The New River

Our first view of the New River as we crossed mountain gap from West Virginia headed to Pembroke, Virginia, had Dale Black and I wondering why jet boats were not a recommended craft for the river. But a couple miles down the road, we had to re-evaluate our initial opinion – two side by side solid rock rifts extended shore to shore creating significant impediment for a jet boat.

The next morning drifting down river in a self-draining 3-person raft with smallmouth guide Britt Stoudemire we were able to more closely assess a number of these rifts. With years of experience on the New River, Britt is able to slide the inflatable raft over small openings in the bedrock rifts, but whether a jet boat could negotiate the numerous mini falls would be a question for another day. On this trip, we were secure in an oar raft managed by capable hands and our goal was simply to catch smallmouth.

Britt had hoped for a jerkbait bite. But a change of conditions had put the fish down. Numerous smaller bass were taken on the new Pointer 95 Silent, but larger bass came on soft plastic fished slowly along the bottom. Stoudemire, a tube jig man (what smallmouth angler isn’t?) was a bit skeptical when I pulled out a packet of trusty Galida Grubz in my favorite green pumpkin river color. Grubs are passé on the New, he said. But when I landed the largest smallmouth each day (plus hooking a 40-inch-plus musky which won its freedom before being boated) on the 4-inch ribbed grub, Stoudemire gladly accepted the remainder of my pack when we concluded our 2-day trip.

Meanwhile, Dale “Captain Dinger” Black caught most of his New River smallies on – what else – a Yum Dinger. However, Dale had wanted to make Britt’s 5-Pound Wall of Fame. Unbelievably, on the last cast to the last eddy on the last day, Dale set the hook on a hawg brownie. It went airborne twice, allowing us to guess the weight as 4.5 to 5 pounds. Just as I was counting on a splendid photo of a trophy fish to end our trip, Dale’s line unexpectedly broke. Those rocky rifts are sharp as well as hard!

For information on New River smallmouth trips, contact Britt at http://www.newriveroutdoorco.com/.