Pacemaker Fishing Forum

Fished the South Fork of the Shenandoah yesterday with a friend using a 4 man raft rented from Front Royal Canoe company. We chose the trip called SP2, which launches from the State Park and allows you to float-fish for 5 miles down to their pick-up spot at Karo Landing. Weather report was iffy but the actual day turned out perfect. No rain, partly cloudy, and temps in the low 80's. We started catching smallies right after launching...although they were mostly small in the 6-10" range. Best lure was a white roostertail in 1/4oz. size. Platics bite picked up as the day went on with this nice 17.5" smallie coming about mid-day on a tube.



Right after lunch, I saw a HUGE smallie swimming along a ledge in about 5 feet of water. I know she was more than 20". Wish she would have been interested in a Senko snack. Maybe next time.

Bites were sporadic in the afternoon as we caught a variety of bluegills, smallies, and one rock bass (google eye/red eye). Then I got another strong hit on a watermelon senko and landed this beauty.




Based upon the fight and the difficulty in landing her, I would have bet she was much bigger than the earlier big one, but alas she also measured in at 17.5".

Both of these bigger smallies looked thin for their length, but they had beautiful dark coloration.

Overall, we landed about 40 smallies, 6 bluegills, and the one rock bass. Plus we had the added benefit of almost having exclusive use of this beautiful section of the river for the whole day. It sure is a blessing to be able to fish during the week instead of the weekend.

Last edited by Bruce (Jun-11-14 2:44AM)