Here are some 2004 fishing reports so you can judge how the rivers are fishing and how well I'm guiding.  I'll try to make these as specific as possible.  Please phone or email with questions or booking requests: Contact Jeff  Kelble at:       540-837-1478   or email at:    jeff@fishinginvirginia.net

Service Info Float Descriptions 2005 Fishing Reports 2005 Photo Gallery Home Page

Client's Feedback following our September Float      2001 Fishing Reports      2002 Fishing Reports  2003 Fishing Reports  2005 Fishing Reports

Playing Hookie Has Moved!  Now based out of the town of Boyce, Virginia in the middle of the Shenandoah Valley. 

October 22nd through December 2nd      Various Rivers    Water Conditions:  Flows are fluctuating but are generally way above average for the date. on the order of 200-300% of flow.  Rivers are clearing quickly though- perhaps 4 days after peak flows gives you pea green to very clear water    Fishing: This is some of the best big fish fishing I've seen in years, which feels great after such a tough year on the rivers. Every day featured several large fish, and the numbers have pretty much held up.  See the photo gallery for a bunch of 19-22" fish.  I only had a scattering of dates booked - and was disappointed by this, I think I need to emphasis the late fall season more to my anglers in search of big fish.  Hopefully more anglers think to book a late fall early winter trip next year to go after some of these pigs.

October 14th to October 22nd    Shenandoah River    Water Conditions:  Seasonable levels and GIN CLEAR.  Fishing:  Smallmouth and Largemouth have officially moved to near wintering habitat.  The largemouth have schooled most dramatically but the smallmouth are not far behind.  Observed groups of 10 - 70 largemouth.  Smallmouth pods numbered in the dozen to two dozen range.  The two species are segregated for the most part.  Long casts are the name of the game.  With the exception of some seriously stupid largemouth the fish that you can see near the boat have already been spooked.  Major highlight of the week came when Tom Liljenquist hooked and landed a 22.5" smallmouth bass on a jig and pig.  Tom's fish officially weighed 5lbs 4 ounces on the boga grip.  Monster Shenandoah smallmouth, and an extremely rare fish on this watershed to legitimately top the five pound mark.  Pictures in photo gallery.

October 9th through October 14th    Susquehanna River    Water Conditions:  Spring levels (high) but very very clear.  The river has changed considerably following the major flooding on this river two weeks ago. Grass beds were scalped, rocks moved, gravel and rock bars changed,  and some minor island erosion took place among other things.  Fishing:  Guided six straight days.  Had to adjust tactics because I did not find fish in normal october haunts.  fished seemed to orient much more to heavey current features than normal. The best were ledges with water blowing over the top and deep slow moving water behind them.  We took our share of fish behind primary ledges (sticking out of the river)- particularly early in the week while the river as still up a bit.  The top-water bite was disappointing , mainly because fish were not cruising the shallow flats because the shallow flats were not so shallow and had much current blowing over them.  One flyfishermen did have one nice stretch with four or five big fish bites in an hour on popping bugs - landed some 16-18" fish, he missed a big blowup too. Other than that, the tube and jig and pig ruled the week for sure.  Most days you had to make bottom contact and leave it briefly to get fish to respond, and then they did so willingly.  Impatience meant much reduced action.  Several days saw a PM bite to rival any I've ever seen on the river.  During the last three days my anglers counted 44, 51 and 47 fish for the boat AFTER 3 PM.  Major feeds.  The Dauphin Narrows was hot as a match!

September 16th through October 8    Potoamac/Shenandoah Rappahannock, New River  Water Conditions:  Three hurricanes one after another meant I only worked eight days in three weeks.  Guided three watersheds as many as four hours from home but the fishing paid off   Fishing:  We fished much higher water than normal this season but the rivers cleared quickly and the fish were very active.  Most fish were found in pockets in moving water or on seems.  Big fish showed up near major high water refuge areas like small creeks - very interesting.  I believe we caught an 18" class fish or better every day on the water.  Some big fish are shown in the picture gallery.

