Well, we blew right past fall and now, winter temps and wind have arrived here in the Chesapeake. The trout and reds have migrated south for the most part, and while a few rockfish are being caught, they aren't ganging up into the big schools that used to be par for the course here. Most of the migrating fish are still up north, though some of the smaller ones caught here recently have sea lice, so they're running in the ocean and coming up at least this far (Mathews).
And just to get you started on what here is a chilly morning, I'll offer this You Tubery to let you in on what we face from a few folks as we fish dock structure here in the East River off of the Mobjack Bay. Having dealt with this a couple of times, one with 3rd Gen in Wilton Creek a few years ago, it's nice to see this come to a reasonable end. Unfortunately, dock owners seem to somehow believe they own the water around and under their docks, which is just not true. As a matter of fact, a fellow I used to fish with here just got into a big bunch of trouble after losing his temper with a fellow that was fishing his cove. Ended up with the Sheriff and VMRC charging him with six counts of various charges, including assault, and impeding the legal right to fish. One of his charges was a felony, but his plea deal got it reduced. Ended up with a $5,000 fine and 12 months in jail, suspended, and I'm certain his lawyer wasn't cheap. Expensive lesson for losing your temper, right?
Soooo, since it isn't cold everywhere and most cold weather climes still have fishing available in the winter, how about we revive this thread for a bit?
Winter Fishing Thread
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Typical of me, I rambled on and forgot to include the You Tube thing. It is with a guy from Southern Fish 'N Forum and is entitled "Catching Redfish with a Cane Pole (Dock Owners Gone Wild Ep.1).
As a matter of fact, a fellow I used to fish with here just got into a big bunch of trouble after losing his temper with a fellow that was fishing his cove. Ended up with the Sheriff and VMRC charging him with six counts of various charges, including assault, and impeding the legal right to fish. One of his charges was a felony, but his plea deal got it reduced. Ended up with a $5,000 fine and 12 months in jail, suspended, and I'm certain his lawyer wasn't cheap. Expensive lesson for losing your temper, right
Not sure how you feel about the guy you used to fish with, but I'm glad to see he was reprimanded. I'm tired of this fishing around docks and being yelled at. If the owner is out on the dock, not even fishing, I steer clear. But so many in NC in one particular stretch will come out and say shit. I know its bad in Mobjack. That woman with the old dock in your neck of the woods is a See You Next Tuesday.
As for that former fishing partner, we no longer speak. He also owns the house next door, but thankfully only spends two or three nights a month there. He's a thin skinned asshole who's meltdown was a source of much amusement for me, though the confrontation was extreme for even him. He got a dose of strong medicine and actually was lucky for the plea deal that kept him out of jail, but the money wasn't enough to hurt him much financially.
And myself and now my current fishing partners all call the lady's dock where you had to deal with an abusive property owner "Crazy Lady Dock". And she is a lawyer, for goodness sake, and should know who was in the wrong and it wasn't you. And yes, we fish the dock anyway, and it still holds reds when they're in the river.
Lastly, my Claytor Lake buddy has been catching walleye, though the water is really cold up there in the hills.
One of my buddies here is going on a charter trip for rockfish tomorrow. They figure they'll have to go up to the Potomac to find them, and when he reports I'll let you know how it went for them. I was invited, but trolling is just not fun enough for me and other than the one guy, I don't know the rest of his crew, so I didn't follow up.
I'm starting to think my little redfish hole I've found (which is actually quite large) is just cheating. My past 4 trips out have been 25, 30, 50, 35 fish+ rising tides. On Saturday I just paused for a second when I realized there was a 300+ fish school just swarming my boat, was quite the sight to see with 7-8ft of visibility (absolutely insane for anyone that's fished SC coastal waters).
Funny story, last trip I was fishing live shrimp with my dad...must have worn out the braid on the rod I was using, hooked into a tank on the first cast and there goes my popping cork. Had a free school locator for the next 2 hours. It did eventually come free and I got my cork back.
