Waterway's winter wonders

The night was cold, rainy and thoroughly miserable. Normal people were home by the fire.

Rick Cochran Jr. was in his boat in the James River, beaming with the warmth of contentment and trying to catch one last fish.

"When you've got three kids and a wife at home, you take every chance you can to get out," said Cochran, a 37-year-old welder from Henrico County.

A lot of people turn away from the James during the cold months, but hardy anglers such as Cochran bundle up and drop their lines from boat and bank, knowing they've got the river to themselves.

"You've got true die-hards out here now," said Mike Bishop, 46, as he prepared to launch his 14-foot john boat on a morning in the 30s at the Dutch Gap landing near Chester.

"In summer this place is a zoo. . . . There are too many skiers, Jetskiers, boat riders, fishermen."

Not that Bishop was without competition. Across the river, a heron stalked the shallows on legs like sticks, and a kingfisher -- a chatty bird with a comically big head -- dive-bombed the James for brunch.

The James is nationally known for its fishing. This time of year, the tidal portion -- everything downriver of the Mayo Bridge -- is most popular. The river teems with, among other things, blue catfish the size of golf bags and weighing up to 90 pounds, plus striped bass weighing up to 20 pounds.

"The fish are still biting," said Jeff Davis, manager of the Hopewell City Marina. "It's just how tough you are and how much you want them."

On the bank at Dutch Gap, 52-year-old Harold Gurganus waited for a catfish that must have taken up fasting. His line was dead.

That was fine with Gurganus, who didn't feel like cleaning a bunch of fish, anyway. "If you catch'em regular, that's a job."

Gurganus, who suffers from diabetes and heart disease, has trouble walking. He wished the landing featured a fishing dock for the disabled.

But like a comfortable old friend, the James made Gurganus forget his problems. "When I'm around water, I'm at peace."

A lot of anglers talk about the solitude of fishing, but at the City Point boardwalk in Hopewell, the scene looked like a reunion.

Or maybe a conference of philosophers.

"You got some major [breeze] shooters here," said Van Johnson, 62. "You have to wear hip boots."

Marvin McDaniels' 10-foot fishing rod was propped against the railing, and the tug of a fish caused a tiny cowbell on it to tinkle.

McDaniels, also 62, pounced on the rod and gave it a yank, but he had nothing. "That's the one that got away," he said.

He recalled that a man in August caught a 65-pound catfish with a hot dog.

"If they'll eat a worm, a hot dog should look pretty good to them," Johnson replied. "I see people fishing with shrimp. I tell'em I'd stay home and eat the shrimp."

The James is much cleaner than it was 40 years ago, but it's still polluted with decades-old industrial chemicals. Health officials say people shouldn't eat James River fish often.

But Johnson, who is retired from a chemical factory, loves the fish. "I been eating them all my life out of here."

He seems to have survived with little damage beyond an infectious good nature and an oversized sense of humor.

At the end of the dock, Renee Williams had the touch, reeling in catfish after catfish, mostly small blue cats. "You got it going on," a man said.

Williams, 43, picked up a fish she had caught, cut it behind the head with a knife, then used pliers to pull off the skin. She gutted the fish and tossed the entrails to some eagerly awaiting gulls.

"When I go fishing I like to clean'em right here," she said, "so when I get home all I've got to do is put'em in the pan."

Williams said she loves teaching children to fish.

"That's gives'em something to do, rather than being in the streets or picking up bad habits. . . . I've never seen a little kid --a girl or a boy -- who caught a fish one time and didn't want to go again. That's all they talk about: 'When are we going fishing?'"

With near-perfect timing, a toddler waddled over to admire one of Williams' fish. The boy then opted to toss a rock in the water.

At Osborne Landing in eastern Henrico, brothers Jerry, John and David Smith of Highland Springs were ready to party.

As the sun dropped low over the river, they put their 24-foot Starcraft in the water for a night of rap, hip-hop, rock 'n' roll and, oh yeah, fishing for blue cats.

How long would they be out?

"Till we run out of beer," said Jerry, a 32-year-old repo man.

Rick Cochran, the welder, quickly caught two small but feisty blue catfish as he drifted in late afternoon near the Interstate 295 bridge below Dutch Gap.

Now it was well past dark, and the fish weren't biting. Cochran was constantly checking his line, then beaming a spotlight from his 20-foot boat to look for hazardous logs.

Rain ran off the bill of his black ballcap, which he wore backward, but Cochran was warm in a camouflage neoprene jumpsuit and yellow raincoat.

As he talked about escaping from his family, you could tell he loved them. You could also tell he loved being on the river.

Rainy night, beautiful day, it didn't matter. "It's all good," Cochran said.
Contact Rex Springston at (804) 649-6453 or rspringston@timesdispatch.com.

Hardy anglers like to fish the James River in cold weather. The tidal James from Richmond to Hopewell is a popular stretch. Here are some places you can fish or launch a boat: 1. Ancarrow’s Landing; 2. Osborne Landing; 3. Dutch Gap landing; 4. Deep Bottom Park; 5. Hopewell City Marina (on the Appomattox River near the James); 6. City Point boardwalk