# Big cats on da james!



## Kajun

i had the opportunity to get out on the james river and fish for some big cats yesterday.. it was COLD..but it was worth it...ice was forming on the fishing line and the cast net would ice up shortly after taking it out of the water......brrrr

we ended the day with 11 cats...using big chunks of fresh gizzard shad,10oz wieghts and 8/0 circle hooks...all caught and released.i am definetly hooked on catching these monsters..the shear strength and pullage these guys put out is amazing..bigcat told me at the end of the day..."next time we'll catch some big ones" lol ....what a day!


Total for the day:
8lb
two 12lb
13lb
two 14lb
16lb
18lb
24lb
27lb
28lb


my 27lb









Bigcat's 28lb









my 24lb









the fish that broke my 35yr old personal best record of 8lbs ....a fine healthy 12lb blue cat on the first hole with 20minutes


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## Cdog

Nice fish, my biggest from shore is 10#. Went out on a boat a coulpe yrs ago an everyone cept me caught 20#+ fish. Me? I got 3 2# fish.


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## TRIGGERFISH

Nice catch and nice pictures,who says you can't catch anything when it's freezing cold. Back home I'd fish every day if it was possible.


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## bassn

Congrats on beating the old record. Those are some nice fish. Are you only able to get them from a boat? or is there shore access?

todd


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## Kajun

i'm sure you can catch some smallers one from shore...but if you want the big ones you need a boat and have some favorite holes...basically just look for structure in the water,bait or deep holes and theres biguns down there.


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## Anthony

Man that looks like fun. Is there a place where you can rent a boat? I may have to do a trip down there to help me get rid of this cabin fever. I'm dying to catch something.


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## wizardude

bassn said:


> * Are you only able to get them from a boat? or is there shore access?
> 
> todd *



For the landlubbers, there is a place to get a good shot at the big Blue Cats... Dutch Gap Boat landing, park in the lot, and follow the trail downriver (1/2 to 3/4 of a mile). There is a small, but nice pier (seldom see others there), at the point of the hotwater discharge creek and the main channel of the river. Getting bait is a problem without the boat, but jumbo minnows work great, although expensive. Maybe ya got some bunker heads in the freezer...

No need to go to extremes, but surf gear for some distance. Don't be surprized at all to hook up with ole linesides in the process, used to catch them "all" winter out of that creek


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## wizardude

*Kajun*

I notice your signature says "I support catch and eat", next time keep one of those bad boys for frying up, don't get nasty when they get big like the Channel Cats...."Good Eats"


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## Kajun

well i do like to eat my fish that i catch but i have a freezer full of striper i need to eat before i start putting more filets in......plus the jame rivers has a PCB advisory on blue cats..."no comsumption"........knowing that PCBs and mercury usually collect in the fatty tissues and skin...eating one of these big cats would not be too smart....i love catfish its prob my favorite fish to eat since thats what i was raised on fishing...but i will be eating some smallers ones 1-2lbs when i catch some....being that young they havent had enough time to accumulate much chemicals....these big ones have been in that water for 10+years.....when i want some cats to eat i'll prob just go on the chickohominy since there isnt any advisories.


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## wizardude

Kajun said:


> *......plus the jame rivers has a PCB advisory on blue cats..."no comsumption"........ *



Hadn't heard that, thanks for the heads up...


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## Guest

i thought it was only if you eat some of the fish daily?? oh well wizardude is dutch gap boat landing at henricus park? if not where is it i might try it out friday. my personal best ca from shore was a 25# flathead.


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## wizardude

Drum Runner said:


> *i thought it was only if you eat some of the fish daily?? oh well wizardude is dutch gap boat landing at henricus park? if not where is it i might try it out friday. my personal best ca from shore was a 25# flathead. *



I don't know the extent of the warning, now that you mention it, I think the last thing I heard was eat it only twice a week or something like that.

If Henricus is right beside the Power Plant, that would be it.

