Official Bassclave VII Homepage
“In Memory of Our Friend, Bill Murphy”
The Seventh Annual Flyfish@ Bassclave is on!!! The dates will be Thursday, July
17th - Sunday, July 20th, 2003 at the Campground at Natural Bridge, Natural Bridge
Station, VA.
Rich Warren has put up a nice site with pics from last year’s clave at http://users.deltacomm.com/rlwarren/.
I will be arriving at the campground on Thursday afternoon/evening, July 17th evening around 5 or 6 o'clock (or as early as I can). Plenty of folks will be there as early as Monday or Tuesday. If you arrive early, be sure to find a site to share to reduce camping costs. I will set up a table and tarp which we can use as a basecamp, although I am sure someone will have a basecamp set up by the time I get there. I will be doing a few day trips from home on Tuesday and Wednesday. River conditions continue to improve, so we should be in decent shape for the clave.
Camping:
The campsite is along the James River outside of scenic Natural Bridge, VA. I have reserved all 13 sites in the Willow Lane area (same as previous years), set back from most of the other sites, about 100 yards from the river. Please check in with the campground office when you arrive and tell them how many nights you are staying. They will charge you $11 per night if you are tent camping. Most sites have water hookup and electric and allow 2 tents and 4 adults (and 2 children if anyone brings them along). Pop tops, etc, are allowed on these sites. Last year, we had a crowd of about 50 and Willow Lane got crowded. This year, we are a smidge smaller, but it will still be crowded. Please try to set up camp wisely to allow for everyone to get a site. If you do not need to have your car/truck in the camping area, I have arranged to allow parking near the main office. If you arrive early or stay later than the official clave dates, please be sure to find a person to share a site with to lower camping costs.
There are also spots for RV's nearby, but not in Willow Lane. The costs are $27 for RV sites, and $24 for pop tops. Electrical and water hookups are available on site. There is a shower and bathroom house on site, as well as a general store. There is a swimming lake (pond) and fishing pond nearby for any kids who may come along. Also, the Natural Bridge is something to see as well. Hotels are available in Natural Bridge, but may be expensive since it is a tourist attraction (I'm not sure). There are also cabins available, check the campground website (link above) for rates.
HOMEBREW!!! As of right now, I am bringing 10 gallons of homebrew with me in two 5 gallon kegs. It is a Rye Pale Ale. The beer is free for everyone to drink, but I have one request and that is that folks pitch in bags of ice to keep them cold for the weekend. I will have them sitting in tubs with ice in the shade somewhere while we’re all out fishing. Feel free to grab a beer AT ANY TIME. No need to ask permission.
Events:
Saturday evening we will be doing the potluck dinner and raffle. Please bring a dish for the dinner and a raffle prize ($10 or less). I have some special raffle prizes from Sue Kreutzer (Illustrated Pattern Swap!!!!) and Claude Freaner (beaded smallmouth). We will discuss when we want to do the group picture as well. Any other pictures taken on the trip, if they can be scanned in, please forward them to my email address to put up on a website.
Tshirts:
This year the tshirts are from none other than artist and FF@
member Steven DiCerbo. Below is the
info from Splinta on how to order T’s.
We need to have a minimum of 72 tshirts. The tshirts are ordered online and delivery will be at the clave.
Folks, it is NOW
time to order the first IchTee warmwater species
shirt, a
commemorative shirt for the 2003 bassclave
quick,.. like a
bunny go to:
http://www.stormtree.com/bassclave_tee/
and order your shirt
now.... we need to get orders for 72 shirts to
hold the price, and
only have a couple days to do it...
don't dally...
include all your extras, your "shoulda ordered 2",
christmas presents
and raffle donations for future claves , now, along with
your own, and help
the effort to reach the goal and avoid
disappointment when
its too late...
thanks for playing,
and forward this email to any that might be interested...
Attendees will pick
up their shirts from Drew at the clave, and
non-attendees will
have them mailed to them as soon as the order has been
verified, and they
are packaged...
thanks, Splinta
Directions:
From DC/Balto area:
Take I-66 West to Strasburg and I-81 S to Lexington.
From areas West:
Take I-64 East to Lexington then take I-81 S.
From the South:
Take I-81 North to Natural Bridge
Take the Natural Bridge exit off I-81; exit #175 north bound, #180A south bound; then 3 miles on Rt. 11 to Natural Bridge; take RT. 130 east 3 miles to Natural Bridge Station; 1.5 miles to campground via right on Rt. 759, first left on 782.
The campground is about 3 hours from DC, 2 1/2 hours from Richmond, 1 hour from Blacksburg, VA. Gage travel time based on these places. If any detailed info from other areas is needed, email me at mntntrout@vt.edu.
Licenses:
Out of state License info (this may be outdated, but rates will be close to this):
5-Day License (no trout stamp necessary of course!!!): $6.50
Full year License: $30.50 (Jeesh that's steep!!!).
Trout stamp: $30.50 (but WHY would you get one to fish for smallies…hmmm??)
I got these prices from a local shop, so they could be wrong. If anyone knows differently, please email me and I will update the prices. Most attendees to the clave will just need to buy the 5-Day License. No National Forest stamp is needed that I know of. This runs about $3.00 or so if you do need to get one. I have one, but only for trout fishing in the SNP and National Forests in VA. Hopefully, no one will need to buy a trout stamp, since this is supposed to be a clave devoted to fishing for smallmouths and other bass. You can pick up a license on your way to the clave at various gas stations, convenience stores, etc. There is now a flyshop in nearby Lexington and also one in Roanoke, VA and Harrisonburg, VA all about an hour away!!!! I believe the General Store at the campground sells them now as well.
