River Report 09/04/23

Smallmouth Bass fishing is in full swing on both the James River and New River here in the western part of virginia. This is some of the best Smallmouth Bass fishing we will see all year. fl0ws are low on all of our smallmouth bass fisheries, but that is to be expected this time of year, and makes for some incredible sight fishing. nights are getting cooler, and the Smallmouth bass are looking up to the dropping cicadas. topwater fishing is excellent right now, whether you are fly fishing or fishing with conventional gear. boogie bugs and chuck Kraft style bugs are the weapon of choice through early October, and even later if we’re lucky. soon the bite will shift back to the streamer and lure bite. anything that works for pre-spawn smallmouth bass comes back into play this time of year. gamechanger flies, swingin’ ds, drunk and disorderlies, etc are the streamers of choice, while we look back to jerk baits and flukes on conventional gear.

while we’re on the topic of things cooling off, we’re a little over a month away from early musky season here in virginia on both the James and new river. with our first guide trips safely booked for mid October at the rate the water temps are trending. we’re looking forward to getting back into the musky swing, and if you’re interested in booking a trip, now is the time!

-josh & Austin