I-95 East to Rt 10 (.2); L on Rt 732 (2); R on Rt 615 (1)


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## Guest

cant you get there from 295 too?


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## Guest

nevermind i found the directions. i think ill try it out tomorrow. i got some left over eel and shad. ill keep you posted.


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## wizardude

Good deal, was just looking up a map to check on the question. I moved to Florida for 7 years, and just retuned a couple years ago. 295 wasn't completed when I left, and have had no need to use it since my return (at least that section, as I live right off 295 in Mechanicsville). But yea, looks like 295 dumps into 95, right before Rt 10.

http://www.roadstothefuture.com/Richmond_Beltway_XL.jpg 

Let me know how ya do, and what kind of shape the place is in... I haven't been there in over 10 years. Lived in Southside before I moved to Fl... So used Dutch Gap, opposed to Osbourne for winter fishing (when I still had a boat .  ) Catch fish in that creek "all" winter, due to the hot discharge from the plant.

Take a small spinning outfit with you (with some gold hooks or shad darts/spoons), depending on the tide and water temp, you might be able to pick up some bait.


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## wizardude

*Check this out.......*

And what the guy was using for bait  

Blue Catfish... 




> Charles Ashley, Jr. of Marion reeled in a new state record and possible world record blue catfish from the Mississippi River. Ashley’s catfish weighed 116 pounds, 12 ounces and was caught using Spam for bait.


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## Guest

*hey wizard*

is the warm creek water in casting distance of the pier?


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## wizardude

*Re: hey wizard*



Drum Runner said:


> *is the warm creek water in casting distance of the pier? *



The pier is actually on the creek, almost to the point reaching the main river/channel. The creek is rather large, and the discharge is a good distance up the creek. The warmest water will be on the outgoing tide.

Looks like high this morning will be 10-10:30 am...

Man, if you go today, dress warm


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## Guest

thats awesome because ill get there at about 11:00.


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## wizardude

Best of Luck!


Some good info here...


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## Guest

no luck. fished from about 11-130. the pier is halfway there. not walkable or fishable. ive tried deep bottem and osbourne too. havnt caught any big kittys. maybe i will one day.


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## Manayunk Jake

Greetings All!

I worked for Allied Chemical at the Chesterfield Plant on the James River. Believe me, you don't want to eat those cats....


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## wizardude

Drum Runner said:


> *no luck. fished from about 11-130. the pier is halfway there. not walkable or fishable. ive tried deep bottem and osbourne too. havnt caught any big kittys. maybe i will one day. *



That's a shame they let it go to sh#@ so fast, was a nice place to go  This time of year, you might be able to fish the dock at the landing, the channel is right there, but you will have to contend with any boaters, which can be a pain.

Sorry, didn't know :jawdrop: 

I've seen some nice ones pulled up near 14th street, where the Annabell used to be docked, also over the canal at the park a little up river from there, but not the size of the fish from the Dutch Gap area.


Another shot would be the "Z" dam on riverside drive for flatheads or channels, just beware, it's "snag" city.


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## Kajun

they had a cat tourny on the james yesterday..VA Catman Classic.....here are the results...biggest fish takes all


1) Joe Kenny 55.86 lb $1350 
2) Bill Stevens 55.28 lb
3)Chris Eberwein 49.06 lb
4)Mark Graves 46.26 lb
5)Eric Parrish 45.36 lb
6)Jay Ray 43.20 lb
7)Dayton Keene 41.55 lb
8)Kevin Salmon 41. 53 lb 
9) FAT CAT 40.73 lb
10) Wayne Long 40.69 lb
11) Petey Boorne 40.25 lb
12) Mark Golson 39.59 lb
13) Team Self 38.81 lb
14) Slade Seward 38.43 lb
15)Phil Parker 37.69 lb
16)John Jarrat 36.70 lb
17)Love to Fish 29.38 lb


think they got some big cats in there? lol


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## Guest

*wizardude*

where is the Z dam exactly? ive never heard of it. about 14th st. thats my second home come the spring striper run. i caught that 25 lb. flathead down there.


