After having to lead with reports about fish kills the past few years for this magazine's annual state of the smallmouth story, I am glad not to have to do so this year. That's not to say by any means that the James and Shenandoah watersheds don't have serious issues. But let's start out this year with the fishery that is, right now, arguably the best smallmouth river in the South.

VDGIF fisheries biologist John Copeland lifts a fine smallmouth bass taken from the New River above Claytor Lake. Photo by Bruce Ingram.

The New River
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) biologist John Copeland says that anglers visiting the New River below Claytor Lake should catch plenty of smallies this year.

"The 2004 and 2005 smallmouth bass spawns were the best spawns since 1996, and the 2007 smallmouth bass spawn was above average," he said. "With these spawns contributing to angler catches now and the potential for these fish to be future trophies, the outlook for New River smallmouth bass fishing is bright. The large spawns of 2004 and 2005 were reflected in electrofishing samples in fall 2008, with 84 percent of the adult (over 7 inches long) smallmouth bass catch consisting of bass between 7 and 14 inches.

"About 15 percent of the adult smallmouth bass collected in fall 2008 electrofishing were in the 14- to 20-inch range, so anglers will find good numbers of smallmouth bass within the current restricted slot limit. The New River offers the potential for trophy smallmouth bass fishing, with smallmouth bass from the above-average spawns of 1996 and 1997 now over 20 inches long. Top locations for smallmouth bass include the Radford to McCoy Falls section of Montgomery County and the Pembroke to Pearisburg section of Giles County."

Copeland does fall sampling, so he does not at press time know the final results from that effort; thus, there is no word on the 2009 year-class. However, based on data from all of Copeland's sampling sites, the 2008 year-class of smallmouths in this section of the New was below the long-term average. With that said, at some of his sampling sites the biologist had above-average catches. Sites that stand out in this regard were Whitethorne and Rich Creek, so these areas should provide good catches of smallmouth bass in the 8- to 10-inch size range in 2010.

Previous sampling, adds Copeland, show that the Montgomery County section of the New River has the highest densities of smallmouth bass in the New River, followed by the upper Giles County area (Eggleston to Pearisburg). Smallmouth bass densities in the lower Giles County area (Narrows to the West Virginia state line) are lower than in other areas of the New River downstream from Claytor Lake, but are still higher than smallmouth bass densities upstream from Claytor Lake. The differences in smallmouth bass populations upstream and downstream from Claytor are likely because of a combination of factors, including the larger size of the river downstream, but could also be caused by lower river temperatures downstream from Claytor Dam because of the deep-water discharge.

Claytor And Other Lakes
Just as the New is the top smallmouth river in the state and quite possibly the South, Claytor Lake, the major impoundment on the waterway, is also performing well.