Checked up to the Rappahannock River on my way up to D.C. this weekend. When I got there, I got sick to my stomach when I pulled up to the Kelly's Ford parking lots. Both were absolutely packed. I almost just drove away. But after having my fishing license was looked at by the local game warden, I headed down to the river and found that there was some sort of party/hangout going on just adjacent to the bypass which explained why the parking lots were full.
As I hiked upstream, the poplars started showing off the silver underbellies of their leaves and thunder started rolling in the distance. I had a solid hour on the river before the afternoon shower hit my location which allowed me to pull in several smallmouthand a few bluegill using bass poppers. Unsure of how long the rain was going to last, I chilled out along the side of the river underneath a poplar which fortunately had a trove of blackberries underneath it. Having forgotten to eat lunch, I was certainly grateful for the lucky find. It was quite beautiful, looking out at the river, as the rain came through. Finally, after about 30 minutes, the sun came back out. Fifteen minutes later the bass were already biting again on the surface. I found several bass hiding out amongst the rock garden that predominates the section upstream of the bypass.
Although the fishing was good, I wouldn't say it was the best. Had I continued to hike further upstream, I'm pretty sure the fishing would have gotten even better.
Still had some trouble getting the hang of throwing Clawdad's out there. I just can't seem to break out of my streamer/popper mentality when it comes to smallmouth. If someone has any advice as to where to throw crawfish patterns and what kind of action to give them, that'd be awesome.
Even though this spot was a solid hour away from Charlottesville, I'd definitely hit it up again in the future. Yet another great smallmouth river to be explored here in Virginia.
Tight Lines.
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