Thursday, July 10, 2008
In search of trophy smallmouth on the New River
Bill Cochran
Recent mail
BILL: I am a 26-year-old law student living in Grundy. I recently caught the smallmouth bass fishing fever and can’t stay out of the Levisa River. However, I’m only catching 10-inch smallmouths.
Some of my friends have caught 20-plus inch smallmouths out of the Levisa, so when I Googled “How to catch smallmouth bass in Virginia” your roanoke.com column on the New River being a premier smallmouth bass fishing spot was the first hit.
I grew up in Lynchburg, mostly fishing the James River or taking the annual Gulf Stream trip out of the Outer Banks. This summer I am working for a law firm during the week and doing nothing else except fishing on the weekends. I want a trophy.
Pembroke/Pearisburg is only a couple of hours from me. Where in the river is the best spot to catch something? What bait? If you could offer any good tips I would be very grateful.
When I catch my citation, I will tell the world that you gave me the advice.
GARY STRAW
GARY: I could offer you some advice, but I prefer to involve an expert: Mike Smith, of Greasy Creek Outfitters. Mike guides on the New River and has landed many trophy bass and helped others to do the same. His book, “Fishing the New River Valley: An Angler’s Guide,” is one you should read. Here’s Mike’s advice for you on New River smallmouth bass fishing:
LOCATION: The entire river in Virginia, from North Carolina to West Virginia affords anglers the opportunity to catch citation smallmouth bass -- fish that are 20 or more inches. However, fish that size are more prolific downstream of Claytor Dam, because more big-fish habitat is found there. I suggest you float fish through the Radford Arsenal or from Pembroke to Ripplemead, assuming you know how to work a canoe and you wear a PFD. You can try wading in the Parrot area, but, again, wear a PFD.
LURES: The key is to use big baits wherever you go. This includes 4-inch tubes, 5-inch plastic lizards, 5-inch flukes and 4-inch Senkos along with large top-water baits, like Pop-Rs and Torpedoes. If you increase the size of baits used, you should be able to entice larger fish to strike, regardless of where you are fishing, the New, James or your local stream, the Levisa.
RESOURCES: “Fishing the New River Valley: An Angler’s Guide has directions to the spots mentioned above on the New River.
BILL
