Daveinozark

maybe they all swam down to Finley river park? Does that become more of a hot spot in winter?

i figured they'd be nestled in somewhere from the weather/flooding, but man, I couldn't find em. the river was swift and wind made it hard to cast. probably the worst fishing trip yet, made me want to throw the pole in the river i couldn't take more abuse than a few hours, I'll stay at home if I want to be abused

I tried the section of the Finley by Riverside for a few hours on Sun afternoon. I figured the warm-up would bring some good action. Nothing but a few bites though. I tried spinners, jigs, and the ole faithful 4inch worms in brown, green, and oil. Never messed with cranks since I always just get them stuck anyways. The river is still running high though. I bet this weekend will be better after the warming of a few days. Is that the general concensus?

good to hear it helped in 08, guess we'll see how it goes. not used to this weather, I'm from Phoenix where it only rains for 2 minutes

being new, this is the first time I've seen the flooded Finley. So what will this mean to fishing? Does this flush them all down? I'm wondering how long it will be at this level. Any insights?

i had my eye on that spot. I put in at the dam once before to try and get there but it was too shallow to get that far down at the time and the current was strong. You know what my next question is going to be: is there a spot to pull over off of the road there or is the dam the only put in?

man, I thought I was bad asking about spots to put in....

a few more beers with ole guy and you'll forget about all that hassle

yeah drove over that Riverdale bridge this morning. More no parking signs than I can count! I don't see how they can string off all access to the river from that bridge. Doesn't seem right. I parked over at the 160 bridge and went down stream. The current was really fast there and I had a heck of a time trying to paddle/wade upstream. Probably would have been fun to watch. Didn't get anything there though, some bites is all. Maybe worth trying again when the current slows. There's some nice areas upstream too

anyone know if there is parking by the riverdale bridge?

yeah I ended up parking through a cleared road through the field after the bridge. By the looks of some trash, it looks like others had parked there before so I took the chance. The big section of the river there held some bites but no takers under the tree. I headed down river and didn't have to wade going down. I found a section of strong current that was broken up by a tree stump forming a small pond area. I cast a tube and got a red eye right away. Cast several more times and got tons more bites. The tube may have been too large. I got as far as Shelvin access and decided I better think about going upstream since it wasn't going to be as easy going down. Lots of wading and frantic paddling finally got me back. Didn't catch much, but found a good hole there and areas there that should hold fish. It was a bit more current then I'm used too, so I got a good workout if nothing else. Funny part is I was fishing from a large tree with moss, and while trying to get back in the boat fell neck deep in the water. Good thing no one else was around, oh well, still a rookie

further reading into it says it will occur by years end. Too bad since it has such a rich history, but I don't imagine they'd build anything there unless it was on stilts. Hopefully it will become an access point now.

thanks! yeah, I don't mind the wading. I just saw that huge opening on the bend of the river on Google maps as a good spot to try. If you can't park there at the bridge, then going from Shelvin up would be the only option for me

new to the area, and sport. gonna try Shelvin on Thursday, or actually the bridge above Shelvin - anyone know if there is parking there? I need easy access, with the inflatable and am looking for deeper water to avoid scraping. Is this area relatively deep on the James w/o much current?

looking at the ole Riverside bridge last night I noticed a spot on the northwest side of the bridge that is parkable. There's trampled barb wire and enough room to fit the jeep. Any towing concerns there?

I was thinking of checking that out. Is there any parking off the side of the road over there or do I have to float down? I don't mind floating, but paddling is pretty hard work in the inflatable which is why I'm always asking for spots to put in close to where I fish Thanks for the tips!

yeah, I was out there on the weekend and caught them all, sorry about that....... NOT

yeah I was at the Lake Springfield park, down where they cleared out the brush into trails. There was a lot to get stuck on, and lost a few bobbers in the process. Had to put the bobber about 1-2ft from the hook or else it got stuck. Bobbers and worms were working well though, if you aren't particular. I'm thinking of trying the Tailwaters access with my inflatable. The talk of Gars and cats make me nervous about doing that though

Letting the kids play in the park, I tried a bit of fishing on that shore. I tried tubes, plastic worms rigged weedless but didn't get a bite. About to give up, an older gentleman gave me his left over worms. Thankfully, it was the ticket. Throwing large night crawlers on a small hook with a bobber was getting all kinds of bites. Mostly perch, but a gal there did get a 12" cat once. Anyone else have no luck with lures on that lake? What do people go with, if you aren't targeting anything in particular?

yep, white cherokee, that's me. next time you see it be sure to say hi! yeah the early morning trips don't seem to yeild much lately. I got some huge bites but didn't get anything there. Too bad, there's a nice deep spot where the current comes together that looks like it would be good. That little section is probably pretty well fished out though. My problem is that I don't want to do much paddling and can't handle the rocks. Partially because I'm too lazy, but the boat doesn't manueuver well too. I originally looked to put in on the other side of the bridge, but I'm not sure if Riverside Inn would tow me from parking in their lot. Also, that land owner on the other side has dog warning signs up and I've seen them before. It looks like the house further down Greenbrige road has the perfect spot, is there ticketing/towing with parking along side Greenbridge road there?

i tried the section under the 14 bridge by the old Jeep dealership today. I hit the water early, 7am, too early I guess fish are sleeping in for the holiday. I didn't get any bites until 8:30, then got plenty of bites. I still have a hard time hooking anything out there. What size hooks/jigs do you recommend on the Finley? Only thing they were biting was the 3inch pink worm on the bottom in the middle of the river. Not much action in cover lately, at least that early

i have an inflatable boat, is it possible to put in below that dam on the James? is it a strong current there? I'd hate to lug the gear there and end up wading instead. Not that I don't want to wade, just that I don't want to lug the boat.

i went to Smyrna bridge for a bit this morning. I did park at the exit of the bridge, then I noticed a sign on the other side of the bridge says no parking, tow away zone. I guess I got lucky. It was too shallow of a spot for me anyways, only little fish there

a saw a small spot next to the Smyrna bridge to barely fit my jeep, with a trail. Anyone ever park there, w/o getting ticketed ? It looks like a good spot to put in, going up-stream. How about parking on the side of Greenbridge road itself? Man, there is a lucky devil that lives right by the river there down a paved lot. I did a turn around in his drive today, what a good spot that is. Don't imagine he'd let me park in his driveway.....

i tried a spot this morning off of McCauley and 32st street. It was a bit thick to get to, and the current was too swift and shallow for my inflatable there. I'm afraid of scraping a hole in the boat one of these times. I'm still curious about trying under the 65. Going to Google earth, I noticed a street behind the old jeep dealership, down 10th street, to Hall street. looks like a dirt road goes down to the river. I'd check it out myself, but can't today with the rain. Can anyone, like RS or smallmouth tell me about that spot? Does it have a clear shot to the 65 w/o getting too shallow?