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## wizardude

*Re: wizardude*



Drum Runner said:


> *where is the Z dam exactly? ive never heard of it. *




It's about a mile downriver from Huguenot Bridge "before" you get to the Pony Pasture pasking lot. Easy to spot, right next to the road, and looks like it's named.


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## Kajun

this is a quote from barryb ..posted today

"You guys should try the James River hot ditch. My buddy caught 5 citation Blue Cats Saturday up to 40lbs. Not bad fishing from the bank! 
Barryb"



also...this 11 yr old kid.."majorcat" caught a 65lb today on the james in a boat.some ppl thought he had the new record it looked so big.


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## wizardude

Kajun said:


> *this is a quote from barryb ..posted today
> 
> "You guys should try the James River hot ditch. My buddy caught 5 citation Blue Cats Saturday up to 40lbs. Not bad fishing from the bank!
> Barryb"
> 
> 
> 
> *


Where is the James River Hot Ditch, if it's not at Dutch Gap??? New one for me...


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## Kajun

must be the same one


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## Guest

*wizardude*

i couldnt even see the warm reedy creek from where I was. maybe i was in the wrong spot. if that is the same ditch i dont know where they were unless they had permission from the power plant to get some where. im thinkin of taking a trip outta deep bottem with Gail Force Charters (Mike Saunders). would like to meet up with you if you wanted to do that. its only 40 bucks for a half day trip.


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## FL FISHERMAN

Ok you guys are killing me!!! This seems to be the only action from VA up. Anthony and I might be making a trip down this weekend to hit the "hot ditch" and would like to get into some of these big cats out there. Where is that charter out of? Might be interested.


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## Guest

its a private charter i think up to 4 people not a headboat. ill post his # when i get home


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## wizardude

*Re: wizardude*



Drum Runner said:


> *i couldnt even see the warm reedy creek from where I was. maybe i was in the wrong spot. if that is the same ditch i dont know where they were unless they had permission from the power plant to get some where. im thinkin of taking a trip outta deep bottem with Gail Force Charters (Mike Saunders). would like to meet up with you if you wanted to do that. its only 40 bucks for a half day trip. *



You were on the creek, right before it dumped into the river, right?



> if that is the same ditch i dont know where they were unless they had permission from the power plant to get some where


That's what I'm wondering, though I doubt they got anything from the power plant. Just thinking one of those trails might lead somewhere I don't know about. There is a lot of water between the river/up the creek to the actual discharge. If you look at the charts, navigating by boat is challenging at best beyond the entrance to a very large cove on the right, but thinking someone found a way to walk to the discharge or even close, would be even more of a challenge due to the nature of the area.

If there is a way, or the "Hot Ditch" is somewhere else, I sure would like to know about it.

Who is this "Barryb" guy, and where can I read his reports???
Anybody???
The one posted sounds a little, well let's just say imaginative 
 



> im thinkin of taking a trip outta deep bottem with Gail Force Charters (Mike Saunders). would like to meet up with you if you wanted to do that. its only 40 bucks for a half day trip.



Really appreciate the invite, unfortunately right now is "really" bad for me. Work's been at a standstill since beginning of Dec, 3 out of 4 vehicles need work done, and living off of GF and loans to get through  You may be seeing some of my stuff up on the "Swap Meet" board soon  Sounds like a deal though, and I'm sure if you posted on the boards, you'd have no problem getting a P&S'er to go along to catch a few of those big cows


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## FL FISHERMAN

Yeah like Anthony and I!


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## Anthony

I was wondering if you need a license to fish here since I have never been before. I would assume that you would but just wanted to check to make sure. It looks like me and Jason are gonna try and make it down there this weekend. Also do you need a license to fish the "hot ditch"?


