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I'll be heading down south in early- mid November for a wedding and I intend to make a fishing expedition out of it. For reference the event is in Bluemont VA. My interest is piqued in the 'doah and Potomac, however I don't know what kind of fishing I would be getting into in November. Do the smallies shut down? Is there a cold water fishery? If these rivers are washed out high and mighty by then, is there any good lake and pond opportunities? Not looking for spots, just general intel about fishing around there in November.

A buddy and I are gonna trek out to the mountains this weekend for some river fishing, and I have little experience with this as I tend to stick to local ponds and lakes for largemouth. He listed the Rose, Hughes, Rapidan or Robinson rivers specifically as possible options. I do have a fly rod though little experience using it, and plan on bringing my lighter spinning rods as well. Does anyone have some advice for good strategies? I am not sure if we plan on wading or kayaking yet, but I'd like to target smallies and trout hopefully. Thanks in advance!

Hello all, First post!! I have been fishing the Shenandoah South Fork from Port Republic Down stream (that going north) In VA for the last 20+ years and have been killing it with a fly rod and hard baits. I have never used a soft plastic bait in that time, but i want too. I would like try/learn something new. I have been reading up on all the different rigs and plastics available, but I'm kinda lost on what are best for smaller mountain valley rivers. If anyone has any tip on what plastics to buy >>>> this is the most important>>>> (colors, lure size, type of hooks and size of hook) i would love to hear. I'm mainly targeting smallmouth bass. I do not use a bait caster, only spinning gear and fish from a kayak. The river has it all, slow, fast, riffles, rapids, deeps, shallows, structure, docks, rocks, holes, open water, grassy areas and ledges. I probably forgot something there. Other questions are can I use a dropshot, wacky, neko or NED on a river? I know Carolina, Texas, Shaky and Tube will work but still know nothing on color size and hooks on any of this. I have been reading but everything is different based on geographical location, so if you know my ares please help me!!! Thanks all and hoping to jump in to some of the conversations here over this long cold winter.

Good morning everyone. I’m Jason from coastal NC. My family and I are traveling to Winchester VA in the beginning of October. Wondering how the small mouth fishing is then. I’ve never targeted them. Was thinking of bringing my kayak if it’s worth it. Was looking at fishing the south fork near Front Royal. Any help would be great! thanks jason

Anyone interested in running their yaks down the the South Fork of the Shenandoah with me the second week of april for some pre spawn smallies and other species, weather permitting?

Hello everyone. I'm hoping to fish the upper Potomac and Shenandoah rivers during the prespawn this year. The water is warming, but not quite there. I was able to pick up 8 smallies by slow rolling a swimbait the other day. Anyway, what kind of areas should I be targeting for the prespawn time period? Thanks.

Hello, So me and my buddy went to the Shenandoah river twice in the past week. Once, we took his really small 8foot sundolphin bass boat out with a trolling motor, and we floated from berrys boat ramp down to where spout run meets the river. We caught one smallmouth on a wacky rig and one catfish on a crankbait. Today, we went again and this time we went to the south fork (parked at Bentonville boat ramp). We didn't take the boat out and we just walked up river. We didn't go too far, but we caught one smallmouth and not much success. We were throwing small ned rigs, grubs, tubes, and other plastics. Then again both these times we were fishing midday and it was pretty hot. Anyway I was wondering if anyone knew this area well and would either be willing to show us around or just leave some tips. Thanks.

Spent my growing up years fishing NOVA, Barcroft, Lake Manassas, Lake Jackson and surrounding streams, after my parents moved us from Manassas Park to Luray the Shenandoah River, surrounding public ponds and lakes as well as farm ponds when I could get permission. This place (Egypt Bend) is where I really dug in and spent a lot of my time and still do, in fact I went out this past Wednesday to work on my cold water stuff, I specifically targeted my drop shot work along with some jig presentations but I only took those three setups out of the rod locker. For those who are not familiar with the stretch of river it’s about a mile or so long, at its widest point it is maybe a little more than 100 yards and roughly has an average depth of 10’, it has hidden treasure spots of timber and rock, home to several species of fish like catfish, pike, pan fish, carp, small mouth and largemouth bass. Water temps were 36-38, clarity was roughly 3 feet, I focused on the deeper sections near the dam which is more or less a trench with some deeper pockets of around 18’, I started with some skirted jig presentations which if I had to confess is my #1 confidence bait, I struggled to get anything going for about an hour, picked up my drop shot and struggled some more until I could figure out what they wanted which happened to be a Missile baits Bomb Shot, I went with the mindset of not catching anything since I have always struggled when the water was below 50 degrees but my perseverance and a crap ton of patience paid off, I ended up with three on the day, all LMB, which in turn gives me a whole lot of confidence in being able to accomplish a goal, I am happy with that although looking back on the day I think I probably had at least two more bites that I had not recognized but all in all couldn’t be happier with the days events and the results.

