Matt Reilly reports warm, low rivers

River fishing in Southwest Virginia is running on a weird spring clock this year. Guide Matt Reilly says the usual sequence — cold-water pre-spawn smallmouth, then a more orderly handoff into spawning fish and a decent striper run — got compressed by drought and a sudden burst of heat. The result is simple to picture even if you do not fish: low, clear rivers, warmer water, and fish behaving like the calendar jumped ahead a few weeks. (listennotes.com([listennotes.com)ly changed this spring? Reilly’s April 3 update put the core problem in plain terms: pre-spawn smallmouth season was “winding down” under extreme drought pressure, with flows at roughly a fifth to a quarter of seasonal averages. He tied that directly to rising water temperatures after air temperatures climbed into the upper 70s and near 80°F, which pushed the bite forward faster than the normal spring light-cycle would. (listennotes.com)tter so much? Low water does not just mean less room for a boat. It makes rivers clearer, fish more cautious, and productive water harder to find. Reilly says that turned an early-spring power-fishing window into something that looked more like late summer finesse fishing — smaller flies, slimmer baitfish profiles, longer leaders, and more careful presentations. Basically, anglers had to stop fishing the season they expected and start fishing the river they actually had. (listennotes.com) ### What happened to the smallmouth bite? The smallmouth story is mostly about timing. Reilly’s normal pre-spawn focus runs from early March until fish start spawning in mid-April. This year, warm water pulled fish out of that pre-spawn window early, which made the classic aggressive streamer bite less reliable. By late April, he was talking less about finding a broad seasonal pattern and more about reading individual fish behavior because the normal cues had been “compressed and scrambled.” (mattreillyflyfishing.com) ### And the striper run? Reilly’s late-April podcast description was even blunter: an extended cold February, then a late-March and early-April heat spike with 85–95°F days and persistently low water, “collapsed the striper run” on his Southwest Virginia rivers. That does not mean striped bass vanished everywhere. It means the local spring run he guides around did not unfold in the usual steady way, because flow and temperature cues got out of sync. (fly-fishing-podcast.thearticulatefl([mattreillyflyfishing.com)ing-report-matt-reilly-low-water-tactics/)) ### Is this just one guide’s bad week? Not really. The wider drought backdrop lines up with what Reilly is seeing on the water. Drought.gov said Virginia ranked tenth driest on record for September 2025 through March 2026, and much of the Southeast was running 4 to 8 inches below normal for rainfall since the start of the year. Virginia’s DEQ also flagged ongoing drought monitoring in late April. So his report fits a broader regional pattern, not just a tough couple of guide trips. (drought.gov) ### What does this mean for anglers right now? It means assumptions are dangerous. A trip planned around “normal” pre-spawn smallmouth timing or a dependable spring striper push may miss the best window entirely. Reilly’s practical adjustment is to fish lighter and subtler in clear water, focus on early and late parts of the day, and move on from fish that look like spawning males rather than active feeders. (listennotes.com) Yes — especially for striped bass. New York’s Hudson rules are already tighter because the stock is still considered overfished, with a 23–28 inch slot in the Hudson and circle-hook requirements when using bait. Virginia rules vary by water, too. In a spring when fish are concentrated and stressed, checking the exact state and river rules before you go is part of the deal. (dec.ny.gov)not really about one hot week. It is about a spring fishery that got shoved off its normal timeline by drought and heat. If flows stay low, anglers can still catch fish — but the old calendar is not much help this year.