Fishing the James

The James River streches from South Western Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay and is home to many species of fresh water fish. Red Eye Outfitters fishes the middle portion of the river from Bent Creek to Cartersville, this section is home to the smallmouth bass and is considered by many to be one of the best small mouth rivers in the country.

The diversity of this stretch is what makes the James River so wonderful to fish, with its mix of rocky bottoms, riffles, ancient timber structure and deep holes, ideal smallmouth habitat abounds.

We fish from March to October, spring and fall can be the best time to catch a trophy smallmouth (5lbs or 20in.). Many fishermen find the hot summer months the hardest to fish as the water level drops. We feel that this is an excellent time to fish, as the river drops the fish are forced into deeper holes and swift pockets of water making them easier to pinpoint. As we run two jetboats the water seldom gets to low to fish and we are able to get back into those hard to fish spots.

The average smallmouth runs 12-16 inches and 4-5 pound fish are not unheard of. When the fish are right it is not uncommon to catch over 100 smallmouth on an all day float and 25-30 fish on an evening trip.

The James is also home to the Flathead catfish. These fish can exceed 60lbs in some waters but 15-25lb fish are the norm on this stretch of the river, although in recent years some have been caught that weighed over 30lbs. Most of our catfishing is done at night and early morning, with the hottest months being the best time to catch a trophy Flathead(25 pounds or 40 inches).

We can only promise a safe and enjoyable trip as catching fish has no guarantees.