Man, I sure wish we had that kind of fishery up here. It's so nice to have a honey hole, and with tidal and migratory factors, it's likely to remain one unless/until it gets changed by weather or someone with loose lips and a need to see pictures of themselves on the social sites finds it as well. The popping cork thing is funny. We used to do that when crappie fishing. We'd catch one and put a small hook with a few feet of line and a bobber in the crappie's back and follow it to the school. Once we went to retrieve the judas speck and as we got close, the bobber disappeared in a rush, came up a few yards away, and a big bass had eaten the little crappie, rolled, and then vanished. At least it waited until we were ready to leave. Never saw the bobber again.
I had a money honey hole myself once, and it still produces, but since I like fishing with friends, and since they have other friends, and so on, it ain't what it used to be 30 years ago. I no longer fish it having moved away, but I do get regular reports from one of the friends I took there often. It is clear that while it's still a bit of a honey hole, and you do have to know how to fish it, it's no longer a secret. Walleye, big cats and muskies were regulars, and truly big ones to boot, with all on 1/4 oz jigs tipped with large shiners. Biggest fish of my lifetime in fresh water of those species.
The good thing about this "hole" is its a couple miles of shoreline that include a few feeder creeks. While this time of year you're either on them or you're not the rest of the year the fish are spread out and it'd be hard to over fish it - its also relatively close to the inlet so it's getting refreshes of fish and bait every tide cycle. Its funny because I found the spot and my neighbor was fishing with his kids in a tournament and couldn't find the fish so I gave him the general area. He took me out to "his spot" the other week and it was just the opposite side of my spot so really he just opened my eyes to how large of an area the fish were working.
That's very cool. Yep, a big difference in fresh and salt is those tides and new fish are so nice to have coming into the great area you've found. Lucky you!
I've seen your photos and it's making me jealous. Need to get down there in the winter and throw a fly at those fish, especially when you have 7-8 foot visibility. That made me chuckle and reminded me why I haven't fished SC in years and prefer NC. SC likely has more reds but I can spot 'em 50 feet away on a grass flat in NC when the sun and wind are right. Even the water on the flats in the Bay this fall had very clear water and long visibility. I guess I'm just a visual guy but I sure am jealous of those numbers you're getting!
You would have cried at me fumbling around with my 8wt just to cast it and the line coming off like a pigs tail because it's sat on the reel for so long...but yeah I've been on them so thick that the fly rod is making trips, found out I need to replace my line.
Line makes a big difference! I like the Rio Summer Redfish best.
that's what I've got on there but its like 5 years old and hadn't been casted in 2.
First try gently stretching it out. It won't go bad if it isn't being used and isn't sitting in the sun.
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Pretty Fly Designs
If this post isn't allowed per CGs, I'll remove.
I've gotta start getting ready for a trip I'm taking with my dad down to Patagonia the middle of January. I went 2 years ago and he's gone the last 4 straight. Some GREAT trout fishing (Rainbows/Browns primarily) down there and the views are breathtaking. Truly an amazing destination with great fishing.
Has anyone been to Christmas Island for bonefishing? I've talked to my old man about going there and have scratched the surface of what that would look like.
Where have you been going in Patagonia? I fished Paloma River Lodge in Chile. Best trout fishing in the world.
Well, it's been a minute since this thread was active. Unusual for the fishing crowd, but something's changed. I'll not bother to start a new thread, and if this one disappears as quickly as the last one, I'll not try again.
Main topic I have been hearing about is the cold stunned speckled trout and redfish here in VA and NC. Bad enough for NC to prohibit the taking of trout and bad enough for VMRC to be out enforcing the rules on taking trout here in the Chesapeake. Commercial netters are allowed 50 lbs of trout a day, with recreational anglers allowed 5 per day but only one over 24". People scooping them up in nets as they struggle to survive have been under scrutiny, but who knows how many do whatever out there. While some would recover, it is true that most will die, becoming food for birds in a sad, but natural occurrance. The fisheries folk say that while the population will definitely be affected for next year, there will be enough trout to restore the population soon enough, but those of us who chase them here will feel the hit for sure.
