Now is the time to find smallmouth bass on the top

Shhhh! Quiet! Don't say anything, but it's not raining. That means the rivers are clear and the top-water bite is on -- big time.

When the water finally clears in late summer, smallmouth bass take advantage by feeding on a myriad of juicy creatures found on or near the surface; the principal target is probably the damsel-fly. Damselflies, by the way, differ from their cousins, dragonflies, in that their wings are laid back over the bodies when at rest, whereas the dragonfly's wings extend to the sides. But smallmouth are not picky, they'll eat either one with gusto.

Damselflies also like to hang out together. I remember a float a few years back with guide L.E. Rhodes. We were fishing from Scottsville down to the Hardware River and were about an hour into our trip when I noticed a veritable swarm of damselflies, which had settled on a big clump of moss. For some reason, I was intrigued and continued to watch the damselfly pack. Out of the blue, a big snout erupted through the moss and gobbled up at least a dozen of the unsuspecting insects. It was like a scene out of "Jaws." But it was a big smallmouth, not a great white. I didn't have a top-water plug on my line at the time, but I flipped a small worm where the smallmouth attack had just taken place and got an immediate strike. Seventeen and a half inches of bass later, we took a few pics and released the big fellow to seek out more damsel-flies.

Soon after that experience, I switched to top water exclusively and we had a most productive float.

For spinning and casting enthusiasts, good top water offerings include Pop R's, Zara Spooks, Tiny Torps, buzz baits, floating plastic baits like Flukes and the always-productive Jitter-bug. One of my personal favorite plugs is Heddon's Crazy Crawler. They are tough to find these days but have an action unlike any other top-water bait. It drives the smallmouth nuts.

But if you can work a 9-foot fly rod and scoot a popping bug out about 50 or 60 feet, your time has come. Smallmouth -- big smallmouth -- will jump all over a popping bug, the best damselfly imita-tion of all.

On the New River, guide Perch Maynard and parties have been tearing up the bass on poppers. One of Maynard's clients picked up a 19 1/2-inch smallie on top and a 14-year-old girl landed a 5-pound, 2-ounce bass, but fooled it with a Senko worm.

The James River is fishing well all the way to Richmond, and believe it or not, a few smallmouth remain on the Shenandoah River, though it is nowhere near the fishery it was five or six years ago. We can thank the poultry farmers and the politicians who turn a blind eye to poultry waste for that situation.

But if you have some time to kill in the next few weeks, head for the rivers, tie on a top-water bait and catch yourself some nice fish.

Backyard Mysteries

Recently I solved one backyard mystery by identifying a strange plant which had popped up in my wife's flowerbed. The plant looked like stalks of corn bunched together but had yellowish grain sprouting on top. It turned out to be a volunteer sorghum bicolor plant.

A couple days ago I found a feather in my garden unlike any I've ever seen and began searching for the source.

It was about nine inches in length, apparently a flight feather from a larger bird. But the feather was dark gray -- almost black -- at the tip and white at the base. It was too big to have come from a mockingbird, so I began the identifying process by searching through my bird books.

Aha! It was a feather from a red-headed woodpecker. These interesting creatures are the only woodpecker with an all-red head. We see them in our yard on rare occasions. Unfortunately, these, and most woodpecker species, are in serious decline due to woodlands being cut down and homeowners taking out dead or dying limbs at the drop of a chainsaw.

Anyway, it looks like another backyard mystery has been solved. I just hope the woodpecker with the missing feather will return and pay us another visit.