Post by 31Airborne on Mar 4, 2024 9:41:46 GMT -5
Where do I begin with this story? So much to share with little to show for the effort. That's why they call it 'fishing', yes?
Our FoM schedule kicked off at The Chick - my first trip to this river system in late winter/early spring. I was genuinely excited about the opportunity to see and fish it this time of year. I've been on the James and Potomac late winter/early spring, but we all know each system or lake has its own personality. To that end, the Chick didn't disappoint. The short story is I overpacked and under-executed. Had an interesting set of weather and tidal conditions to sort thru. Needless to say, lots of learning happened. I'm not sure what I learned just yet but will stew on it a bit and update this when (if) anything comes to me.
The Chick is a very different place in the winter. No pads, no visible grass. Just a winding, turning river system lined with cypress trees. The first thing to come to mind was navigating - without the benefit of the greenery to show me where the main channel was I had to do some homework in advance to refresh my memory on channel turns. The chart function on my electronix was the most used. Had it on the big screen so I could easily see left and right limits. I did cut a few corners a lil tight but had enuff water to keep from hitting anything. In retrospect I shouldn't have come that close. Lots of large, gnarly nasties lurking in the shallows.
The river was heavily stained (maybe a foot of viz) when we first put in on WED. Recent rains had the entire system jacked up. I heard it was worse closer to the confluence w/ the James but didn't venture down that far to see it for myself. The 49* WT made me roll my eyes a bit. Cold and dirty is not a formula for success on any body of water, let alone a place that's essentially foreign to me. The winds (they were blowing pretty good) blew everything out making for the lowest low tide I'd ever seen on the Chick. Huge mud flats were exposed, some as much as 2' or more out of the water. Drains that usually have a little bit of flowing water in them at low tide were dry. I spent that first day scanning, marking structure and hard cover. Was surprised to find a good bit of new stuff. Fishing would have to wait until the next day, when the winds were expected to lay down to something a bit below gale force.
THUR was a bit kinder from the wind perspective, but the tide was once again extremely low. And it was cold. A piddly front blew thru WED nite leaving enuff rain on the boat cover to freeze it up. I started fishing in places where I had marked bait the day before. Was pleased to see the bait still there. Was even more pleased to find a few fish willing to eat. SK 1.5, shaky head, and a c-rig worked for me. Hard cover and ledges on channel swings were the ticket. WTs rose to 54* by mid afternoon. FRI was perfect weather-wise. WTs held up overnite - saw 52* at launch. The low tide was closer to what I knew as normal. Was able to work a number of places that set up the ~same as my THUR locations. Found a few more fish willing to eat plastix and a jig. No moving bait bites.
TX day brought a new front and a steady rain. It poured at times but thankfully it was warm. WTs held steady and we were greeted by the highest tide I'd ever seen on this river. My partner and I quickly sorted thru the conditions and agreed we should stick with what we learned in practice - target structure and hard cover on channel swings. The only adjustment we made was to start a little shallower. We suspected the steady WTs and high water might cause some fish to stay up close to or in the pad stems and emerging grass. Didn't take long to hook up on our first fish - a solid 4-5 lb'er. Problem was it was the wrong species. A healthy blue cat hammered my c-rig (a first for me). About an hour later I hooked up on a keeper LM on a SK 1.5. Both of these bites were in <5' of water. And then we went for about 5 hours without so much as a sniff. Not even a pan fish nibble. We were working a series of docks sitting along a channel ledge when my partner hooks up on a nice fish - a 3.5 lb LM. He was unforkling a backlash when this fish picked up his bait and started running. This fish was also in <5' of water when it hit. And that was it. We weighed 2 fish for 5.3-something lbs.