Walleye in the Shenandoah? Yep. Also got a picture from a buddy who lives on Claytor Lake. He is standing in the middle of the lake, frozen from shore to shore. Yep, it's been a cold one so far. The upper New has given up some seriously large fish this winter, including a 15 lb 6oz walleye and some really big muskies. Some guys have been chasing muskies in the New river using rainbow trout for bait. Catching numbers of muskies on the live bait in the Whitethorn area below the arsenal. Not a fan of the pursuit, but the numbers of muskies in the New have invited the action, once a little used approach using large suckers, but the rainbows are apparently hard for a musky to ignore.
I have "winterized'' my boat as much as usual, and am hoping for a warm spring as I recover from the knee replacement I will undergo next week. Wheeeeeeee!
Good luck on this. My brother has had both done and he is back to surfing. Stay the course on the rehab after the initial recovery. Tough path, but he says the results are solid.
Yeah, I have friends over 70 still surfing, including my brother, but while I enjoyed it as a lad, fishing took over my beach thing a long time ago.
As for the knee, the problem is, at 74, I should have done this 7-8 years ago because the other knee and a hip are also signaling that they're right behind if I want to be pain free walking about. I'll hope that this one goes smoothly enough to make it easier to get into and out of the boat, but I'm not looking to play pickleball and hike 5 miles in the mountains.
I was thinking about trying to head out the next few weekends and chase some musky on the New. I like fishing Whitethorne but it always seems slammed. I've had decent luck around Bissett in Radford and keep hearing that the area below the dam is good, but haven't moved many fish there. I don't have the time or logistics for live bait so would be slinging artificials.
My good friend and occasional fishing partner has a river boat set up with livescope and too many screens to look at. I'd bet one could find some big girls holed up in the deep pools though that's not my favorite way to fish. Frozen rod eyes and fingers will lower my standards in hurry though.
Good to hear the fishery is doing well. If I get up that way I'll post a report.
I caught quite a few musky between the boat ramp and Claytor and Little River dams, much more enjoyable than fishing the crowd at Whitethorn (but that's minimal during the winter) the draw back is the musky water down stream from that ramp isn't great, the water is relatively shallow with a couple holes here or there all the way down past Bisset. I didn't usually fish hard for them again on that float until I got down past the rail road trestle above the golf course then that stretch to 114 was alright.
Were you fishing this area in the winter or the summer? I've moved a few fish here but seemed to have better luck in other areas in the winter. I've always heard that below the bridge is also good but haven't tried it much. Had a biologist tell me that the area near Riverview park was great in winter, however it seemed way to shallow and featureless for me. I have a prop motor so I'm a bit limited in how far up and downstream I can get from a ramp. I'd love to have access to some holes I've hit on summer floats, but I'd need a jet or a bigger set to do that.
Mostly spring. I agree its not the best winter stretch due to exactly what you said. Whitethorn, Eggleston, and Pembroke are all better stretches in the winter. With a prop your best bet is going to be Whitethorn
Follow up question as it's been a few years since I've been on the New. I recall kinda the sweet spot for fishing in the 4000 cfs flow range. Is this still accurate? What would be deemed a high value in regards to planning a trip? I know a bit high is better than a bit low in most instances, and clarity plays a big part.
I threw a hoop net off my pier today to try and catch catfish. I just tied the closed end off with a rope to my pier hoping the current would give enough drag to keep it up for fish to come in. I only put two bunkers in a chum bag to see what would happen. Any recommendations for this? This is trial and error at the moment so I'll see what I can catch. All the online resources I see are in places with a one-way current or no current at all so I'm not sure the best approach for a tidal area.
Are there enough cats to catch on hook and line? If so, it seems like any trap would work. Obviously, if you know their predominant feeding patterns, you could set for one and experiment with the other tide, maybe?
I'd like to leave it out over multiple days. TONS to catch on hook and line. I usually go down and shoot them with a bow in my dock lights. Sometimes I'll see 100+ out there in the lights.
I'm going to check it tomorrow morning and see what comes up. I am just not sure it will stay up and also not get tangled. It's also weird to bait.
I just pulled it up (so it soaked for ~36hrs) and I got a ~25" catfish and a ~12" perch. Good sizes, but I was hoping for more. It looked like the net got caught either under the dock or on the bottom of the river so it definitely wasn't as productive as it could have been. I consider that a success, though.
