In years past, lots of Virginians packed their bags, stuck rods and reels on the front of their trucks and headed for North Carolina’s Outer Banks for Thanksgiving. In this, the year of the Chinese Virus, it may be a good time to go again. Capt. Reese Stecher of Beach Bum Fishing says that the fishing in his neck of the woods is on fire.
“We are catching specks, grey trout, puppy drum and lots of bluefish.” Reese said. “Pack your bags and come on down.”
The fishing for specks and puppy drum back in the Carolina sounds has been non-stop action for most of the year. There are huge numbers of these exciting shallow-water gamefish around with lots of keeper-size puppies and big speckled trout, and now the stripers have moved in. It is entirely possible to pick up limits of each of the “big three” and even add a few grey trout to the mix.
Wow!
Surf fishermen from Hatteras to Nags Head are also scoring with pups, specks, sea mullet and blow toads. Some small spot (a perfect bait for flounder and drum) and some black drum were also biting. Pier jockeys picked up some blues, pups, specks and sea mullet.
Boats fishing just offshore are finding some albacore and the deep water fleet is taking limits of blackfin and yellowfin tuna along with a few marlin releases.
In Virginia waters, there are lots of school-sized rockfish around, but the big boys have yet to show. Spot have largely packed their bags and moved on. Tautog fishing is heating up near the CBBT. Some large flounder are also being brought to the scales.
Fall Smallmouth Techniques
By Alex McCrickard, DGIF Aquatic Education Coordinator
Rivers and streams across Virginia are typically in low flow conditions on average years as summer moves to early fall. As the days get shorter and air temperatures drop, water temperatures soon follow. When water temperatures drop from the upper 80s down into the upper 60s, smallmouth become very active. While the smallmouth’s metabolism might be highest in warmer water temperatures, these conditions can sometimes make the fish a bit sluggish, especially on bright sunny days in the heat of the summer. Therefore, the cooling trends that occur in early to mid-fall often put smallmouth on the feed. Also, as water temperatures drop, dissolved oxygen increases. During the hottest summer months, smallmouth often congregate at the heads of riffles in broken water where dissolved oxygen levels are highest. It’s the fall cooling of water temperatures that in turn can spread more smallmouth out evenly throughout various habitats from riffles and pocket water to long runs, pools, and flats. Smallmouth will also disperse when large rain events occur throughout fall and river levels rise from typical low late summer and early fall flows.
As mid-fall progresses into late fall, water temperatures drop even further. When water temperatures hit the mid- to low-50s, smallmouth stage in transitionary water between their summer habitat and deep overwintering holes. In Virginia, this oftentimes happens from late October through the middle of November. Look for smallmouth to be on the edges of drop-offs as well as congregating around river points and bends. During this transitionary time smallmouth can also be found in the middle sections and tail-outs of deep riffles holding around structure like log jams and big boulders.
Topwater lures and flies will continue to produce good numbers of smallmouth bass throughout the entire month of September and well into the month of October. Anglers should take advantage of this last opportunity to fish on the surface before winter kicks in. Popular topwater lures that anglers enjoy to fish in the summer will also prove to be productive in early to mid-Autumn. Make sure to keep buzzbaits, Whopper Ploppers, Zara Spooks, Heddon Tiny Torpedos, and the Rebel Pop-R in your box of topwater lures.
For fly fishing, make sure to keep your fly box stocked with your favorite poppers. I always carry Boogle Bugs, Double Barrel poppers, and Walt’s Bass Poppers in a variety of sizes and colors in early fall. It’s best to experiment with your retrieve to figure out if the fish are looking for fast or slow action. Your retrieve and approach can also depend on the type of water you are fishing and the action of your fly or lure. Sometimes in choppy riffles a faster retrieve can allow the lure or fly to move more water, whereas a slower pop and pause retrieve can be very productive in flat water stretches.
As water temperatures continue to fall throughout October through November, a subsurface approach is best. It’s still possible to catch bass on topwater lures and flies, but you will find more fish feeding subsurface with water temperatures in the 50s. Smallmouth actively ambush smaller forage fish during this time of the year as they attempt to put on weight for the upcoming winter season. This makes mid to late fall one of the best times of the year to target large smallmouth in our rivers and streams across Virginia. Use baitfish imitations and target the transitionary water that smallmouth occupy during this time frame. A variety of subsurface crankbaits, soft plastic swimbaits and flukes, spinnerbaits, and jerkbaits will prove productive. The Rebel Crawfish, a crayfish crankbait, should also be in your selection of subsurface lures as smallmouth will prowl pools and flats for crayfish in the fall.
When fishing some of these subsurface lures, especially soft plastic swimbaits and flukes, it’s important to apply action to the lure on occasion by quickly jerking your rod to the side and then pausing briefly during your retrieve. This will give your lure an erratic motion and imitate a stressed and injured baitfish which is exactly what the smallmouth are looking for. When fishing soft plastics with a jig head, you can adjust the size of your jig head based upon the depth and current that you are focusing on. Anglers can also fish a variety of different colored jig and pigs for targeting late fall smallmouth that are holding lower in the water column closer to the bottom of the river.
So don’t put those bass rods in storage quite yet.