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The Start of a New Season (Guest Article)
Fishing the Upper James River
by Mike Hicks

November and what it brings to me
As the days go on through November and beyond, and the daylight hours become shorter and shorter, and with the trees losing their leaves for the winter, we are moving towards a time when smallmouth bass fishing has recycled itself to a time which is truly the beginning of the fishing season for me.

My name is Mike Hicks, and I have fished the Upper James River for the better part of the last two decades. My experience of the river is something that one can only obtain by the good fortune that I have had, and that I reflect upon now. It is during this time of the year when I am outside, and I am stirred by a sensation that seems to almost haunt me. That sensation that recurs during this time, tells me that something is happening in the river. I can be outdoors doing almost anything, and I am suddenly struck by this feeling. Then, I am driven to the river by this feeling that haunts me.

I began fishing the James River in the early eighties. I made my fair share of float trips and I did the usual things that a person would do to orientate themselves to the river - reading articles, comparing canoeing to boating, that sort of thing. The success that I had was enough to keep me coming back. But I wasn't exactly knocking the fish out every time I went fishing. I did this for some time, and I think the beauty and the mystery of the river were some of the things that kept me coming back. It seemed like every Saturday, I would make a trip down the river and I would see someone either on the river or at the landing with a really nice smallmouth. That too kept me coming back for more - I knew the fish were there.

Earlier in this article, I mentioned the good fortune that I had experienced. Well, I guess to some, that would be a matter of opinion. But it was good fortune for me when I became employed at a plant, and was hired to work the graveyard shift for many years. When I first started fishing the river, I would fish on the weekends, and the occasional day off now and then, but as time went on, it became clear to me that fishing with such limited access to the river, presented the possibility of missing out on some of the better days to fish. I felt sure that the fishing could be very good on Wednesdays, or Tuesdays, but I couldn't be there all of the time. Until one day I asked myself, "why can't I go fishing during the week"? I would normally leave work at 7:00 in the morning, and I could be on the river by 8:30 to 9:00 am. So that's what I started doing.

I had become quite proficient in the area of loading and unloading my boat on and off of the trailer as I kept doing it time and time again. Practice makes perfect, you know. As I became better at loading and unloading my boat, I became better at locating and catching fish too. I also became more familiar with the river. I learned how to navigate the river so that I could cover many miles of water without having to put the boat in the river in one location, and take it out at another location. I was doing this on a regular basis and quite honestly, I felt like I was living the high life. I could fish three or four, or even five days a week. I fished fifteen consecutive days one time, and never took a day off from work. I didn't have to. Getting to the river had become quite a routine thing to do by now. I even got to a point where I would trailer my boat to work with me at night, and leave at 7:00 am, and head straight to the river. Now I could get there by 8:00 in the morning, and I would generally fish until noon to 1:00 in the afternoon. By doing this time and time again, I learned how to eliminate 80% of the river, and focus my efforts on that 10% to 20% of the river that seemed to be the most productive. I could only fish for four or five hours a day during the week, so I figured out how to make the best use of my time while I was there. My knowledge of the river grew, and I became quite successful at catching quality fish time after time.

After this went on for several years, my skills became more refined. I took some of my friends from work fishing with me, and I could tell that they were amazed at the success we would have in a such a short period of time of fishing the river. But I have to admit, they were set up for the kill. I knew when the fishing would be good, and that's when I would invite them to accompany me to the river. I became attuned to the trends and patterns of the fish, and the river. I was also familiar with the reactions the fish would have to rising and falling river stages and temperature changes. I felt as if I had some sort of device in my head that involuntarily kept running, constantly monitoring the river and processing information. And that device must have looked like a needle on a paper graph that tracked up and down, and I could feel the pulse of the river and the activity level of the fish in it. I mentioned earlier that November is the time of the year that I consider to be the start of the season, and I would like to explain why I feel this way.

Like many other fish, there is a transitional period that smallmouth bass experience going from the warmer waters of the summer to the cooler waters of the fall. It is at this time when the quality fish become more active. As the water temperature drops into the 60s, the fish begin to sense the upcoming change. It is throughout the month of October, and into the month of November that this is taking place. Coincidentally, at the same time, but not always, the river levels are beginning to rise as the hot and dry air of the summer and the many hours of sunlight that the river is exposed to, becomes reduced more and more each day. More importantly, this is also a time when smaller fish become less active as the water temperature drops. The colder the water, the fewer small fish you will encounter. Smallmouth Bass are very resilient fish, but prefer the cooler waters, especially the bigger fish. It is my experience that tells me that as the water temperature goes down, the numbers of quality fish go up. As the water temperature reaches the upper 50s during the month of November, that's when large numbers of trophy fish begin to be produced. This occurs for quite some time, on into December. It has also been my experience, that it is the time of the year when most fisherman are putting their tackle away for the winter. I guess that's why I get to have the river to myself so often. The weather plays a big role in all of this of course. As the air temperatures drop, so does the water temperature. We have experienced some very mild winters in Virginia for the past several years. A temperature gauge is certainly a must for the experienced fisherman.