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## Guest

ant you need a freshwater liscence. i dont know exactly where that "hot ditch" is so i cant give you directions. im goin on that charter monday morning so ill post a report when i get back. 
fl- that # is 737-5682. you should call him if your coming down. he said a couple weeks ago he caught a 63 lber and hes averaging 30-40 lbers and still catching some stripers. pm me if you need more info on this guy.


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## wizardude

Drum Runner said:


> *i dont know exactly where that "hot ditch" is so i cant give you directions. im goin on that charter monday morning so ill post a report when i get back.
> *



Yea if anyone has some info, please post, been here more years than I care to admit, but not sure what this place is???

Ant, if ya fish a charter, don't think ya need a license.

DR, good luck on your trip....


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## FL FISHERMAN

Anthony we will need a chesapeake saltwater license to fish the "hot ditch" so we should probably pick one up before we go. Wizardude is right we won't need a freshwater license if we go on the charter but will need one if we fish from the shore that far up in the James River.


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## wizardude

*This may shed some light...*

Been doing some searching, the map is poor to say the least, but this may help with fishing near the power plant:

Henricus Historical Park 


As long as I've been in the area, and looking at my nautical charts (which I can't seem to find at the moment, since I haven't had a boat in 4 years  ), just something about the map that doesn't look right. But it appears to show several areas accessible to fishing.

Going to try and find some aerial photos of the area, but having dial-up makes it time consuming.

If someone finds something before me, let me know with a post.


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## Kajun

*Re: Re: wizardude*



wizardude said:


> *
> 
> Who is this "Barryb" guy, and where can I read his reports???
> Anybody???
> The one posted sounds a little, well let's just say imaginative
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *



i got that from a post of tidalfish board here is the link , dont know if it was BS or not.... http://www.tidalfish.com/boards2/viewthread.asp?forum=AMB_AP934078799&id=100992


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## Kajun

you guys want maps...this is a cool site for topographical maps i've found http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat...=100&size=l&symshow=n&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25


use the "view scale" on left side to zoom in or out....and the green arrows on border to move around


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## Guest

*anthony and fl*

while there are many charter captains for the james river this guy is the cheapest ive seen. i know of 1 guy for a guaranteed citation but he charges like 150 a person. and this guy im goin with you *do* need a freshwater license.


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## wizardude

Kajun said:


> *you guys want maps...this is a cool site for topographical maps i've found http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat...=100&size=l&symshow=n&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25
> 
> *



You like that one, check this one out...good aerial photos and topo maps that you can switch back and forth to, or just open in 2 windows. Also shows water depths at most locations, which is really helpful  

James/Dutch Gap Area 


And yes, it does appear to have some decent/accessible areas for bank fishing


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## Kajun

sweeet...even better!


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## FL FISHERMAN

Thanks for the heads up Drum Runner. Let us know how you do because that will be one of the deciding factors if we go or not.


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## Striper J

ok. ive been fishing the james in several spots from shore and havnt even gotten a bite. so a boat is probally your best bet. ill keep you posted, but with this guy im going with all you need is a lisence and food and drink. good luck


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## Guest

that was my friends name by the way.


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## Anthony

I have found that it cost 6 dollars for a 5 day temp pass for fresh water so that won't be too bad. Looks like me and Jason are gonna stay north this weekend but will try and make it down in the near future. Thanks for the info everyone.


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## Guest

my monday trip got canceled due to the weather. i rescheduled for sat. morning so ill keep you posted.


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## Anthony

I kinda figured as much. It's pretty bad up here as well. I was gonna ask how you did but figured that it would be cancelled.


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## Manayunk Jake

Greetings All!

Hell, the Schuylkill is covered with ice from bank to bank, and the only thing open in the Delaware is the shipping channel. Over in Jersey a lot of boats are iced in.... I wanted a heat wave, not a new Ice Age!


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## Cdog

I wonder if th other Hot Ditch is th one at th Surry Nuclear power plant? Heard you have to hike to fish from shore but there were some big cats there. Also since 911 I don't know how that would affect it.


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## Manayunk Jake

Greetings Cdog!