Observations: 1) The Chick was in the perfect late winter/early spring mode w.r.t. to water temps. I can only guess the combination of odd tides and multiple fronts kept the fish from being more active. Water conditions improved throughout the week. We had 2+ feet of viz on TX day. Clearer in some places, dirtier in others. Drains and backs of creeks were the dirtiest. 2) Marked bait fish everywhere we went. We didn't exactly light up the catching board so it's hard to say whether the presence of bait made a difference. Bait was shallow (<10') in most places. 3) Most of the fish we caught in practice and on TX day were relating to hard cover or breaks. Fish were deeper (8-12') earlier in the week; they came up to first breaks (4-6') as the WTs came up. 4) All of the fish we caught were dark. They had been shallow recently. 5) The grass is already coming up. Lots of thick, lush hydrilla in many places. The pads are also sprouting. Shaping to be a good year for aquatic vegetation. 6) I can't overstate the value of quality cold and wet weather gear. Yeah, it's expensive, but if you buy cheap that's what you'll get. Maybe you'll get one trip out of it. Maybe. My 100MPH suit held up magnificently. I also used a North Face rain jacket as my outer layer on TX day. No leaks, no seeps. We did have a couple days when I broke out the compression layers - it was that cold. I've used the Guidewear base layers for years (fishing and while on active duty). Great stuff. I used a Patagonia faux silk base layer on TX day, wanting to be prepared for water break-thru. While that didn't happen, the faux silk base layers will keep you warm if they get wet. 7) River systems change daily. The changes are indiscernible day to day, but over time they add up. Case in point, I idled back into a feeder creek to visit a couple of deep-water holes. I have a trail of WPs in this creek to aid in navigation. Made it about halfway back before I got stuck on a mud flat. Last year there was easily 5-6' of water in that spot. I was able to get out without much effort, but it was a loss of time and a powerful reminder to never assume last year's data is still valid this year. Assumptions are the mothers of all screw-ups.
I did take away a few lessons worth an investment of time: 1) Nothing is more important than TOW. I had none on this system for this time of year. The outcome isn't a surprise. 2) I've heard many say the pits on the James River system are the places to be this time of year. My partner and I made the decision to stay in the Chick, even tho' the tide schedule suggested we should've made the run. 3) I don't fish a lot of really dirty water. Even when the clear water places I do frequent get trashed out, there's still enuff viz to easily fish. I picked up some baits in darker colors on this trip. Will add to that so I have a dirty water conditions kit ready to go when needed. Hard baits and plastix. 4) In the summer months, tidal conditions dominate fish behavior. I'm not sure that's the case for this time of year. I need to explore the relationship between winter fronts and tides. I know there has to be something to this.
That's it, boys. Wish I had more to offer. Next stop: Lake Anna. We have 3 weeks to clear our heads and reset for the most rewarding and frustrating place in VA.
peace
B
Our FoM schedule kicked off at The Chick - my first trip to this river system in late winter/early spring. I was genuinely excited about the opportunity to see and fish it this time of year. I've been on the James and Potomac late winter/early spring, but we all know each system or lake has its own personality. To that end, the Chick didn't disappoint. The short story is I overpacked and under-executed. Had an interesting set of weather and tidal conditions to sort thru. Needless to say, lots of learning happened. I'm not sure what I learned just yet but will stew on it a bit and update this when (if) anything comes to me.
The Chick is a very different place in the winter. No pads, no visible grass. Just a winding, turning river system lined with cypress trees. The first thing to come to mind was navigating - without the benefit of the greenery to show me where the main channel was I had to do some homework in advance to refresh my memory on channel turns. The chart function on my electronix was the most used. Had it on the big screen so I could easily see left and right limits. I did cut a few corners a lil tight but had enuff water to keep from hitting anything. In retrospect I shouldn't have come that close. Lots of large, gnarly nasties lurking in the shallows.
The river was heavily stained (maybe a foot of viz) when we first put in on WED. Recent rains had the entire system jacked up. I heard it was worse closer to the confluence w/ the James but didn't venture down that far to see it for myself. The 49* WT made me roll my eyes a bit. Cold and dirty is not a formula for success on any body of water, let alone a place that's essentially foreign to me. The winds (they were blowing pretty good) blew everything out making for the lowest low tide I'd ever seen on the Chick. Huge mud flats were exposed, some as much as 2' or more out of the water. Drains that usually have a little bit of flowing water in them at low tide were dry. I spent that first day scanning, marking structure and hard cover. Was surprised to find a good bit of new stuff. Fishing would have to wait until the next day, when the winds were expected to lay down to something a bit below gale force.
