The warm spell we had last week stimulated the bass fishing. Warm afternoons pushed bass up on the flats. Lake Anna is now a hotspot for bass, stripes and crappie. Stripers are eating lures from the Splits on up into the rivers. Bait is starting to bunch in tight schools. A nice bag of bass weighing over 19-pounds won a weekend tournament out of Sturgeon Creek Marina. After a 3-inch weekend rain, the rivers are. once again swollen and muddy. The. tidal James, however, gave up some quality blue catfish.
Trout fishing remains excellent, though the cold snap dropped the water temps, which will slow the action.
Saltwater
Virginia stripers remain largely inside the rivers, though early week cold weather may begin pushing them out into the bay. Boats are putting fish into live wells in the James, Rapp and Potomac rivers. Umbrella rigs have been most productive. Nighttime trips to the Bay Bridge Tunnel have been productive. The speckled trout action continues in the creeks and inlets. Mirro-lures are the hot baits.
Tautogs are biting along the Bridges and on structure. Ocean wrecks are giving up good catches of flounder, sea bass and triggerfish. High winds kept the Virginia blue water fleet in port.
OBX
At Nags Head, Capt. Reese Stecher of Beach Bum Fishing continues to put his clients on nice stripers both in the sound and at the inlet. Big stripers over 10 pounds and pushing 30-inches are coming from the sound waters. Specks and puppy drum action remains solid.
A few sea mullet, trout and black drum are hitting for surf fishermen. Early last week, deep water boats found lots of big-eye tuna. King mackerel action is red hot out of Hatteras with several 48-pounders weighed.
Don’t Delay: Check Out the North River
Sometimes farmers have a delayed harvest. We were at the Hanover Tomato Festival a few years ago, but there were no Hanover tomatoes. Heavy and extended rains kept the trucks and tractors out of the fields and they couldn’t pick the ripe tomatoes for the Festival. It was an unwelcomed delayed harvest.
However, there is a welcomed opportunity for delayed harvest fishing opportunities nearby at the North River below Elkhorn Lake. The beautiful stream is full of trout and offers top notch fishing for those who don’t necessarily have to eat the trout they catch.
There are about a dozen Delayed Harvest trout streams in Virginia. These streams are designated as catch and release fisheries from October 1 through May 31 when most trout will survive if caught and returned to the stream. From June 1 through the end of September, anglers are allowed to keep trout since many would perish in the heat of summer.
The North River is such a stream.
The North River is a tailwater fishery, receiving icy cold water from the depths of Elkhorn Lake. The stream flows through beautiful and primitive terrain in its mile and a half journey down and into the Staunton City Reservoir. It is ideal trout water with gurgling rapids, lots of pocket water and deep pools.
The Wildlife Commission recently stocked the stream with a full load of beautiful rainbow trout and conditions could hardly be better.
Lots of rainfall has the water levels high and full, but relatively warm weather means the water temperatures are perfect for trout. There are even some decent fly hatches underway to keep the trout active.
Delayed Harvest regulations stipulate that anglers use only artificial flies or lures. Spinning gear is allowed in addition to fly rods, but absolutely no bait is allowed in possession. If a Game Warden finds a jar of salmon eggs in your fishing vest, you will get a ticket. So check your gear before you go. Also, you must have a trout license to fish Delayed Harvest waters from October 1 through June 15. In addition, no trout may be in possession, even if you caught them in Elkhorn Lake. This is strictly catch and release. Catch and release means that a trout may be caught more than once, providing lots and lots of sporting opportunities.
The North River is one of Virginia’s loveliest streams. It is accessed only by foot trail. From the parking lot at Elkhorn Lake, the trail along the lake leads to the spillway and down to the river.
Since the water is cold, fish won’t be quite as active and a slow presentation is best. Small spinners like Joe’s Flies, or Mepp’s Spinners are good choices for spin fishermen. Nymphs bumped along the bottom are effective flies, but be on the lookout for bugs in the surface, which means dry flies.
A hike down to the North River can be a family affair with a picnic lunch beside the stream. For the kids, there are rocks to flip over, trees to climb and a world of nature to explore.
Mother Nature has extended our fishing opportunities with some accommodating weather and the Delayed Harvest regulations assure fishermen that plenty of trout are there to be caught.