Fishing on the Shenandoah
The South Fork of the Shenandoah River has historically ranked as one of the finest small mouth bass fisheries anywhere, but fishing action will of course vary from “skunked” to “OMG”. My friend Ken Arnold once landed a fish on 37 consecutive casts (he hooked a fish on cast #38 but failed to land it, so the count ended there).
Generally speaking, the best bass fishing occurs early and late day during the warmest months, June through September. Bluegill and various other sunfish are numerous in addition to the dominate Small Mouth Bass and occasional Largemouth Bass. Large catfish are also numerous, along with Carp and a very occasional Muskie (pictured)
Please support our fisheries (and avoid a big ticket) by purchasing a fishing license. Using your phone it takes just a few minutes to set up an account to buy a seasonal or temporary fishing license at GoOutdoorsVirginia.com. No license is required for children under 16.
Finally, we regret to inform you that human consumption of fish from the river is not recommended due to the careless industrial discharge of mercury into the river during the first half of the twentieth century.