Very quietly, Claytor Lake has become the best lake in Virginia for citation smallies. Here, Glen Moorer of Marion holds up a Claytor smallie. Photo by Bruce Ingram.

The Old Dominion's smallmouth bass fisheries are a precious resource for those of us who relish the pull -- and the appeal -- of brown bass above all other angling delights. Here is the latest news from the biologists and organizations that keep tabs on our state's smallmouth fisheries.

Certainly one of the most dramatic events last year was the breaching of Embrey Dam on the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg. In one form or another, a dam has resided at Embrey's location since 1854. The breaching of the dam will allow the upstream migration of such species as American shad, herring and striped bass. John Odenkirk, a Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) biologist in the Fredericksburg office, weighs in on this momentous event.

"What I will be watching for very intently is the impact of Embrey's demise on the smallmouth population," he said. "The hypothesis is that the influx of forage will allow for faster growth rates, better size structure and increased survival of smallmouths. We do know that we (now) have gizzard shad, American shad, hickory shad and river herring in the upper river where these species have not been for about 100 years. This will most likely be a very good thing; and although we will get other species as well, I do not think the balance, or outcome, of this community change will be anything but positive."

The U.S. Corps of Engineers is responsible for the dam breaching and eventual total removal, which should be accomplished by late 2006. Meanwhile, Rappahannock anglers, as well as river smallmouth anglers across the western part of the state, will have to contend with the effects of some poor year-classes.

"Based on our surveys, we expect the Rappahannock System (which includes the Rapidan River) to have similar size structure and density to the other unregulated Virginia rivers, primarily the James and Shenandoah," says Odenkirk. "As Scott Smith [VDGIF chairman of the smallmouth committee] has described, this entails an overall reduced number of fish, due to the lack of dominant year-classes over the past several years, but a better-than-average size structure, as the awesome 1997 year-class is still present and providing good angling for 16- to 20-inch fish.

"Generally, when speaking of the Rappahannock River smallmouth bass fishery, I am including the Rapidan. I think of the two as one big system with two pretty equal tributaries coming together at the junction."

Odenkirk mentioned that the VDGIF still has not been able to regain the lost Germana Ford access on Route 3, but the Elys access point still exists. The biologist says that anglers can also access the Rapidan at Raccoon Ford on VDGIF land about a mile or so below Route 522 on river right, under the 522 bridge, or under the Route 3 bridge.

Last year, I heard numerous complaints from anglers that the smallmouth fishing on our western rivers was well below par. VDGIF biologist Scott Smith blames much of the unsatisfactory fishing on poor spawns.

"We haven't had a good year (reproduction-wise) since 1997 or 1998," said Smith. "Since most of the fishery is based on 1- to 3-year-old fish, we're looking at some pretty reduced numbers. The fishing in 2003 would have been similar; it's just that our rivers weren't fishable for much of that year. That's one of the reasons people were so surprised (at the poor fishing) in 2004."

It appears, he added, that the good spawning years are what make or break a fishery. From what biologists can tell, spawning success is keyed into water levels during the spawning months, April through June. Extreme conditions on either end of the water-level scale -- too much or too little water -- at that time are both bad.

Also, even if the bass in these rivers ended up with a great spawn-in for the 2004 year-class, anglers won't see the results for another year or two. The bottom line, the biologists say, is that anglers can expect a lot of five or fewer fish trips.

"I know what I said is not exactly cheery, but that's what's going on. There simply are not many fish under age 6 (fish less than 12-16 inches long, depending on the river -- in the James, they would be 14- to 15-inch smallmouths) out in our rivers right now," he said.

At press time, Smith told me that it was too early to determine what kind of reproductive year Virginia's river bronzebacks experienced. However, the biologist did emphasize that if a poor spawn occurred in 2004, the river smallie sport several years down the line would be negatively impacted. And even if a solid year-class were produced, anglers should expect poorer than normal action over the next year or two.