By: Roy Stanford & Britt Stoudenmire
Recently, I (Roy) was walking along the banks of the New River with my dog Remmy and reflecting on how the fishing has been. The river is low and fishing was a bit slow earlier in the month. As I walked, I couldn’t help but notice the changing leaves, and with the cooler temperatures finally moving in, the fishing has definitely begun to improve as we move toward November. Also with these cooling temps, people are coming off the water, so there is much less fishing pressure on the river.
Fall Smallmouth
For fall smallmouth, you can throw topwater plugs until the water temps get below 60 degrees. That bite will fluctuate with the weather conditions and I prefer low pressure days with some cloud coverage and a warming trend to get them looking up. Buzzbaits, Whopper Ploppers, and Pop-R’s are a few of my favorite choices. When they aren’t looking up, it is time to go subsurface with selections like jerkbaits, crankbaits, swimbaits, tubes, and jigs. Crayfish is one of the biggest forages in the New River, so if you match the colors of the crayfish and find where they live, you will find the smallmouth. I prefer natural colors such as green, brown, and black hues.
As the water temperatures continue to cool, the bait will move to deeper locations and the smallmouth will follow. Suspending jerkbaits are another great bait for this time of year and can be effective on high-pressure days when the bite tends to be finicky. Smallmouth are curious by nature and this selection is very effective for triggering in-active fish with a deliberate pause and slight twitch retrieve.
Musky Madness
November gets us looking forward to one of the most anticipated periods of the year, the winter musky season. As water temperatures fall into the 50’s, musky begin to feed heavily and put on significant weight for the upcoming spawn. When the water is low and clear, musky can just about anywhere on the river searching for food. Top water can still be effective in the fall, particularly on rainy, cold, low-pressure days. I prefer tailbaits such as Dahlberg’s Whopper Plopper and Stinnett’s Pacemaker and I never leave home without a Suick Weagle.
When they aren’t looking up, I prefer inline spinners and glide-bait style jerkbaits. Areas that hold fish in November are big, deep eddies next to fast shoals, deep, structured filled pools, and the edges of any remaining grass in the river. Various studies show that there is at least one big female for every mile of the New River so don’t spend too much time in one spot. However, if you a move a fish, make sure to mark that area so that you can come back later and try it again. Most musky are territorial and do not venture far from where they call home. This is a highly effective and proven tactic.
As we move deeper into the fall and early-winter season, bigger baits tend to be more effective. For example, a Musky Innovations Bull Dawg or Chaos Tackle Medussa are two of my favorites. We also love to target these fish on the fly with bigger streamer patterns such as Bohen’s Buford or Hang Time. Brighter colors are good but don’t forget natural sucker colors as well, particularly when the water is lower and clear. Muskies are very curious and smart creatures so make sure you always do a figure eight when you are retrieving in close to the boat. You never know when that big 50-incher will surprise you by following your lure or fly in boat side. I’ve seen more than one of my clients get weak knees looking right down on a monster and stop their baits, which is an absolute no-no. My message has always been, if you don’t know what to do, keep doing what you are doing. And that is never, ever stopping.
Roy Stanford is lead guide for New River Outdoor Co. which features waterfront cabin rentals and guided smallmouth and musky trips on the New River in SW Virginia. For more information on their services, contact them at 540-921-7438 or visit their website at www.newriveroutdoorco.com.