Danville Flyfishermen on the Smith

April 9 2011

Friday night I awoke to a driving rain and hail pounding against the bedroom window.  It fell in buckets and I knew the tribs on the Smith would be running red.  With no generation scheduled, Saturday fishing was going to be tricky.  The morning dawned gray and cold with threatening skies, but we had folks coming over from Danville and they were still game to give it a go.  I drove to Bassett and checked out river conditions and the water was turbid and stained from Martinsville all the way up to Towne creek.  The old special regs section was going to be out best chance.  For a newbie on the Smith, it might have been difficult to wade as the visibility was only about 1 foot or less but Cricket and I we knew this section well so it was the best choice for todays fishing.

Our new friends, Jim and Mike, were waiting in Stanleytown when Cricket and I arrived.  We headed up to the end of Rosemont Rd where Darrin had graciously sat and waited, "holding" our spot.  All geared up, Darrin headed on upstream to Keaton House rapids to try above Towne creek, leaving the lower section to us. We put on an extra layer of clothes and grabbed our gear.

Since Jim and Mike were fairly new to flyfishing, and the Smith River, we rigged them up with some beadhead nymphs (red crickets of course) and headed across the RR tracks and down to the river.
Cricket worked with Mike while I took Jim and we all headed upstream.  After retrieving a few rigs from those "fly stealing" sycamore branches, we just about had the boys dialed in to fishing on the Smith.

As we made our way upstream through the stained water we saw a couple of rises and not long into the hunt, Mike hooked up with a small brown.  Alright !  the skunk is off lets get to fishing.

A little further upstream and Jim hooked up with a feisty brownie as well.  Man that joker really made some leaps !  Its always a thrill to hook up with a wild Smith River Brown no matter what the size !

The red cricket was doing its job today.  We did catch a few on another Lisa creation, the hares ear with a bit of flash added.  Its all about presentation they say, but I feel better with a "red cricket" in the water.

 As we moved slowly upstream we hooked up with several more browns and its always a thrill watching new folks tie into a little smith river gem.

 A few more tangles and some lost flys we were now up into the better water and the brownies started really popping the surface.  Unfortunately, not only were the brownies getting turned on but the weather was taking a turn for the worse.

Darrin had been giving us regular weather updates via text.  A storm was moving in from Patrick County and we had better be heading back to the truck he said. The thunder was steady and then the lightning moved in a little too close for comfort so we reluctantly made the call to head back.

I sure do hate leaving when the browns are rising but better to live to fish another day.  We got a little damp on the way in but made it to the trucks just in time. Jim and Mike had sushi and chicken salad so we headed back to the Brown Trout Cabin to eat a bite and watch the rain pound the river.  A cold, gray day on the water but you always stay warm when the browns are cooperating !

We hope our new friends enjoyed the day as much as we enjoyed sharing the secrets of the Smith with them.  Thanks Jim and Mike !

Warm day Brownies help shake off winter blues

" Old Man Winter...I hereby banish you from the kingdom of springtime...do not return for at least 8 months"
                                You're outta here, end of season....game over.

The trout lilys and bloodroots are in full bloom and that means are the days are getting long enough to get on the river after work !

The generation schedule has been tricky the past week due to Philpott releasing water almost all day every day to lower the pool level in anticipation of coming rain.  So you have to take your best shot at getting in just the right place at the right time.

On Tuesday the generation schedule was 5 am - 3pm then 6pm - 11pm.  That left a little window of opportunity and in the evening and Cricket and I took advantage of the slack water to get in a few cast near Rosemont.  Due to the water drop time, we would be getting in just as it was going down and still have a couple of hours before dark.  We would beat the water rise by 30 minutes if we got out at dark

No one else was to be seen as we slipped in the water at the "poacher hole" near the big sycamore.  The water was still dropping and it wasn't long before we spotted the first rise and then a decent size hatch started up and we had big mayflies flitting all around.   The evening started off kind of crappy when I lost my first rig to the sycamore at the poacher hole then lost another one upstream, but I finally dialed it in long enough to stay out of the woods and get some drops in the actual river.


Cricket steps up to the plate......

She shoots....she scores (the crowd goes wild)


The first hook up was an 8 inch little brown right in the deep section....and yes folks...she nailed him on the "red cricket"  This little gem of a nymph is still batting .1000 !!!

They may be small, but there's nothing like a wiley Smith River Brownie to get the juices flowing again and paint over those winter time blues.

Soon we were back at it and we had some competition from a bait fishermen who walked in behind us and was so we headed upstream to the next lane.  I think Cricket could have caught more there but I wanted to hit some of the better water upstream before dark.  We only made it to the next hole and I hooked up with a small rainbow that cleared the water several times and put up a nice fight....you guessed it, hauled him in on a "red cricket"   I love that fly !


Since Lisa was downstream from me, she cradled him for a quick picture

The bow fell to the "bead-head red cricket" this time instead of the goggle-eyed one she had been using.

