springtime lunker? Anyway, I hope I can give you a report next
week. Sorry it's been so long.
Ed T. Date: 4-8-08 Time: 9:30 - 4:30 Water: Slight
stain
Water temp: 53
Weather: Partly
sunny
Temp: 62
I did the Sp2 trip from the
State Park to Karo Landing, my favorite stretch of fishing water in the
South Fork. The rain last week brought the water level up
significantly. Hardly a rock showing through the whole
stretch. The faster water tore a lot of algae off the bottom, so
there's a ton of moss floating in the river. Keeping your lures
clean is a real bear. Almost every cast required a clean off. But
the real down side of the rain was that it lowered the water
temperature to a chilly 53 degrees. Don't get me wrong, bass will
bite at 53, but its not exactly prime temperature. In my case,
exactly one bass was willing to bite. Ow! That's right, I
caught exactly one bass yesterday. You would think it
would have been on a slow fished soft plastic bait. But in
fact I caught her on a #3 Mepps Aglia inline spinner (gold blade) which
I was dragging across a deeper area downriver from a rock
ledge. Nice smallmouth, seventeen inches long, fairly heavy
fish. But that was it. Nary a bite the rest of the
day. Fished mostly various soft plastics and jigs. I also
tried small crankbaits and spinnerbaits at times. I fished the
deep stuff. the shallow stuff, the banks, the few rocks that were
showing. I fished all over the place. But the combination
of higher water and lower temperature had pretty much turned 'em
off the bite. It was decent weather, so it was still pretty nice
to be out on the river. You know how often I come here, so an
occasional day of sorry fishing is no big deal. I just enjoy the
peace and beauty of this special place. The weather will get a
little warmer. A few good warm days will bring that water
temperature up and we'll be puttin' some nice bass in the boat.
Be sure to get in some spring fishing this year. Its a
great way to dust the cobwebs off your tackle.
Ed T. Date: 4-2-08 Time: 10:00 - 4;30 Water:
Clear
Water temp: 55
Weather: Partly
cloudy
Temp: 58
First time back on the South
Fork since last fall. Sure felt good to pull up in the parking
lot at Front Royal Canoe. Showtime! Went for my usual trip,
SP2, from the State Park to Karo Landing. River conditions
were near perfect, great level and crystal clear. But there is a
lot of algae. The bottom is almost completely covered.
Spent a fair amount of time picking algae off my lures. I heard
people have been catching a fair number of fish in the last few weeks,
so I was optimistic about my chances. Dream on. I
didn't get a bite for hours. I finally caught two bass in the
deeper area in front of the houses, just down from the stone
wall. That whole area was full of nice fish. I could look
down and see all kinds of good size bass swimming around. Weren't
biting worth a darn. Finally got a fourteen inch smallmouth on a
4 inch senko (green pumpkin) that I drifted on the bottom, for what
seemed like forever. About ten minutes later I caught a fourteen
inch largemouth the same way. I should have stayed there and kept
working that senko. Instead, I moved on. And I never got
another bite the rest of the day. I may not have got skunked, but
I sure got pretty darned close. Anyway, let me tell you where I
saw fish. I saw largemouths in the creeks, a few of them decent
size. I found quite a lot of bass in the deeper areas
of water, especially the area out in front of the
houses. Look for schools of bass pooled up in the
deeper canyons between the rock ridges. I saw a fair number of
pretty big bass in the mix. Bodes well for the future.
Can't really say for sure why I caught so few fish. I will say
that it is by no means the first time its happened to me. No
sir. I am no virgin to skunk territory. I will also say
that it felt really good to be back on the South Fork, a very special
place to me. The afternoon was warm and nice and it felt great
just to be out on the river. Like I said, I heard other people
have been catching a few. So I'm pretty sure next week will be a
different story. As the water warms up in the next few
weeks, the fishing will just get better and better. Don't miss
out on spring fishing. It can be the best time of the year to get
a lunker.
Ed T. |
Guides And Links We Recommend
River Hawk Tours - Tom McFillen - Main Stream-Shenandoah River
Playing Hookie Guide Service - Jeff Kelbe - Shenandoah, Susquehanna, Rap and others - Fly and Spin.
Eastern Trophies - Bill Heresniak - South Fork - Fly and Spin Fishing