As the winter months begin to settle in, and the water temperature drops into the lower 40s, you must really know what to look for to be able to continue to catch nice smallmouth bass throughout the winter. The thing to keep in mind is this: Many small fish are hardly able to function during this time, however large smallmouth have adapted to the colder water, and are quite responsive to the changes in water temperatures that occur during the winter. How many times have we said to ourselves on unusually warm days in the winter, "can you believe this is January"? This is when one of my internal sensations gets jarred. Several consecutive days of unusually warm weather in December, or January, seem to happen more frequently year after year. It is my opinion that it has to do with global warming, but I'm no scientist. When this does happen however, it is the perfect situation to cause a rise in water temperature of 3 to 4 degrees. If the water temperature is in the range of 39 to 41 degrees, and it warms to 43 to 46 degrees, this could prove to be an awesome time to try your luck at winter time fishing for smallmouth bass. Please be careful though if you're not experienced at fishing in these types of situations. Falling from a boat in water temperatures like this could prove to be fatal, as hypothermia would overcome an average person in just a few short minutes. Smallmouth bass however, seem to bask in a situation like this. And the larger fish are quite attuned to this change, and take advantage of it to forage for a few more meals to help prepare them in dealing with the colder conditions that are soon to return. The key to this technique, is that you may be on the river fishing during the ensuing days after the warm spell. This could mean that you are fishing in air temperatures of 30 or 40 degrees, but the water temperature could be around 45 degrees. This is not to say that you can not catch fish in water temperatures of 40 degrees, but your chances go up as the water temperatures do.

Another thing to keep in mind about fishing in the winter time, is the fact that the river stages seem to maintain themselves at higher levels than that of lower summertime levels. The water color can range from a little murky, to stained, to somewhat clear. Many people that I talk to on the river seem to rave about low clear water conditions, and throwing torpedoes and various other types of top water lures in hopes that they'll see some enormous smallmouth come up and devour the lure. But frequently these conditions occur during the summer when many small fish are present, and they spend most of the day dealing with large numbers of smaller fish. It is my opinion that when a river is low and clear, the fish have the advantage. When the river levels rise, and the water becomes stained, the fisherman has the advantage. There are two main reasons for this. In clear water, the river levels are usually low. This ordinarily happens during the warmer climates. The current in the river is greatly reduced, therefore fish are able to move around the river with great ease causing the fish to be widespread over the entire river. This makes it more difficult to locate condensed schools of fish, especially big fish. On the other hand, when river levels are moderate to high, the currents becomes much stronger, and fish are more inclined to take refuge out of the stronger currents. This is very conducive to finding higher concentrations of fish in much smaller areas, as the fish are restricted by their own environment.

As for the types of lures you should use during the colder months when the river levels are higher, I would recommend that you use slow lures, such as grubs and jigs. The fish are active relatively speaking to the time of year that it is. They are not apt to chase down fast moving crank baits or other lures that trigger instinctive reaction responses. This is not to say that they will not take a crank bait, but presentation would certainly be the key to triggering a fish to do so. I find myself relying on confidence lures, and confidence lures for me during the winter are grub type lures and jigs.

Keep these things in mind, as to what I consider to be the start of smallmouth bass season. You'll realize that your trip will feel much more productive and exciting when you and your partner catch five to ten smallmouth over three pounds, as opposed to catching 30 to 50 fish with only one, or maybe two, over sixteen inches.

If you have any questions or comments, I would enjoy hearing from you. I would like to continue writing timely articles that will help you learn to recognize patterns on the rivers that you fish. I started fishing in the James River nearly twenty years ago, and since then, I have used the same techniques and tactics on the New River, the Shenandoah River, the Greenbrier River in West Virginia, the Potomac and the Rappahanock Rivers too. But I have fished the James River from it's head waters at Lick Run, to the city limits of Richmond, and all points in between. It seems to be my backyard now, and a place I hold near and dear to me.