July 28 - Sept 16    Shenandoah and Rappahannock Watersheds     Water Conditions: Rivers did a wonderful job of falling to near normal summer levels and clearing.  Cooler than average summer left river water temperatures near the 80 degree mark, five to ten degrees lower than normal  Fishing:   We began to recover a lot of ground this month both in terms of numbers of fish and big fish.  Topwater flyrod bite hit a stride, mid-water column spin tackle bite heated up, and let me tell you this guide needed it badly.  This was a learning year of major proportions.  It seems we are out of the woods for now in terms of very difficult fishing days.  Please read my year-end evaluation above for my thoughts on the year.  Average days are now yielding 20-40 fish per day, primarily dependant on angler ability and perhaps how much sleep I've managed to get the night before.  The soft plastic jerkbait and stickbaits, which were largely ignored during the early parts of summer are working again perhaps as our smallies are looking for baitfish more heavily.  The jig and pig produced many of the stongest days this summer, and was fishable through the summer on many of the floats on the Shenandoah because grass was not heavy.  I have all but discontinued use of tubes due to the high fish mortality associated with swallowed baits.  The resource has really taken a hit and my conscience has just taken a beating with these baits.  Our best big fish days, as usual, came on the flyrod once our rivers cleared.  Hal Drake came on huge with the flyrod in the middle of August when he brought five smallmouth in the 20-22" class to the surface bug fishing  in a five hour time span.  We landed two, lost one and broke two off, his fish are featured in the photo gallery.  I've come to expect big fish again, which is a nice feeling.

May 20-July 27    Shenandoah and Potomac Watersheds     Water Conditions: Despite another cooler and wetter than normal summer, we have moderately stable water levels and clarity - which means tea color to slightly green with short periods of clearing to green water.  Because summer temperatures are cooler than normal, river temps have generally remained at 80 degrees or slightly less.  Musky have assumed normal summer haunts, carp are rooting on the bottom, sipping bugs and foraging for crayfish, see the BROOD X report below for a  look at our three week carp fiasco.  Anyway the spawn ended around May 13th this year.  I am here to report what I believe was an excellent spawn in the Potomac/Shenandoah  watershed.  Observing thousands of baby bass in the rivers, every edge and grass bed has a half dozen or so.  This may prove to be the most important spawn our watershed has had in seven years. I think though, it would be fair to report that the general numbers of smallmouth in the rivers are somewhat lower than we've observed in the past six or seven years.  This is part of a normal cycle, much dictated by spawning success and recruitment.  Our spawns haven't been that great since 1997   Fishing:  Over this two month period (which is a summer pattern period so I'm lumping) the fishing has slowly but steadily improved.  Near the end of may, our Brood X cicadas found that crossing a 200 yd wide river was difficult and we caught very few smallmouth while these fat bugs were around.  I know they were eating them though because the bass we did catch were fat fat fat and pooping orange legs and wings. So for three weeks I took everybody carp fishing with fly rods, a few smallmouth resulted.  By mid-June the cicadas subsided and the smallmouth slowly began to resume normal behavior.  The fishing was just honestly quite difficult though through about the middle of July.  We were not finding any numbers of mature fish (over 14").  As July gets longer the fish are becoming more and more receptive to our efforts.  during the past two weeks we have had quite a few days where moderately skilled fly and spin fishermen are catching 20-35 fish each.  The less experienced anglers are struggling to make the adjustments necessary to provoke bites.  Some days, to get bit required an aggressive move of of a mid-water column bait.  And unless they get immediate feedback from a fish, the inexperienced anglers wouldn't stick with this presentation for long until they'd fall back into poor routine.  The better/experienced anglers have done a fine job of carefully presenting their baits and sticking to the game plan and we'ere catching fish. However, there have been some plain tough fishing days, even for skilled anglers.  Mostly though, the flyrodders are suffering.  I've had days where even a moderately skilled hard working angler comes away with a small handful of fish.  I've been trying to prepare them mentally for this - not sure if its working.  But drifting woolly buggers and microppers around the river lazily isn't meeting with much reception these days.  All my anglers are asking why this is, I think there are several reasons.  The fish are becoming more sophisticated, in Wester trout waters they call this selectivity, and it's just something they adapt to and overcome with better flies/lures and presentations.   More importantly perhaps, a decrease in the overall density of bass greatly reduces competition.  Competition between bass sharing a territory accounts for many of the smallmouth we catch on a given day.  I've always contended that solitary fish require the right bait/fly and presentation while a competing pair or pod of fish just require that you not flog the water.  Anyway, there fishing can be very satisfying if your expectations are set in the right place.  I will report any changes as I see them.  Sorry it took me so long to update this report, with guiding 5 days a week and renovating my "bed and breakfast to be" I've not been as attentive as I should.  Thanks for reading.