I threw it back out as-is but I'll probably clean the fish tonight and rebait. I still think there is a better way I should be anchoring it or keeping it in the right position. I may try to keep it open with PVC pipe or something like that. I've thought about throwing an anchor out but with the tide shift that would probably hurt it more than anything.
Went to the keys a couple weeks ago, very windy and cold for the Keys. Got out to Bahia Honda bridge in my kayak on the nicest day, caught some jacks 1-5 lbs. Lots of fun on light tackle. Got a few undersized muttons. One of the jacks almost got sharked which was a bit scary. Buddy came down mid week and rented a 22' CC and hit a reef a few miles offshore, pretty slow drifting live ballyhoo. A barracuda and a couple cutoffs. Then got rocked by a grouper but was able to pull it out after driving over it on the other side of the rock. Pretty nice black grouper. Wind picked up and we drifted around mangroves with chum and caught a ton of little fish. Went to Mile 0 Fest (Red Dirt Country festival) in Key West a couple of the other days which was a lot of fun. Definitely will be back next winter.
Just came back from my near daily ride around to the local ramp and wharf. Ran into a couple of young men working for wildlife services working on our ramp. Both guys were VT grads and we had a great 30 min conversation. They were serious about shoring up the less well done aspects of a not too long ago refurbishing of the dock at the ramp. Loved getting to interact with Hokies, and talk fishing. So, a shout out to Clay and Marshall making good use of our license and registration fees.
Also, surprising them and myself, the whole parking area is now paved. Never, ever been paved before.
And this, of course, is what passes for winter entertainment, with the lack of exciting basketball.
Got my first chance to fish the "Gulf of America" this week while visiting a friend down near Sarasota. Same guide we used for the Gulf of Mexico last year. I have never seen the gulf that calm - looked like a bathtub. We found fish, but they did not want to eat. One Big red bit but jumped the hook at the boat. Got a couple of grouper in the boat, and a few large grunts. We got triple tails to follow the bait, but stopped to look at the boat and bailed. Big school of snapper hanging out in a cave, but weren't eating. Still a great day to be on the water, but I may have to start to coming a different time of year.
nm
Headed out to chase sheepshead in the morning. Will report back. Not a species I ever target so I'm sure it'll be rough.
Reds are still in massive schools but being rather picky.
Sharpen ur hooks! Their mouths are tuff.
If using circle hooks, bend the tip out slightly to open the circle and have the tip off plane with shank. Ull get more hookups.
Using fiddlers, shrimp, what? Bigger ones can be a horse around structure. Good luck!
Fiddlers on bottom sweepers
Bottom sweepers are the way. I've had significantly better luck with sand fleas than fiddlers. Even frozen fleas (once thawed do NOT put these in any container you'd like to re-use). Now part of that is because everywhere is usually out of fiddlers. But I've found sand fleas stay on the hook better and don't have any extremities to get pulled. I also think it might be due to everyone using fiddlers so the fish see them more. Added bonus is price, especially if you stock up on fleas at the beach for $0. I've even had decent luck on ghost crabs which also happen to be free.
The road the the boat ramp in my neighborhood is chock full of fiddlers they are pretty easy to get. 10 minutes I can grab 100 but we lack a beach close so sand fleas are harder to come by. Demand in the winter can make them hard to find at tackle shops but they're always really cheap when the have them.
We ended up missing the tides a bit but still got 4 solid ones with the biggest at 19
Solid work. Those bridge pilings are the buffet for them!
I figured people were exaggerating how hard they are to hook but they're definitely a pain in the ass to catch. Had to have lost 20 fiddlers before I got hooks in one
If u catch ur own sand fleas, blanch them before u freeze them. And that pot is now used for nothing else.
