River Trips Begin March 15th — Book Your Watercraft Today!
By Gerald Almy
Photos by Gerald Almy
The ultralight rod bucked wildly as an unseen quarry surged through the weed-filled water in powerful runs. When I looked towards the back of the boat, both my angling companions were busy fighting and landing their own finned adversaries. Before the day would end, we would battle over 100 fish.
Trout? Largemouth bass? Catfish?
No, our quarry that day on a pond in central Virginia was the humble bluegill—the most popular gamefish in America and a favorite of many Old Dominion anglers.
For sheer fishing fun and fast action on the water, it’s hard to top an outing for bluegills. For this article, let’s also throw in the closely related redear (shellcracker) and pumpkinseed. These sunfish can be found in ponds and lakes, rivers and streams throughout Virginia. They are also fairly easy to catch, keeping newcomers to the sport’s interest up and making them great target fish for family outings or introducing a novice to fishing. One of the most appealing traits of bluegills is they are a great quarry for all three major angling methods—live bait fishing, casting lures, and fly fishing.
Lots of times a trip for these feisty panfish will mean bait fishing. For fast and furious action, you can’t go wrong with a garden worm, red wriggler, or cricket on a small fine-wire hook.
These brightly colored sunfish are also superb targets for the fly fisherman, readily snatching sponge rubber spiders off the top and wet flies and nymphs slow-crawled beneath the surface.
But bluegills and their kin are also great fish for the angler tossing ultralight lures. We’ll delve into more details on all of these methods for catching Virginia’s most colorful panfish, but let’s start with artificials.
When choosing lures for sunfish, one of the most important ingredients is compactness. With tiny mouths, a bluegill simply cannot get its lips around a large morsel of food or big lure. The fish know this and will seldom strike large, cumbersome offerings.
But when that requirement of compactness is met, these pugnacious gamefish will attack a wide variety of artificials. Some days they’ll nab a spinner flashing through their weedy lair. Other times they’ll wallop a subtle grub slinking past a sunken log or a small Beetle Spin cast into a placid cove. Here are some of the top lure choices for sunfish and how to fish them.
For the lure, a good choice is a thin plastic worm in the two to four-inch range with pre-rigged hooks, or a single exposed hook. Another option is a small grub, hooked lightly through the head, just 1/8 inch in from the tip, on a size 6 to 10 short-shank bait hook. Having the lure separated from the sinker and fluttering almost weightlessly behind it makes this setup especially appealing to fish on heavily-pressured waters and clear lakes. But be forewarned—you might latch onto an 8-pound bass with this just as likely as an 8-ounce bluegill!
For your tackle, a 5 ½ to 6 ½-foot light action rod coupled with an open-faced spinning reel with a smooth drag and 4- to 6-pound line is perfect for almost all bluegill lure fishing. Some “ultralight” rods work, but make sure they don’t have an action that’s too soft, making it hard to set the hook.
In some cases, you can also use a cane pole or fly rod effectively to simply reach out and flip grubs, spoons, and spinnerbaits next to cover and tussle with your quarry up close. Both of these types of tackle also work well for bait fishing.
With their diminutive mouths and preference for feeding on insects, bluegills are a terrific quarry for the fly fisherman. Spring is one of the best times of year to use this type of tackle because the fish well be moving into shallow areas to feed and prepare beds for spawning.
Backwaters in rivers, farm ponds, natural lakes and large impoundments are all potentially good fly fishing locations. A 5- to 7-weight outfit fits the bill perfectly.
The overwhelming choice among bluegill fly anglers is the sponge rubber spider with white rubber-band legs. Good colors are black, green, red and brown. Also stock a few terrestrial patterns from your trout vest such as large ants, crickets, beetles and grasshopper flies. If fish are not eager to feed on top, crimp a split shot a foot or two ahead of the rubber spiders so they sink slowly. You can also tie some with weight on the hook shank. A few wet fly and nymph patterns such as the Wooly Worm, Hare’s Ear and Pheasant Tail are also good, with sizes 8 to 14 best.
Try to spot fish on spawning beds with polarizing sunglasses. If you can’t locate beds, cast to cover such as stumps, weed edges, and dock pilings. Allow the topwater offerings to rest after casting them to a bed or cover, then 20 to 30 seconds later, give them a slight twitch. Sub-surface patterns produce best with 4- to 8-inch strips or a slow-crawl presentation.
Chances are more bluegills are caught by anglers using bait than any other method. There’s little wonder why. Show a ‘gill a wriggling worm or succulent cricket and a bite is almost guaranteed.
Bait also offers a great way to introduce youngsters and newcomers to angling. Light or ultralight spin tackle, a fly rod with a reel spooled with monofilament, or a simple cane pole can all be effective for delivering a tempting morsel. Use the long fly rods or cane poles when you can approach close to the cover or spawning beds you are targeting and flip the offering towards the quarry. Otherwise use spin gear.
