Winter smallmouth fishing is a grind. In Virginia, we're lucky enough to have year round opportunities to chase these bronze beauties. And when they eat in the winter, they're typically BIG.

On this cold December day, we found exactly that. The conditions were right: the water was rising, the river temperatures were increasing, the weather was gloomy and the moon phase was just right. Between the ned rig and jerkbait, five fish came to the net in the few hours on the water. In all, a successful day.