We have an emerging sheepshead fishery here in the Mobjack. Not many fish, but enough for some folks to target. Don't know what they've been using to get them, but we don't have sand fleas around here, so it's likely to be crabs. The fish are using oyster cages that are numerous enough to create a reef like structure that a lot of folks fish early in the season for trout, which feed around the cages. Personally, I've fished it without result, and French and I have fished them a time or two, but not for sheepshead. I tumbled to it when conversing with a couple of local anglers who'd been out trout fishing in a 16' jonboat. I asked about trout, and they had a limit, then offered to show me. Under all those trout were a couple of really nice sheepshead, which surprised me. In that sized boat, there was no structure protected enough for them to fish in the Mobjack. They wouldn't reveal where they got them, and they knew I knew enough to be more than curious, so even after some 15 minutes of conversation, off they went with me wondering. Within a couple of weeks, however, I was able to talk with a few more anglers about sheepshead and the light bulb went off in my thick skull and I got confirmation about the oyster cages.
I am not really interested in chasing sheepshead, but with all the trout deaths here and NC, we might be looking for something else to chase locally come spring and summer.
Using this thread to reach IFishVTIam. Saw some serious damage in Matthew's this am. Hope you, ur family and friends are OK. Thought i heard you all had a 94 mph wind gust.
Hope all is well. Weather has been awful all over the state.
First I've heard of it. Got a bit airish yesterday, and today has been breezy, but no damage. Yesterday, late afternoon, we lost power for a few minutes here and got notifications for hours from our wifi provider that there was a problem, but not for us. We live on the edge of town and very close to the local convalescent home, so it seems we get up and running fast. I am tuning in to the local news to see if they report on it. I'm homebound except for PT recovering from a total knee replacement so I've been around. Lucky miss, maybe, but while we heard thunder around, we had no idea where the storms were. 94 mph I'd have noticed.
Thanks for checking!
Headed to Sandy River Reservoir in Prince Edward County in a couple of weeks to try and catch some pre-spawn/spawning bass. This used to be an annual spring trip but will be my first time in a several years save a late summer trip a while back. We hope to put some big girls in the boat but more than anything look forward to spending a few days on the water and away from work. Not sure if anyone is up that way or if there was any way to see how water temps are trending. The weather here in far SWVA has me wanting to fish if I can ever get over the flu. Good luck and tight lines everyone - spring is coming.
As a temporary semi-invalid, I can only partake vicariously of the fishy experience as my knee replacement heals. I have been given a nice book to help fill the hours in the recliner by my neighbor, Hokie Trout Paul. It is entitled Journey on the James, by Earl Swift. He follows the James River from a spring beneath a tree's roots in Highland County to its mouth at the Bay. Walking, sorta tubing, canoeing and then kayaking its length while recounting long forgotten history of indigenous contact and pre-rail commerce with a photographer who supplied the support and transportation along the way. Not my usual fare, but the author tells the story well and while there's barely a mention of fishing, I was engrossed. For any of you who ply the Jackson and James, this book will be a fun read, but anyone interested in Va. history will likely enjoy it as well.
So, it's time for the shad run to get cranked up on the James and Rapp, spring is creeping slowly in, and my damn knee hurts like hell! Somebody go catch a fish.
I am going to check out that book.
You won't regret it.
Thank you!
Great shout, just added this to my book list and excited to give it a look. We live in Roanoke and I'm super taken with the upper James, just beautiful country.
I returned home to Richmond on Friday evening from my now annual winter sojourn to the American west, covering 9271 miles round trip from Richmond to Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana and back in two months. I spent a lot of time in my old haunts, including Aspen, Steamboat and Jackson Hole, and explored several new ones, specifically Telluride, Island Park, Ennis, Big Sky, Bozeman and Casper.
Thirty days of snowboarding was awesome but I did get in ten days of trout fishing as well. It's hard to decide between the two (and work) at times. First world problems, I know... I fished the Gunnison for a few days, Roaring Fork in Aspen (where I learned to guide), Gros Ventre in Jackson Hole, The Henry's Fork in Idaho, Madison outside Ennis and Bozeman, the Wind / Bighorn in Thermopolis and the Grey Reef in Casper. If I had to pick my favorite three, its the RF, Gunni and Wind.
