South Fork Shenandoah Fishing

Alec Duncan

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Jul 18, 2016, 9:26:41 PM7/18/16

to tidal-potoma...@googlegroups.com

Has anyone been up to the south fork recently? Looking to do some wading around Luray this weekend. Any luck?

-Alec

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Greggory DiSalvo

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Jul 19, 2016, 8:45:05 AM7/19/16

to Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders

I did an overnight from Bealers Ferry down to Seakford last two weeks ago. It was really the first time the water clarity was getting better in a long time. We did really well. There were seven of us and we each caught 25+ smallmouth over the weekend. Most of them were small 8-10" bass, but two of my cousins each caught some pigs! They are in there. They were both spin fishing, but I was on the fly. Clousers were slow, but I used a crayfish pattern I put together (a bugger dad?) and a smallmouth gotcha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eQJhBsarPA. Both got slammed constantly! Additionally, make sure you throw a Shenandoah blue popper from 5PM on.

Call harry Murray at Murrays Fly Shop and ask about water conditions or the Shenandoah River Outfitters.

Gregg

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TurbineBlade

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Jul 19, 2016, 10:05:06 AM7/19/16

to Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders

We were out this weekend and last weekend on our canoe at one of the public launches - both of us did well on smaller smallmouth, fallfish and plenty of sunfish. Beth saw a pair of smallmouth chasing each other that she mistook for carp at first glance if that tells you anything about large fish potential on the SF ;). I've never fished the SF without seeing huge carp and catfish too --

Levels are higher so far than they were last year at this time.

I mostly fished smaller flies for sunfish, which I feel like doing some days instead of throwing a 7-8 weight glass rod with huge poppers and bucktails/leeches. I'd rather catch 50 fat sunfish than have 5-6 shots at nicer smallmouth.....Beth is pretty much the polar opposite.

Either opinion is valid, and you'll certainly get the occasional nice smallie on tiny flies and also some fat sunfish on huge flies. Like anything else, if you're there with a fly in the water enough times you'll eventually get a good one by default.

I'm getting to the point of just targeting sunfish and knocking off everything else (like overzealous, little smallies) and have really enjoyed doing that lately ;).