heyitskirby

Western Tidewater is Southampton/Sussex/Surry. I work in the area, but don't fish at all down there. I know people who fish the Meherrin, Nottoway, and Blackwater River all the time. There are also some really random sounding places I've been told to bank fish down there around Franklin and Courtland. Including a wash ditch to fish after a heavy rain down near Newsoms.

That's a good catch for that stretch of river. I never had great luck through there but all my best catches were across from where you were fishing. Got irritated enough with all the jet skis and pleasure boaters I quit going out there even though Watkins is the closest landing to my house. Went out near the Hardware River on Friday with a buddy on his river boat, it still amazes me what you can get through with a jet motor. Caught three decent smallmouth right at the beginning of the morning, but the bite turned off pretty quickly. AND FYI for anyone who fishes up river, looks like the bass (smallmout at least) are already off of their beds.

Sam - A buddy once told me he saw people catching them up by the dam and it would make sense, but like I said no luck for us. As far as the James, I actually prefer just fishing from the rocks in Manchester. And from everything I hear about the shad run there this year, the only people catching them are flyfishing, which I've never learned to do. Never had trouble with truck or trailer at Ancarrows but that is the worst ramp I've ever used and will never go back there. Not to mention the level of idiot that uses that ramp.

I may be too late, but can anyone fill me in on Shad fishing the Chick? We've been running up to the dam to do so assuming they would behave like James River shad and school at an obstruction, but no luck.

Sam will only give up so much but is always the best resource. Another option from Chesterfield is the Powhatan Wildlife Management Areas. The lakes are only good (in my opinion) if you have a small boat that meets the requirements, but the ponds are darn near accessible from end to end. There is good fishing just make sure to bring your bug spray.

Good ideas, thanks guys.

I was wondering if anyone has tried this or has a suggestion... I have a center console with two live wells, one I use for bait, the other I don't use (I don't tournament fish, no need for culling). The boat does not have a raw water washdown and I wanted to try and see if there is a way to connect a hose to one of the aerators. If so, will the aerator even generate enough pressure? If anyone has thoughts or can point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.

Sam - as I understand it, to fish saltwater species above the saltwater line, including anadromous, all you need is an FIP. You also need the FIP when fishing a boat that has a saltwater license. I have never seen this enforced, but luckily its also free, so register anyways. I agree that the counties and courts love their income, but our state DGIF also has a lot of facilities and programs that are paid for with the license fees. Those facilities and programs are proof that the money goes somewhere and I agree with paying for it. Conservation Police also have a dangerous job and deserve our support.

The fall line is not the saltwater line. On the James River its all the way down to a line from Hog Island to Williamsburg. As far as the licensing is concerned, in VA all your license money goes towards upkeep of the facilities you use. You should be happy to pay for the many resources we have available. And if you think paying for trout is bad, if you just want to go hiking in a Wildlife Management Area, you have to have a fishing/hunting license or pay a use fee. The horse people in Powhatan were up in arms when this happened, but hey - if you want to use the facility, you should have to help with the maintenance.

I'm more interested in this "greek gyro" recipe that involves fish. For someone that seldom eats meat, but loves a gyro, I have to ask that you share.

Ugly Stik Catfish rod and a Penn Fierce 5000.

Was informed by the wife today that I will be spending Christmas in Puerto Plata, DR. My last time in the area (Cabarete) included a very interesting fishing trip on a "traditional Dominican fishing boat". I will not be trying that one again. A quick search on the internet is not yielding very promising results, but I have to go fishing at least once on every vacation (especially when there is so much water!). I prefer anything light tackle, but will try it all. Does anyone have any recommendations for guides?

I've caught them on wobble spoons, a buzzbait that I hadn't even started retrieving, spinners, senkos, etc. Catfish will eat anything, just need to know where they are.

Interesting thought on the Senkos. I haven't fished much for Reds outside of charters, but my parents vacation near Murrell's on Pawley's Island and my dad has had some luck avoiding the pinfish by using a float when fishing cut bait. I would assume when he's on the creek with the current that runs through there that the bait is definitely sitting on top of the water at that point and possibly using no weight would produce the same effect. Not sure though, as I have not been down there with him in years.

Bucktails. Possibly with a piece of squid or some sort of gulp. Or just use a bottom rig with squid. If you have squid left over that is still frozen, clean it, batter it, fry it with the flounder. Both make excellent people bait.

When you bring up smallmouth, one of the biggest concerns upriver on the James is the flatheads. While I believe they are natural to the area, they had decimated the smallmouth. Most people I know who fish the upper James will kill any flathead they find whether they intend on eating it or not. I had not considered the shad population. I always thought they biggest threat to them was people, especially with the resurgence in recent years due to conservation efforts.

