Rappahannock River Report

[HeaveToo]

I went down to the Rappahannock River today at Falmouth.  The bite was slow but steady.  In three hours I caught 10.  I lost a few and had a lot of other hits.  They were taking chartreuse and white streamers.  Everyone that I saw at the river was catching fish.

This was my first shad trip of the year.  I saw a lot of activity and they are really starting to move.  Most of the shad I caught were Americans.

The other nice thing is that 6 of the 10 fish I caught were very big.  I am talking extra-large.  I caught a few of the normal 14-17 inch shad (4) but the other six were nice.  One of them was a beast!  I am wondering if it is the quality of the run this year, the timing, or some other factor but this is an overall better quality of fish for this trip.  I hope that this holds out.

I did all of my fishing above the Route 1 bridge on the Fredericksburg side.  It is tricky wading and please be careful because the water is slightly high, slightly off colored, and moving quick. 

[Rob Snowhite]

These shad were most likely born the year TPFR started, it's the rivers way of giving back to us. 

I miss living a few miles from the Falmouth Flats. Great spot!

Sent from my iPhone

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[HeaveToo]

Being in Woodbridge I have a lot of choices.  I saw that the traffic was bad at Fletcher's and I didn't feel like hitting the Occoquan so I went south.  35 minutes later I am fishing.

The Occoquan will be teaming with snakehead fish in a few weeks and I will start chasing them then.

Once last plug in.....I have spent a lot of time fishing the Rappahannock and consider it my "home" river.  That being said, it is a little treacherous right now so if you go fishing be VERY careful.  There are deaths every year on the river and there are a lot of factors that cause this.

[Herman Yam]

Hello and thanks!   I've fished the shad run on the Rappahannock once before and found it challenging wading.  Would you know roughly what height the gauge needs to be to be "easier?"  I'm generally a strong wader, just vertically changed.  I'm hoping to go on Sunday.

[HeaveToo]

Right now, on the present gauge, it is only slightly high.  I use a wading staff to help out some.  The rocks are so slippery in that river and a lot of dangerous rubble.

It is a good river and fishes well.  It is also pretty accessible for wading. 

[Matthew Longley]

Heavetoo - you mind giving general directional guidance on where the snakehead will be settling in the Occoquan?

[HeaveToo]

I put my kayak in at the 123 bridge in the Town of Occoquan.  I then paddle as far back in the river as I can get.

In April the snakehead go back in there.  It seems like it is mid to late April and it is during warm days.  The bite seems to be a reactionary bite. 

The neat part is when you see some of the monsters swim through there.  I have seen a few that were around 3 feet long.  I would love to hook one of those.

[HeaveToo]

I went down to the Rappahannock yesterday.  I fished for 2 hours and caught 11 fish.  I seemed to be catching more fish than the other people on the river, even the spin fishermen.  It may have been because I found a good spot or staging area. 

Again, they were biting on chartreuse. 

The river was much clearer and I think that it was at a normal level.

[Bob R]

I had a few hours available Easter morning to target shad.  I don't have a sinking line yet so I decided to try the Rappahannock because the shad fishing there is generally in shallow water.  I purchased a sinking tip from Orvis on Friday and that was all I needed to get in to the fish.  I fished the east end of the small island that is a couple hundred yards upstream of the Route 1 bridge.  I caught 20 or so Hickory Shad between 11-1:30 and the color of choice was white and red.  All of the fish I caught were in 4 feet of water on the retrieve straight upstream after I cast across and let it swing.  This is my second year of putting serious effort in to the fly-rod, and was probably the best day I've had with it yet.  Most of that has to do with the number of fish in the river but it's nice to be at a point now where every third back-cast isn't in a tree.  The Rapp is full of fish and there is plenty of room for everyone.

On Thursday, April 10, 2014 4:18:03 PM UTC-4, HeaveToo wrote: