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The confluence! Lon had been torturing me all summer about the fabulous fishing in the vicinity of the confluence of the Rapidan and Rappahannock rivers. Of course, the challenge to fish this section is how to get there. There are no public canoe launch points anywhere close to the junction of the two rivers. So, for the normal fisherman, the only way to get here is to put in upstream and canoe to this section. Since the access points are so few and far between, it is typically a two day journey from anywhere in upstream.
Thankfully, Lon had a friend with property close to the confluence and convinced him to allow us to gain access to the river over his land. Unless you, the reader, have a similar relationship you are stuck with the canoe option. The only alternative I see is to find the outfitter who has access rights to the Blankenbaker private put-in which is just down river of this section. Perhaps with a few phone calls you can locate that outfitter and, for a small fee, get them to drop you off with your fishing gear as they put canoeists into the river. Be sure to arrange a pickup or you will have a long walk! A quick scan of the internet reveals that Clore Bros offer trips starting here; there may be others.
Lon, Allen and I walked in via the private property to reach the start point of our day. As you can see from the map, the section we fished is about a half mile downstream of the actual confluence. We entered the river at a wide section of the Rappahannock that is split by a narrow island. There is a gradual drop in elevation in this stretch that creates a constant, fast-moving volume of water running across numerous rocks and grassy areas. Lon and Allen decided to fish upstream on either side of the large island as I moved downstream.
After I rigged up, I began to fish my way downstream on the right-hand side of the river. Within two casts, I had picked up my first decent smallie -- about 12 inches. I continued to fish downstream, sticking to the right bank, until I got to another small island that divided the river. Looking downstream, I could see a broad lake area to the right where the water did not appear to be moving quickly over obstacles that would hold smallies. On the left, the small island compressed the river through another small set of rapids with numerous rocks and outcrops visible. Since it looked like the better choice, I moved across the river to fish along that bank. Within an hour, I had caught both a 15 and a 20 inch smallie and had scared off several others. While I caught the 15 incher on my "bass rig", the big guy exploded out of the water to attack a size 4 popper that I floated next to the log that he was lurking under. In fact, I spent most of the day fishing top water with poppers of various sizes. The big smallies were hanging out in the shade close to the bank. As I waded downstream, I could feel a distinct temperature drop as I moved from the sunny water into the shade. Clearly, the smallies were enjoying the cool water as well.
The smallies in this section huddle together by size. If I caught a 10 incher, chances are I could catch another 10 incher or two before the pool was spooked. While I only caught that single 20" fish, I know there are more of his buddies there. The good section on the left bank stretches downstream for about 200 yards. At that point, the river gets very deep and borders on being unwadeable. In addition, it breaks out into a sandy desert bottom that is not ideal for the fish. Although I continued to fish downstream sticking to the left bank with a brief foray to the right to see what was over there, I did not do well on either side. In many places, the water was up to my chest as I searched for a wadeable path downstream.
After working all the way down, I decided to return to the good section and began fishing my way back upstream. Everything had calmed down and I had good luck working that right bank again. I moved over to see what was in the "lake" area and noted that there were some large smallies that I could pick out skittering in and among the dense grassy vegetation that lined the river bottom. Earlier in the day, there was another group fishing in this area but I did not pay close enough attention to them to see if they were having good luck. I believe they were canoeists who had camped on the beachy bank and were taking advantage of fishing this stretch after a tough canoe trip to get here.
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Remember to refer to my rating explanations - these are based on what I look for - so RED for Physical Fitness translates to easy physically - you do not need to be in shape to fish this section. I prefer terrain that is tough to get into and out of.
Lon and Allen reported similar great lack where they finished. Allen had picked up a 20 incher on a plastic worm and Lon pulled up a 19" smallie using a bitch creek nymph. They worked up and down the section close to our entry point with the big island splitting their effort. One of the interesting things we concluded was that most of the fish stuck to the fast-moving water even if it was a relatively shallow. Prior to this, I had assumed that shallow water would make a large fish vulnerable to predators and that the big guys would stick to the deeper sections. While this is true as long as the flow of water through that hole is fast and rapid to sweep food downstream, it was clear from this experience that big fish would venture into a foot of water in the fast-moving sections to feed.
Bottom line: I would come back here again in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, I won't have that option given the land-based access challenge. Perhaps Lon will impose on his buddy again in the near future and we can return to this great spot.
I doubt this gets much pressure. While I am sure the members of the community association that border this land leverage their access, I bet that fishing the same water gets old and they migrate to new places after the novelty wears off. That leaves this stretch to the canoeist who will not linger long given the scarcity of take-outs.
Getting There: Canoe downstream through the confluence of the Rapidan and Rappahannock or get a ride to the private put-in
Google Coordinates: 38.357676, -77.610168
Secrets Revealed? No. The Rappahannock is well known as a smallmouth river. The article here discusses the river in detail.
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