Shenandoah Smallies?

[EMSer]

I am going to find myself floating the Shenandoah near Bentonville next week with friends. I haven't targeted smallies in years. I plan to bring some perch / light stripper rods to throw spinners at them with.

Any advice on gear / tactics? Anything other than smallmouth I might find there?

Thanks

[Turtle135]

Spinners and spinnerbaits are good if the bass are in a mood to chase. If they are not in the mood to chase I would throw some "tubes" and the "Ned Rig" (see the video). A Ned Rig tumbling in the current is hard for a smallie to resist.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fis...s/ned-rig.html

[bunnielab]

I did some wade fishing on the Patapsco this week and must have caught about 60-70 smallies on a Ned rig over the course of 4 hours. Now, they were all really little guys, but I have never seen this river be so productive. I am becoming a real Ned rig believer.

[perchy]

I have a friend from work who fishes there. Gary Yamamoto hula grubs in green pumpkin should be all you need.

[EMSer]

Thanks folks.

Just ordered some Ned Rig supplies. Will let you know how it works

[bunnielab]

If you want to try a weedless rig, use the Owner Ultrahead 1/16 #1 jigheads:

You can glue the head on to make them last longer, but even unglued you can get a few fish per plastic before it becomes annoyingly loose. I prefer a cut-down Hula Stick over other plastics.

[J.A. Veil]

I am going to find myself floating the Shenandoah near Bentonville next week with friends. I plan to bring some light stripper rods. Any advice on gear / tactics?

Thanks

Bring a thick stack of $1 bills -- they work well with your stripper rod.

Sorry Bruce, I could not resist -- another guy tripped up by the double "p".

[Mark]

Speaking of the double p, I'm surprised no one has mentioned poppers.

Before I became a kayak angler, the Upper Potomac and Upper Suquehanna were my most frequent fishing destinations. I also fished the Shenandoah but not as often. I did a few guided float fishing trips on all three rivers but mostly I waded them and fished for smallmouth. They were quite willing to come up for poppers. Of the hundreds and hundreds I caught, the vast majority came to the surface for poppers.

Give them a try Bruce.

Good luck,

[EMSer]

Thanks for the chuckle, John.

Maybe I should have said stripper pole.

[Mark]

Bruce,

I forgot...two other species you may catch:

Rock bass and red breasted sunfish.

You'll know you've hooked a rock bass (aka redeye) before you see the fish. They hit hard and get your hopes up for a credible fish on your line. But after hooking up they immediately give up. No fight. They're like pulling in a snagged flip flop.

The sunfish fight harder and are fun to catch. You might think you've caught a bluegill with faded colors. But if you look at closely you'll notice its profile is narrower than a pond bluegill making it more suited to living in moving water.

Both species hit on top.

Enjoy your trip.

[EMSer]

I managed to get one day drifting the river in a rented raft with my wife. The plan was for me to fish and for her to kick back and read. I took 2 lighter rods and threw spinners, mini rapalas and Ned Rigs. Having never even heard of Neds before posing the question here, I was intrigued if such an odd looking bait would produce as advertised.

It didn't take long to discover that the hype is well justified as I caught many fish (mostly small) on this new bait. I also discovered that the bottom bouncing technique wasn't perfectly suited to the drift style of fishing I engaged in. The raft had limited mobility and it was predictable that I frequently got the bait hung up. Many times I could pull it free, but not without opening the gap on the hook. Sadly, it cost me several of my nicest fish that threw the impaired hook when the leapt through the air. I am sure that using it from a stationary boat or dock would produce phenomenal results.

I had forgotten how much fun Smallmouth Bass could be on light tackle. I ended the day with a couple dozen fish, mostly under 10" but a few in the 12-14"+ range. I even caught a few Pumpkinseeds in the mix. I did not expect to find them in the swifter water that it did.

All in all, it was fun to reconnect with some freshwater again, as I hadn't fished it in years.

IMG_1630.jpgIMG_1634.jpgIMG_1645.jpgIMG_1646.jpgIMG_1628.jpgIMG_1647.jpg

[Mark]

Good report, Bruce.

You got some nice ones.

Try top water. They'll come up and you won't hang up.

[J.A. Veil]

That sounds like a fun day.

[On the fly]

Glad you and your wife had a good day out.
Harry