Catchin' Fishies with Her Royal Goobness

I took a break from my personal conquests to water the fishing seeds within my lil' stinker dinkers kiddos.  My 3 and 1/2 year old was hoping for a ride in daddy's boat, but didn't stay disappointed for long when I found her princess rod.  After promising her a trip in the kayak when it warms up, we were off to the local pond.

While I tried to keep Miles (18 months) from jumping into the water (no fear what so ever), Natalie patiently watched her bobber.  She asked the fishies nicely to come get her worm and it wasn't long before squeals of delight scared away the ducks.

Natalie's first fish of 2012

All giddy and silly...  

touching the fish...  laughing...

She's a total goob...  

But then again, I can only think of one person she could have gotten it from.

Eastern Shore Search Continues...

In the glitter, sometimes the water plays tricks on you.  Shapes and colors seem to appear then disappear in the blink of an eye.  It's almost like you want it so bad that your mind thinks it's there for a split second.  But when you finally, and actually, see that big red drum, it's unmistakable.

Unfortunately, the water clarity has been terrible lately and conditions have been tough.  I got out on my birthday for 6 hours and despite good reports from Ric Burnley and Kevin earlier in the week, I got the skunk.  My next excursion came 5 days later on the 20th.  After meeting Kevin, Lee, Shante and Damien at the launch, I was hoping for one of those crazy epic days.  But visibility was still minimal so trolling became the name of the game.  My 6" paddle tail was first to get a hit.

I knew fairly quickly after the first few seconds into the fight that it wasn't the big red I had come for.

Not that I'm complaining about a 40" striper.

Lee got the next striper at 43".  Damien was next up but the fish spit the hook early in the fight.  Lee came up with one more after that measuring around 33".

 Check Kevin's site for pictures.

We met a few familiar faces and after a while without a hook up, took a break on an exposed shoal.

From left to right: Chuck Wrenn, Kevin, Shante, Lee Damien, Wayne Bradby, and Mo Todd. 

Shante found a cool little butterfly ray in a few inches of water.

After the ray got to deeper water that concluded the action for that day.  I ended up being the last to leave...  after spending nearly 12 hours on the water, still craving that bull ride.

The next morning, I rolled up to the launch to find Matt Anderson getting ready to pursue the same target so we joined forces.

Clear blue morning quickly changed to navigation testing fog.  

We ended with the skunk.

But the search will continue...

Easter Sunday Bull Ridin'

We waited anxiously.  More than a few phone calls exchanged theories on moon cycles, water temps, past seasons, weather windows, family commitments and of course the unforgiving work schedule.  By the time I got my stars lined up, Kayak Kevin and Jay Brooks had already clocked in a couple days earlier in the week and both had a notch on their belt to show for it.

My turn.

Kevin was waiting for me when I pulled up to the launch and as I got things ready, he quickly "branded" my kayak.  Holes were drilled, rivets got popped and before I knew it, I had one of his big DVD quality cameras attached to my bow.   I couldn't help but feel like it was part of a gang initiation :) I'm totally in!




Yeah, I know.  I'm a dork.  Anyway, we searched all around the Eastern Shore.  The channels, the shoals, the flats, they all came up empty.  5 hours passed quickly and as the wind grew bothersome, the sun also neared the horizon.  The last segment of the well calculated route had us near a drop off so we anchored up on the incoming tide.  I threw out two carolina rigged whole crabs; one on a big conventional reel and the other on a big spinning set up.  Normally I don't use my spinning rod for chunking bait, but I really wanted to double my chances.  Not too long after, the loop I put in the line-clip of my spinning reel gets pulled out and my 50lb braid is flying off my spool.  I close the bail and hold on tight.

After a few exhilarating runs coupled with the tell-tale headshakes, I released the anchor and quickly found myself on a bull red drawn sleigh ride with a nice sunset backdrop.






The 43"er is a welcome start to the red drum season.  The cherry on top is that it was the first big fish I tagged for the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program.  

Kevin wasn't able to hook up but was happy none the less that I got on the board.  I'm sure he'll be out there as soon as weather and work allow.  Best of luck to him and whoever else decides to venture out in search of that infamous bullride. 

