By Britt Stoudenmire
While the term “March Madness” is reserved for the NCAA basketball tournament, many years ago I heard my good friend Barry Loupe from Saltville, VA apply it to March river smallmouth fishing. When examining the term ‘madness’ further, I found that it could mean insanity or psychosis; both terms that my clients and I have experienced in some way, shape, or form when early-spring fishing on the New River for big smallmouth.
Insanity
My clients and I have often joked that you would have to be insane to be out on a cold river with the wind blowing 30-mph and temps hovering around the freezing mark looking for a hungry fish. Looking back at the past 15-years, this point could not be better exemplified than one dreary early-spring day while fishing with good clients and friends Jon M. and Will B. from Pa. Temps were at, or slightly below freezing, winds were howling, and the fish were not cooperating. This particular section of the river that we were fishing was near a road and cars were continuously honking their horns at us as they passed by. We knew the passerby’s thought we were absolutely insane to be out on the river this day. And then to add insult to injury, stinging ice began to pelt us. We felt pretty defeated and then, it began to happen. Smallmouth began biting at a rapid pace, and not just any ‘ole smallmouth, they were big smallmouth. They were eating a jerkbait like nothing we had ever seen and the harder the ice pelted us, the harder we jerked, and the harder the fish bit. When the ice would slow down, the bite would linger. When the ice started falling again, the frenzy would ensue. When we finally reached the end of our float, we were cold and felt beaten by the weather but we were ecstatic about the quality of fish that we had caught in such tough conditions. Jon told me later that on the way home, Will said that he felt they had given me and the smallmouth everything they had that day (and he had a swollen wrist from all the jerking to prove it!) It was a rewarding day and that compliment meant an awful lot to me at the time, and still does.
Psychosis
When I think of the word psychosis, I think of obsession. And I’m not advocating becoming obsessed over these big, pre-spawn smallmouth, but it can happen. In the early years of my guiding, I was absolutely obsessed with hunting big smallmouth. I would eat, sleep, and drink it every single day. While I still love to put big smallmouth in the boat, I like to think that I have grown as a person (and a guide) in that regard. Make no mistake, when we step into my boat in March and April, it is all business. My clients understand and have come to expect that and we have a great time together on the hunt. I’ve been very blessed over the years to catch a lot of big smallmouth. Before last year, when I wasn’t able to personally fish as much in the spring due to all the rain and resulting high water levels, I had caught a 5-lb or larger smallmouth on the New River 13 out of 14 years. I used to fish a heck of lot more in the early years for that 5-lber but as our family and business has grown, my personal fishing time has adjusted accordingly. A great example is 2017 when we had a strong March bite going. We were on a great run when a high water event knocked us off the water a couple of days for guide trips. We were forced to cancel some days but I always have some clients that are willing to gamble and go on a day’s notice if I have that feeling something “big” is about to happen. After a phone call on Sunday, my client traveled up from Richmond to meet me Monday morning. The river was high and swollen and we caught nice fish the entire day, finishing up with 4 Virginia citations (20”+). But, the monster fish eluded us. I knew the timing was close and that tomorrow could very well be that “magic” day. The odd thing was that at 4pm that day, my wife Leigh asked me if I was going fishing. I had enjoyed being home and around the family so much that I barely made it to river to get a few hours of fishing in. On my first or second cast, I rolled up one of the biggest and prettiest smallmouths I have ever seen, a fish I was fishing for specifically. She got the best of me at the boat and as I sat there contemplating defeat, I knew there was no way I’d hook another fish of that size class this day. I moved to the other side of the river and caught a healthy 21” 4lb/8oz fish. Then, I made a move to a spot I don’t fish that often. As I was sliding out of the bottom end of the spot, I got that fateful tick. After reeling down and setting the hook, I was fortunate to wrestle in a 21.75” smallmouth that weighed in at 5lb 14oz. Once I got a quick picture and released the fish, I sat there for a moment reflecting on the three fish I had hooked in an hour period realizing how great the New River can be in the spring, how blessed I have been over all these years to fish its wonderful bounty, and how much I enjoy the hunt.
The author, Britt Stoudenmire, and his wife Leigh, have been outfitting anglers for fifteen years on the New River in Virginia. They offer both guided fishing trips (newriveroutdoorco.com) and waterfront lodging (walkercreekretreat.com). 540-921-7438.