Smith River 19 Aug 06

[Al]

Made a quick run up to my cabin in Bassett VA to do a little maintenance. Finished earlier then expected so used the spare time to do a little fishing.

Arrived at the Mirror Factory about 7:45am Saturday morning and found the parking lot full. Some were there for a special sales event going on at the Mirror Factory but I saw at least two guys heading down the railroad tracks with flyrod in hand and figured there might be others ahead of them. Having just come from a week of "combat fishing" for salmon in Alaska I was seeking more solitude then the upper end of the Special Regulation section appeared to offer. I quickly drove to the lower end of the Spec Reg and found the small parking area empty.

The water of the Smith River was as clear as gin which made for some challenging fishing. Careful wading and long casts were the order of the day. My first fish of the day was a small stocked rainbow


All fish after that were brown trout.





I fish up through the riffle section

and was able to bring a good solid double digits worth of fish to hand. They came one at a time. I thought to myself, "thankfully I am by myself, otherwise this would be a very long and frustrating day". I exited at the old field and knew that I had been thoroughly tested by one of the best trout streams in Virginia.

Just before heading for Alaska, less then 4 weeks ago, I easily set a personal record for Smith River trout caught in one outing. This past Saturday, I struggled to make double digits. In my opinion the big difference in those two days was the clarity of the water. Four weeks ago the water was stained to the point of losing sight of your nymph as soon as it hit the water. Saturday the water was so clear you could see every detail of the bottom and your flyline was casting a deep shadow as it floated along.


Casting my 5wt with a WF floating line and #14 beadhead Allieworm was a pleasure after a week of muscling a 9wt with sinktip line and #1/0 salmon fly. The fish were a lot smaller but as one of the other "Smith River Regulars" is often heard saying, "There is something about those painted fish that just keep you coming back".