While on a search mission for the next day’s tournament on Kerr Lake, my partner and I were greeted by light S-SW winds as w launched at County Line Park in the Nutbush Creek area.  Water temps were hovering around 46 deg. as we targeted secondary points with jerk baits and crank baits.  We had a few short strikes on shallow jerks over deeper water, so we decided to move to shallower water.  Out first fish was 5 lbs 10 oz, so we expanded our search for other secondary points and main lake points. … Read More »

The shad are on the move! They are breaking apart into smaller pods and moving up river slowly. The water temperature is coming up a few degrees on the James River which makes the fish feel feisty. Shad darts in tandem are taking the most fish with color combinations of pink, chartreuse, and white taking the most fish. Heavier darts are working better than lighter right now, but you may be able to ditch the 1/2 oz weights for the time being.

Fly-fishermen should take note of the color choices above … Read More »

The shad are on the bottom and the current is swift on the James River. In order to coax them up, local anglers are still using a ½ oz weight, but a better color selection for this part of the week would be pink/white or chartreuse/white. The same colors go well for the fly-fishing crowd, but getting down to the fish is a bit more involved. A sink tip will not do it at the moment. A full sink line over 300 grains is more likely to dredge them up, … Read More »

Fishing curly tail jigs under bobbers has long been a technique utilized by crappie spin fisherman. The same technique is equally productive when targeting these fish with a fly rod, especially when fish are finicky and will not bite a stripped in fly. There are two ways in which to mimic this technique when fly fishing for crappie.

Early in the season, we will rig up our rods as if we were nymphing for trout. A strike indicator is placed on the leader anywhere from 18” to 48” up from the … Read More »