by Mike Buss, Virginia Coastal Fly Anglers
Rivers are one of my favorite places to fly fish for a couple of reasons. Most of us live within a short driving distance of a fishable river, and, there are a wide variety of fish swimming in those waters. You can find pan fish like bluegills, sunfish, perch, and crappies as well as both large and small mouth bass in addition to chain pickerel, and even muskies in some waters. Of course, there are carp in all of our rivers. All of these fish will readily take a well placed and worked fly.
How do we find this bonanza? The first thing to do is to get out a map and find the closest river. Then look for a road that parallels the river and get in your car and do some exploring. Look for a bait and tackle shop close by, as this will be a treasure trove of good information. You will want to ask what fish that are commonly caught in the river and what works best. The bait shop will likely also rent canoes should you need one. Find out the location of the closest ramp and put in place on the river. Also, ask if the river is easy wading and if so, where. TIP – Youâre likely to get more information if you purchase some stuff before you start asking all of these questions. Also be sure to check out the minnow tanks, as most of these minnows will have been netted in the river. Check for the size and color of these minnows and then âmatch the hatchâ with your flies when you get out on the river to fish.
Now youâre ready to drive down to the ramp. If youâre fishing from a jon boat or canoe, hopefully youâve brought a buddy. Itâs nearly impossible to control a canoe while fishing without a partner. If I have to fish alone, I float down the river until I can find a fishable area and then I beach the canoe and get out and wade.
I usually fish with a 5 or 6 weight balanced outfit and I bring two rods with me. One is rigged up with a floating line and the other has a sink tip line. I like to fish poppers on the floating outfit and a clouser minnow in the same color and size as the minnows I saw in the minnow tanks at the bait shop on the sink tip outfit.
Most rivers have a riffle, pool, riffle pattern that is repeated over and over. I like to fish the head of a pool where the well oxygenated water flows into the pool along with lots of food. I simply cast my fly and let it swing into the pool. If I hook up, I try to repeat the cast as Iâve found that most river fish swim together. Catch one and you will usually catch another.
Do some exploring and you should have a lot of fun catching your local fish. Good Luck and tight lines