Smith River W/ Ben's Beetle

I had a little time to spare before helping theVDGIF "shock" sample the Smith River (last week of July 2009) so decided to try some foam beetles sent to me by my good buddy Ben who drives all the way from South Carolina on a regular basis just to fish the Smith. Most of you know that I am not much of a top water fisherman but after listening to Ben talk about his beetle I figured I owed it a try.

Generation out of Philpott Dam for the past week has been 1-7pm which does not leave much time for fishing the evening hatch. It was 7:30 Monday evening before I dared to step in the water about 200 yards downstream of the dam. Those of you who have not experienced the fog bank coming off the water right after generation during the heat of summer owe it to yourselves to try it. That 44 degree water is also pretty bracing - Wet wading would not be a good choice.

I had only made a few casts to straighten my line when a very nice brown made a big splash as it mistook Ben's beetle for the real thing.

I really wanted to fish further downstream so jumped back in my truck and drove to a spot I knew held a lot of fish (As was shown by the sampling that could be any spot on the Smith). The water was still falling, so once again I was forced to wait. At about 8 o'clock I stepped in and was rewarded with another nice brown

I did not move more then 25 feet before 7 fish were fooled by Ben's beetle - Some of them were pretty nice ones.

One thing I did notice was a lot of the fish were just getting down stream of the beetle and opening their mouth as it floated to them. No fancy splashes, just sipping them in. With the fog and failing light I several times I did not realize I had a fish on until I went to make my next cast ( A purists probably would not have counted the blind strikes but I did anyway)

The following morning I arrived at the first sampling site behind the Mirror Factory about an hour earlier then the appointed time for the DGIF arrival. I donned my waders, grabbed my rod and headed downstream to the beginning of the sampling area. It took awhile and I was about to switch to my favorite nymph but Ben's beetle finally came through. They came fairly regular in the 100 yard stretch we would soon be sampling.

Last fish was caught just as the DGIF crew was setting up at 10:30. It was a nice one and it was also one of those "sippers" which did not reveal itself until I went to make my next cast.

So there you have it. It was a good experiment and gives me one more trick in my flybox. With my llieworm and Ben's Beetle we have them covered top to bottom.

Contributed by: Albert Kittredge