Catfish and striper fishing on the James River

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Geo: 37.5409, -77.4801

Each year we like to take the kids on a big fishing trip on the James River. The James never disappoints with its large number of blue catfish, herring, shad, perch, striped bass, gar, channel catfish and other sporting breeds. We catch to photograph, not to eat, so we're not especially picky about what flops into the boat. The bigger, the better in general.

Capt. Mike Ostrander of the James River Fishing School has been our guide of choice for many years. He has a wealth of knowledge about the history and ecology of the James and always seems to know where the fish will be biting. He also has the patience and sense of humor to guide and teach children well. This is a gift and it cannot be overvalued.

In recent years Capt. Mike has been closely following the nesting habits of local bald eagles and osprey and will take interested fishing parties to see nests from the river vantage point. It doesn't disturb the birds and delights children and adults alike. I've attached pictures from our Easter excursion.

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Photos

"Bandit"
The James River watershed is home to several nesting pairs of bald eagles. Bandit raises chicks with Smokey.

Josh and a striped bass
We didn't get very many big ones this year, but the fish were plentiful on our outing.

Eagle coming for lunch
Capt. Mike will toss some of our bait fish out on the river to try and entice the eagles down for us to see better. Usually the birds can't resist easy eats.

Alex, Josh enjoy a catfish
The catfish make croaking noises which crack up the kids