novabass1

I lived in Charlottesville for a few years and Darden Towe was my go-to spot. Had it recently rained when you were there? I ask because it's usually quite a bit clearer than you indicated (though I never found any ideal, crystal clear fly spots in Charlottesville). I should also say that when I lived in Charlottesville I was a poor student without a lot of free time, so I didn't aggressively investigate all the local possibilities. I also just moved to Richmond and am interested in fly fishing the James for smallies. I've googled around and have seen people reference a few spots (Pony Pasture, Huguenot Flatwater) - which do you prefer and how do you actually access these places? I work downtown and have yet to see a walkway that takes you down to the shallow, wadeable spots.

I was hiking the Scotts Run Nature Preserve in Great Falls and discovered a small section that runs right along the Potomac. There isn't a lot of accessible shoreline, but if you've got waders on, you can walk out a bit. Anyway, I saw some guys fishing with crankbaits and soft plastics, who claimed they catch largemouths and smallmouths all the time. The thing is, it's pretty shallow, fast moving water, without much vertical structure, so I'm a bit skeptical. Definitely looks like a fly fisherman's spot, if you're out when the tide has slowed the water down a bit, but I was wondering about bass (or even chain pickerel - basically, anything you can catch on typical bass lures). Going to try it out next weekend, but was wondering if anyone here has fished this spot and, if so, what sort of luck you've had. Thanks.