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RapidanRun has contributed to 85 posts out of 419 total posts
(20.29%) in 1,078 days (0.08 posts per day).
20 Most recent posts:
Saltwater Reports »
Back from Cabo Loco Jul 22, 2010 09:30 AM
(Total replies: 0)
Cabo Loco July 8th - 14th This was my second attempt at fly fishing for marlin. The first attempt was in San Jose del Cabo in 2007 where my fishing partner, Allen Brock, and I soon learned that bait & switch fly fishing was a technique unknown to most Mexican boat captains. This time we decided to do our own teasing. We both purchased used teasing rods handcrafted by Brendan Rolt out of Cairns, Australia. These 2 piece rods have no guides and are very stiff 8’ beasts made to haul a teaser out of the water pronto. The day before I left Virginia it was 101F: arriving at the San Jose Del Cabo airport the temperature in was in the high 80’s!!! We soon found out that the sea was too cool and the fish sighted were sunning on the surface = no hambre (hungry). This crazy weather explains why the locals call the peninsula Cabo Loco. Day one: The captain and mate were wearing jackets and we soon rolled down our shirt sleeves. This chilly day no marlin showed in the three teaser spread. Day two: we had a hot marlin on the stinger but the mate reeled the teaser too fast as the captain slowed the boat (definite NO-NO). We did a “Crazy Ivan” which lured the fish back but it soon lost interest. That fish may have been 90 lb. On the third day it all came together. The Striped Marlin was a baby 60 pounder, but it was a first for me. I didn’t want the fish in the boat but the Mexicans were so happy that they had finally had a fly fisher land a marlin I was ignored. For the suelteme (release) I held the marlin by the upper bill as the boat moved ahead slow and eventually the marlin struggle free and swam away in great shape. The third fish, in 5 days, hit the short line hard head teaser, hung on for 6’ and then disappeared. The captain said it was a sailfish. We purchased two plastic skirts at Minerva’s Tackle Store for strip bait teasers as we tried to get the Mexicans to ALWAYS have a belly strip on all the teasers. That didn’t happen. Bait was very scarce at U$ 3 bucks a pop, so many mornings we took the time to troll for caballito (goggle eye), bulletos (mackerel), and barrilete (black skip jack) at Los Arcos. These small fish were used for belly strips. Day 6: We hired a panga driver and chased roosters fish (Pez Gallo) at Los Arcos in the AM and then went north 25 miles to a small bay with a fast sloping sandy beach. Our guide slowly towed two live mullet for hook less-teasers. The roosters hit fast but didn’t stay up long enough to get off a good cast. The panga in front & behind hooked up on live bait. One fish reported to be 40+. Last month on the same beach pangas were catching four + roosters per day. I used a Sage RPLXi 14 wt rod, Tibor Pacific reel with IGFA 10kg leader, Cam Sigler pink squid tandem hook fly. We are already planning our next trip to Cabo Loco.          Hope you're fishing.
Fly-fishing Equipment & Other Goods »
FOR SALE: RIVER OTTER PONTOON KICK/ROW BOAT May 21, 2010 01:05 PM
(Total replies: 0)
8' Pontoon boat ($650.00), with take down oars, dual action air pump, Force Fins XXL ($100.00) to fit over your wading boots. CHEAP $250.00 for all. Phone 786 1043 email lineastenso@hughes.net     Hope you're fishing.