BROOD X CICADA REPORT:  MAY 27 - JUNE 15th.  Main Stem Shenandoah    Fishing:  I feel like I could write a relatively interesting book on the progression and maturation of the carp's feeding behavior on the 17 year cyclical cicada.  We expected to see smallmouth woofing these things down by the dozen, but this NEVER materialized.  It is possible that the clarity never got high enough to motivate the smallmouth to feed on the surface.  Like I mentioned in my fishing report for these dates though, the smallmouth evidently were eating them because they WERE pooping orange bug parts!  INSTEAD - we found cruising carp.  Soon after the hatch became heavy around the Shenandoah, the carp got on the elevator and came to the surface and I don't believe they went back down to the bottom for three weeks.  I won't go into the detail it deserves at this point (see Jeff Kelble's Carp on Cicada flies book - tbd)  but essentially at the beginning of the three week period you could throw just about any lure/fly that resembled the profile OR shape OR color of the cicada and the carp would try to take a shot at eating it.  And by the way they got to a rough start eating these things - with an inferior mouth - many had a hard time actually eating the bugs and or flies/ imitations.  They were sticking they're whole head out of the water and woofing and moving it back and forth until they finally sucked the fat things in.  For a week they stuck to the surface and actually threw a wake like a little boat and just moved from bug to bug or from current to eddy to current.   Over the course of  three weeks though a MAJOR transition occured.  First the carp had become quite adept at eating the bugs, and they stopped making wakes.  To catch them you were required to throw something the same size and shape as the cicada.  And at the very end of the hatch they'd gotten so selective that we whittled trough the whole fly box and got down to ONE FLY that would work.  It was a redish brown cicada fly, tied the size of the cyclical, with a peach colored bottom striped with a pen.  The fly had to be presented downriver, on an angle or straight down, had to be thrown to a risinig fish, and the fly couldn't be on the water for more than three or feet of drift or they would completely refuse it.  The first day we caught a carp just by getting the fly on the water, by the last day, I had two very good flyrodders and they had shots at over 150 rising carp and drew bites from 8 - we landed five. 

May 13-May 20    Shenandoah and Potomac Watersheds     Water Conditions:  Though mostly stable, we're stuck in this ridiculous pattern of afternoon thundershowers.  It seems to be affecting clarity on the main stem rivers more than the tribs.  Like clockwork though, around two O'clock like it or not , the boomers roll in and in some cases continue for the rest of the afternoon.  Thunderstorms can prompt flurries of activity, and they did for a couple days May 6-13, but I haven't noticed any good things resulting from the latest volley of storms unless you consider wet underwear and shaken fishermen a bonus?#*!@.   Fishing:  A little bit disappointing, and in some cases a lot bit disappointing.  Fish are scattered and unsettled, mostly due to relocation to summer territories following the spawn and post spawn stress I'd venture to guess.  Have found the big fish but either can't get them to bite or can't get my fishermen back into jig and pig style presentations.  The big fish are hanging in the ledges, but they don't seem to want to eat yet.  The ones which have eaten have shown interest in bottom presentations.  We did catch an exceptional largemouth this week, she measured 21.5" and weighed 5lbs 4 oz on the boga grip.  That is the heaviest laremouth I've weighed on the river in years.  The fish ate a swimming worm rig.  My flyfishermen have struggled through to success this week.  At the beginning of week, we saw small bits of interest in everything we tried. Smallmouth up to 18" ate cicada flies, but a dead-drifted fly was ignored - the fish wanted a little bumping - not popping just bumping. And small to midsize fish ate the mid column streamers and crayfish flies.  But only a few here and there.  I suspect that the smallmouth are in ledges and mid river foam pockets in fast current but they're not eating handily.  Well, actually I know they're there because I can see them once we crash the holes after fishing.  Anyway, hopefully we shed this weather pattern and the fish start to find these funny brown and orange buggy things which I'm starting to hear in the trees.  No cicadas yet on the water!