A couple of these would be mighty tasty after sunset but I just don;t have the heart to keep any of them.
A quick kiss for good luck and back in the water it went.  

On upstream we moved to the next set of riffles as the sun was getting ready to take that long trip around the backside of the planet.  Time for a few more cast upstream..

One final hook up was this tiny little guy who hit my indicator fly.  I had just cut my thumb and didn't stop for a bandaid as it was getting dark too quick to stop fishing and repair myself, hence the red stain.

So its not quite summer yet and that big orange ball drops way too fast this time of year but summer is coming and evening on the Smith is the best fishing there is.

SRTU March Meeting and Fly-tying

Ranias

Uptown Maritnisville...( 2 miles from the Smith River) 

SRTU Meeting March 2011

Well it was the first meeting with our New president Darrin Doss undertaking his official duties and it was really a great meeting, fly-tying, food and good friends.  David Jones said it best, “this is kind of meeting I like, just a bunch of us hanging out tying flies and having a great time.”  I will second that and add that we are making progress as we all work together to solve the real problems and  issues facing our area and our beloved fishery. 

We even had a long distance visitor from South Carolina who fishes the Smith on a regular basis and one of our North Carolina fellow chapter members.  We appreciate the efforts of Laura and the programs they are working on down south of us, including a brand new trout in the Classroom Program with 3 tanks already !   We also had a couple of new visitors and we welcome them as they begin their journey of personal and financial ruin on the road to the pursuit of fly-fishing 

For someone like myself who has been around fly-tying events a 100 times, and never have bothered to learn how to tie a fly, I feel like we definitely need more meetings like this.   If I can have the opportunity to rotate around and learn just one thing from each person, its awesome.  As many times as I have seen Al tie an "Allie worm", I have never bothered to sit down and learn the technique from the master.  Seems when we do the volunteer events, we each have our own responsibilities and I just have not had the time to learn so, Darrin, please have some more fly tying meetings !

Thanks to everyone in SRTU that loves the art of flyfishing as much as I do and thanks to this group that is always willing to show a newbie just exactly what it takes to consistently catch our beautiful Smith river browns !

The grandmaster of SRTU, Al Kittredge tutors some newbies on the delicate art of tying the world famous Allie-worm

 Everybody’s favorite flyfisherwoman ties her famous “Red Cricket"  Its 100% so far !

 Here’s our new President Darrin Doss working on…well, I don’t know what hes working on there but I am sure its the next greatest thing for the Smith.

And lets not forget our Own Paul Fogle as he ties a….”what the hell is that giant white thing anyway Paul ?”  I know what it is, its one of those sycamore seed pod imitations, you know those big white "fluffies" that  always look like mayflys out of the corner of your eye…Maybe he knows something we don’t ?

What a great evening , thanks to all who attended.  See you at the Smith River Clean-up on March 19^th.  If you have any other event updates, send them to Darrin to post to the group.  See ya on the River

February on the Smith

A few warm days was all it took to make us want to get back out there.  Despite 20 mph gust that insisted on blowing us back upstream, we manged to get a short run in with the canoe on an old favorite section. 

Cricket connected with a nice brownie about 30 minutes into the trip but was not able to bring the big boy to the boat.

Still a great day with fantastic scenery.  Any day on the river is a good day !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqwKQbMw5GU&feature=email

The new flyrod

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7795583/

An October River Trip

(click on pictures to enlarge)

October is a favorite month for many...the air is crisp, the weather mild, the forest explodes with a palette of colors we see no other time of year....and the river, oh the river takes on a whole new character.

 The water reflects the golden colors of  change and the sky could not be a more vibrant shade of blue.

One Saturday in October, Lisa Hall and I decided to take advantage of a perfect day try for some “smallies” on one of my favorite sections of the Smith.  We had a great day of fishing and a fabulous variety of wildlife sightings, and even a few surprises along the way.

 The river was unusually low but we decided to go ahead with a 7 mile downstream trip, even if we had to jump out of the boat a few times to drag over the shallow spots.  I really like this under-used section of the Smith as it is quite remote and very scenic for much of the way, bordered by fields and open woods on one side while rock cliffs loom far up the ridge on the other.  

Deer seemed to be in abundance this day and we spotted  2 bucks, one a spike horn and another that was a 4 or 6 pointer and then the big doe grazing in the water downstream, oblivious to our approach as the wind was blowing upstream and masking our scent. With the water extremely low we were going to have to concentrate on the deeper holes and rapids.  Just downstream from the put it Lisa surprised us with the first hook-up of the day and I was excited because I thought we had our first smallie…only it wasn’t a smallie, and as it repeatedly jumped clear of the water we could both see it was a nice fat brownie.

After a couple of pics Lisa slipped him back in to the water and he quickly blasted back into the deep hole from where he had been fooled by the old reliable Fox spinner.

