Smallmouth Bass Streams Fly Fishing Report- November 6, 2017

Now that many of the large bass are in the deep sections of the river here is one of my favorite ways to fish them. Some sections of the rivers have four to six feet deep cuts running all the way across the width of the river that are locked in at both the upstream and downstream ends by river-crossing ledges. These deep cuts may reach from fifty to two hundred feet up and down the river and they all hold many bass. I move in downstream of the lower ledge and cast a Murray's Olive Strymph size 4 or Murray's Black Strymph size 4 with a line-hand stripping action that moves it slightly faster than the current. By fanning my casts upstream through these cuts and wading back and fourth across the river, I catch many nice bass. Upstream from access point #1 (Route 661 off Route 11) on the North Fork of the Shenandoah River has much of this type water. Also the stretch upstream from access point #11 (Seakford) on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River is good.