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Smith-Continued

Started by 5xTippett, June 17, 2012, 16:15:23 PM

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creakycane, creekfreak, mobcrack, streamereater_101691 and 13 Guests are viewing this topic.

Dougfish

"Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here?
 Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change? "
Kelly's Heroes,1970

"I don't wanna go to hell,
But if I do,
It'll be 'cause of you..."
Strange Desire, The Black Keys, 2006

Woolly Bugger

#1606
Quote from: itieuglyflies on June 30, 2019, 12:42:45 PMSo there is life after carp! I miss Smiffing.

Funny thing is the trout worried me as much as the carp on the 6 wt. But 12 lb vs 6x 
ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

Al

#1607
Smith River TU assisted DGIF with another sample last week - this one from the Philpott Dam to the Trent Hill Canoe Access just behind the old burned out Chair Factory.  DGIF was short handed because one of their biologists is on the injured list with a cut hand.  We love to help with these things - all they had to do with point us in the right direction and before long we were part of the fish sampling team.
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As the official photographer I had my usual solo ride - Yes some of those rapids are a little hairy.  I almost got unseated by a "sweeper" but this old man just did "the limbo" and sailed right under it.
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Ran across a prehistoric monster not too far down from the dam which may help validate my initial impression of there were not the numbers of fish we used to collect from that area.
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The next section from Philpott Bridge down through to old Special Regs Section was full of fish and some nice ones at that. We didn't go far before filling the cooler and finding a spot to measure and weigh the fish.
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We picked up some real nice ones.
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A few of the stocked rainbows we collected made the ultimate sacrifice so we could see what they had been eating. Turns out it was mostly vegetation and other debris which validates the theory of "put and take" because most catchable size stocked fish do not readily adapt to long term survival outside the hatchery. They did not appear to be competing with the browns for bugs, crayfish and other natural forage.
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Check out the belly on this brown. We didn't sacrifice any browns but they appear to be eating well.
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The Smith River remains one of the best brown trout fisheries in Virginia. There is very little posted land and no one is claiming "Kings Grant" ownership of the river. Access for both fishermen and paddlers is encouraged by landowners, businesses and local community groups. DGIF has spent a lot of money managing a resource which is difficult for the average fisherman to enjoy.  Fishermen who wade have been faced with almost constant flows that make wading challenging or impossible. A little fine tuning of the generation schedule by the COE and Dominion Power would go a long way towards showing they are a partner in making the Smith River the centerpiece for recreation and economic tourism.

Dougfish

"Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here?
 Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change? "
Kelly's Heroes,1970

"I don't wanna go to hell,
But if I do,
It'll be 'cause of you..."
Strange Desire, The Black Keys, 2006

Woolly Bugger

Good stuff there Al!
ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

itieuglyflies

Al should be an inspiration for all of us...Keep it up, and thanks for the informative report

dhjunkie

Great write up and pics Al. Thank you.

Woolly Bugger

#1612
Ran into an old BRFFFer at the parking lot today, Scott showed up, said it was his third fishing trip in two years, family life has taken its toll.

Very few sulfurs out but a few fish were rising and I manages to bring 8 or 9 to hand in th eevening. It got real quie after 7 pm and I left around 7:30, Scott followed shortly after that and there was another angler down on the water, he arrived after we go there.

ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

dhjunkie

#1613
Can't wait till the day I find a pff sticker on my windshield!

Woolly Bugger

#1614

after reading Al's shocking reports, I was ready to float the middle seciton with Spork when he called. We planne to canoe from above the 220 bridge to Fieldale access. The damn scheule was for a 10 to 2 release and we put in at ten and fished our way downstream on the low water. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. We eneded up cathing most of our fish in the riffles and runs when we beached the canoe and got out to wade. I wouln't say it was on fire, but we caught fish all day long. Thunder stormes were popping up and we expreinced a shower for about a half an hour but fortunatly the lightneing and thunder stayed to the south and we didn't fear for our lives but I did consume the last beer when the skies darkened.

New camera will be here tomorrow...

it looked a lot like this... except I caught more than spork...  :P  <-;:  0:0




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We counted about 132 tires and one kayak paddle which we retrieved along with a few other pieces of trash.

ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

Al

Not a damn thing wrong with Woolly's latest report. Glad to see folks keeping the rainbows - that is what they are for - "Put & Take"

ryguy

Looks like a great trip.  How long until the water rose from the generation?

Woolly Bugger

#1617
Quote from: ryguy on July 08, 2019, 16:57:07 PMLooks like a great trip.  How long until the water rose from the generation?

This is what I know about the times from the dam to
a) to Towns Creek; about an hour
b) to the gauge in Bassett (666 bridge) 2 hours
c) to the second Fieldale bridge about 3.5 hours (this might actually be 4.5 hours as I'm trying to recall the exact time the water came up on us...)

From Smith River Outfitters
As a general rule, once the generation begins, it takes 2 hrs and 45 min to get to the Bassett ramp, another 30 minutes to SRO and another 1 hr and 45 min to get to the Great Road boat ramp.
ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

Al

Here is an old map I stole from someone else and modified for use back when I was guiding on the river. The flow rates  listed in the upper right hand corner were pretty accurate.
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Dougfish

Good stuff, WB and Spork.
"Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here?
 Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change? "
Kelly's Heroes,1970

"I don't wanna go to hell,
But if I do,
It'll be 'cause of you..."
Strange Desire, The Black Keys, 2006