 A bit further downstream we finally hooked up with what turned out to be the only smallmouth of the day, just a little guy but they always put up such a fight.  Going 7 miles against the wind in low water takes some time so we kept up the pace and only stopped briefly to cast some of the better looking holes.  The smallmouths seemed to have lock-jaw or were at least just holding tight under their rock ledge hideouts, but we picked up an occasional sucker and bream to keep things interesting.  Just downstream a flock of turkey crossed the stream one by one to land on the other side and shuffle off into the think rhododendrons.  The river continued to mesmerize and I could not take enough pictures of the sunlight through the golden leaves.

 Around each bend was a new surprise as we jumped a nice flock of Canada Geese several times, squawking and flapping, splashing the water on take-off like 20 motorboats starting at the same time.  Wood ducks flushed from cover and whistled downstream to disappear again somewhere along the banks.  An otter popped up at one point, splashing near the surface but just as quickly disappeared and the ever familiar chattering call of the kingfisher kept us entertained as they rocketed past the canoe heading upstream to more productive fishing grounds maybe. What a relaxing trip enjoying the changing season and the peaceful river.

About half way through the trip another nice surprise.  Lisa called out as a shadow darted from the deep water and just missed her jig,  I tossed a beetle spin in the same spot and was rewarded with a hook-up from a big fat rainbow ! "Now how did he get here" , we wondered. . I'm constantly amazed at the resource we have in the Smith River and its always a pleasant surprise whenever a trout, be it brownie or bow, ends up on the line. This guy would have been a nice meal but we still had a long way to go so back into the river he went awaiting the unlucky day when he bites the wrong hook !

Heading downstream we enjoyed more of the rivers wonders in the beauty of the surrounding forest. Around each bend the blue sky, the angle of the sun and the dance of light on the water made a breathtaking pallet of gold and red and blue.

So get out and enjoy the river.  Don't hang up that paddle gear...Winter is just around and the corner and the river will be changing again with new surprises, new sights and new wonders to explore.

Smith River Sampling Report

Notes From Al Kitterage:

I linked up with the DGIF sampling crew on the last morning they were on the Smith River for their annual sampling of the fishery which normally occurs the first week of August. DGIF Fisheries Biologist Scott Smith always welcomes volunteers to come by, observe and help out with the "fish count". Many of us have been involved since the Virginia Tech Study back in the late 1990's  The last site where I found them was just downstream of the "Lemon Hole" on the road going to the base of Philpott Dam - Lots of State trucks so you could not miss them

We set up the fish processing station and then proceeded downstream for about 100 yards - Water was real chilly and gave off so much fog that we lost site of our "put in" point.

 

 

 The scenario was for two barges containing a generator and voltage conversion machine and large aerator tank to be pulled upstream with four hand held electronic probes on each barge fanning out abreast up the river. Each probe handler also had a net and he or she was backed up by other net handlers who helped transfer the fish from the probe handlers. The probe handlers  usually scooped up the fish but if they missed someone else got them. The fish were then transferred from net to net until they were in the holding tank. Not many fish escaped this onslaught. You could see fish shooting ahead but they would come up against a ledge where the current would momentarily stun them so they could be scooped up.

 

Lots of fish in this section. My guess is more then last year and that figure was about 800. They sample 10-12 sites along the river each year and it is humbling to see how many fish are in a section where we fishermen would be happy to catch a few out of each run. I can tell you that most of these runs hold hundreds of fish. (Now if only someone would come up with a fly rod and line that included an electronic probe)

The fish are all processed by measurement and weight. This data will be compared to prior years so DGIF can assess the health of the fishery.

Before I left I spoke with the DGIF biologist Scott Smith who is responsible for monitoring the Smith and was told he is cautiously optimistic that things are improving. It is impossible to tell until they get back to the office to compare data but it looks like the average size has grown about an inch in the past year and more 12-14 inch fish are seen in the sample. No doubt there are a ton of fish in the river. We just need to figure how to make them grow. One thing they did was move approximately 150, nine and ten inch brown trout from the Bassett area of the river to below the Martinsville Dam. This section below the Martinsville Dam will be included as designated trout water under a proposed regulation change which will protect all Brown Trout from 10-24 inches. This proposed change is available for public comment at the DGIF website http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/regulations/comment2010/display.asp (You don't need to be a resident of Virginia to comment. Non-residents have a strong voice because they are trying to promote tourism in the region).  The fish they moved were carefully weighed, measured and their adipose fin (behind dorsal fin on top of fish) was removed so they can be identified and followed in future studies. If the regulation change is placed into effect they will move more fish to below the Martinsville Dam where there is an abundance of food which will allow them to grow to trophy size.

Scott said he would be be interested to hear if anybody has noticed a change in the insect hatches over the last 8-10 years, and what those changes might've been.  In theory, the turbine ramping (starting generation with one turbine followed one hour later with the second turbine) should lead to better hatches, but he doesn't  know if that's the case or not.  Any impressions from folks that keep track of these things would be useful. You can contact Scott at Scott.Smith@dgif.virginia.gov

DGIF asked me to pass on their thanks to all who helped with the sampling this week. Never think you're in the way or intruding on their work. They welcome your help and are always eager to answer questions.