A Sunday Trip On The James

[smallmouthjoe]

Fished from Shelvin to Hooten this last Sunday. I usually try to avoid The River on the weekends but my girlfriend and I needed to get away from all the loud people in the city. We figured that it being Sunday most people would be leaving the river getting ready to start their week on Monday, we were wrong. There was about forty or fifty loud floaters sharing the river with us. We both managed to catch some decent fish even with all the commotion that was going on around us. The fish where all holding out the storm in whatever cover they could find and the only way to catch them was to go in after them. We both were using Bitsy Bugs in the spring craw pattern with a yum little papi in green pumpkin on the back. I couldn't get anything going on the crank which was disappointing. Besides the jig I also caught a few with a Texas rigged bitsy tube in green pumpkin. Every other fishermen on the water that day was throwing a grub in either Chartreuse on green pumpkin and from talking to them they caught a lot of numbers but had trouble catching big ones. It was a good day even though it wasn't the day I had imagined.

[RSBreth]

It's busy in that stretch, unless you hit it really early. Nice fish anyway.

[et84]

Good looking fish, especially considering all the commotion.