RVA Stripers

It definitely seems like all the local migrations are happening earlier this year. 
The warm water temps are expediting the process and I, like most fishermen, am not complaining.  The magic of this time of year is more than welcome as many of the popular sport fishing species enter our local waters and get our juices flowing.

Reports of bluefish, puppy drum, flounder, speckled trout, and stripers pepper the local forums.  Togs are also readily available, but remember the closed season starts on April 16th this year.  A few regulations have changed for some of the species, so check out this site if you're not up to date.

The local rivers are also experiencing peak spring populations of anadromous species.  Yesterday, I had the opportunity to paddle out on the James River after work.  Making my first paddle strokes a mere 5 minutes from home was also a warm welcome.  Richmond, VA (RVA) boasts a great venue to take in this special time of year.  Near the I-95 bridge, the hickory shad action was on fire from the first cast at 7pm until I decided to scoot down river around 7:45.  I was hooking up on almost every cast.  If I let my orange and green shad fly sink near the bottom, the white perch were all over it.  After keeping a couple of each for bait, I drifted down and set up two fish finder rigs just above a good size hole.  The little catfish up to 28"were incessant, but every once in a while, I'd hook up a 26"-28"striper.

I was hoping for either a big bertha kitty or a striper that was bigger than "schoolie" size.  It wasn't long and my wish was granted in the form a 38" clicker-squealing heifer.

Various striper lures should work well over the next couple of weeks, including topwater poppers near the fall line rocks. 

 If I don't find myself looking for other highly anticipated saltwater species, I'll be back on the river chasing RVA kitties n stripers.  Hope you get out to your favorite spring fishing destination soon.

And So It Begins...

I watch the water temps like my 3 year old watches Curious George, with pure delight.  Staring at the graph of steady upper 40's to lower 50's translates to actively feeding togs swimming in the deep of my mind.  The time is now and I know it.  Only thing is, my calendar is consumed by work.  As reports start to trickle in, the shackles of my office feel heavy while my tog rod gently weeps.

With the year's maiden paddle to the first island of the CBBT finally scheduled for Saturday, weekend just couldn't come soon enough.  The promise of hungry togs and hard thumping drag pulls came to fruition using fiddler crabs for bait.  The morning was beautiful with light winds and I met with Josh Williams of MKF out on the prime kayak-toggin waters.  I kept telling him how much "I love this ---" every time I set the hook.

19" Tautog

Football fat 20.5"er

All fish were released

The wind picked up dramatically around mid-day and made things very challenging.  But I stayed persistent and ended the day with a dozen fish ranging from 15" to 20.5".  Clocking 10 physically demanding hours on the water seems to go by so much faster and maybe even easier than 10 hours in the office chair.  Although I admit, I'm a little sore since I remained relatively stagnant throughout the winter.

But that didn't keep me from spending a couple of hours on the river the following day.  I knew I wouldn't have any time during the week to get out on the water, so after some quality family time on Sunday, I got out for a little shad fishing.

I ended with about 15 or so hickory shad in the 2.5 hours.

Spring is here, and so it beings...
Good times.

Pics and Links from Shad Seminar

Here are a few pictures, links and tips from the Shad Fishing the James River seminar I presented at Appomattox River Company (3/6/12)

There's a saying... when the dogwoods are blooming in Richmond, it's time to go shad fishing.  Usually mid-March to early May with primetime usually being mid-April, shad fishing can be a blast on ultra light or fly tackle.  Shad spoons a foot or so behind a swivel and 1/4 ounce egg sinker can be effective, as well as shad darts, too.  But my personal preference is to use a 6wt. flyrod with 250 grain sinking tip flyline and various shad flies.  

Hickory shad will be there in huge numbers, but included in the mix are a few species that you can not keep to take home or use for bait.  

Source: Google Images

It is illegal to have American Shad in your possession.  The way to tell the difference is see if the fish has an underbite.  

Source:  Google Images

Hickory shad (ok to keep) have a large underbite that sticks way out past their upper lip.  American shad have lower jaws that tuck neatly into their upper lip.  

