I ran into a friend at the Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton the other day. I was enjoying a gyro and a pint of the Brewery’s fresh Imperial Pumpkin Ale, offered only in the fall to welcome in the cool weather. My friend, Andy, and I talked mostly of music and all the incredible opportunities that music lovers like both of us have in Central Virginia. He was psyched about the fact that he would be joining Big Bill Morganfield, son of the legendary blues artist, Muddy Waters, on stage at the upcoming Waynesboro Chili, Blues n’ Brews Festival. Me? Been there done that. But the whole day reminded me that not only does the best music of the year lie ahead, it’s also the best time of the year for fishing!

Andy is an avid bass angler. His Facebook page is loaded with pictures of him holding up trophies of both the large and smallmouth variety. Me? Not so. The only fish I can boast about is an almost-trophy flounder of 6 pounds, 13 ounces when 7 pounds qualifies as a trophy. My 10-year quest to catch a citation flounder has really been a bust! As a matter of fact the only opportunity I had this year to fish trophy flounder waters was called off due to engine problems. But I’m not giving up. I’ll be back out there every chance I get, which admittedly isn’t many.

For those of us who have the time, you really can’t beat October for fishing—fresh or salt water. In the lakes and ponds the bass and panfish are feeling the chill coming on and fattening up for the winter. Youngsters will have a time with a gold hook laced through a piece of night crawler positioned two feet below a plastic bobber. The rivers clear which makes for the best smallmouth fishing, save spawning season, of the year.  A float trip down the James River while tossing a pig-n-jig or crank bait into likely spots will most surely bring a smallie to your landing net.

The bay affectionados, such as myself, will find it hard to keep the spot off the hook and they are almost large enough to fillet by this time of year. The flounder are still feeding along the channel edges and harbor entrances. They’ll be there until after Thanksgiving, and of course the star of fall fishing in Virginia, the rockfish, is migrating our way from the Atlantic Seaboard to take up residence for the winter.

The season opens Oct. 4 and for the first month or so it’s most effective to anchor up over a promising rock pile or near structure, such as a bridge, and chum with ground menhaden. Bait your lines with chunks of menhaden and let the bait drift back into the chum slick using as little weight as possible so as to allow the baited hook to look like a piece of chum drifting in the current. If you don’t get a strike reel up and repeat the process it won’t be long. Once the leaves have fallen off the trees the rockfish will be schooled up and easily found by the telltale flocks of seagulls diving down to scoop up bits of fish that float to the surface from the feeding frenzy below. Casting lead headed jigs or rubber shad into the mix is the easiest way to hook up. Anglers seeking trophy size stripers, 34” or larger, prefer trolling their artificials on a downrigger or deep planer.

In general, you’ll find the trophy size fish down deep and the smaller ones near the surface. The fall rockfish season will remain open through the end of the year. The pressure on the fish seems to taper off once hunting season is in full swing but the fish don’t turn off with the onslaught of cold weather. The small ones will be available for catch and release and the biggest of them all will be right off the coast of Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks throughout the winter. If you can brave the cold, go for it.