Issues and Concerns Affecting Local Fisheries »
ASMFC wants to increase commercial striped bass quotas!!!???? May 12, 2010 09:35 AM
(Total replies: 0)
Stripers Forever members – as you may have heard, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has voted by a 9 to 6 margin to send to public hearings certain options to increase the commercial quota for striped bass. We think it is very likely that this ill conceived idea will be defeated, but, taking nothing for granted, Stripers Forever will provide you with the information that you will need to contact your ASMFC representatives and the legislators to whom they report in order to fight this attempted commercial increase. Take heart! Thanks to our campaign last month, individual federal officials received over 300 e-mails asking for the National Marine Fishery Service representative to the ASMFC to vote against further commercialization of the striped bass fishery. The NMFS voted against the commercial increase. Your efforts were the reason. In the ASMFC press release they state that the justification for the commercial increase is that since 2004 the recreational harvest has increased by 13.7%, while the commercial harvest has decreased 3.7%. Let us expose below just how these statistics have been twisted in an attempt to support more commercial killing of striped bass. The commercial harvest has not decreased at all from 04 to 08. The quota has remained the same every year during this period. If a state exceeds its quota one year, it is reduced by the same amount the following year; in some years various states haven’t reported catching their full quota, but the quota itself hasn’t changed. Not catching your quota is certainly not justification for requesting an increase. In addition, an over harvest one year, requiring a reduced quota the following year doesn’t mean that your harvest dropped. What’s more, everyone at the ASMFC knows that these quotas are being exceeded each year due to large unreported, (read illegal) catches. This is no secret, just look in the news! There is no recognition or estimate of this illegal catch because many of the members of the ASMFC are commercial fishing ideologues who won’t acknowledge this activity, even though they know very well that it goes on all the time. The recreational catch harvest has not increased by 13.7%, rather it has fallen from 27.4 million pounds in 2004 to 25.7 million pounds (a decrease of 6%) in 2008, and it continued to shrink to 21.5 million pounds (a decrease of 21.5%) in 2009. The 2009 numbers are available, why weren’t they used? We have asked the ASFMC to include these 2009 numbers. They acknowledge there will be some corrections in the final document. Worst of all, we think is using pounds of harvest as the measure to justify a commercial quota increase. The actual number of striped bass caught – harvested and released – by the recreational community has dropped from 20 million fish to 9.8 million (a drop of 51%) from 2004 to 2009. This is the real story and the infallible indicator of the deterioration of this fishery. The much greater socio-economic value (10.3 times as much per pound) found in the recreational fishery is derived from money spent catching fish. Fewer fish mean less effort and less economic activity. While the ASMFC is splitting some hairs to get a few more stripers killed, the far more valuable sector of the fishery is being severely damaged because of the rapid degradation of the striper population caused, caused large part, by the commercial harvest. To see the real changes in this fishery over the last few years, follow this LINK to our website and see the charts and graphs detailing the total numbers of fish being killed by the recreational and commercial fisheries. If you have been barraged by the hogwash about how the recreational fishery is really the culprit, and how the commercial fishery’s toll on the population is inconsequential, you’ll get quite a surprise. We are now on the verge of having the striped bass fishery becoming more or less a split between a few thousand largely part-time commercial fishermen and over 3,000,000 members of the public (and the many times greater economic activity they support.) Let’s not get mad, though, let’s get even. We need to change things, and together we can. Support the striped bass game fish movement and get everyone you know who fishes to join in. Ending the influences of commercial harvesting is the only way that we will ever return to the great striped bass fishing that we had just a few years ago. We’ll contact you soon to start e-mailing the legislators and fishery managers who run the ASMFC and together we’ll beat back this latest attempt to further rape the striped bass fishery. Hope you're fishing.
Shad & Striped Bass Reports »
Rap striper poaching from Tidal Fish website May 4, 2010 12:23 PM
(Total replies: 0)
I met Mitch at the power bar Monday PM and he made it a point to tell me this story. Saturday PM as I left the river with a broken 6wt 5 Asians arrived at the bar with big spin rods. It's time VDGIF shows the flag. Helping a poacher Sunday evening found me at one of my favorite striper/catfish holes near Fredricksburg. There was a group of people swimming/fishing downriver about a hundred yards from me, but they weren't effecting the bite as I was slaying them. One young lad (probably around 16) works his way upstream fishing and eventually gets to me. We talked for about 15 minutes....a little about family a little about fishing....turns out that he is a new dad too, but doesn't get to see his baby much because her relatives (I think he said from El Salvador) "don't like Mexicans much". He spoke English pretty well (90%) and as we talked I continued to fish and was steady catching small rockfish. I explained that the fish were upriver to spawn and explained the regs stressing that they weren't legal to keep until the 16th. I showed him the plug I was using and he studied the way it was fished. SO, Last night (Monday) I head back to the same spot to work the schoolies again. And sure enough there he is catching a nice 16" rockfish. At first I was happy for him, but as I got closer I noticed that he was dragging the fish onshore next to his bucket to unhook it. When I got to him I told him again that you can't keep stripers now. His response was "but I'm going to eat this one". After several attempts to get him to throw the fish back he noticed that I was getting quite upset. He threw the striper in his bucket along with the half dozen he already had and left. I feel so betrayed for teaching and helping this kid figure out how to catch some fish. Now the striper population is going to suffer because I know that it's just a matter of time until the whole group (about eight people)he was fishing with Sunday will be back and they all will be plugging and keeping. I have called the VDGIF several time in the past about this spot and they have never shown up. The first question that they ask is "do you know if they speak English" and if the answer is no or I don't know then they will do nothing. Last night I didn't have a phone on me anyways and getting into a fight with a sixteen year old over poaching isn't a charge that I want to catch. Anyone believe that VMRC would do anything as far upriver as Fredericksburg since technically rockfish are their fish? Mitch Hope you're fishing.