A bobber positioned anywhere from 2 to 5 feet above a size 6 to 8 bait hook is helpful for suspending the offering. Add a small split shot a foot above the hook. Red wrigglers or garden worms are excellent choices, but crickets may be the best bluegill bait of all. A piece of nightcrawler also draws steady action.
It may seem like an old-fashioned fishing tactic in our modern high-tech world, but watching a bobber disappear as a bull bluegill races away with your offering is a thrill no angler is too old—or too young—to enjoy!
The South Fork Shenandoah River is known by anglers as a “numbers” fishery, meaning anglers can expect to catch a reasonable amount of bass and sunfish on any given day. During our 2024 fall sampling we collected 710 smallmouth bass from nine sample sites at a rate of 85 fish per hour (Figure 1). Approximately 26 percent were 11 inches or greater, 6 percent topped 14 inches and 1 percent measured 17 inches and up. Our catch rate was nearly identical to the 2023 sample and down slightly from the long-term average. Despite the recent dip in catch rate, the population looks favorable, with good numbers of quality fish. Overall, our sample yielded high numbers of 8-11 inch smallmouth, a direct result of an above-average spawn in 2021. This is pretty typical for the South Fork, fantastic catch rates with lower numbers of quality-sized fish. Our current catch rates would improve if we experienced an above average spawn in 2025. For the past two years we have had very low spawning success due to drought conditions. Smallmouth juveniles have a hard time recruiting to the population when we have extreme high water during the spawn in spring, or extreme drought during the summer. Hopefully we will have more favorable weather in the coming year to help boost the population.
During the spring, biologists and hatchery staff raised fingerling smallmouth bass at the Front Royal Fish Cultural Station. This effort is part of a long-term smallmouth bass stocking project. A 16km study site was selected ranging from Newport dam to the Whitehouse boat landing. In 2024, 6,700 fingerling smallmouth were stocked and spread between 6 sites. Each bass was marked using oxytetracycline to help biologists determine the percentage of stocked fish that recruit to the population. Hopefully survival will be high and help bolster the poor year class experienced in 2024.
The South Fork has had its fair share of struggles over the years with fish health problems, but by in large the fishing on the Shenandoah should be excellent in 2025.
Largemouth bass also present excellent opportunities for anglers, as this river harbors a quality population. Finding 2- to 4-pound fish should not be difficult in deeper, slower sections when woody debris are targeted. Overall, 60.2 percent of our sample contained quality sized fish (>12 inches) with a majority falling into the 10-16 inch size range. The Shenandoah River is a sleeper largemouth fishery for quality bass. Although there has been a reduction in overall numbers of largemouth, anglers should see a slight increase in the number of 15-20” bass in the coming years.
There is also the opportunity to catch musky in the longer and deeper pools. DWR periodically stocks fingerling-size musky on the South Fork Shenandoah River at 15 sites stretching from Port Republic to Front Royal. It was last stocked in 2024 with 2,983 fingerling musky (approximately 3-4 inches). There has been limited evidence of muskies reproducing naturally in the South Fork, therefore they must be stocked to sustain a fishery. Musky are stocked to add diversity to the fishery and provide a challenging trophy fish for anglers to target. Adult musky densities are not as high as some of the other rivers in the state due to the lack of consistent pool habitats. However, when you come across a pool on the South Fork, anglers have a good opportunity to come into contact with one.
Each winter our biologists and technicians sample the river specifically for musky. They sample four sites using three electrofishing boats.
During the last sampling event in early 2024, they collected a total of 49 fish at a rate of 4.9 fish per hour, with a majority falling in the 30 – 38 inch range. After a few down years, consistent stocking has had a positive impact on the population. Anglers can expect the number of fish in the 40+ inch class to increase in the coming years. Musky grow fast in Virginia, with females reaching citation size (40 inches) in five to six years.
To learn how to fish for musky, please visit the DWR website.
Another success story for the Shenandoah is the sunfish population, specifically the redbreast sunfish. After a seven-year downturn in the population from 2014–2020, the population has rebounded nicely (Figure 2). For the past three years we have observed catch rates running above the long-term average, with 21 percentof our catch measuring >6 inches in length. Our catch was the second-highest since we started sampling the South Fork, so anglers should have no trouble hooking high numbers of panfish.
Channel catfish in the 2-to-6-pound range are common, and anglers should concentrate on the lower South Fork when targeting them. Don’t be surprised if you catch quality-sized rock bass, pumpkinseed, bluegill, green sunfish, fallfish, or black crappie.
The South Fork Shenandoah River is known by anglers as a “numbers” fishery, meaning anglers can expect to catch a reasonable amount of bass and sunfish on any given day. During our 2024 fall sampling we collected 710 smallmouth bass from nine sample sites at a rate of 85 fish per hour. Approximately 26 percent were 11 inches or greater, 6 percent topped 14 inches and 1 percent measured 17 inches and up. Our catch rate was nearly identical to the 2023 sample and down slightly from the long-term average. Despite the recent dip in catch rate, the population looks favorable, with good numbers of quality fish. Overall, our sample yielded high numbers of 8-11 inch smallmouth, a direct result of an above-average spawn in 2021. This is pretty typical for the South Fork, fantastic catch rates with lower numbers of quality-sized fish. Our current catch rates would improve if we experienced an above average spawn in 2025. For the past two years we have had very low spawning success due to drought conditions. Smallmouth juveniles have a hard time recruiting to the population when we have extreme high water during the spawn in spring, or extreme drought during the summer. Hopefully we will have more favorable weather in the coming year to help boost the population.
