Osprey eating a shad

St. Patrick’s Day, this past Tuesday, was beautiful with blue skies and temperatures in the upper 70’s. Was that the day that I made my annual trek to Weldon for the shad run?  Nope! Sam and I waited until Friday the 20th, with temps starting in the 30’s and topping out about 50, with some drizzle and thick clouds. However, it was the best day for the two of us to get together so we loaded up the canoe on the old red truck for the 2 hour trip.

We didn’t rush due to the cold and rain…rain which was pulling out to the northeast. We timed our drive well, and the rain was finished by the time we arrived. We paddled across the river to our usual spot, but things didn’t look too promising, as we were virtually the only folks at the landing — never a good sign with something like the shad run, where people fishing means the fish are in. However, onward! We beached the canoe and clambered over the rocks to the top of the “Little River,” where the flow splits 90/10, with the small flow being the “Little River.” The water was quite chilly (49F) as I wet-waded through crotch-deep water to our favorite fishing rocks 🙂 . Invigorating!

Well, to say fishing was slow was an understatement.  However, I did manage a half dozen Hickory Shad, and besides, the camaraderie made the trip worthwhile, regardless of what we caught.

Hickory Shad

All the fish I caught were on a single orange fly…orange chenille body, orange bucktail wing, with some gold crystal flash added for good measure. This particular fly had bead chain eyes rather than the weighted eyes I usually use, and that may have made a difference but I think it really was more just putting the fly in front of a fish, and I had a better day of that than Sam.

We saw a number of ospreys during the day, mostly as fishless as us 🙂 but one did catch a fish just a bit down the river from us, and it flew into a nearby tree to eat the shad while we fished. We also saw a bald eagle, also clutching a shad, on the far side of the river. In the past, we’ve seen wild turkeys fly by, but none today.

All in all, a great day of fishing, so-so catching, good bird watching, and great fellowship.

I had a chance to get away for a long weekend with my fishing buddy, Sam. We needed a smallmouth bass trip, weighed our options and the weather, and headed to the South Fork of the Shenandoah. We’d decided to camp, and headed for the Shenandoah River Outfitters near Luray, VA. When we got there, they asked, “do you have reservations?” That’s always a bad sign. I’d checked their website and it was showing clear availability all month, even on the weekends. Seems that was not really the case. They said they could give us Thursday and Friday night, but not Saturday. Fortunately, they had a cancellation, and we ended up with a site for the entire weekend (plan B was a motel in Luray). It’s a decent place to camp, but it sure is kinda crazy on the weekend as they manage the tubers, canoeists, and rafters. I’d never seen a 36-canoe trailer before, but they have a couple of them! We got there in time to cook dinner and then go out to wade fish a bit before dark. We tried an access point a couple miles downriver from the camp. Sam caught a couple of bass, and I got a nice fallfish, on a popper, no less! As it got too dark to wade in fast water, we headed back to strategize about our float plan for Friday.

We decided to float from Foster’s Landing to Seekford Landing, which is 5 miles. We used the trusty “bicycle shuttle” (me dropping off Sam at the upstream point with the boats, and leaving the truck at the takeout, and biking back. Saved a shuttle fee of about $50 😉 . Here’s a shot of me as we were ready to start out.

Joel at Foster’s Landing

We floated from about 11AM until 5PM, and both had good fishing all day. We each caught 25 or so smallmouth plus additional sunfish and fallfish. No big bass, but they were all hard-hitting and acrobatic. Here’s a typical fish…

Shenandoah smallmouth

I caught almost all of mine on a brown crayfish pattern. It was working for me, so why change a good thing? I was intrigued by the sunfish on the Shenandoah. They would hit in some very fast water, much more so than where I’m used to catching sunfish on a smallmouth river. When a fat sunnie gets sideways in current, you’ll think it’s a nice bass…except no jumps.

For Saturday, we decided after considerable thought, to wade fish. Sam wanted to show me the area below the Luray powerplant, where he’d had good success in the past. We headed up first thing in the morning. The problem was that the water was quite cloudy. I think that it was from the water coming over the dam, stirring up sediment that had settled out by the time it got a mile or so downriver. Anyway, we couldn’t see our feet, which is not good, and decided to go downstream. We fished Bixler’s Ferry access, Bealer’s Ferry access, Foster’s Landing and Seekford Landing. I did reasonably well, especially at Bealer’s. Sam didn’t connect on as many bass, but it was still a great day.

One thing that was an issue for us both floating and wading was the amount of aquatic grass. Many areas were almost matted down with it, making the fishing tough. Sam had fished the Shenandoah before but didn’t remember the grass being as dense. Maybe he was fishing earlier in the season. We weren’t sure. Anyway, it was a great weekend and good company. Sunday, we both needed to get back home so we packed up and drove the 4.5 hours back to central NC. Already looking forward to the next time I get a smallmouth on my line!

June was a busy month, with most of my time dedicated to being Director of Shakori District Cub Scout Day Camp. I’d not been over to the Eno River lately, so with glorious low-humidity sunshine the weekend forecast, I decided to carve out some time for fishing today. I wanted to fish some of the long, deeper pools, so I packed my float tube instead of planning to wade.

The stretch where I headed is one of the upper parts of the Eno River State Park, but it’s a place that’s very lightly used, even on a holiday weekend. I only saw two other people in the time I was there.

I hiked in from the road, carrying my float tube with pack straps for easier transport. The water was cool, low and clear. I started working some streamers up next to the banks, in the shady spots, and started catching lots of sunnies. Not big, but lots of fun.

I spent the next 3 hours catching and releasing three or four dozen sunfish. I had a few hits on poppers, but mostly on a variety of streamers. I kept hoping for a largemouth but didn’t hook any. I saw many small, 6″ bass swimming in the shallows, but couldn’t find any bigger ones. It was a beautiful day, and I enjoyed the sound of the wind in the trees and the pleasant breeze that gently pushed me downstream.

Knowing I had a ways to bushwhack thru the summer undergrowth back upstream to the access trail, I decided it was time to head back home for a cold one…it’s sort of like walking downhill, you know you’ve got to hike back out!

It was a great day. I need to see if I can get one of my buddies to do this with me one day, and do a car shuttle and a longer float. Something to plan for next time.