Next year I'd like to spend more time on the Madison, which is a weird river considering it's basically a foot deep, 50 mile riffle the whole way. It's seemingly built for swinging wets and small streamers. The views and valley it runs through are the holy grail of fly fishing. I'd also like to fish the Yellowstone around Livingston. The day I had planned to was blowing 50 mph and it was literally a sand storm outside. The guys at Hatchmatcher fly shop said March is the time of the year to catch your personal best Brown on that river, with a bunch of fish 7 pounds and up. Thermopolis WY has the best trout fishing in the country, period. I hooked 7 rainbows one day, all over 20." Two came to hand at 21-22". The rest either broke me off or straightened the size 18 hook. All sight cast while wading. The next day I only landed one over twenty and a few more 18-19".
I had a very successful day wading the Gunnison in late January. The fish were sipping midges but being extremely picky. Finally having enough refusals, I broke out my top smallmouth streamer and stripped it past their faces. Seven browns ate it! Idaho smelled like cow manure the whole time and the Henry's Fork was cool but crowded (it was a balmy Sunday.) The Roaring Fork in Aspen was tricky but special as it always is. The Gros Ventre is a summer fishery outside Jackson, only whitefish seem to bite in the Winter. I'll be back for them. A day spent driving around the north entrance of Yellowstone was phenomenal. Hundreds of Bison, a curious coyote and Ravens that like to have conversations in front of your truck make protecting public lands well worth it.
I went into more fly shops than I can count. Kelly Galloup's was the best stocked one but unfortunately he wasn't around. I also bought 85 saddles at the Denver Fly Fishing show for earring production. Good to be home to sit on my couch but I sure do miss being constantly outside and dirtbagging it, sleeping in my box trailer, surviving off of handmade paninis and showering at natural hot springs.
There were no vehicle or trailer issues, what a miracle!
Here's a few of the many photos...
Thermopolis
The Gunnison
Island Park moose
Road tied streamers
I have been out of commission these last couple of months. It has been the most strenous/heavy lift related to work I have seen in my 18 years at my present employer, culminating (or capitulating) with our annual conference in Las Vegas.
I am hoping to get on the water to chase shad on Monday in Aylett, but haven't heard of any being caught. I know they have been caught at Fletchers Cove on the Potomac and at the City Docks in Fredericksburg.
Big news from the Outer Banks, as the first ever great white shark was caught from the beach on Hatteras Island by some enterprising shark anglers. I have heard very little news from the beach, but boats have found the bigger red drum on the shoals when a southwest wind warms up the water. Further south, the first sea mullet have been caught at Topsail Island.
For those near the panhandle, the first cobia of the season was caught on Pensacola Pier last week.
I have taken the Tuesday-Friday after Memorial Day off to set up camp at Buckroe Pier in the morning. My record for cobia in a week from land is six. I am hoping to beat it this year. Stay away wind. With a lot of my flexibility to travel to fish taken away with my role changes and a new vacation policy ("unlimited" isn't great when you have to submit to the whims of a tyrant with five weeks advance notice for fishing), I doubt I get to fish much more than last year, which wasn't much.
southwest
This is the wind that gets the bulls fired up all in the summer on a new secret spot of mine. Generally, I've found north / northwest to be the best wind for them.
"The ideal conditions are not the ideal conditions," is what a local told us about it. Meaning, the worse the wind, the better the fishing.
Southwest in the spring are all about water temp. When surf fishing, you should never not have access to the latest Rutgers water temps. If you see that hard temperture change close to the beach and a SW wind coming, you should be at the Point.
Southwest is rotten on the beach in the fall. Bugs will eat you faster than the fish can eat the bait.
Rutgers water temps.
Never heard of this. I assume its through Rutgers U?
https://marine.rutgers.edu/cool/data/satellites/imagery/?nothumbs=0&prod...
if the yellow/red is getting close to the Point and the wind forecast is SW in the spring, you want to be there for drum.
Thank you!
Orca also spotted for the first time ever this week, right? What's going on down there?!
Sorry to hear that, French. Work always did get in the way of fishing for me, even after I started my guide service, so I can feel your pain. Hope your plans work out well for you and that things calm down at work.
