VDGIF biologist Scott Smith holds a smallmouth taken on the upper James River. Smith, an avid angler himself, is the VDGIF's point man on smallmouth bass fisheries. Photo by Bruce Ingram.

Arguably, the smallmouth bass is the second most popular freshwater game fish in Virginia, behind only the largemouth. And traditionally, the Old Dominion has provided some of the highest quality river and lake brown bass action in the country. Let's take a look at the main river systems in Virginia and how they are doing biologically with respect to smallmouth production and health.

THE BASICS: SPAWNING AND MORTALITY
"It looks like most of the spawning takes place from about April 15 through June 30," said Scott Smith, a fisheries biologist for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF), who provides an overview of our fisheries. "These dates change somewhat each year based on flows and water temps, but that's a pretty good general rule."

The exact dates vary according to a number of factors, including things as simple as the size of the river the fish live in; the spawn in smaller rivers can be earlier if those rivers warm up faster in the spring, while rivers below dams, for example, the New below Claytor, seem to be a little later due to the colder water.

The survival rates of smallmouths also vary significantly by river.

"Our best estimates put total yearly survival in the 40 to 80 percent range, depending on the river and year for adult fish," Smith said. "This means in some rivers we see as high as 80 percent annual survival, while in others, it's down to 40 percent. This plays a big role in how many bigger fish are out there. The statewide average runs in the 60 to 65 percent annual survival range."

Smith cautioned that these numbers are not exact, as survival is a very hard thing to estimate in these populations, but he does believe that the numbers are pretty close.

One thing that does not normally appear to significantly hurt the success of the spawn is fishing over spawning fish.

"Fishing on spawning beds probably doesn't have a huge impact unless fishing pressure is really heavy," Smith said. "A couple of studies have found that most spawning beds don't produce any fish to adulthood. Something like 90 percent of the fish in any given year come from about 10 percent of the beds. Most of the beds end up failing from various causes, such as being washed out, predation by fish or invertebrates, fungus on the eggs, or predation on the fry as soon as they swim up. I don't have a number as to what percentage of fry survive to their first year, but my best guess is that it's in the 1 to 2 percent range. I do know that the number is very, very low."

Smith added that sometimes Virginia river smallies spawn as early as March and as late as July, but those are "freak" occurrences. To spawn, brown bass need at least a water temperature of 58 to 60 degrees, he said, and the photoperiod (length of day) is a contributing factor to begin the process. That's why, even if, say, the water temperature warms into the low 60s in February, the smallmouths would not spawn because the day length is not long enough. Also, the fish know instinctively not to spawn in very negative conditions, such as floods. The peak reproductive period is usually the last two weeks in May.

When eggs and fry are in an area, many factors come into effect that are often more important than fishing pressure.

That certainly was the case for the 2006 spawn on state rivers. During the reproductive period, the water was very low because of dry weather conditions. And that situation is generally a recipe for the loss of a year-class, Smith explained. When water levels are below normal, the nests and fry are concentrated in smaller areas. More competition for food exists, and predators can more easily find -- and consume -- the eggs and fry. Also, less food enters the overall spawning area because of the reduced flow. What state river smallmouths need, said Smith, are moderate flows and "normal" weather.