General Discussion »
U/W film Yellowstone trout Apr 2, 2010 07:57 AM
(Total replies: 0)
The info on the film is below. Mike Kasic's "Fishman" portion is part of a larger film that profiles the people of Yellowstone. When you click on this link (or cut & paste it into your browser) you'll see a short scene with wolves & then it transitions into the The Fishman film: http://www.mikekasicsound.com/FishMan.swf Yellowstone People: Mike Kasic — The Fishman Quirky sound recordist and Montana local Mike Kasic is obsessed with the underwater wilderness of the Yellowstone River. In this short film, Kasic tells the tale of the river with the help of his wetsuit and fins, swimming the Yellowstone like a human fish through swift-river canyons and scenic mountain views, and watching trout in fast, frothing currents. His message is simple: what lies beneath a river is a wilderness that is often overlooked, but that is critical for the Yellowstone ecosystem to thrive. Banff Mountain Film Festival Finalist in: Best Film on Mountain Environment and Best Short Mountain Film Hope you're fishing.
Fly-tying Equipment, Materials, & Techniques »
Great product sen at the Somerset Fly Fishing Show Feb 9, 2010 07:41 AM
(Total replies: 0)
Unbelievable thread bobbin. http://www.hookflyfishing.com/blog/ http://www.petitjean.ch/eng/home/default.asp Hope you're fishing.
VDGIF Corner »
Confused? Jan 15, 2010 10:12 AM
(Total replies: 2)
My 2010 copy of "WORLD RECORD GAMES FISHES" published by the IGFA list Dave Chermanski with all the HS fly rod catches (7). Most have been caught in the Econlockhatchee River, FL (Say what?) The largest was 2 lb 14oz none over 3lb. Maybe this year someone will be able to top one of Dave's records. Hope you're fishing.
Shad & Striped Bass Reports »
With any luck... Jan 15, 2010 10:03 AM
(Total replies: 1)
Chip: Spring hopes eternal! Rods, reels, flies, waders, all panting with expectations of WARMTH to move the fish. Hope you're fishing. This message was posted in a secure forum. Click here to access the topic where message was posted. This message was posted in a secure forum. Click here to access the topic where message was posted.
Saltwater Reports »
Harkers Island Albie Bust Nov 19, 2009 01:00 PM
(Total replies: 0)
This year the False Albacore were back in force but so was the weather. Our group made the ferry ride to "The Hook" on four out of ten days. The best day fishing off the west beach came with 15 to 20kt wind. If you could make "the cast" the fish were eating. On "blue bird" days there were no fish but casting was a snap. I ended up with one 9 lber to the beach and three LDR's. It's amazing how fast your fly line can find a place to snag when an albie takes off at 40 MPH!! On Veteran's Day 30+ boats were convinced the only fish in the sea were located where we were stranded on the beach. The crowd sliced & diced a huge school of albies until the fish gave up and disappeared. One "tin Samaritan" cut us off three times as the fish moved close to shore. Too tight for beached fly fishers.  Looking for an accident. How far can you swim in knee boots with prop cuts?  Hope you're fishing.
Saltwater Reports »
Back from the Baja Nov 1, 2009 05:53 PM
(Total replies: 0)
My October Baja trip was from the 17th to the 24th. I joined a group led by Jay Murakoshi. Our party of six fly fishers and some who went over to the DARK SIDE got 4.5 days of fishing. Hurricane Rick messed up the 1.5 due to high winds. The fishing was good but not great for me & my partner. Don't know why the others caught more fish but ya'll know that fishing. The Hotel LaConcha was great and we ate like pigs in La Paz several evenings. I caught my first: Yellow Fin Tuna and Black Skipjack on this trip. Skippies pull harder than the YFT's. The bait was very small and we had to give our flies haircuts to get the bite. The Dorado were easy on the surface but the YFT & skippies were nailed on 500 grain sink tips and I wish I had used my 600gr. I used a GoPro Video camera to record my trip and now the hard work of editing begins. A few photos for ya'll. This was a hafl day due to the approaching rains from Rick.    Hope you're fishing.