There were some great warmwater dicharges in New Jersey, but most have banned access since 9/11. Its pretty safe to assume that any discharge from nuclear power plants are off limits. Anglers may have better luck getting closer to coal-fired plants. But with air temps hovering around 20 during the day, and some pretty stiff winds, I think I'll be able to hold out until March....


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## inawe

*JUS DONT EAT M*

hope yall catch d 1 I lost them things gettn bigger then a V W BUG AROUND HERE


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## Guest

*This is Killing Me*

my trip was cancelled Monday due to weather so i rescheduled for sat. ok saturday morning came, we met the guy, backed his trailer into the water and...motor wouldnt start. charged the battery all night too. so he said he was gonna go home and charge it on a tractor charger and well meet up at 2:00. he calls me at 1:45 and says he burned his starter up. so that trip got cancelled too. thats 3 so far... so i then rescheduled for tuesday and hes gonna give us more time for same price. so thats a plus. sorry anthiny and jason im tryin to get a report for ya i know your dying to catch a fish but arent we all. if some freak accident doesnt happen tuesday ill post a report. see ya.


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## FL FISHERMAN

LOL Anthony and I were just talking about that earlier today. Sorry to hear it got cancelled. At least it didn't happen 5 miles up the James!


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## Kajun

ya still cant beat a $40 guide sorry about the misfortunes...i'm in the process of getting my boat rigged up...just been too damn cold to work on it much less fish lol


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## Adam

Thats my uncle in 12th on the tournament board....hes caught hundreds right up to 60#.

Ive caught a few, personal best is 52# this time two years ago. Aint bad fer cold weather fishin


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## wizardude

*Re: This is Killing Me*



Drum Runner said:


> *if some freak accident doesnt happen tuesday ill post a report. see ya. *



Guess it didn't work out again???


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## Guest

his starter wasnt fixed yet. so were "going" thursday hopefully


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## Guest

*Big Big Cats...*

Finally got to go out for some catfishing. got to the spot and set my rod out, few minutes later it bows over. i fight the fish for about 10 minutes and get it to the boat. its too big for the net so Capt. Mike grabbed it my the lips. the fish twirled around and broke the line. His exact words were "That fish was well over 50 lbs." So whether or not i got it in i finally "hung" the big one. too bad I didnt get a chance to take a picture. Going back out tuesday so Ill post again.


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## FL FISHERMAN

Way to go DrumRunner! I bet that fish tore the Capt's hands up a bit (unless he was wearing gloves). Will be looking forward to pics of your trip on Tuesday. Did you get into any more?


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## Guest

water was muddy and fishing was slow. we caught three more 3 lbs. and less. trolled for striper a bit towards the end to pass time and had one knockdown. but hopefully tuesday ill be able to take a picture. im gonna make sure i take a pic before we get it in the boat in case some freak accident happens again. but... the captain tried his hardest to get it in. im not mad thought ill get him next time.

yes it did tear his hands up!


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## wizardude

*Don't forget....*

To keep a detailed log of your trips...conditions,tide,techneque,bait, area,etc...there's always someone with a johnboat to hit these fish again


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## inawe

i SNATCHED 125LBS OUTTA THERE AROUND THE METAL COMPANY IN 45 MIN [OOPS] thats after gettn checked by the game warden 1 afternoon my buds got gud n pissd cuz they aint catch squat thats a lil unreel takn an @ss whoping like that


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## Guest

went yesterday my i caught a 12.8 and my buddy caught a 23.4. will be going out today from like 2 to 11 so ill post later on.


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## inawe

*Re: Don't forget....*



wizardude said:


> *To keep a detailed log of your trips...conditions,tide,techneque,bait, area,etc...there's always someone with a johnboat to hit these fish again  *


 yeah im a login somtin alright log m in the hot grease


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## Guest

*12/19 James River*

went out early yesterday and got a 24" striper and 1 small cat. went out last night and caught a fat 26" striper and 3 cats up to 8lbs. we also caught 3 other stripers 17, 20, 22 and also other small cats. goin out today again so ill post tomorrow.


