James River Blues

Going back in time and catching up on the beginning of this year when I was fishing more.

One of the more successful fisheries for me this year was heading up to RVA to try out the James River for catfish and shad early in the spring. The amount of wildlife around the river and the early mornings made for some great time to relax kayaking. First trip up targeting big blue cats with Ryan and Brad with a sunny weather forecast after a few weeks of clouds and snow I was excited to hit the water. Of course I hadnt taken into account that traveling north its going to be colder than a forecast for the Tidewater area and when we got to the ramp and seen the two feet of snow I knew I was in for a cold day on the water. Luckily with a few fish biting and the sun coming up it wasnt too bad. We started out trying to find the deep holes the big cats would be hiding in with water temps barely above freezing. After anchoring up and soaking cut bait it wasnt long before small eater sized fish were being caught with my biggest of the day going about 8 pounds. One of the biggest differences between TN catfishing and VA was fishing the tide change on the river. During the outgoing tide the water was moving so hard it was difficult to hold bottom even with 8 oz of lead.

 

Cold morning launching on the James.

James River Blue

Migrating ducks and geese flying overhead.

Nice relaxing day on the river.

Yellow Perch Crappie and Surprise Swamp Slam

Have had a pretty successful end to February and start to early march with a few outings solo out to the swamp. The yellow perch started to show up in good numbers and size and the crappie have schooled up making them easier to locate. The only down side has been the bi polar weather we have had with days in the 60s followed by days near 20 and winds gusting out of the north east.

Good sized yellow perch on the jig

Headed out with a buddy of mine for a little cypress tree crappie and perch fishin. I have been finding fish but unable to pull good numbers due to the really windy conditions we have been experiencing lately. With a forecast of 55 degree, sunshine, and no wind I knew we were going to have a good day.
We launched right at 0630 and with the fog on the water it made for an awesome paddle out to our first spot. Since Lee doesnt have a kayak I let him paddle my Trident 13 and I opted to take BB's Hurricane Phoenix 120 to add some slime to it.
The first drift down the bank at 4-5 feet deep and we were not getting any bites, short strikes on minnows but nothing on the jigs. Moved further out to about 30 feet from the bank and went deeper setting the corks to about 3 inches off the bottom and drifted by again and had our first hook ups. Following the pattern we managed to make a pretty decent day including some nice citation yellow perch. The bite died off around 1100 and we ate lunch and made a shore break and then paddled back out.

Another good sized 'trophy' yellow perch.

Fat slab crappie.

The biggest surprise came a little after noon when my cane pole set at about 10 feet with a small split shot and a minnow to bounce the bottom took off and bent near in half. I pulled up on what I hoped was a monster yellow perch only to find myself fighting a striper! After a few runs around the kayak and jumps I landed my first swamp striper. A small large mouth bass a short while later, and a few flyers mixed with the crappie and I had what I would like to call a swamp fish slam!

15 inch cane pole striper!

Not a monster but it was an awesome catch!

White/chartreuse road runners, white hair jigs, and white/chartreuse crappie magnet jigs were the successful artificials. Minnows got the most bites but the bigger fish came on the jigs, they just couldnt resist slamming them as it was jiggled infront of their noses. Got a few nice fish to bring home and let the big yellow perch go.

End of 2015

I started this winter out fishing saltwater but decided to switch gears and try to better understand VA freshwater. I was lucky enough to get together with Ryan several times in December and learn his magical crappie whispering. With the local rivers being shallower, darker, and flatter than the rivers I grew up fishing in TN I was at a disadvantage. We started out finding good numbers of fish spread out and as the temperature dropped we found them schooled up. A few fish this winter were even caught near the surface. The primary tactic used was drift trolling live minnows or jigs. Paddle tail jigs on light heads proved to be the most successful. Looking for changes in water clarity, and depth were where we found the most and although the fish were not tight to cover we did manage to find some schools. I didnt manage to bring in any citation crappie but large white perch and yellow perch were mixed in and very large plate sized bluegill. I switched gears to fish some local lakes feeling confident that I had solved the mystery of VA crappie fishing but was disappointed when for the first 6 hours I didnt get a single bite. After a few hours more fishing I found a school of bass that decided to play on cane poles and ultralights which was alot of fun! Including a fat citation large mouth that decided a crappie jig would be the perfect snack.

 

Artistic photo credit Ryan Clark

Ryan with a bowfin/crappie on at the same time.

A good haul of crappie and fireflies.

Citation white perch and yellow perch make for a good day.

A nice lookin bowfin (Excuse the purple I had to wear BBs PFD that day)

Citation White Perch and Yellow Perch mixed with Crappie

Good haul of Crappie and Bluegills

A hungry lake large mouth

River bass are alot darker.

2 pounders are fun on a cane pole!

23 inch large mouth on an ultra light

Of course the end result of a good day.

A classic dish of pan fried fish and redbeans and rice!