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In late June, Art and I headed down to the Rappahannock in pursuit of smallies. I had never been to the Kelly's Ford area before and was anxious to see this part of the river. Art recommended we go to the disabled hunter access parking area that is about a half mile north of Kelly's Ford and start from there. Not having any frame of reference, I readily agreed.
We pulled into the parking area a little after 8 AM with the sun already starting to beat down on our balding heads. After slathering with suntan lotion and making the call to wet wade on what was stacking up to be a warm day, we followed the wide, obvious trail/road down to the river.
I was immediately impressed with what lay before us. After spilling across the remnants of a canal George Washington built, the trail dumped upon a wide, deep section of the river. Looking both up and downstream, all you could see was rocks rimmed with white as the quick current pushed the clear water south. This is a scenic section! After a brief discussion on what to use, I decided to stick with underwater presentations while Art would rely on a surface attack.
Art headed downstream and I rigged up a small, plastic crappie lure to see if they would attract smallies. As I finished, about 5 guys arrived at the entry point armed with coolers and headed upstream. Hmmm... this did not look good, but I headed on upstream.
I started to fish my way behind them and picked up as many bluegills as you would care to catch. They ripped into the small plastic crawfish I was using. I did catch a few small bass in the 6 to 8 inch range on this as well. By the time I caught up with the crowd, they were well distributed over the next wide pool/run area that starts about 50 yards up from the access point and runs upriver for an equal distance. These folks were clearly fishing for their dinner.
Two had spin gear with bobbers while the other three were using water bottles wrapped with line. They would let the line out into the current and then wrap the line around the bottle to retrieve it. It was clear to me that they had been here before and were dead set on hauling in as much meat as possible. So, what do the regulations say about this? There are no minimum length limits for smallies on the Rapp with a 5 per day per person limit. Keeping anywhere close to that would easily clean out a river this small. You can keep 50 bluegills per day.
So, assuming they had a valid fishing license, they were within the law in what they were doing, but it was clearly going to break the back of this particular section of water. The poor results that both Art and I had in terms of bass confirmed that this stretch was pretty beaten down. Of course, maybe we just had bad luck...
I skipped above the group and worked the grass and rock beds that led into the ideal spot they were working hard. This section features fast water, bountiful rocks and 5 feet deep cut pools where the current flows. I was able to pick up another small smallie in this section as well as the continued bluegills.
Wading was pretty easy but requires a wading staff or you will end up in the water. The bed of the river is exceptionally rocky with ledges covered with a smooth slime of mud. Since I wanted to put some distance between myself and the group, I continued upstream looking for the next great spot.
The grass section of the river dead ends into a long "lake" area that is to deep to wade. I was able to move up the western side of the "lake" about 25 yards and was closed out. I did not have time to continue the investigation of this on the eastern bank (which is posted) or get up on the western shore to walk a bit farther around the corner to see what developed. I believe this "lake" extends another 100 yards or so up stream as a result of a conversation I had with the Culpeper police a week earlier.
The Basswife and I drove out to Pelham only to discover that we needed a boating permit in addition to the fishing permit we had purchased. While there, the police rolled up and I chatted with them about other permit-free alternatives. One of them indicated there was canoe access to a flatwater section of the Rapp in this area. The "lake" I discovered may be that water.
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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.
Bottom Line: This section of the Rapp, while beautiful, is probably cleaned out. The group was intently continuing to work when Art and I left and I imagine that they did everything they could to clean out that section of water. With no length limits for smallies and the high bluegill limits, I had no cause to call the conservation police and report their activities.
I recommend you not fish on this stretch as it will take some time for the fish to come back / grow back.
Finally, the eastern bank above the VDGIF is posted. The posted signs extend all the way up to where I turned around. The small road shown on the map above that leads to the middle of the area I fished is on private property. I did not see any posted signs on the western bank. There is a decent trail on the east bank that ends with the VDGIF property. At that point, you can work your way across the river and pick up the decent trail that runs at least to the top of the beaten area the team was working.
I'm going to come back to this area but work the southern end of the WMA. It looks like you can access the river with a reasonable walk from one of the gated parking areas in the lower part of the WMA. Perhaps that walk is enough to keep the meat hunters at bay.
Getting there:
Insert this grid in Google Local - 38.483157,-77.777023 and get directions.
From Route 29, turn south on Kelly's Ford Road. Follow it and the signs to Kelly's Ford. Turn left onto Edwards Shop Road and go across the river. Turn left on Summerduck Road and look for the disabled hunter access parking area about 1/2 mile up from the turn.
Secrets Revealed: No. Kelly's Ford is actually one of the few places called out in the printed version of the VA fishing regulations. The VDGIF site also discusses this section of the Rapp as good for fishing in the CF Phelps WMA
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