Hello!
The James River in Richmond did again ... rose
up a couple of feet last week, and the river was unfishable ... but she's
back in action now! It seems like 12 is the lucky number these days as
many flathead fishing trips are ending up with 12 flatheads. The
biggest fish have weighed in the low 20's and we've been catching more
fish this year in the 5-8 pound range. Catching flatheads that
weigh 5 pounds is something new to this fishery. In the
past, the average flathead catfish was probably 13 pounds. Now, I'd
have to say the average fish is about 10 pounds. I'm not sure why that
is, but I have a few thoughts ... including more (smaller) fish in the
river, along with fishermen keeping the big fish and letting the smaller
ones go.
On a side note ... it's amazing how quickly the
James River's water level can rise creating dangerous conditions.
I took out a group early last week leaving at 7AM and fishing
until 1PM. We arrived at Williams Dam around 10AM and catfished for
about three hours. When we portaged around the dam (10 AM), the water
was flowing vertically down, over the dam at a normal flow ... when we drove
past the dam, after the trip (3 hours later), the water was raging
over the dam at nearly a 45 degree angle. We literally saw big rocks
in the middle of the river disappear as the river rose nearly two feet in
that time span. It was amazing to see it happen before our eyes and
how dangerous it became ... so quickly!
As for the fishing trips, there were quite a few
...
On a recent flathead fishing trip with baseball
players from the Richmond Braves and a couple of their family members, the
fishing was pretty good. The group, led by Ryan Langerhans and Doug
Budryk, landed 12 flathead catfish up to 22 pounds. They also caught lots
of redbreasted sunfish and a few bass. Buddy Eagle and Danny
Carroll, the 'Yorktown Crew' also caught 12 flatheads with their
largest fish going 24 pounds. Trevor Ruble and Nat Burchette, from Roanoke,
caught 8 flatheads up to 21 pounds.
Jeff Dodge, Brent Look and Hayden Look (age 12),
from Richmond, landed 10 flathead catfish to 24 pounds.
Hayden was high hook with the 24 pounder! Bryan Tinnell, Jerry
Craig and Matt Pannell, from Nelson County, landed 12 flathead catfish to 21
pounds. Lastly, a group including Alfonzo Alverez, from the Richmond
Braves along with his friends and family from El Paso, Texas, Mike Chavez,
Juan Lugo, Adrian Lugo and Belinda Villa landed 12 flathead cats up to
13 pounds.
That's a buch of fishing! Hopefully
the river level will hold steady and offer plenty more great fishing.
If you are looking to get out on the river, hook yourself up with an
ultralight fishing rod ... and I mean ultralight. Use two pound test
line and cast the smallest white grubs or smallest white spinners you can
find. White Roostertail spinners in the 1/24 oz. size work great.
You won't be catching the big fish, but you'll have a blast catching plenty
of smaller fish, including redbreasted sunfish, bluegill, smallmouth bass
and largemouth bass. Focus your efforts in the Pony Pasture area or
any of the parking areas downriver if you plan to wade, or try fishing
Huguenot Flatwater if you have a boat. Good luck and happy fishing.
Mike Ostrander
James River Fishing School