Here on the Middle Peninsula, the water's still cold, 46-48 or so, but things are coming alive a bit. Crabbing season started March 17th and some crabbers are already catching big jimmies. Some osprey have returned to the nesting platforms so there must be some bait around. Lastly, Hokie Troutman Paul and his buddy went out a couple of days ago for a three hour tour and were able to catch four rockfish between them, 16,17,23 and 24", so there are still winter holdovers around, and a speck was found on his buddy's dock, half eaten by gulls, so some specks were able to avoid the cold shock that killed so many trout this winter. Nobody here shad fishes, and where I used to get a few to start the season the powers that be have closed the creek access bridge where I used to fish so I'm out of luck there. Good personal news is that my new knee is healing well and I should be ready to go as soon as it's worth it. Bad news is that the bills are rolling in just in time to transfer the pain from the leg to the wallet. Worth it? Ask again in a year or so.
For a good story about insanely avid fishermen and that great white, go to (hope I get this right):
https://wral.com/news/state/great-white-shark-caught-outer-banks-march-2...
I mean, I know in my prime I was avid, but these guys are more than dedicated, it seems.
S.orry, but I guess the link ran out of space, but the last of it should read 2025/
Hope you can get it, good story.
Apparently NC has a really good Speck bite around Harkers in the Spring. My good buddy fished creeks this morning with his dad and they caught over 40 on topwater and mirrolures, second day in a row doing this. He landed a 24", his dad caught a 28". Lots of other upper teen fish.
A buddy of mine moved to VB and found stripers tailing on flats. Sent me a video of one clearly in the upper 20s rooting around like Redfish.
Shad should be moving into the James. My casting client today said he is catching them in the Chickahominy River. Everyone else can have them, I might get one day in fishing for them.
I need to do some serious boat work, which I'm sure will take a few days. Would love to be on the water soon but also trying to make a dollar to recover from the winter adventure.
Our trip to Sandy River Reservoir went fairly well. We fished Thursday through Saturday afternoon and had good weather for the most part, however it was a bit windy on the main lake Friday. Water temps started in the mid 50's but got into the low 60's in the afternoon back in the creeks.
We never could get on a consistent pattern, and while we caught good fish the numbers just weren't there. The big one of the weekend was the first fish we put in the boat - 6lb 11oz on Texas rigged plastics tight to wood. That pattern held for a few more decent fish until the wind picked up along with the spinnerbait bite. Females were all super full of eggs but really didn't look or act like they were making beds yet. We didn't catch any smaller buck bass until later in the trip. Overall numbers were way lower than what we anticipated but the average fish was solid. The top 5 in our boat over 3 days would have went right at 25.5lbs. Overall had a great trip and it was good to reach for the net a few times. I would guess that this weekend would be money if the storms hold out. Good luck to everyone out there - spring is here.
Quick Q for Flyguy and others...
best/recommended trout streams within an hour of Aspen?
Hey Dave,
Quick question, when are you going?
Within an hour, you have four options, the Roaring Fork, the Frying Pan, the Taylor and the Colorado.
The Frying Pan is world famous and crowded as hell. I've only ever fished there maybe 5 times and I crushed them, but whenever I go back, I completely ignore it. The fish are small and physically weak, though there are some monsters at the very top at the dam. They are big from feeding on tiny shrimp. Never had any success with them and again, there will be other anglers no doubt. It's probably a 45 minute drive from Aspen to Basalt and then up. I'd skip it if I were you. The Taylor I never had much luck in, so I'd skip that.
The Roaring Fork flows right through town and then north to Woody Creek Canyon all the way to Glenwood Springs about 50 minutes away. This river is your very best option. If you want to fish in town, there's a parking lot right over the river on the Rio Grande trail, off of N Mills Street. Or you could park nearby on public street parking and walk on down. You can walk along the trail and fish.
The spot I'd recommend is Jaffee Park, which is 15 minutes north (downriver) in Woody Creek Canyon. This is where I guided a majority of my trips. You've got fishing access for miles upstream. Most folks fish the first mile / mile and a half. I like to walk for about 15 minutes and then start fishing, but it's hard to walk past all of that water. If you want, I will pin drop you the exact hole to start at, which happens to be my favorite spot on the river. There's also some smaller sections of access a little further down valley, but they aren't as pretty and you don't have as much water to cover. The browns and rainbows in the river are very pretty and fight extremely well for their size. 9 foot 5 weight is the rod to use and depending on what you're fishing, you may need to go down to 6x tippet. Nymphing is the most successful technique. The river is really slick, think walking on basketballs covered in ice. Wading boots with felt are really helpful. It's also stronger moving water than you think, so take your time with each step.
