Cowpasture River Biologist Report 2024
The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (VDWR) began to monitor the fish population in the Cowpasture River in the 1990’s. Prior to that, the Department did not have the proper equipment to adequately assess the river’s fish community. The size and average depth of the river limits reaches that can be sampled with a small electrofishing boat. Historically, VDWR has collected sportfish population data at several locations on the Cowpasture River. Sampling locations from upstream – down to the mouth: Wallace Tract, Riverside, Sycamore Bend, Windy Cove, Nimrod Hall, Walton Tract, Lynchburg Camps, and Griffith. However, sampling effort and consistency has varied over that period. This lack of consistency (year, season, location) has made it difficult to accurately document changes in the sportfish community. The best way to document changes in the fish population is to minimize sampling variability by choosing permanent sampling locations and returning during the same season on an annual or semi-annual basis.
VDWR staff have struggled to find the staff time and river conditions to sample the Cowpasture in recent years. The last time it was sampled was with a raft electrofisher in the spring of 2014. The thought at the time was that this new piece of equipment would provide the department with a more comprehensive sample of the fish population. The 2014 sample showed a lot of promise, however over the past 10 years spring flows proved too unpredictable to sample consistently. Therefore, staff have decided to return to traditional fall sampling using boat electrofishing gear. Going forward the plan is to sample four sites (Griffith, Lynchburg Camps, Sycamore Bend, and Walton Tract) on a yearly basis during the fall. When viewing the data below, keep in mind that there is a ten-year gap between the sample this fall and the last time the river was evaluated in the fall of 2013.
Smallmouth Bass
The Cowpasture River is one of the most scenic rivers within the western part of the Commonwealth. When water levels moderate, anglers can expect to catch a diverse assemblage of fish. During the fall of 2024 biologists sampled four sites collecting 20 species (Table 1). Staff uses boat electrofishing gear to collect the fish and time their sampling effort. As a result biologists can track the number of fish per hour of electrofishing or catch per unit of effort (CPUE).
The Smallmouth population is struggling. Similar to the James River, it has suffered from poor spawning for a number of years. As a result, very few quality fish (> 11”) are present within the system (Figure 1). Of the 257 bass collected only 4% of the smallmouth were 11” or greater with zero exceeding 14”. Anglers should expect low numbers of fish ranging from 7-10” and very few exceeding that size range. If you look at the historic catch rates in figure 2, you will notice that 2024 had the highest catch rate historically. However, don’t get too excited because this fall’s sample was made up entirely of juvenile fish. Anglers should expect a year of slow bass fishing in 2025. To improve your catch, fish just after the spawn in June and target only the areas with deep water containing quality structure like sunken logs and boulder outcrops.
Figure 1: Number and lengths of smallmouth bass collected from the Cowpasture River in fall 2024. Juvenile bass (less then 7 inches) are represented with red bars, while adult smallmouth bass are shown with blue bars.
Figure 2: Annual catch of smallmouth bass from 2001 – 2024 in the Cowpasture River, the red line represents the historic average catch rate.
Despite the low numbers of catchable sized smallmouth, there is some good news. The Cowpasture finally experienced a well above average spawn in 2024. 80% of the bass within the sample were considered juvenile fish. So, the fishing will be slow for a year or two, but if these juveniles survive to adulthood, the fishing should pick up within the next few years. Keep in mind, bass grow slow in the Cowpasture. It takes at least 5 years to grow a fish over 11”, so anglers will have to be patient.
Figure 3: Annual catch of young of year (YOY) 5-6 month old smallmouth bass from 2001 – 2024 in the Cowpasture River, the red line represents the historic average catch rate.
Sunfish
The Cowpasture is also home to a variety of sunfish including rock bass, redbreast sunfish, green sunfish, pumpkinseed and bluegill. In 2024, a total of 367 sunfish were collected. Redbreast sunfish and Rockbass were the most abundant sunfish collected and ranged from 2 to 8 inches in length. The sunfish will run on the small side with only 6% of the sample exceeding 6” in length. Anglers can expect good catch rates of redbreast and rockbass in 2025 as their population looks stable when compared to previous samples (Figure 4). Historically, our samples indicate that rockbass were the dominant species. However, the 2024 sample shows the redbreast have started to dominate and have become more populous. Although often overlooked, angling for sunfish can provide great entertainment, especially using light tackle or fly-fishing. Angler seeking sunfish should focus on fishing near banks, aquatic vegetation, and fallen trees. Spinners, small grubs, crickets, and worms all make excellent baits for catching sunfish.
Figure 4: Annual catch of redbreast sunfish and rockbass from 2001 – 2024 in the Cowpasture River.
Muskellunge
The largest and most challenging fish to catch in the Cowpasture is the muskie. Muskies can be found downstream of the dam in Millboro Springs to the mouth of the James within deep slow moving pools. Four muskies, ranging from 32 to 35 inches in length, were collected during fall community sampling in 2024. There is a small self-sustaining population of muskie in the Cowpasture, they are not stocked. Anglers should target the months of May and June just after the muskies spawn. Adult muskie from the James have been known to migrate into the Cowpasture in April to reproduce. However, due to habitat limitations, they often migrate back downstream once the spawn is complete. Muskies can be very picky so anglers often use a variety of baits throughout the year including large crankbaits, glide baits, swimbaits, spinnerbaits, and tubes.
Table 1: Fish species collected by VDWR during fall electrofishing surveys. (n = 20)
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Bluehead Chub Cutlips Minnow Rockbass
Bluegill Sunfish Fallfish Smallmouth Bass
Black Jumprock Green Sunfish White Sucker
Bluntnose Minnow Margined Madtom Yellow Bullhead Catfish
Bull Chub Muskellunge
Creek Chubsucker Northern Hogsucker
Central Stoneroller Pumpkinseed Sunfish
Crescent Shiner Redbreast Sunfish
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