5/28 James River -- Belle Isle

[BigEHokie]

Smallie fishing has been really tough for me this year. I think I have 6, maybe 7 trips on the James this year and I haven't caught a single Smallmouth. It's getting rather frustrating at this point and today was no different.

Air temps were 80F, water temps were 75F, and the water was stained, < 1ft visibility.

I met up with Hannover_Yakker and rickz7601 at 8:15 this morning and put in at Belle Isle. We fished everywhere and everything with no one reporting a bite all morning. Grass banks, grass flats, manmade structure, boulders, slack water, eddies, etc, etc. You name it, it was fished. I was throwing a brown 3" Culprit water beetle, 3" and 4" Senkos wacky rigged with o-rings in watermelon w/ red flake, 4" green Culprit salt tube, 4" white Culprit salt tube, Strike King Sexy Shad (that I just purchased and managed to lose today), another rattling crank in a bluegill patterns, a Rappala Pop-R, and a chartreuse spinner. This is probably the most baits I've ever tried in one outing. Late morning, I parked my yak on the Northern bank in front of Dominion and started working the shallow rapids. There were long stretches of grass along the bank as seen here:



I made a cast along the bank and got my first real bite of the morning on the Culprit water beetle. I landed a 15" LMB.



Some more fishing and not a lot of biting and Rick called it a day around noon. Chuck and I continued to fish until around 3. Chuck landed a 13" LMB on a buzz-bait/in-line spinner demo bait he was toying with, along a grass bank similar to what I caught my LMB in. Closer to the end of the day, Chuck also managed to land a small Smallie on different small, chartreuse spinner.

Fun day, but tough fishing. I'm either fishing in the wrong locations, using the wrong baits, or I just plain suck at Smallmouth fishing these days...I'm thinking it's more of the latter!

Anyways, here's a link to all the pictures I took.
http://picasaweb.google.com/emilesvt/5282010BelleIsle?authkey=Gv1sRgCPWfnenZhcmy5QE&feat=directlink

[mykidsr1]

Man dont feel bad I am with you on the smallies... I have landed 2-3 smallies this year biggest being around 15 or so.

Pretty much gave up for a bit and focused more on LMB cause I was sick of catching rock Bass all day.

Either way Going to get back to trying to figure out the smallies in my area because I am not going to let a fish out wit me....

Nice Fish though.

[BigEHokie]

You know, after making this post and thinking about it, I've caught 1 Smallie this year and it was a decent sized one, 16". But that's IT, no others.

[oubassman]

Smallie fishing has been tough for me also. Had to go to Richmond to catch them so far this year But looking for a few smallies tomorrow morning.

Hang in there, summer time smallie fishing in the river will often beat largemouth for numbers alot fo the time.

[SimonSays]

Nice fish! thats where I BrokenPaddle and I use to catch decent sized cats!

[SnookOne]

Pretty color on that fish!

[Hanover_Yakker]

It was a tough day - I think the pattern was small, moving baits with chartreuse/orange/brown colors. Not quite sure to be honest - maybe we need an education from Jeff Little . No skunk though. The LMB was a wierd catch to be quite honest. I was throwing an inline spin/buzz ultralight bait in a perch color that had a small white trailer skirt with some flashfoil in it. I casted it alongside some grass and immediately I felt like it was snagged. I tried to pull it but no movement. I walked along the bank down to unhook the snag and then the tidal LMB moved. He must not have realized he was caught perhaps. Anyway, the second fish was a dink smallie that must have followed my Strike King Rocket Shad in Perch pattern with a gold #2 Colorado blade on it all the way back to my feet. He nailed it as I was about to lift the bait out of the water while chatting with Eric. Funny thing was that this was about the tenth cast up river and working it down the current right back along the same eddy caused by the rock outcropping we were on. Strange.

I think my next outing on the James will be farther upriver for some better smallie opportunities or putting in near 14th Street and Mayo Island for some tidal LMB.

[vakayakangler]

Congrats on avoiding that dreaded skunk smell, I know the feeling. I have had that smell in my boat MORE than not. It is a condition I have become used to. I have good days and bad but am always just happy to be fishing rather than working...... nice fish though.... great way to keep the skunk off....

We went fishing yesterday with a small group on a secluded lake we have discovered. I know there are fish there and we had some great blowups, but the only two fish boated all day were a 10" smallmouth and a 10" chain pickeral. This lake will take some work... but that is the fun of it all, and it may prove to be THE spot for this summer and fall. I know that there are monsters here.... one of then doubled my gloomis frog rod, then must have run under a log or boulder... as he was gone.....

My tidewater buddy was laughing so hard he nearly went out of his kayak. Then the thunderstorms came. I'll fish in the rain, I'll fish in the light winds, I'll fish with the bugs, I love to fish.
But will I fish holding a graphite lightening rod in a thunderstorm?

Nah.... I'll pass. Tina and rhonda were already deciding how to split my gear.

[rickz7601]

Can you smell it in the air...skunk, skunk and more skunk. I fished with Eric and Chuck on the James looking for anything that would bite. The only thing that ate any of my lures was the rocks. O well...much better hanging out fishing than work...thanks for the invite guys.
Rick

[Hanover_Yakker]

I hear you Rick, I was contemplating leaving shortly after you did, but Eric convinced me to stay a little longer and fish a spot he knew about. Glad I did. Hey Jim - is this your new honey hole, or would you be willing to take some of us with you next time?