"Twenty-five percent of the smallmouths caught on the Shenandoah were between 11 and 14 inches," he says. "Anglers practiced almost 100 percent catch-and-release for smallmouths in the Shenandoah during the 2008 survey that ran from April through September. Seventy-five percent of anglers interviewed on the South Fork and 88 percent of the anglers interviewed on the Main Shenandoah were satisfied with the fishing."

Additionally, 75 percent of the anglers fishing the South Fork and 83 percent of the anglers fishing the Main Stem said that the number of times they fish the river annually has not decreased in the past few years.

"This is an indication to me that fishing pressure has not been affected by the fish kills," concluded Reeser. "The design of the 2008 survey was different from surveys that were conducted in 2005, 1997 or even the 1980s, so I cannot determine if overall fishing pressure has changed on the Shenandoah."

Maryland DNR fisheries biologist John Mullican relates that the 2009 spawn in the Potomac was a failure because of high water. But Mullican is not aware of any recent fish kills on the Potomac and says good numbers of 12-inch-plus smallmouths now fin the river. In fact, because of good recent year-classes, some high-quality angling for larger fish is on the horizon.

Holston Watershed
Tom Hampton, VDGIF biologist for the far western reaches of the Commonwealth, asserts that for the North Fork Holston River, the smallmouth population is stable. Catch rates are very consistent and good numbers of fish between 14 and 18 inches, with a fair number of fish reaching 20 inches, exist. The spawns of 2007 and 2008 were good.

"For the Clinch River, overall catch rates were down a little in 2008," said Hampton. "Recent spawns have been good, so there are lots of small fish. Catch rates for fish over 14 inches are consistent. There are fewer fish in the 8- to 12-inch range, probably due to poor spawning success three or four years ago.

"South Holston Reservoir continues to produce trophy smallmouths. The 2009 sample was one of the better collections in recent years. The lake reached full pool earlier than normal in 2009, so the spawn should have been a good one. Smallmouths up to 6 pounds were collected in 2009."

James River
VDGIF fisheries biologist Scott Smith reports that on the upper James, smallmouth numbers were down a little in 2008, but not out of the normal range. This was mostly a reflection of relatively poor spawning success that year because of low water levels, as much of the Old Dominion suffered from drought. The number of smallmouths over 14 inches was down a little bit in 2008, but overall trends for fish of this size show a moderate increase since about 1999 and 2000.

Smith adds that smallmouth spawning success was very good in 2004 and 2007 and "average-poor" in the other years since 2003. Thus, there should be decent number of 6-year-olds and good numbers of 3-year-olds in 2010.

"A good spawning year will support the fishery for four to five years, so we should be OK for the next year or so," said the biologist. "The 2009 spawning success is expected to be poor -- too much water, for a change."