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Finally an expedition worth mentioning from my weak year in fishing.
I was down in Charlotesville for my cousin's wedding and decided I might as well get some fishing in.
I booked a trip with Albermarle Anglers and met up with our guide, Cole, at the shop at 7:30AM. I would've asked for an earlier time but I was driving down that morning...the two hour drive was hard enough at 5AM.
The got a few rain showers the days before but Cole assured me that was a good thing because the water level had been pretty low.
the weather....was amazing! the clouds blocked out the sun for most of the trip and it was a very comfortable float.
Started the day off with a pop-r like lure while my buddy started with a senko-style stick bait.
Got on the fish pretty quickly with our first double (i'll post picture later)
I continued to have success with my pop-r, popping it once or twice and just letting it float for awhile. the senko bite died down so my buddy switched to a pop-r too.
caught a bunch of 12-14"ers doing this all day.
and then came the biggun! I casted my lure out under an over hang by the shoreline. it was a nice shaded area and it was generally where we were having most our luck. I popped it once and did the waiting thing. I turned to talk to Cole and when i turned around, i saw a swirl where my lure was...FISH ON! put pressure on the rod and the fish came jumping out of the water. Cole and I exchanged looks and our jaws dropped. I did NOT want to lose this fish. Up until today, my personal best small mouth was probably 14". I wanted this fish in the raft. she saw the boat and did not want to come into our comfy net. after a few moments, we were able to land her. 21.5" Finally a small mouth to be proud of. we were all cheers and smiles.
I came to the james river to catch a big smallie and was rewarded with one!
More pictures to come after I upload them.
For the second half of the float, I worked on my fly casting and didn't catch much of anything.
we had huge gar strike at our lures but its so hard getting the hook into one of these guys. it was a sight to see though!
I wish I took more pictures.
Last edited by AndrewDo124 (Aug-24-15 5:30AM)
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NIIIIIIIIIIIICE Andrew!
What a beast....very happy for you!
BTW, taking pictures while fishing takes work. I often take a picture with one hand while holding the rod with the other. That way, I don't miss anything.
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Beautiful smallie, congrats!
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How fun. Nothing better than catching um on top water.
Congrats on the 21.5
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Beast!
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Nice work Andrew!! That thing is a lunker
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