April 24-May 13    Shenandoah and Potomac Watersheds    Water Conditions:  Rivers have mostly stabilized over the past three weeks.  Slowly falling river level, increasing clarity and water temperatures threw smallmouth bass spawning into overdrive.  Big fish, small fish, all fish were doing the dance.  Best spawning conditions were on the South Fork Shenandoah.  High clarity, good spawning habitat, it's no wonder there are so many fish in this river.  I'm concerned about the North Fork Shenandoah though, gathering more and more reports of fish kills and lethargic fish with lesions and fungus.  Observed little to no spawning on these waters.  The main stem Shenandoah fell somewhere in the middle, some evidence of successful spawning, but with stable moderately high flows, I've become concerned that the jet boaters are putting a lot of pressure on these fish at this critical juncture.  I'm doing my share, but I'm trying to temper the level of influence.  Many big fish I have left alone to tend nests.  The fish that we have caught were promptly released back into their territories and observed near 100% immediate return to the nests.   As rivers continue to fall, the spawning eddies continue to broaden and change.  Iin some cases the changes moved the flow patterns through these spawn areas. Looked like the babies made it out of the nests though first and had spread out by this time. Anyway, the spawn either officially or unofficially ended on May 13, not sure who was calling the shots on this one but all at  once - it ended.  Spawning areas were vacated by the smallmouth, just a few straggling big fish running laps through their now widened territories.  Observing high numbers of baby bass in all known spawning areas, particularly on the South Fork Shenandoah.  Some were observed on the Main Stem but turbidity made it difficult to get good counts.  Fishing: I would rate the fishing during these past two weeks as very good.  The stable river meant location and preferred presentation patterns did not change a bit.  We found fish biting slow moving/deadsticked  middle of the water column soft plastics for my spinfishermen, and the CK baitfish ruled the roost on the fly side.  This fly rocks, olive or white was the only choice we had to make - the ones I tied just right literally hovered in strike zone if line was managed correctly, giving big fish plenty of time to move in.   Jig and pig took some fish, and tubes took some on the spin side, CK clawdad got meager interest but that too is a bottom bouncer.  .  Straight line baits like Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, stickbaits, and spinners were largely ignored.  Most fishermen tended to fish their soft plastics either too fast, or too slow, but this is typical.  I found myself constantly prompting them to either slow the baits way way way down, to a drift or dead fall.  Or, if they were resistant to this, I would speed them way way up til the point where some fish would chase.  But the better fish would not chase.  We're consistently finding the 17-20" fish, and we saw multiple big fish on at least half the days.  Now that spawns over, I'm expecting things to become more difficult for a few weeks.

April 19-23    Main Stem Shenandoah     Watershed Conditions:  Started the week with double average flow and it dropped steadily through Friday.  Fishing:  Fish became more and more active as the week progressed so that we were catching size and numbers on Friday.  Biggest fish landed was 20.5" and 4lbs from the South Fork Shenandoah.  Several other 20-21" class fish bit but were not hooked properly and jumped off.  We caught at least one 19" fish each day.  Some evidence of spawning in backwater areas.  Jig and pig ruled the week for big fish, soft plastic stickbaits and flukes started to take numbers of fish.

April 13-16, 2004 High Water Cancellations

March 8, 2004- April 9, 2004     New River Block Book    Conditions:  Big change from last year where we experienced continuous high and stained water.  This year was punctuated by a nearly complete lack of rain.  Rivers dropped continuously from the time we got there in early March.  Clear to chrystal clear river conditions were the norm.  Typical rough mountainous springtime weather patterns including rain, wind, snow, thunderstorms.    Fishing:  I was very pleased with the fishing despite less than perfect spring conditions-I would have liked higher water.  We did manage to land exactly 28 smallmouth measuring more than 20", five of which broke the 5lb mark on the boga grip.  Biggest fish was a gorilla shaped 22.5" bass caught by Frank Wojciechowski.  Jig and pig, tube, suspended jerkbait and crankbaits accounted for our top catches.

March 4, 2004     Main Stem Shenandoah    Two Boats    Conditions:    River was flowing well and hazy clear    Fishing:  Only a few smallmouth landed but the highlights were a 20.25" 4lb fish landed by Kevin Capell and a 22" 5lb 2oz pig landed by Rich Coffman in his own boat.  Also a 20" and 23" walleye were landed by Rich.  The twenty inch bass  was caught on a jig and the 22" bass on a suspended jerkbait.

February 28, 2004     Main Stem Shenandoah    Two Boats    Conditions:    River was flowing well and crystal clear    Fishing:  Only a few smallmouth landed but the highlights were a 20.25" 4lb fish landed by Kevin Capell and a 22" 5lb 2oz pig landed by Rich Coffman in his own boat.  Also a 20" and 23" walleye were landed by Rich.