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## inawe

you gonna b in a boat or bank D.R.


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## Guest

boat a 23' Key Largo with redfins all across the windshield.


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## inawe

yo D>R . ya get a chance to go back ?


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## Guest

yea we caught about 15 small cats still no bigguns. a couple striper also.


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## inawe

*this might b y*

go to www.obxangler.com chek it out


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## inawe

*seen where that rte 5*

bridge was shut down for repars say,s it,s a 60 mile detour ,, this is a gud spot for yellow n white pearch rockfish ,, the normal fat cats also there,s a boat landing at Rivers bend also round the shooting range Charles City


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## Adam

Caught 9 cats on the 13th from 20-47#. 3lb cats are bait


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## TonyG

*inawe*

Where is Charles City
I tht the RD or a town in Richond


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## Manayunk Jake

Greetings Adam!

You got a pic of the 47 pounder? I need something to keep me going up here in Chilly Philly!


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## Guest

*TonyG*

charles city is a road and a county. it backs up to henrico and also providence forge.


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## Guest

*3/2 Report*

went out last night with my girlfriend and 2 others. caught 3 citations. i caught a 23# another guy caught a 25# and a 28# and my girlfriend caught a 15#. also caught a 24 in. striper.


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## Guest

*Correction on last post*

after being weighed the other guys fish were 24# and 31# and mine was a 26#. will post pics when i get them back.


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## TonyG

*Drum Runner*

OK That does it i'm going in the morning and thanks for the report


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## Tater Salad

*new guy*

Alright, i'll admit i am new to this board, but that is because i just found it. Anyway i've been reading all this stuff and i definitely think i am going to have to check it out tomorrow weather permitting. 

Here's the question. (background being i pretty much just fish the upper james) I have heard that some stripers stay in these "hot ditches" all winter long. Are y'all just catching them with cut bunker and jumbo minnows on the bottom? Or is this more of a casting bucktails sort of thing. I really want to outfit my boat for trolling. I have done it for ocean stripers and my plan is to do the same thing and just scale it down. I suppose i'll use some bucktails or live jumbos or something.

Anyways i am ignorant on the subject but ultimately resourceful. Throw me a bone. 

Another thing... with the hot ditch scenerio, can this feature be identified from the water? Will there be a line or a current or something? What is the temp difference?


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## wizardude

*Re: new guy*



Tater Salad said:


> *
> Here's the question. (background being i pretty much just fish the upper james) I have heard that some stripers stay in these "hot ditches" all winter long. Are y'all just catching them with cut bunker and jumbo minnows on the bottom? Or is this more of a casting bucktails sort of thing. I really want to outfit my boat for trolling. I have done it for ocean stripers and my plan is to do the same thing and just scale it down. I suppose i'll use some bucktails or live jumbos or something.
> 
> 
> Another thing... with the hot ditch scenerio, can this feature be identified from the water? Will there be a line or a current or something? What is the temp difference? *



To start from the end (if you're talking about Dutch Gap)...more of a hot water creek/big creek...
Temp difference will be depending on how much the plant is on-line, and how far you run up the creek. If you run up the creek, right after you pass the cut through on your right, idle down and proceed slowly. It really shallows out for a stretch, then gets deeper again. The cut through is a good area to get bait if ya have a net for it. If herring are in, a few gold hooks will get ya bait.

Yes, the Stripers will stay all year "if" the plant is not having problems. Alewives and herring are the normal baits now, but bunker should be fine. Jumbo minnows are always good if ya want to spend the $$$. The creek should be loaded up with alewives right now.

Between the creek and the 295 overpass, has some nice deep structure adjacent to the channel if you're looking for cats.


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## Tater Salad

so are you suggesting putting it at DG, going down river to that big marshy area and running through some shallows to get to the deep pools up in the creek? I have seen that creek from the henricus park site. ( i assume you are talking about that massive marsh) For some reason i had assumed that the hot ditch was just a pipe shooting boiling hot water into the river. I guess that was a little too dramatic.