Any Shenandoah River late Fall fishing fans? I fish a few spots, but just wondering where else I might be able to launch my Tracker Pro 170 besides Eiverton and Egypt’s Bend?

New to the forumn. Seeing who all fishes the Shenandoah. Been fishing the low water bridge area havent had a ton of action. Caught one the other day on a jerk bait. Whats been working for yall and hows the fishing been for you guys?

Hello, everyone. I am a government paper pusher for a public university that lives in one of the most beautiful places there is. I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by moving water with a number of creeks, river, streams, drainage ditches, you name it. We have a few lakes and ponds, but that's not the highlight around here. I try to spend every moment I can spare fishing, preferring smallies but largemouths will do. I also do some fishing for panfish and trout. I just got back into this after many years away. When I opened up my old tackle box this year at my parents' place, my last fishing license was from 2007. But I've jumped in head first.

While on vacation with the wifey, I went out on the Shenandoah river with a guide. The water was lower than normal as the guide had to keep getting out and pushing us off the rocks in the canoe.I was throwing wacky worms, swimjigs and a 5'' grub on a jighead. I heard the water was clear but didn't get the full effect till I was there. I caught about a dozen smallmouth . All were small except for a 3lber that did the classic smallmouth move..soon as I set the hook he jumped right outta the water and shook off. We saw some big bass swim under the boat in a deep pocket we were in but couldn't get any bait near them as they were going by. Definitely something to try again.

Hi All, I'm heading out to the Shenandoah next week to do some smallmouth fishing for a few hours -- floating the river in canoe from Front Royal. I've done a lot of lake fishing in my time -- both smallmouth and largemouth -- but never dabbled in river fishing. I was thinking of running some bright colored shall cranks and tossing some senkos. But, I'm curious to hear any tips or tricks that you may have for me? Since it's my first time, I'm thinking it's best just to stick to a 2-3 bait day, rather than rotate between too many setups. (Going with two 6'6 rods -- both medium weight. Thinking of tying on 6lb test for both). 1.) I'd love to hear 1-2 setups that you'd go with for a 4 hour float for smallies near Front Royal? 2.) what type of water should I be targeting? In and around breakwater? Slower/ deeper holes? To shore or mid-river structure? Sorry for such a broad question, but any and all tips that you may have would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance, Jared

I have a new to me (1984 aluminum) 16' bass boat. Its got 55lb on the front and 40 hp on the back. Not sure the draft but it is extremely light and sits fairly high in the water. I was looking to run the outboard to keep it fresh and the closest place without restrictions is the Shenandoah. The Riverton boat landing is about 30 minutes from the house. Can that area be navigated with a boat? anybody know the depths and current? I haven't been but the section that bends under 66, is absolutely beautiful and I am pretty sure I have seen boats there.. I also know there are tons of shallow areas and boulders along the river, but if I can find a safe stretch and stay in the channel I would love to have a spot that close (even if the fishing is so-so).

BFL Co-Angler looking for boater link in Shenandoah Division. I have already registered for Gaston, James and both Potomac tournaments. Cannot fish Smith Mountain. email kyle7bass@gmail.com

BFL Co-Angler looking for boater link in Shenandoah Division. I have already registered for Gaston, James and both Potomac tournaments. Cannot fish Smith Mountain. email kyle7bass@gmail.com

Anyone have any info on Eastham park? Wondering if if gets super crowded, has any good shoreline access/wading areas (already heard it has boat launch), or if it is dominated by yahoos. Thanks in advance.

