The James River Guide: Floating and Fishing on Virginia's Finest

by Bruce Ingram

Book Overview

Virginia's premier recreation river is surely the James, and the keys to enjoying all it has to offer are revealed in The James River Guide. This is where fisherman find the best smallmouth bass... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1893272001
• ISBN13: 9781893272002
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Ecopress
• Length: 136 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

This book literally saved my life

Some men deal with the flourescent-lit soul-crushing horror of the modern workplace with drink or drugs, or apathy, or with a complete mental breakdown. Me, when it all gets too much, I grab this book and head for the supply room. I lock myself in, find a comfy box, and in a few minutes I'm drifting over the ledges, a watermelon and pepper flake Senko sinking into the depths, sure to find a 22 inch monster. The James River Guide explains the structure, the times to fish, some great spots, and it gives you that little extra something, the sense of reverance, the lifting sense of being on the river, and joy of fishing all day with a friend. It's not just nuts and bolts; it's the soul of fishing, and especially of being on a river as beautiful and as full of huge smallmouth as the James. I can read three or four pages and it's as if I'm been to church, chugged a large coffee, hit the gym, and had a good meal all that the same time. I'm filled with thoughts of lures to buy, of how to work the canoe, of that odd mix of exhaustion and joy that comes from leaving for a fishing trip at 4:30 in the morning. I'm restored, and I can deal with it all again until I can make it back to the river. At $14, this book is the deal of a lifetime.

Floatfishermen rejoice

I sincerely hope Bruce moves next to the South Fork of the Shenandoah, then all of the other world-class floatfishing streams in the Commonwealth.I've read hundreds of articles by Bruce Ingram in various outdoor publications over the years, but in those forums he simply could not begin to approach the detail contained in this book. I might use different lures than he does, and different approaches to the sport, in many respects, but I recognize smallmouth cover with the same eye.Grab yer rod and yer canoe, pick a stretch, and commit Bruce's description to memory. Location of underwater mid-river ledges. Whether a particular outside bend also contains boulders/wood attractive to smallies. "False eddies" that look good below a rapid, but are devoid of structure and thus should be given a cursory cast at best. Average depth of long shoals. Angling routes through rapids vs. canoe routes. Spring vs. summer bass holding areas.Although very useful to the casual canoeist, the shutterbug, and the nature/history types, this book was written by a river rat for a river rat. Without doubt the definitive guide to floating for smallmouths along one of the best rivers for same in the world.Ingram has probably spent more hours just on the James than I have in a canoe-- and that's quite a few. This may well be the first-ever structure-by-structure breakdown of a prime floatfishing river.

Great book about a great river.

This is the book I needed when I lived in Virginia and fished the James River. Most fishing and floating guidebooks tend to concentrate on one or the other but Ingram does justice to both types of recreation. The chapters each cover a short float of from two and a half to twelve and a half miles. They include: a map of the area to be floated; put in and take out points; types of water including rapids; species of fish available, where they might be, and recommended lures. In addition, each chapter is a running narrative to help you enjoy all the sights, the landmarks and of course, includes some history. The author touches on all species of fish but this book would be especially helpful to Smallmouth Bass anglers. There are details on selecting the right lure and then how to fish it in different types of water. Even for canoeists who don't fish, this is a handy book to plan trips and be able to recognize any hazards in advance. This fellow enjoys everything about the river and even provides some camera and photography tips for those who want to record their trips. His love for the river is infectious making this a very enjoyable and helpful book and I would recommend it to anyone who plans to spend time on or around the James River. The author said it all in the introduction. " I am a fisherman, canoeist, bird watcher, photographer, and conservationist. My happiest times are spent in the outdoors. Although this book is mainly geared toward the angler and canoeist, I hope that it will appeal to all outdoor lovers, especially those who want to get to know the James better."