Canoes:
Canoes are not needed, but I think they make the trip more enjoyable. Most people bring their own watercraft (rafts, canoes, pontoons, belly boats, etc.), but should you want to rent one, the campground has them, as well as a few nearby liveries. One that we have dealt with in the past is Wilderness Canoe Company (http://www.wilderness-canoe.com), but I believe they are off for the Summer. There is also an outfitter in Buena Vista called James River Canoe Livery.
(From the Campground website): Canoe rental is $40 for drop-off at Alpine
Farms (half-day trip) and $60 for drop-off at Buchanan (all-day trip). Please
note that we do NOT allow our canoes to be taken down river from the Campground
under any circumstances. If you have
rented more than one canoe for the same trip, there is a $5 discount for each
additional canoe.
Shuttles: Most likely you can find
someone who is floating any stretch you want to fish, so just hook up with
someone to arrange a trip and shuttle set up.
Flies:
I will be bringing a travelling fly shop from Murray's Fly Shop in Edinburg. Flies will be sold (at no profit to me) at 10% Harry's normal prices. We did this the last few years and it works out well. This year I only have a limited supply of “leftover” flies from the last two years including Shenandoah Sliders (sneaky petes), Murray’s Marauders, Near ‘Nuff crayfish and other flies.
Topwater: Any type of hairbug, pencil popper, cork poppers, Potomac Poppers, or Dahlberg Divers. Our favorite is the Chartreuse Shenandoah Slider. Also, there are frequently good rises to mayflies and sometimes Caddis in the evenings, but the hatches are not as well documented as they are on trout streams. Not sure what you'll see in July in the way of hatches, but bring some white fly patterns and maybe some Elk Hair Caddis (grey).
Wet: Hellgrammite patterns (Murray's and Shenandoah Patterns are my favorites), Bitch Creek nymphs, leeches (rabbits hair), minnow patterns (Clouser's minnow and other streamer types, and sparse headed muddlers), Wooly and Crystal Buggers, crayfish patterns (again, Clousers pattern is a good one and the Near ‘Nuff). If you want better info, call Blaine Chocklett at Blue Ridge Flyfishers in Roanoke (540) 563-1617 or Harry Murray at Murray's Fly Shop in Edinburg (540) 984-4212. Harry is an expert on flyfishing for smallies and Blaine is the local expert in this area on smallies and on the James River.
Rivers:
1. James River: We are camped along it!!! Canoes are available from a nearby liveries and the campground which provides complete shuttle service and floats which end at the campsite. I am bringing my own canoe, please feel free to do so as well. If you bring your own canoe, the livery will shuttle your canoe for about $10 or you can catch a ride with another claver. However, a canoe isn't needed to fish this river. Plenty of great wading water is available about 200 yards from the campsite!!!
This river has a lot of nice smallmouths in it, and is very scenic. The stretch near the campsite is classic wadable riffles between knee and waist deep. The float to the campsite encompasses many different types of water, and more than a few diversions from fishing. The scenery is beautiful. I have plenty of maps available of different stretches.
2. Maury River: Very close by. This river can also be floated, but I have always fished it from the bank or waded it. GREAT fishing, with easy access to the river along much of it's length. I have been told that where the Maury feeds into the James is a magical place, but I have no proof. Maybe someone wants to check it out??? The James River Canoe Livery along Rt. 60, North of Buena Vista provides float trips and shuttle service if interested. I will be spending some time on this stream at least one of the evenings, but will wade it. There is typically a good white fly hatch on this river, although when it occurs I am not sure. I've sat waist deep in a blizzard of flies before, trying not to breath. The best stretch in the past has been along River Road near Glasgow. Ask me or someone else for details on getting there.
3. New River: My “home river” - about an hour and 15 minutes away. If people opt to do this, I will make sure to write up some detailed info on where to go. Very wadable in most places. Canoes can be useful though. BIG smallmouth. I love the New River, fishing it frequently during the summer while in graduate school. This is a very beautiful river, with lots of big fish, but it can be treacherous. I will most likely be there for an evening. BTW, the New is something of a misnomer, since it is the third oldest river in the WORLD.
4. S. Fork of Shenandoah: About 1-1.5 hours away, depending on where you decide to fish. Beautiful river. There are not a lot of access points to this river for the wading fisherman, since it is posted along much of it's length. I know a few "breaks" in the posted land.
All of these rivers are renowned smallmouth waters and I have fished all of them. I enjoy each and every one for different reasons. My suggestion is to float the James one day (or wade it for the whole day) and hit one (or more) of the other rivers for a day. If anyone wants to travel a little further, here are other possibilities:
5. Potomac River: (2 hours and 45 minutes). The river of my childhood. I spent all of my school years and undergraduate college years fishing the Potomac at Taylor's Landing, below Harper's Ferry, and other places. My favorite is to float between Taylor's Landing and Snyder's Landing through a region called the Horsebacks. About a 3.5 mile float.
6. Shenandoah River and N. Fork of Shenandoah: (2 hours) Two great rivers. For information on where to fish, call Murray's fly shop in Edinburg, VA.
7. S. Branch of the Potomac: (2 hours). Amazing River. Good wading access in the upper section near Franklin, WV and in the Smoke Holes area. Great float trips. My favorite is from the Eagles Nest Outfitters near Petersburg, WV to Moorefield Bridge. This is an 8 mile float. The next section, known as the trough due to the fact that you are going through a canyon of sorts, is renowned for it's big smallmouths.