THUR was a bit kinder from the wind perspective, but the tide was once again extremely low. And it was cold. A piddly front blew thru WED nite leaving enuff rain on the boat cover to freeze it up. I started fishing in places where I had marked bait the day before. Was pleased to see the bait still there. Was even more pleased to find a few fish willing to eat. SK 1.5, shaky head, and a c-rig worked for me. Hard cover and ledges on channel swings were the ticket. WTs rose to 54* by mid afternoon. FRI was perfect weather-wise. WTs held up overnite - saw 52* at launch. The low tide was closer to what I knew as normal. Was able to work a number of places that set up the ~same as my THUR locations. Found a few more fish willing to eat plastix and a jig. No moving bait bites.
TX day brought a new front and a steady rain. It poured at times but thankfully it was warm. WTs held steady and we were greeted by the highest tide I'd ever seen on this river. My partner and I quickly sorted thru the conditions and agreed we should stick with what we learned in practice - target structure and hard cover on channel swings. The only adjustment we made was to start a little shallower. We suspected the steady WTs and high water might cause some fish to stay up close to or in the pad stems and emerging grass. Didn't take long to hook up on our first fish - a solid 4-5 lb'er. Problem was it was the wrong species. A healthy blue cat hammered my c-rig (a first for me). About an hour later I hooked up on a keeper LM on a SK 1.5. Both of these bites were in <5' of water. And then we went for about 5 hours without so much as a sniff. Not even a pan fish nibble. We were working a series of docks sitting along a channel ledge when my partner hooks up on a nice fish - a 3.5 lb LM. He was unforkling a backlash when this fish picked up his bait and started running. This fish was also in <5' of water when it hit. And that was it. We weighed 2 fish for 5.3-something lbs.
Observations: 1) The Chick was in the perfect late winter/early spring mode w.r.t. to water temps. I can only guess the combination of odd tides and multiple fronts kept the fish from being more active. Water conditions improved throughout the week. We had 2+ feet of viz on TX day. Clearer in some places, dirtier in others. Drains and backs of creeks were the dirtiest. 2) Marked bait fish everywhere we went. We didn't exactly light up the catching board so it's hard to say whether the presence of bait made a difference. Bait was shallow (<10') in most places. 3) Most of the fish we caught in practice and on TX day were relating to hard cover or breaks. Fish were deeper (8-12') earlier in the week; they came up to first breaks (4-6') as the WTs came up. 4) All of the fish we caught were dark. They had been shallow recently. 5) The grass is already coming up. Lots of thick, lush hydrilla in many places. The pads are also sprouting. Shaping to be a good year for aquatic vegetation. 6) I can't overstate the value of quality cold and wet weather gear. Yeah, it's expensive, but if you buy cheap that's what you'll get. Maybe you'll get one trip out of it. Maybe. My 100MPH suit held up magnificently. I also used a North Face rain jacket as my outer layer on TX day. No leaks, no seeps. We did have a couple days when I broke out the compression layers - it was that cold. I've used the Guidewear base layers for years (fishing and while on active duty). Great stuff. I used a Patagonia faux silk base layer on TX day, wanting to be prepared for water break-thru. While that didn't happen, the faux silk base layers will keep you warm if they get wet. 7) River systems change daily. The changes are indiscernible day to day, but over time they add up. Case in point, I idled back into a feeder creek to visit a couple of deep-water holes. I have a trail of WPs in this creek to aid in navigation. Made it about halfway back before I got stuck on a mud flat. Last year there was easily 5-6' of water in that spot. I was able to get out without much effort, but it was a loss of time and a powerful reminder to never assume last year's data is still valid this year. Assumptions are the mothers of all screw-ups.
I did take away a few lessons worth an investment of time: 1) Nothing is more important than TOW. I had none on this system for this time of year. The outcome isn't a surprise. 2) I've heard many say the pits on the James River system are the places to be this time of year. My partner and I made the decision to stay in the Chick, even tho' the tide schedule suggested we should've made the run. 3) I don't fish a lot of really dirty water. Even when the clear water places I do frequent get trashed out, there's still enuff viz to easily fish. I picked up some baits in darker colors on this trip. Will add to that so I have a dirty water conditions kit ready to go when needed. Hard baits and plastix. 4) In the summer months, tidal conditions dominate fish behavior. I'm not sure that's the case for this time of year. I need to explore the relationship between winter fronts and tides. I know there has to be something to this.
That's it, boys. Wish I had more to offer. Next stop: Lake Anna. We have 3 weeks to clear our heads and reset for the most rewarding and frustrating place in VA.
peace
B