So anyway are you suggesting just catching bait in the creek or looking for stripers too?

I guess i could find structure on the sonar below the bridge.


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## inawe

catchn th bait is like a walk in th park


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## Guest

inawe said:


> *catchn th bait is like a walk in th park *



sometimes


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## inawe

never had a prob myself


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## Guest

we usually catch ours at the barge pits. and i got my pics back so ill scan em this afternoon and get up up there.


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## Manayunk Jake

> Yes, the Stripers will stay all year "if" the plant is not having problems.


Gretings wizardude!

One of the great tradgedies of NJ fishing happened a couple of winters back when a reactor was taken off-line and over 900 striped bass died of thermal shock. Some fluke and weakfish were mixed in, too.

Aren't most power plants on the James coal fired? I remember seeing the big barges going by when I was working in Chesterfield in 1981....


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## Tater Salad

*i got it done...*

Well i appreciate the advice. My thursday off was a success. I found the warm water exchange (as well as some real shallow water) There were some shad in there but i didn't fish. I moved back out into the river and anchored up. I picked off 2 2-3lb cats right off and then tied into a hog-monster. I didn't have a scale but it measured 42 inches. I had never seen such a monster. I don't own any specific catfish gear, so i was using one of my red drum reels on a stout bass pole. The SL30Sh drilled him.

Anyway, i'd never seen such a thing. So are there really stripers in that warm water pool this time of year. It looked like a good place to throw a rattle-trap or something.

One more thing. Y'all who say you are catching stripers and cats; are you just bottom fishing using the same technique and catching both? I'm interested in trolling for them but i am still learning?


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## inawe

*thats how*

i have all ways got mine bottom fishn with big cut bait got some nice cats n stripers  where bouts were ya at T- Salad sounds like ya had a roll goin


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## Guest

bottom fishing for both. i guess you could troll now too. the striper are all over the river not just the warm water. congradulations on your catch. go get your citation now.


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## Tater Salad

I fished sunday and it was pulling teeth to get any action. I anchored up first around 10am and got into one right away. It took a good run and pulled the hook out. The rest of the day it had to beat the bottom to catch little ones. I tide did some screwy stuff and then slacked up and the bite quit. Later that day the little ones turned on and pecked my baits to death.

I'm marking a lot of fish both in the channel and off in the creeks in mid stream too. In 40ft of water i am getting a lot of readings between 6 and 25 ft. What do y'all think? Shad? Rock? Celicanth? Let me know.

As far as the trolling for stripers... Do people use the same techiques as for the ocean stripers such as big bucktails? Or is it more of a live minnow sort of thing?


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## Guest

same as ocean including redfins and what not. by the way what is a celicanth? and where abouts are you goin out?


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## inawe

sounds like a newbie fish or sumptn prolly puttn in at Dutch Gap , this is a gud spot ,But for some reason  ,I like hangn round Ancarrows between there n the metal Co . is prime area for me


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## Tater Salad

The celicanth was a prehistoric fish that the scientific community only knew about as a fossil. It had been extinct for millions of years. Then a bunch of fishermen somewhere in the pacific started catching them. I am not sure if i spelled it correctly, but it is a good example of things still hiding in the ocean. The only problem is that if fuels the argument for all of the people that still think a plesiasaur is living in Lock Ness....


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## Tater Salad

*inawe*

Where's the "metal company"?


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## inawe

the old metal co is aprox 3 miles down river from ancarows heading toward DGap on the right hand side in a big @ss cove like settn


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## Tater Salad

I'm off tomorrow, but i need to put new plugs and wires in my truck. If i get up early enough i may have to run down there and try something.

I am still a fish out of water down there though. 

I mean i do all my homework, but when it comes down to putting in and getting started i am still facing a lot of variables that are difficult to over come.


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## inawe

www.jamesriverfishing try this out


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