.....Advertisement.....
.....Advertisement.....

Thursday, February 08, 2007

A season of promise for river bass anglers

By Bill Cochran

Fishermen who go after bass in Virginia’s river systems should enjoy improved success this season, following a string of puny years that were frustrating to many anglers.

Smallmouth bass populations are on the rebound, and the same can be said of largemouth bass in the state’s tidal rivers.

Stream bass populations rise and fall according to strong or poor year classes. Biologists have discovered that the best spawning success and survival of young fish occurs when streams enjoy a moderate flow during and immediately after the spawn. Flows that are too high or too low result in a weak hatch and poor survival of young fish, which in turn means a longer time between bites for anglers.

Drought conditions that prevailed from the mid-1990s into the early 2000s resulted in poor year classes and a nosedive in bass populations in many streams. Better water conditions have turned this trend around.

“The drought broke quite dramatically in late 2002, and our tidal river bass populations have rebounded rapidly since then,” said Bob Greenlee, a fisheries biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Good to excellent year classes have occurred in the tidal James and Chickahominy rivers from 2004 through 2006, said Greenlee. “Anglers will see a robust largemouth fishery in these tidal rivers over the next several years,” he said.

It is much the same good news for smallmouth bass anglers farther upstream.

“The bottom line is that the James is pretty good again,” said Scott Smith, a DGIF biologist. “We had really low numbers of fish in the river from about ’02 to ’04, but had really good spawning success in ’04. The past couple of years have been good for small fish, and this year should be good for medium-size fish.”

Most other streams across the state have followed a similar pattern. “The 2004 and 2005 smallmouth bass year class were two of the best I have documented in sampling in the New River below Claytor Lake since 1996,” said John Copeland, a DGIF biologist.

Here’s a stream-by-stream look of major streams by DGIF biologists:

CHICKAHOMINY: The catch rate by anglers almost doubled between 2002 and 2005. A strong spawn in 2005 should send impressive number of largemouth bass into this year’s fishery. The river holds impressive numbers of 3- to 5-pound largemouths.

JAMES (Iron Gate to Scottsville): Poor spawning success from 1999 to 2003 lowered the river’s smallmouth population, but an excellent spawn in 2004 and an average spawn in 2005 should provide good numbers of 8-to 14-inch bass. Big bass will be scarce.

JAMES (Scottsville to Richmond): This stretch still is on the mend, a process that should be hastened by the strong smallmouth year classes of 2004 and 2005.

JAMES (tidal) Not quite as good as the Chickahominy for largemouths, but improved over recent years. Don’t overlook the mouth of tributaries from the Appomattox River down to Upper Chippokes Creek.

NEW (above Claytor Lake): Expect fair smallmouth bass fishing. The 2004 and 2005 year classes were successful and are producing catchable-size fish. Look for decent numbers of bass in the 10-to 14-inch range. Excellent walleye fishing may outshine the bass angling. (Look for walleye information in an upcoming report.)

NEW (below Claytor Lake): The 2004 and 2005 spawns were the best since 1996, which should mean plenty of fish 12 inches and smaller. But get this: About 26 percent of the adult smallmouths collected by biologists during electro fishing outings last fall were in the 14-to 20-inch range. Unfortunately, the 2006 year class was a bust.

RAPPAHANNOCK: The fishing will be good this year, and has potential of being fantastic in the future. Spawns in 2004 and 2005 were excellent followed by an average year in 2006. This constitutes the strongest string of year classes ever documented. Bass are abundant and the forage base has improved through efforts that allow shad easier access to the upper river. In the tidal section of the river, the largemouth population has been enhanced by strong production in 2004 and 2005, but the bass here grow slowly.

SHENANDOAH: This stream and its north and south forks have been plagued by fish kills the past three years. Adult fish are all but gone. But there was an excellent hatch in 2004 and these fish appear to have escaped the kills. Hatches in 2005 and 2006 also were good. Look for improved fishing with the exception of the North Fork downstream from Burnshire Dam.

NORTH FORLK HOLSTON: Bass in this steam have an amazing survival rate of nearly 80 percent resulting in good numbers of 14- to 18-inch smallmouths. A 2006 sampling revealed that 30 percent of the smallmouths exceeded 15 inches and 10 percent exceeded 17 inches.

MIDDLE FORK HOLSTON: Anglers who overcome access problems will find impressive numbers of smallmouth bass, including some in the 18- to 20-inch bracket.

MAURY RIVER: This tributary of the James River is going to surprise you as it did fisheries biologists last year who found that some sections contained 350-fish per mile that measured over 11 inches. There were 42-fish per mile over 17 inches, including several over 20 inches.

STAUNTON (Below Leesville Dam): The smallmouth population has been building in recent seasons, and this should be a vintage year. The 2005 year class was exceptional, resulting in plenty of 8-to 10-inch bass. A September survey revealed good numbers of 14- to 17-inch smallmouths with a sprinkling of citation-size fish.

CLINCH: Sampling by biologists last year highlighted an improved catch rate for smallmouths. Most bass were less than 15 inches, but 10 percent exceeded 15 inches and four percent measured more than 17 inches. About one bass in 100 was 20 inches or more.

JACKSON: The stained water from Covington to Iron Gate supports high numbers of smallmouth bass that measure 8-to 12-inches. There is an occasional trophy fish, but the bass growth rate is very slow.

PAMUNKEY: The recruitment of young largemouth bass to adulthood has been good since the drought broke in 2002. The 2006 year class was unusually strong; however, these fish will be too small to impact sport fishing before 2008. Bass above 3 pounds are rare.

.....Advertisement.....