At the arrival of dawn, the Richmonder will visit the secondary points of coves in those midlake tributaries. He will search for shad activity, especially near rocks and stumpfields. Lure choices include Rebel Pop'Rs and 1/2-ounce buzzbaits. The surface activity can last for as little as 30 minutes or as long as two hours, depending on cloud cover.

Once the early-morning topwater action ends -- and it can conclude quite abruptly -- Jones backs off from the shallow reaches of those secondary points and tries to graph bass in water between 5 and 15 feet. In his search for fish, he employs crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Slow-rolling spinnerbaits down a rocky point can be an effective tactic and is a nice counter tactic to an angler bumping along a crank across the substrate. This pattern can last as long as two hours, again depending on cloud cover.

But inevitably, most mornings, the crankbait/spinnerbait pattern wanes, and Jones then motors to the ends of points in water depths of up to 20 feet. There, he turns to Texas-rigged worms, Carolina-rigged lizards and other soft-plastic baits, and jig-and-pigs. This pattern, too, is dependent upon heat and cloud cover, as an overcast day can extend the action into the high noon period.

Jones emphasizes that most days, success after 11 a.m. or noon is very difficult to experience. Once the bass retreat to depths of 20 or more feet, the guide admits that he has a great deal of difficulty locating active fish. For guided trips with Roger Jones, contact Hook, Line and Sinker Guide Service at (800) 597-1708, or at www.hooklineandsinkerguides.com.

NEW: NEVER A DOWN PERIOD
When the subject is warm-weather angling on the New River, there is no downtime. The smallmouth fishing is of a high quality both in April and October -- and every month in between. Marty Shaffner, who guides on the New in North Carolina and Virginia, offers these tips.

"August is finesse time and the fly rod shines," he said. "August is also topwater time and my favorites are poppers in sizes 4 or 6 in black or yellow, large terrestrial patterns, such as the UFO, or over-sized Chernoble ants and sliders, such as Sneaky Petes and foam sliders."

Shaffner proclaims that any pattern that features rubber legs for additional movement, specifically without the fly actually moving much when it is twitched, stands a better chance of being savaged.

"If you can't get the smallies to come up to hit topwater you may have to go underwater," the guide continued. "My favorite underwater patterns are Nearnuff crayfish, Clouser minnows and root beer-colored Woolly Buggers. August usually means low, clear water and in those conditions, I like the Clousers tied with translucent (synthetic) materials and lots of crystal flash. On sunny days especially, these are great patterns.

"Also great are foam damselfly patterns in light blue. They are really both a big fly and an important pattern."

On many outings, spin-fishermen can experience outstanding topwater throughout the day on the New. I typically bring along four rods, and two of the medium-action outfits are rigged with surface baits. Among my productive ones are Heddon Tiny Torpedoes, Rebel Pop'Rs, Storm Chug Bugs, Zara Spook Puppies, Rapala Skitter Props and Pops, Rebel Chug'Rs, Rapala Original minnows, and 1/4-ounce Hart Stopper buzzbaits. Rotate among these and other prop, chugger, stick and minnow baits until a pattern emerges.

Just as there is no shortage of time when the New will produce quality smallmouth action during the warm-season period, there is also no shortage of potential trips from which to choose. From the time the North and South forks commingle to form the Main Stem of the New not far across the North Carolina line until the New leaves the Old Dominion and enters West Virginia near Glen Lynn, anglers can take 22 different excursions.

The 10 junkets below Claytor Lake Dam have traditionally attracted the most fishing pressure, and VDGIF biologist John Copeland confirms that these floats also traditionally have produced not only the best smallmouth action for numbers but also for quality-sized fish.

Nevertheless, in recent years, I also have found that the 12 floats above Claytor have accounted for some superlative days on the water. This past summer, for instance, some of my best smallmouth fishing of the season took place on the upper river. As a general rule, I have found that the upper New between the confluence and Fries Dam experiences less fishing pressure than the section below Fries and the backwaters of Claytor. But, again, anglers can't go wrong if they choose any of these sections.