Freshwater Reports »
Drums along the Rapiddan...an epic trek by EBRFF'ers Aug 16, 2009 07:22 PM
(Total replies: 0)
It all started when Jere said THIS Saturday at the August meeting. That put me on short notice to "improve the path" not taken in two years. In that interim the wind and time had played havoc on my trail to the Rapidan. What used to be a well manicured trail was now hard to find. We left my wigwam at 0845 on a very warm and muggy morning. As guide I broke trail by sweeping the spider webs and pointing out ankle buster depressions. We walked across one of the old mining roads and into my neighbor's lower 10. Almost at once a hidden trail camera caught us digitally! Then we found the tree stand, fortunately unoccupied. Next up the trees thinned out lighting a well manicured dirt bike course. Curses, we were now trespassing on the letter writer's property and there he was glaring down the hill at us. I quickly moved us back onto the Willis Tract and out of legal trouble. Eventually we came to the Brintly Prospect Mining road which made walking in wading boots easy going to the Rapidan. All we had to do next was negotiate down a steep slope, fight through the greenbriars, poison ivy, and ankle grabbers to a gravel bar for a quick rest stop and slug of juice from the water bottles. I made a command decision we should go upriver so Jere & Lloyd could experience new waters. Ignoring my sage advice about the water depth they plunged in and to my surprised the silt prevented them from a dunking. We have got to this silt under control!!! Lloyd scored first on a jumbo Bluegill, see photo, and the games began. Later upriver Jere, who was way below me, hooked the best fish of the day and three jumps later lost the best fish of the day. As I didn't receive a guide's tip at days end I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and confirm it was a 13 inch smallmouth. At the end of the fishing Jere took over the guiding duties and led Lloyd and me into a very deep pool that almost swamped my waders. Jere did not receive a tip. Jere found the Blind Ford road which starts with a nasty, slippery, muddy, bank. We were now back on the Willis Tract downstream from were we started the day. Old Ranger's Credo, "never return the way you came" which is how we avoided the natives and saved our scalps. On the way back we three tired and sweating voyagers slogged in and around the frog ponds in what some call a road. As we trod along the question of the right course to set became a bone-of-contention. I wanted to head across country to my lower 10 acres and Jere wanted to hike to Spotswood Furnace Rd. So we compromised and followed a road that took us back to the Brintly Road and we once again we under the ever watchful eye of the letter writer. Both Jere and Lloyd will have there own versions of this "CLUB" outing which you can take with a grain of river sand (my left boot had 1/2 pound of the stuff). Watch what you volunteer for and never take a short cut that you haven't used before, esp. in wading boots.       Hope you're fishing.
Fly-tying Equipment, Materials, & Techniques »
Looking for salt water hooks in your junk box... Aug 10, 2009 09:57 AM
(Total replies: 0)
I'm tying flies for my October 09 trip to La Paz Mexico. If you have large salt water hooks laying around please bring them to the August meeting. #'s 3/0 4/0 5/0 6/0 7/0 Also, one EBRFF member had a large Catch-Em-Release-Em device for sale last year. Hope you're fishing.
Saltwater Reports »
Back from poon land June 27th Jul 1, 2009 08:04 AM
(Total replies: 0)
I spent two weeks in the Middle Keys chasing tarpon and had 8 great days before the outboard engine and the weather went south. My fishing partner & me caught 4 nice fish ranging from 50 to well over 100 pounds. Our plan B fishing from his condo pier netted me my 1st Florida bone fish which was also my largest 6 pounds. If you haven't chased the silver king WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? You get to see all that backing under the fly line PDQ! You might have an experience similar to mine when a 70 lb fish follow my fly for 35' and then saw the boat. May I breathe now? Or have a fish eat the nail knot 6' from the boat and almost crash the boat!   Hope you're fishing.
