Smith River 8-3-13

There was another Smith River Clean Up this past weekend so I made the 147 mile journey north to lend a hand. This was the third clean up of the year. The groups who spearheaded the previous clean ups were publicly thanked for helping get the river in great shape for the upcoming Smith River Fest http://www.visitmartinsville.com/Smith-River-Fest.html . We didn’t have the big turnout we had last year but there were enough to get the job done. I did see several folks wearing Trout Unlimited hats which is always encouraging. The Martinsville Bulletin did a story today along with photos at http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=38586
 
A fellow from Greensboro came up to help out and to learn a little about the river. We hit it off, so once the clean up was over I provided him up with a sketch map and gave him a “windshield tour”of the river which included some of my favorite sections along with access points. He did not bring his fishing gear or I would have included a little sampling of the river. Once he headed back to Greensboro I had an early dinner, pulled on my waders and headed out to fish until dark.
 
 

I wasn’t the only one with the same idea because the first two places I went to fish were already covered by local fishermen. Not to worry the Smith has +30 miles of trout holding water and most of it is decent fishing. I finally settled on a long stretch of flat water. The depth ranged from knee to chest deep – ideal holding area for a big brown.
 

Well not exactly the big brown I was looking for but at least I know there are fish here. No breeze this evening and it must have been in the lower 90’s. I actually broke into a sweat anytime I  was in water less then waist deep. The water was real smooth and I could see a long way upstream –  only 2-3 rises observed the entire evening.
 

Only decent fish of the evening and he was still shy of the 10 inch protected slot limit. I caught a decent number but it was hard fishing and the size was so-so. I tried a variety of flies (I normally cast three at a time) but every one of them came to the fly you saw in the first fish photo.
 

The exit point had a nice riffle which I fished hard and succeeded in adding a couple more to the tally. All in all a good evening – not what I had hoped for but still a good evening of fishing. 
 
I hope to see some of you at the Smith River Fest on Saturday, August 10th at the Smith River Sports Complex, 1000 Irisburg Road in Axton, just off the Hwy 58 Bypass.  Smith River TU will have a booth right next to the beer garden. We’ll be tying flies, giving casting lessons and talking up the regions fishing opportunities. If you bring your gear one of us might even go fishing with you afterwards.