Blueback herring and Alewives look a lot like American shad, just smaller and their jaw tucks into their upper lip too.  It is now illegal to have either Blueback Herring or Alewives in your possession as well.  


The James River is tidal up to the fall line (14th street bridge).  The water will flow one way near Richmond, but the water will rise and fall with the tide.  My preference is for the incoming tide, but when the fish are thick, it doesn't seem to matter.  Here is the tide chart for the James River near Richmond.  James River Tides (at Richmond)

More important than the tide is the amount of water flowing.  If the cubic feet of discharge per second gets above 10,000 it becomes very difficult to get the lure or fly down to the required depth.   I usually don't bother going if it's above 12,000 cubic feet per second.  

Here is the link for James River Discharge Flow

and another for the river level predictions

Anncarrow's Landing is the main boat launch area.  Link.

There is also a canoe and kayak launch right off 14th Street, on the north side of the river, immediately south of the flood wall.  It's a small area, with big steps to get to the water. 

My buddy Josh Dolin put together this nice video with some of his tips. 

Buckets & Chains

Last weekend, I guided a friend to his personal best blue catfish. This weekend, I decided to play a little role reversal and called local legend, Forrest Short.  Chain Pickerel remained unchecked on the proverbial list and Forrest's invitation to try his spots stood too long.  The impending cold front, 12 hours away, added a sense of urgency but also a touch of optimism.

I usually do well shortly before a strong cold snap, so I had reason to be excited.  New dad, Justin Mayer and I followed Forrest to the lake he grew up fishing on, with high hopes.  But unfortunately, after four hours, even with signs of promise, we were facing the dreaded skunk.  Shortly before Justin had to get back to his newly acquired parental responsibilities, Forrest found a massive school of 6"-10" crappie in less than two feet of water.



Our attempts at getting them to bite were futile and we ended up snagging a few as our lures grazed their backs.



We got off the water and after Forrest shared some great fishing stories about that lake, Justin took off. Phase two was implemented and I found myself following Forrest to another lake in Yorktown. Within a few minutes of launching, he was showing me how it was done.

I absorbed the knowledge he was generously sharing and it didn't take me long before I got into an altercation with an aggressive pickerel of my own.

Giddy after my chain pickerel devirginization, I adamantly expressed my sincerest gratitude, appreciation and admiration toward my guide.  I always enjoy locating fish on my own, but it was still very sweet to catch a new specie with the help of a friend.  Thank you again, Forrest.



Over the next 4.5 hours, we worked our crankbaits in 4-8 feet of stained water and continued to have ourselves an excellent time.  Well over 20 fish were landed between us with several largemouth bass in the mix.

One of the highlights for the day included a chubby 21" bucketmouth that went a hair over 6.5lbs on my VAC certified scales.  It ties a personal best I set over 7 years ago.

The other highlight was a feisty, acrobatic, and very pretty 23" chain pickerel

I also met fellow Hook1 prostaffer, Marty Mood and a relative newcomer to the area from Wisconsin, Richie Bekolay.  They were off to a late start but quickly got into the fish.  Richie also had a really nice 21.25" bucket (pictures on his blog).

I stuck around a little later than Forrest, but just before I thought about leaving, I got a call.  Apparently the cold front was closer than we thought.  Forrest called to make sure we were on our way in because "it was lookin' like armageddon".  As I was hanging up, it started raining.  Then the wind machine went to full blast.  Within a couple minutes of paddling, we were being pelted by frozen rain, and a few minutes after that our kayaks had a layer of snow on them.  Luckily we weren't too far from where we launched.  I tried to get footage and photos of the madness, but moisture on the lenses made the shots unrecognizable.  As we begged our fingers to finish strapping the kayaks, big fat snowflakes caked our cars.  Then thunder clapped just above our heads.  All three of us looked at each other, then laughed in disbelief.  It quickly went from nice light winds to full on thunder snowstorm insanity.

What a day?!?! 

I got to fish with an angler who I have great respect for... I tried two new places... I tied a personal best bucketmouth that was just an inch short of citation... not only did I catch the new species I was after but lots of them... and one of those was just an inch shy of citation too... and at the end, I actually enjoyed what felt like a joke from mother nature... 

it was as if she was saying...