Fishing Report, Week of December 30, 2019

Smallmouth Season
Quick recap of the 2019 smallmouth season (South Fork, Shenandoah). The season kicked-off during March with the smallmouth spawn occurring around the middle of the month. The prespawn/post spawn fishing was slow unlike years prior with low numbers and smaller fish caught. This trend continued thru mid July until the water temperatures increased enough to really kick-off the top water bite. Once the top water bite started, fishing was on fire. Numbers increased to more normal levels with many 100 plus fish days. The top water fishing continued thru the end of September wrapping up during mid October. Overall, fishing started slow and gradually increased during the season finishing with a bang. We appreciate everyone who fished with us during the 2019 smallmouth season and look forward to 2020. Contact us today to book your trip for the 2020 season. 

Back Country/ Mountain Fishing Report. Its wintertime in Virginia which means you can literally experience all four seasons in a week, no joke! On a more serious note, the typical weather pattern consists of moderate to cold temperatures during the day and extremely cold/frigid temperatures at night. This combination usually drops water temps in our mountain streams into the 40's which cause the brook trout to become sluggish. To improve your chances of catching fish we suggest switching to 5x or 6x fluorocarbon and nymphing using either beadhead nymphs or unweighted nymphs with split shot on your leader system to get the fly down. If you choose to use an indicator while nymphing we suggest using as small of an indicator as possible. Make sure to fish slow as the bite can be very subtle this time of year. Water levels tend to drop this time of year so trip bookings are based on current stream conditions. Give us a call today to book your next trip.