Like everything said, both. And if the cats are making it into the Bay they can do well in salt water, just don't know for how long.

In VA they have been talking about making it a catch and kill like I would assume they have in MD. The problem they are finding is that the fish are getting further and further into the Chesapeake Bay and eating blue crab. Blue crab is a big deal around here and more important than a fish you can catch in very large numbers no problem. If I remember correctly, I read somewhere that out of the Chesapeake Bay tributaries the James River was the only one they were stocked in in the mid-70's and they have managed to make their way into every tributary since then. Sometimes you have to rethink your stocking plan - take Stripers in most lakes in America. Gizzard Shad were stocked for largemouth and ending up competing with small bass for food. Stripers were found to survive in dammed lakes. Stripers were then stocked to eat Gizzard Shad to lower their numbers to increase largemouth population. Has created a heck of a fishery for many people who like chasing landlocked Stripers.

The guide will tell you how you want to fish every single type of fish. He is typically going to know what you are targeting in the area you are on so he can base your presentation on that. All of those fish take different methods of fishing and what you target will depend on whats hot, what the tide is doing, what the weather is doing, etc. Just like you would change the areas you target bass. Don't stress about it and enjoy the trip.

I would recommend anything that you would use for bottom fishing in the ocean. The water is tidal and you won't stop your bait from moving, but you do need it to be sitting on the bottom.

Simply semantics, but you don't "dig" anything with a dozer or a track loader. Shaping a pond and working a dam of course would take a dozer. Removing spoils would take a loader. A backhoe is obviously too small for any real excavation work. I think what you meant to say is that an excavator is needed for this situation. You have made me think about a couple of things to suggest.... When attempting to build a pond you should look into local requirements for BMPs as they will give guidance in how to build a dam and a pond. Examples would be how you want to build your bed and build your dam. Do you want an impenetrable bottom? Are you building with an overflow? How are you going to build your dam? Specific types of clay soil are needed for all of these and specific types of structures are needed for overflows. And of course...permitting. I do, however, like the OP's enthusiasm and suggest that he read into the rules and laws of such undertakings as he has surely done his due diligence concerning what is needed from a fisherman's standpoint.

Hit the ponds today for about an hour. Two dinks on a jointed jerk bait. Never had much luck there as I'm not a fan of the ticks that I've walked out of there covered in during the warmer months so I don't go often. Depending on your fishing style, my dad loves going there to just catch whatever bites a worm and does well. The roads are currently in awful shape and I wouldn't suggest riding out there unless you have a truck or at least a vehicle with decent clearance. As Sam also mentioned, there is the Powhatan Lakes which I've never done well at. It gets overgrown during the summer and hard to bank fish from. The more important thing to note is that it recently was rebuilt due to flooding that broke the dams. There is now a slot limit which would leave you to believe there are some decent sized fish in there again, but I've never caught anything of size. Again the roads here are bad as well right now but you can hit the upper lake without having to ride far. The best fishing around Richmond, in my opinion, is the shad fishing during the spring from the rocks south of Mayo Island. Definitely an awesome fishing experience you don't need a boat for. In fact, the way the fishing works I prefer to not be on a boat when I go after them. Some days the boats do better and some days the bank fishing does better, but with the crowds being on a boat can be a bear. Small darts and spoons on light tackle are all you need. Take the 14th St bridge south from the city, cross Mayo Island and park at the Canal Wall Parking lot. If not enough parking, as does happen on weekends, park across the street at Southern States (at your own risk, but I've never been towed).

The one I caught wasn't very interesting. Swallowed the line past the weight and made for an interesting attempt at taking the hook out. As my fellow Virginian mentioned we have them in abundance here. You can actually buy them in bait shops as they are used as bait for rockfish (stripers in the Chesapeake Bay) and as cut bait for catfish.

Rumor is the world record blue that was caught out of Buggs Island a few years ago was caught on chicken breasts marinated in red kool aid with garlic powder. I'm not sure if it was true, but it did work to catch a few fish. All of my biggest blues at Buggs were caught on fresh cut bluegill. On the tidal James River we usually gill net mud shad (gizzard shad on steroids) and cut them for bait. For flatheads you definitely need live bait.

For everyone who thinks that dead and stinky bait is the best thing to catch catfish on, we catch flatheads on the James almost exclusively on live bait. In fact the flatheads about destroyed the SMB population. Most of the guys I know who fish upriver kill flatheads when they catch them because of that.