Written By: Roy Stanford, Lead Guide for New River Outdoor Company
As the leaves are changing to the beautiful oranges, yellows, and reds the air is getting cooler. Walking outside and seeing your breath is a sign of most people are getting off the water and wrapping up in nice cozy blankets at home. Well here at NROC (New River Outdoor Company) we are out battling the cold still finding fish. As the guides on our rods are freezing and our hands are freezing to the reels the warmth you feel as you are reeling in a trophy size muskie is a thrill that will warmth the body very fast.
As the fall progresses, we have finally gotten some rain here in the New River Valley. The rain has given a little color back to the water as well as flow that we have needed. As we go deeper into fall with the cooler temps the muskie madness begins. Although, they call the muskie the fish of 10,000 casts they are very active fish in the coming months. Muskies are the Apex predators here on the New River, so they will eat anything in their path. The diet of a muskie is mostly what we call suckers. Now, I have seen muskies eat ducks, beavers, and yes they eat the occasional smallmouth bass.
So, how did I get involved in the muskie madness? Imagine it’s the dead of winter and it’s the month of January. The temperature outside is 8 degrees Fahrenheit. My good friend Jesse Carper invites me out on his Coleman Crawdad to go muskie fishing. Well with a curious mind I go and not sure what I’m about to get myself into. We get to our meeting that morning and we are attempting to go find muskies on the James River. Jesse and I arrive at the meeting spot and see the James is frozen with ice all the across the river in some spots. Instead of giving up and calling it a day, we make an audible and go to the New River where I have been bass fishing before. We arrive to the New River and there is some ice on the banks the temps are now up to 22 degrees Fahrenheit, so we unload the Crawdad and do our shuttle. Finally, we are on the boat fishing. Now, it was my first time fishing and we go through what figure eight is as well as the basics of it. Jesse hands me a rod and he is going through his tackle box looking for an easy bait to start me out with. He gives me a Adams trout and it looks exactly like a rainbow trout. Then, all of a sudden he brings out a big bait that weighs a pound or more! We get into fishing then boom he has a follow up within first couple of his casts. Then, I have my first follow up and of course I mess it all up. Going down the river some him and I are talking then he yells NET! So I frantically grab the net and scoop the fish up in the net. I was in shock of the power and the majestic way of this fish. I was addicted now, so I continued to fish and never caught one for over a year and a half. I was probably on my 10,000th cast before I caught one. This is how I became a muskie guy. Muskies can be the most frustrating fish and sometimes you just ask why. I have learned you can’t ask why with these animals anymore and you just have to keep fishing. Here on the New River the muskies are more abundant and fired up than ever.
Come spend a weekend, or a week, fishing with us at NROC (New River Outdoor Company). We have cabin accommodations and your fishing needs! Please contact us through our website www.newriveroutdoorco.com or by phone at (540)921-7438.