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

Bruce Ingram (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2000

Virginia's premier recreation river is surely the James. The keys to enjoying all it has to offer are revealed in The James River Guide. Fisherman find the best smallmouth bass fishing in hte state, along with muskies and flathead catfish. River runners find everything from placid slackwater to adventurous rapids throughout the river. Spring blossoms, fall color, and the fascinating history of the batteaux era's canals give the James a unique charm. There is something for everyone.

Bruce Ingram knows the river intimately and shares his knowledge of the access, fisheries, seasons, history and more in this unique book. Dozens of maps and photos detail trips from the headwaters to Richmond. Explore this fascinating region with The James River Guide.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Bruce Ingram has written the definitive guide to the James River above Richmond — and not a moment too soon. -- Garvey Winegar

"This book is loaded with firsthand information, which will benefit both the angler and the canoeist." -- Bob Gooch, Virginia Afield

The James River Guide is a must if you go to what Bruce calls Virginia’s River." -- Virginia Outdoor Weekly, King Montgomery

About the Author

Freelance writer/photographer Bruce Ingram has published over 1,600 articles and over 1,700 photos in magazines. He focuses on fishing, hunting, canoeing, bird watching and conservation issues. He has also authored The Shenandoah and Rappahannock Rivers Guide and The New River Guide. Bruce is a high school English teacher and lives in Fincastle, Virginia, with his wife and two children. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Ecopress (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893272001
• ISBN-13: 978-1893272002
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,879,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book about a great river., May 27, 2000

By 

Clyde E. Drury "Books of the Black Bass" (Tacoma, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The James River Guide: Floating and Fishing on Virginia's Finest (Paperback)

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."

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Floatfishermen rejoice, January 21, 2001

By 

Craig Fields (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The James River Guide: Floating and Fishing on Virginia's Finest (Paperback)

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars This book literally saved my life, September 24, 2009

By 

Matthew Dyer (South of the Mason-Dixon Line!) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The James River Guide: Floating and Fishing on Virginia's Finest (Paperback)

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.