During the spring, biologists and hatchery staff raised fingerling smallmouth bass at the Front Royal Fish Cultural Station. This effort is part of a long-term smallmouth bass stocking project. A 16km study site was selected ranging from Newport dam to the Whitehouse boat landing. In 2024, 6,700 fingerling smallmouth were stocked and spread between 6 sites. Each bass was marked using oxytetracycline to help biologists determine the percentage of stocked fish that recruit to the population. Hopefully survival will be high and help bolster the poor year class experienced in 2024.
The South Fork has had its fair share of struggles over the years with fish health problems, but by in large the fishing on the Shenandoah should be excellent in 2025.
Largemouth bass also present excellent opportunities for anglers, as this river harbors a quality population. Finding 2- to 4-pound fish should not be difficult in deeper, slower sections when woody debris are targeted. Overall, 60.2 percent of our sample contained quality sized fish (>12 inches) with a majority falling into the 10-16 inch size range. The Shenandoah River is a sleeper largemouth fishery for quality bass. Although there has been a reduction in overall numbers of largemouth, anglers should see a slight increase in the number of 15-20” bass in the coming years.
There is also the opportunity to catch musky in the longer and deeper pools. DWR periodically stocks fingerling-size musky on the South Fork Shenandoah River at 15 sites stretching from Port Republic to Front Royal. It was last stocked in 2024 with 2,983 fingerling musky (approximately 3-4 inches). There has been limited evidence of muskies reproducing naturally in the South Fork, therefore they must be stocked to sustain a fishery. Musky are stocked to add diversity to the fishery and provide a challenging trophy fish for anglers to target. Adult musky densities are not as high as some of the other rivers in the state due to the lack of consistent pool habitats. However, when you come across a pool on the South Fork, anglers have a good opportunity to come into contact with one.
Each winter our biologists and technicians sample the river specifically for musky. They sample four sites using three electrofishing boats.
During the last sampling event in early 2024, they collected a total of 49 fish at a rate of 4.9 fish per hour, with a majority falling in the 30 – 38 inch range. After a few down years, consistent stocking has had a positive impact on the population. Anglers can expect the number of fish in the 40+ inch class to increase in the coming years. Musky grow fast in Virginia, with females reaching citation size (40 inches) in five to six years.
Another success story for the Shenandoah is the sunfish population, specifically the redbreast sunfish. After a seven-year downturn in the population from 2014–2020, the population has rebounded nicely. For the past three years we have observed catch rates running above the long-term average, with 21 percent of our catch measuring >6 inches in length. Our catch was the second-highest since we started sampling the South Fork, so anglers should have no trouble hooking high numbers of panfish.
Channel catfish in the 2-to-6-pound range are common, and anglers should concentrate on the lower South Fork when targeting them. Don’t be surprised if you catch quality-sized rock bass, pumpkinseed, bluegill, green sunfish, fallfish, or black crappie.
Shenandoah River: Flowing through the scenic and historic Shenandoah Valley, the main stem of the Shenandoah River is formed at the confluence of the North and South Forks at Front Royal before dumping into the Potomac River at Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia.
The Shenandoah, especially the North and South Forks, is renowned for its citation-sized smallmouth bass fishing. Two fish per hour is a common catch rate, but in a good recruitment year, boating 50 to 100 smallies on a summer float trip isn’t uncommon.
The Shenandoah system also contains largemouth bass, channel and flathead catfish, panfish, walleye, crappie, carp, and musky. During river surveys, DWR fisheries biologists have come across several female musky exceeding 50 inches.
The Shenandoah River ranked #4 for citation smallmouth with 14 citations being caught in 2024. Just northeast of Front Royal, Virginia, the South Fork and North Fork come together to form the mainstem Shenandoah River. Anglers can target smallmouth bass in both the North Fork and South Fork in addition to the mainstem from its formation all the way down to its confluence with the Potomac River near Harpers Ferry. “The mainstem and the South Fork have the highest density of trophy fish,” said Jason Hallacher, DWR fisheries biologist. “The South Fork’s smallmouth population has been a consistent numbers fishery for the last 10 years. However, over the past few years the population has trended toward larger fish and the potential for citations is there. The mainstem is also on the upswing after three straight years of average spawning. Smallmouth numbers are increasing and your best chance for catching a trophy smallmouth can be found from Warren Dam to the Route 7 landing. The North Fork has the lowest numbers of bass overall, but within the middle reaches around Woodstock and Edinburg, anglers can expect to find quality fish,” said Hallacher.