Issues and Concerns Affecting Local Fisheries »
ASMFC River Herring and Shad Amendment May 8, 2009 07:54 AM
(Total replies: 0)
ASMFC Approves River Herring Amendment States Water Fisheries to be Closed by January 1, 2012 unless Sustainablity is Demonstrated through State-specific Management Plans Alexandria, VA - The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has approved Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Shad and River Herring (River Herring Management). The Amendment prohibits state waters commercial and recreational fisheries beginning January 1, 2012, unless a state or jurisdiction develops and submits for approval a sustainable management plan by January 1, 2010. The Amendment defines a sustainable fishery as "a commercial and/or recreational fishery that will not diminish the potential future stock reproduction and recruitment." Submitted plans must clearly demonstrate that the state or jurisdiction’s river herring fisheries meet this new definition of sustainability through the development of sustainability targets which must be achieved and maintained. The plans are subject to Technical Committee review and Board approval prior to the fishing year beginning January 1, 2012. Proposals to re-open closed fisheries can be submitted annually as part of the annual state compliance report. The Board’s action of Amendment 2 was taken in response to widespread concern regarding the decline of river herring stocks. While many populations of blueback herring and alewife, collectively known as river herring, are in decline or remain depressed at stable levels, lack of fishery-dependent and independent data makes it difficult to ascertain the status of river herring stocks coastwide. Between 1985 and 2007, commercial landings of river herring decreased by 97 percent from 13.6 million pounds to 317,000 pounds. In response to declining stocks within their own waters, four states - Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and North Carolina - have closed their river herring fisheries. Amendment 2 requires states to implement fisheries-dependent and independent monitoring programs. In recognition of limited state resources, the required monitoring will be identical to monitoring for American shad, a species closely related to river herring, so that monitoring can be conducted concurrently with current efforts. This monitoring will also assist the river herring stock assessment, which is expected to be completed in 2012. The Amendment also contains recommendations to member states and jurisdictions to conserve, restore, and protect critical river herring habitat. River herring stocks are a multi-jurisdictional resource occurring in rivers and coastal and ocean waters. While oversight of river herring management in state waters lies with the Commission, river herring can be encountered in ocean fisheries beyond the states' jurisdiction. Bycatch of river herring in small mesh fisheries continues to be a significant concern. Preliminary analyses indicate that, in some years, the total bycatch of river herring by the Atlantic herring fleet alone could be equal to the total landings from the entire in-river directed fishery on the East Coast. Based on the Board's request, the Commission will send a letter to the Secretary of Commerce supporting efforts underway by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils to effectively monitor bycatch of river herring in small mesh fisheries, and encouraging additional resources to support the cooperative efforts to better manage anadromous fisheries. Additionally, the Commission will request that the Secretary of Commerce take emergency action with regard to implementing the bycatch monitoring measures recently under discussion with New England Council. The Plan will be available by mid-June and can be obtained via the Commission's website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News or by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400. For more information, please contact Kate Taylor, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at (202) 289-6400 or at ktaylor@asmfc.org. Hope you're fishing.
Issues and Concerns Affecting Local Fisheries »
mycobacteriosis May 4, 2009 09:41 AM
(Total replies: 0)
 From http://www.tidalfish.com/Fishing_Blog/p2_articleid/598 It all starts where the national & state forests end and the farm land begins. Everything that washes over the land, roof tops, parking lots, and roads eventually ends up in the Chesapeake Bay. Our rural riparian zones need to be protected from cattle and plowing. Developers need to set back further and create storm water run off ponds. We need to do a better job of protecting our bay. Hope you're fishing.
Shad & Striped Bass Reports »
All the VA shad info in one spot... Apr 23, 2009 03:03 PM
(Total replies: 0)
http://www.mrc.virginia.gov/vsrfdf/p...-R10_Final.pdf Hope you're fishing.
VDGIF Corner »
Confused? Apr 2, 2009 04:04 PM
(Total replies: 2)
I have a hard time differentiating large herring from small shad. I wonder how many AMS shad get pickled as herring. I saw where ya'll zapped some very large female HS. How heavy do you think they were pre-spawn? Thanks for the data and heads up on the Rap. Hope you're fishing.
Shad & Striped Bass Reports »
2009 Shad run under way Apr 2, 2009 03:54 PM
(Total replies: 0)
In the past few days club members have taken advantage of the Hickory Shad run in the Rappahannock River. We have rain coming Fri. & Sat which should get another pulse of fish to the 'Burg. Shadmeister Jere Willis is throwing a "brace" of flies in the olde wet fly tradition. Tony is still addicted to epoxy candies. Vince is heaving 6" seaducers and Tim won't tell. Patch the waders, rig you stick and get yo'self down to de riber. Hope you're fishing. |
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