Right Around the River Blog

Rocketts Landing Resident Catches 74-lb. Bass on James River

Post Date: 05-02-2013

May's here, summer's around the corner, and fishing season has begun on the James River!

In fact, this week, Rocketts Landing resident Steve Knox experienced firsthand the great fishing we have around us. On April 30, he caught a 74-lb. striped bass just outside our community --and not only was the bass huge, she was also pregnant!

(photo courtesy of Steve Knox)

"Wow!" exclaims Steve. "I was by myself, trying to weigh her, get a photo and get her back in the water quickly. I didn't learn until later that this is a significant fish. She has generated a lot of interest."

As one of our community's founding residents, Steve and his wife of 34 years have always lived along the water. So, finding their home in Skyline at Rocketts Landing after living in Norfolk offered them the perfect Richmond lifestyle they wanted.

Steve enjoys taking full advantage of the river lifestyle — and accompanying fishing opportunities. He gets out on the water at Rocketts Landing in his 16-foot-trailerable boat and kayak, and is a regular James River fisherman. Steve keeps a yearly fishing log to recount the various expeditions he enjoys and fish he catches throughout the year.

Aside from the instant fishing access outside his doorstep, some of his favorite fishing spots also include wading out at the Pipeline and up the river at Pony Pasture. But pulling a 74-lb. striped bass out of the water near Rocketts Landing was certainly an awesome, not-every-day fishing experience.

And his thoughts on this river lifestyle?

“We love it here,” says Steve. “When we decided to move [to Richmond], we looked at all the condo projects being built in Richmond then, and nothing compared to Rocketts. There’s always something going on along the river.”