I have had some successful fishing the RF down near Glenwood Springs. There's the Roaring Fork Fly Shop in town which is a good little fly shop, more of a traditional shop than AOC. They have river access right up the street, but it won't be nearly as pretty as Aspen. There's also the Colorado that flows through Glenwood Springs and has lots of rainbows. Various public access points but again, not my first choice.
The outfitter I worked for is Aspen Outfitting Company. They have two locations, one in town in the St. Regis and the other at Woody Creek which is north, down valley 15 minutes). Jarrod Hollinger is the owner, incredibly nice guy and if you go in he will likely be in there. Name drop me (Chris Cease) and expect a free beer and a punch in the face. It's worth sticking your head in to ask what flies are working well, but if you give me the time of the year that you're there, I can tell you what to use. Going into the St. Regis itself is well worth the people watching, particularly on the weekends.
Jarrod closes the Woody Creek location in the winter and Spring, not sure exactly when it will open.
If you're looking for a workout / very strenuous hike, go hike up the Ute trail, which is right in town a quarter mile south of the Gondola. In my 20s I could do it in 20 something minutes. It's straight up switchbacks and a serious calorie burner with a really cool view of town at the rock overlook. You'll know when you get to the top, or you can keep hiking all of the way up the mountain. I used to do that but I'd probably die now. It takes a few hours to hike to the top of Ajax.
Places to eat:
White House has an epic spicy chicken sandwich for $29. It's worth it. Big Wrap is the your best bang for the buck. It's a huge, really good wrap. Get the Pesto Wrapture, with hot salsa.
If you fish Jaffee Park, you should head a mile further downstream to Woody Creek Tavern in "downtown" Woody Creek for a beer and their steak nachos afterwards. You'll see Aspen Outfitting Co's other location right next door. You can't miss the giant hammerhead shark on the outside wall. It's the only two businesses in "town" besides the locals living in the trailer park. Woody Creek Tavern is where Hunter S. Thompson used to hang out. The steak nachos are not cheap at $29 but they are my favorite. Nothing is cheap in Aspen, obviously. The Mollie hotel has a good burger. The Jerome also has a good, more expensive burger and is a cool place to hang but its popular and gets crowded. There's a bunch of other really good, really pricey restaurants in town. Silver City Saloon, The Buck and Zane's Tavern are some favorites to drink beer, ironically all are in basements. Aspen Brewing Co just reopened and is a good spot too.
Carbondale and Glenwood Springs now have lots of good, less expensive restaurants as the billionaires have pushed the millionaires out of Aspen. You can get a good cheeseburger under $10 at the Doc Holliday Saloon in downtown Glenwood and also go do the half mile hike to his grave, which is a couple minute drive away. The other really cool thing to do in Glenwood is the hot springs. There's a few options but Iron Mountain is by far and away the best. Tickets for 3 hours are $40-50 depending on how busy it is, but well worth it.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Roaring Fork upstream of Jaffee
early May, if I can make it. looking less likely today than yesterday
Runoff, good time to fish. Big bugs and heavier tippet and you can fish right against the bank.
If you want to know my secret hole, it'll cost ya!
Got a chance to go out by Oak Island this weekend with a few friends. The reds are waking up - they each got one, 35" and 41", but it was mostly whiting and undersized bass eating the mullet.
I'd take it in a New York minnit. Still dead around here but for an occasional winter holdover striper. Still haven't been out myself, but the knee replacement has gone well and I'm ready to go when the fish finally do show up. Luckily my neighbor is rushing the season for those few holdovers, so I'll know when trout and reds do arrive.
Arkansas Baseball Player gets NIL deal from a fly shop
I guess this means I could take my company, Pretty Fly Designs, and give an NIL deal to a woman on the softball team....
New River photo shoot. Endorsements. Lady Bombers series. Baseball hat design. Name the design for the player.