Got the chance to fish our wonderful river system yesterday for about 2 and half hours, never seen so many big boats on the river before in that area, ended up with one bass for roughly a pound and a half after making adjustments, had some fun though. When I got on the water it was all muddied up from the boat traffic, anglers that spoke to me said that the fishing was null and void, I tried to find some water that was clearer but to no avail, everything was mostly chocolate milk. I kinda like these days myself, once you figure out that baits with a lot of vibration aren't cutting the mustard what's next? A hint from fishing muddy turbulent waters that we learned from in here is that the bass won't move very much at all when their surroundings become very limited with visibility suddenly, your focus becomes much more set on areas that bass may be using to feel a little more comfortable for them, lay downs, brush piles, docks, something that they can tuck in close to and give them some sort of point of reference, the fishing becomes much more precise and your working areas inch by inch instead of yard by yard, basically hitting them on the nose with your presentation, it's very difficult to keep a presentation in front of them for very long at all when boat wakes are rocking both you and the waters, keep your baits weighted with as little weight as possible, smaller jigs can be rigged with larger trailers to help slow the rate of fall, split shot rigs can help get your plastics in strike zones and hold them there for longer periods of time, it's a great time to work with your pitching, keeping your landings as subtle as possible is important, bare in mind that a lot of times these fish are spooked, it's basically the same thing as you walking into a well lit room and suddenly having all the lights turned off on you, it takes a few seconds to adjust and find your way around, same general thing for the fish. Pick your areas apart because they can be holding to just about anything and at any depth in situations like this and you will find fish.

Today I hit the river for a few hours after school. I ended up catching about 15 1-2 pound largemouth on a weightless fluke. The biggest fish were a pair of 3 pound smallmouth that i caught on a jerkbait. Pretty good 3 hours on the 'doah.

Fellow Virginia anglers, I've been a frequent reader and sometimes poster (hopefully SOME of my posts were helpful!) and now come to ask the Northern VA folks for some advice. My 9 year old son has been fishing with me for years, but now he wants to do a canoe/camp trip together once Spring is fully in gear around here. We have our own canoe, so we don't need (or want) to go with an outfitter, but rather just a Daddy/Son weekend getaway, with just the 2 of us. From what I hear, the Shenandoah is the perfect first-time trip, but I was wondering if you guys have any advice about a) other river options, or specifics on what parts of the Shenandoah are best / where we should fish/camp. Right now, we're thinking of putting in at the Rt. 50 Bridge, fishing for a day while we drift/float, staying overnight in our tent at the Watermelon Park campground, then drifting down to take out at the Rt. 7 bridge. Only about 14 miles, but should make for a good couple of easy days, and I've heard the fishing in that part of the river is good for both smallies and largemouth. (What about catfish or the ever elusive musky in that part of the river?) Any tips or advice you could give me? I want his first overnight fishing trip to be a great one, so I'm open to any/all suggestions. I grew up doing this kind of stuff, and it seems like kids today just don't get to have the same adventures that I did as a kid. Since he's interested and asking, I thought I'd get some advice from any of you guys to help make it a special trip for him. And, of course, a full trip report will be posted here afterwards.

If you have, what's working? Last summer around this time I killed it on a kvd 1.5 crank. Seeing if anyone had some tips. Thanks guys.

Hi guys, new to the site but not new to fishing! We have a bass tracker jet drive we like to take out on the upper potomac. I was on route 17/50 a couple weeks ago and saw a public boat ramp sign off the Shenandoah. Has anyone used it? Can we launch a boat with a trailer there? concert or mud? We can not carry this boat. Shenandoah River boat ramp rt 17/50 is it a good spot? thanks Bob

im going fishing on the Shenandoah for the weekend gonna be kayaking. haven't smallmouth fishing so was hoping i could get some advice. what should i throw. and has anyone had some luck on it lately?

Going down the Shenandoah this weekend. We're going down Friday-Sunday. Possible thunderstorms. So I'll be bringing a rain jacket. We're starting at 1 and going til... well I'm not sure how far. I was wondering if anyone could give me a heads up on what's working. I was gunna get some Gitzit tubes I've heard those are productive. I'm going for smallies and large mouth. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Looking for guaranteed boater for SML and Potomac tournaments.