So fishing has slowed down. I’ve been a bit busy and the heat is awful. But we did get out to do some Smallmouth bass fishing on the New River and a trip to the Soho.
The New River is a fun river, it flows north and runs into and out of and over the NC/VA border. There are all these little dirt roads that may or may not lead to the river. The river is shallow at points and deep at others. We waded it once and rented a canoe once. Even with the canoe we ended up dragging it over the gravel often. It is a beautiful river and I am going back at the end of the month for a 3 day trip. The small mouth bass is an excellent fighting fish and a whole lot of fun to catch on the fly rod. It is mostly a top water bite which can be very exciting to see these bronze missiles coming out of the water to hit your fly. I used mostly a fly called a Gurgler. I tied mine myself. There is a basic design, but you can add most anything to it, rubber legs being the best thing you can add.
Josh and I also made a trip out to the South Holston, the Soho, in TN. man that was a blast but what a drive. It is not that far, but you have to go over like 3 mountain passes on two lane roads that are VERY twisty and take a lot of time. On the ride home we had to pull over and sleep for a couple of hours. It had been a long day. We got the and stopped in at the fly shop, picked up some split case nymphs, talked a bit with the guys there, then headed over to Blake’s, said good morning and then the 3 of us hit the water. We had a good morning catching fish despite the on and off showers. The sulfurs were slowly coming off and the fish were hitting both the nymphs and dry flys. When the electric co. started to generate we got off the river, went back to Blake’s and decided to take out the drift boat. It was my first time doing a drift and we had a blast, but the fishing was WAY off, we only caught one brown and Josh caught it. Blake was kind enough to do all the rowing. Thanks Blake! I’ve got some photos coming your way soon.
So, here are the photos:
Josh in the New
The New.
Josh with a nice smallmouth.
My first fish of the day. It was the biggest of the day.
A Rock Bass, or they are sometimes called a ‘Red Eye’.
Another nice smallmouth.
Check out this snapping turtle! he was about 35 inches long. Love the underwater camera!
Josh and Blake in the drift boat with our, well, his, only fish.
One of my nice Brown Trouts!
A Soho Ranibow!
When they generate electricity, they release water from the dam thru turbines. The water is very cool, so when it hits the hot summer air it fogs up the water. It is really cool.
Fish Totals as of 7.15.08
Species and totals for 2008
Brook Trout - 23
Native Wild Brook trout - 15
Rainbow Trout - 25
Brown Trout - 57
Largemouth Bass - 29
Sunfish - 116
Black Crappie - 11
Striped Bass - 1
Rock Bass - 14
Smallmouth bass -15
