Bucket list fishing destination - Virginia? You bet!

Virginia is a beautiful state to which tourist flock year round for it's history, scenery, beaches and mountain resorts, but would you put it on your bucket list as a top fishing destination? I may be a little biased, but for my money, Virginia has one of the most diversified and exceptional fisheries anywhere in the nation, and I've fished just about everything from east coast to west, north and south. You can fish pristine mountain headwaters for wild brook trout, a world class largemouth bass fishery at Smith Mountain Lake or the Chickahominy River, trophy catfish on the James and Potomac, 50+lb. rockfish/stripers in the Chesapeake Bay, or venture out into the blue water for sails, marlin, wahoo and more. My only dilemma is choosing what to fish whenever I head back down to visit family. I just haven't found any other place that offers such a broad range of exceptional fisheries. I often write about blue lining up in Jefferson National Forest or chasing big blue cats on the James, but these just scratch the surface.

One could easily plan a week long, source to sea fishing trip on a very modest budget. Nonresident licensing fees are pretty reasonable, and permits to fish the federal lands are free. There's ample camping throughout the state in the numerous state and national parks.

You'll find headwaters of the James River and Shenandoah Rivers in the western mountains, with cool spring fed streams and tributaries that fish well year round for trout, while the main rivers also hold smallies, largemouth, muskies and more. I take my 2wt glass rod and run the fire roads up into locations where you can fish all day and never see another human being, or drop my yak into the South Fork of the Shenandoah to chase smallmouth and the elusive muskies. My favorite shop in the Valley is Mossy Creek FlyFishing, and their site provides a wealth of information.

If trophy largemouth is your thing, plan a day on either Smith Mountain Lake (frequent stop on the pro tours) or Lake Anna. Both have the added bonus of landlocked stripers as well. To the far south, you have the Roanoke River/Kerr Reservoir and Lake Gaston. All of these are large bodies of water for which a boat or kayak would be needed, and there are plenty of rentals available if you don't bring your own, as well a fishing guides who will provide everything you need, most importantly their knowledge of the local waters, for your outing.

As you head down into the tidal regions, particularly the lower James below Richmond, trophy blue cats await pretty much year round. Did I mention that there are bass in the high single to double digits on the Chickahominy River? Though I grew up on the Rappahannock River, I've still got to give the nod to the mighty James. While you're in the area, spend some time in Richmond itself. The Civil War history, brew pubs, and restaurants in the old tobacco warehouse district shouldn't be missed.

Finish your trip off in the salt, either in the Chesapeake Bay or booking a trip out of the VA Beach area for some screaming drags on big pelagic beasts. The early spring and late fall to winter provide shore and kayak anglers shots at rockfish/stripers into the 50+lb. range, and summertime brings flounder, croaker, spot, specs and increasingly reds and cobia. There's a little bit of everything. Again, you can shorten the learning curve by booking a guide.   

The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is a great place to go for both ideas and all the information on licensing, etc. I'm more than happy to point people in the direction of some of my favorite shops, guides and locations.   

Again, I've only just put a dent in what's available to fish in Virginia. I always look forward to getting back down and packing as much as I can into every free minute, and never have close to enough time. What are you waiting for? Load up the truck, the camper or whatever, throw the yaks on top, and head to Virginia for a week of fishing!

Big Cats

Just returned from a week down in Virginia with my wife and kids, visiting friends and family and sneaking in some fishing as well. I've been waiting for a chance to fish some of the James River blue catfish for quite a while. This fishery has gained a national reputation for producing some of the largest cats in the country. I called up Capt. Jim Garrett at Tripout Catfishing to see if he could take me out for a day. This was a last minute decision, and as tends to happen with me, we had a front moving in with a mass of cold air behind it.

We initially planned a Tuesday afternoon through the night trip, but the forecast forced us to push back to Wednesday morning. I was too excited about the chance at some trophy cats to get much sleep, and by 10:30pm, Fredericksburg had yet to see much of the rain and severe storms predicted. Much of the weather was pushing well north, and my sister in Philly reported 12" of rain and severe flooding. When I rolled out at 2:00am, the air was still warm and the wind was barely noticeable.

I met up with Capt. Jim in Hopewell a bit before 4:00am, and soon we were on the river. The winds were beginning to build to 10-15 knots as we ran down river. Now, if you're looking for fishing with all the bells, whistles and creature comforts of a salon, frou-frou luncheon etc., better charter elsewhere. If you want to catch some monster cats and don't mind a bit of slime, fish with Jim. By 4:30, we were bait in the water, and not long after that, reeling in the first cats.

We had a nice incoming tide, and were fishing a ledge at the mouth of a creek with fresh cut baits on big 8/0 hooks. The catching started of with a 12 pounder and kept getting better from there. We were regular hooking fish in the 15-20lb. range, and soon after sunrise I hooked my first citation fish of the day, a fat 33lber. I was amazed at the tail slaps I could see all around us and out in the main channel. It was like being surrounded by 30-50lb. stripers crashing the surface. Some of these fish had to be well north of 50lbs. These things are the apex predator on the river, and will chase shad or anything else around. Not too long after the first big fish, citation number two at just over 30lbs. was brought on board. It between, I'm pitching numerous 20 pound fish back into the water. (I did take two smaller fish for some fried catfish!)

By about 11:00am, the tide was changing and the wind was blowing 22 knots. The fishing had slowed, and I was guessing we were nearing the end of the day. The front rod doubled over and line began to peel. I knew I had a decent fish on, but he came up pretty quickly...until he saw the boat. Back to the bottom a few times before we brought my biggest fish of the day, a beautiful 43lb. Virginia blue catfish, on board. This is what I had come down for!

Jim asked the one question I love to hear from captain, "You got anywhere you need to be?" Hell no. We continued to mark some big catfish, and I was more than happy to fish a while longer. We set up for another hour, landing one more good fish, before taking the ride back up river. It really was a pretty ride, past plantations and some beautiful countryside that I hadn't been able to see during the ride down. One shocker was the fact that we never saw another boat the entire trip!

I can't wait to fish for these beasts again, and will certainly be giving Jim a call whenever I head back to VA. That 100+lb. fish is out there somewhere. Maybe we'll have a catfish fry for Christmas!