The James River continues to prove why it is the premier destination for trophy catfish in the country. This past week, Goober Time Guide Service had the pleasure of hosting Craig, William, Jacob, and Chris from Hampton, VA , for a day that defined "river variety." From massive blue cats to hard-hitting striped bass, the river was alive and well. The Morning Spread: Fresh Bait is Key We started the morning early, securing a premium "charcuterie board" for the fish. We loade

Three anglers, three Personal Bests! From fresh hickory shad bait to high-speed action in the upriver currents, Jerry, Shawn, and George joined Goober Time Guide Service for an unforgettable day on the James River. Read the full report to see how we landed 86.5 lbs of fish—including a trophy 25.5 lb Blue Catfish and a rare 14.2 lb Flathead—plus our go-to tactics for drifting channel ledges.

The evening bite on the James River is officially on! Goober Time Guide Service recently put the Stoneville crew on a "drag-screaming" clinic, landing 14 fish including a 44lb Blue Catfish and a 26lb Trophy Flathead. From tactical shifts on the mud flats to landing a 31lb giant on a 38-inch "baby rod," the action was nonstop. Ready to hunt your own Virginia trophy? Check out our latest report and see why the James is the place to be this spring!

It was a pleasure welcoming back Dara and Oliver for another adventure with Goober Time Guide Service . There is nothing quite like the James River in the spring—the river is alive, the migratory fish are moving, and the catfish are hungry. We covered a lot of water on this trip, transitioning from the fast-paced action of the fall line to the steady pull of the mud flats. Here is the breakdown of our day on the water. Starting with the Bait Run We kicked things off near the

What’s better than a 10th birthday? A 10th birthday spent landing a multispecies "grand slam" on Chickahominy Lake! From trolling for slabs to working the creeks for largemouth bass and shellcrackers, Dean and his family had a non-stop day of action. Check out the full report to see the final species count and how we filled the cooler for a family fish fry.

Looking for a "bucket list" experience on the James River? Check out our latest report! From a massive 55lb trophy Blue Catfish to a hard-fighting 30.5lb Flathead, Josh and Elizabeth from West Virginia had a day they won't soon forget. Between a "triple up" hookset and some prehistoric Bowfin action on the mudflats, the Richmond riverfront delivered in a big way. Read the full breakdown of our most recent adventure with Goober Time Guide Service.

Chris, Chris, and Timmy joined us for an unforgettable first trip on the James River! From catching fresh gizzard shad to battling heavy current, the action was steady. The day peaked with two massive "Trophy Club" entries—weighing in at 44 lbs and 46 lbs—plus a few hard-fighting 20lb blues. Read the full report to see how we pivoted our strategy to find the big ones!

Dakota and Preston hit the James River to master the art of finding winter bait for trophy blue cats. What started as a slow morning of scanning deep holes and throwing nets quickly escalated into a chaotic, rod-bending battle. Read how adapting to winter conditions led to a massive 34-pound personal best!

The rods were screaming! 🎣 Relive a massive day on the James River where we landed multiple trophy blue catfish, including a 40lb beauty in the shallows. Learn how we transitioned from deep holes to planer boards to keep the bite alive and helped our clients land their biggest fish yet.

Join Goober Time Guide Service for our final 2025 James River trophy catfish trip! See how Xavier landed a 50lb blue catfish using planer bo

Here are a few options for your blog excerpt, depending on the "vibe" of your website: Option 1: Action-Oriented (Best for SEO and Engagement) A warm December morning on the James River turned into a productive day of catfishing for John, Camden, Evan, and Luke. From filling the cooler with perfect "eater-sized" blue cats to battling a 15-pounder on the planer boards, the river offered a classic mix of fast-paced action and the challenge of the trophy hunt. Read more to see

Looking for the best catfishing on the James River? In our latest trip report, we head out with Dan to navigate the Virginia tidal waters. F

Despite a difficult morning spent hunting for fresh bait, persistence paid off for Joshua, Dylan, and their crew during a day of catfishing

Celebrate your birthday with a monster catch! Read about our recent James River trip where we landed a 54lb trophy blue catfish using AlphaB

Rahsaan, Lloyd, Earnest, and Kenton joined us on the James River for a morning of hunting trophy blue catfish. We started the day with a mixed bag of live baits in the livewell. After running up the river, we set the gill net and chopped up some fresh white perch and gizzard shad to fish our first channel ledge. The bite began slowly, with just a few small taps as the outgoing tide slowed down. Just before the river went slack, a Hellcat Revenge spinning rod took off, screami

Gary, Dylan, and Kyle joined us on the river to chase a trophy catfish and collect some eater fish for a fish fry. Our morning trip saw a slow bite so we made a big move up river to look for some new fish to target. We pulled into a put and marked a ton of fish that looked like carp with some catfish mixed in. We set up on the pod of fish and had a few decent runs but nothing substantial so we left after 30 minutes. We started to scan the channel ledges and did not mark a fis

An Unforgettable Day of Fishing Dara, Oliver, Cy, and Beckett joined us on the James River for the ultimate adventure! We kicked off our trip bright and early at 4 AM, eager to catch as many fish as possible before the sun peeked over the horizon. From the moment we arrived at our first spot, we were reeling in white perch and striper left and right. Everyone had a chance to catch a striper, and let me tell you, some of them were pretty impressive! We kept catching striper, b

Travis, Connor, Nolan, and Declan joined us on the lake for a morning of multispecies fishing. Their goal was to catch as many differnet types of fish as possible. We set out shortly after sunrise and started to drag crankbaits and jigs behind the boat along the channel ledges. It didn't take long before we started to work through a number of white perch. Just about everybody on board had a chance to catch a white perch. We started to target some shallower water near creek mo

Cody, Randy, Trey, and Tee joined us for a day on the James River. We started the morning off collecting a bunch of fresh bait while a patch of heavy fog burned off. It wasn't long before we were taking off down river. We marked a giant fish and tried to drift past him without success. We went ahead of him and anchored up current from the mark and started to wait him out. After about 20 minutes a rod folded over but never hooked up. A couple more taps resulted in nothing then

Dara, Oliver, Parks, Kyle, and Gwathmey joined us on the river for a morning catfishing trip for Oliver's Birthday. We had bait ready to go and took off for our first fishing spot at sunrise. We set the gill net to snag a little more bait while we fished on a channel ledge. We tossed some rods shallow, some deep, and some on the channel drop off. Over the course of 45 minutes, we had a lot of taps, a few good takedowns, and landed one small fish to get the skunk off the boat.