Virginia Archives

Piney River (VA – Upper Section)

I burned a lot of sweat and energy to penetrate 3 miles into the Piney

Buck Hollow (VA)

A dribble of water not worth the effort.

Trout Hike – Staunton River (VA – Off Rapidan)

With Blue Ridge on fire in early May, I knew I had to maximize my time on the small streams before they warmed up. I had fished the entire Rapidan from Graves Mill all the way up to Camp Hoover, but I skipped the Staunton river. That was a problem that I was resolved to …

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Trout Hike – Davis Mill Creek (VA)

Road fishing with a remote feel

Trout Hike – Little Irish Creek (VA – Stocked Section)

Another place to go immediately after stocking… don’t bother otherwise.

Trout Hike – Hazel River (VA – Lower Section)

Gentle hike up a gradual slope leads to good water.

Trout Hike – Pedlar River (VA – Northern DH Access Point)

The northern access point to the Pedlar offers up another tough hike to reach the river.

Trout Hike – Pedlar River (VA – Middle DH Access Point)

A steep hikes leads to good water.

North Fork of the Thornton (VA)

Decent fishing for those who are willing to walk

Trout Hike – Back Creek (VA – Sherando Lake)

Another instance of road fishing

Trout Hike – Pedlar River (VA – Southern Delayed Harvest Access)

The southern access point to the Pedlar DH section features superb scenery

Trout Hike – Mills Creek (VA – Wild Section)

A long walk to pretty decent water.

Trout Hike – Mills Creek (VA – Stocked Section)

Brutal bushwhacking for nothing

Trout Hike – Upper Rapidan (VA – Gate to Camp Hoover)

Park in one of the two turnouts and walk down the steep path past a nice campsite and begin fishing upstream. If you walk up the road, you’ll need to bushwhack your way over to the river before it enters a steep “canyon” that would make access more of an exercise in climbing than fishing.

Big Marys Creek (VA)

Big Marys Creek runs through a deep cut in the western slope of the Blue Ridge

St Marys River (VA – Trout)

A pristine river in a tight, scenic valley – good deal.

Trout Hike – Coles Run Reservoir (VA)

The feeder stream at the southern end of the lake has promise…

Big Run (VA)

Whoa!! Now THIS was a HIKE!! 9.95 miles… 1,967 foot vertical!

Trout Hike – Passage Creek (VA – Delayed Harvest Downstream)

The delayed harvest area downstream from the parking area is good water

Trout Hike – Passage Creek (VA – South End)

The southern end of Passage has deep water and thick brush.

Trout Hike – Peters Mill (VA – Stocked Section)

Nothing to write home about here!

Trout Hike – Jackson River (VA – Petticoat Junction)

I did not spend much time here – just a quick check on conditions and access

Trout Hike – Hogcamp Branch (VA)

The Hogcamp is a good diversion on your hike back from fishing the Rose

Trout Hike – Jackson River (VA – Indian Gap)

Only a short stop at Indian Gap – enough to appreciate its potential

Trout Hike – Rose River (VA – Skyline Drive)

A brutal trout hike puts us on the cold, clear water of the Rose below Skyline Drive

Trout Hike – Jackson River (VA – Hidden Valley)

A long hike will put you on some good water on the Jackson… and no King’s Grant issues to worry about

Trout Hike – Pedlar River (VA – Delayed Harvest Section)

A long drive over a bumpy road puts you on decent water.

Trout Hike – Jones Run

If you undertake this brutal hike only to fish Jones Run, you will be disappointed.

Trout Hike – Jackson River (VA-Smith Bridge)

Update: Don’t fish here until the lawsuit is settled. Looks like the “cease and desist” order had no impact. Update!!! AVOID THIS SPOT It had been a while since I’ve been out of the Jackson River where I commented on my disappointment fishing the river as a result of the Kings Grant challenges. However, since my last visit I …

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Robinson River (VA – Rt 600 Mile 2)

Mile 2 is a good section to fish after it is stocked

Trout Hike – White Oak Canyon (VA)

A rough mountain climb leads to a few crystal clear pools framed by stark rock cliffs

Trout Hike – Rose River (VA – Below Park)

Let’s break up the summer with a report on trout!

Trout Hike – Doyles River (VA – Lower Section in Park)

A 7 mile hike with a 1,500 ft vertical drop protects a Park jewel

Trout Hike – Rose River (VA – Shenandoah Park Lower)

Bear! It just added to the overall ambiance of the Park

Trout Hike – Thompson WMA (VA)

In season, this is probably a pretty good spot.

Trout Hike – Conway River (VA – Middle)

The Conway is not as stressful as Devil’s Ditch

Trout Hike – Devil’s Ditch (VA)

Brutal bushwhacking on a pristine stream! Wonderful!

Trout Hike – Hughes River (VA – Park at Mile 1.5 upstream)

Brutal bushwhacking produces bountiful brookies

Chopawamsic Creek May 09 (VA – Quantico MCB)

A new policy at Quantico makes this a good destination for trout hikers

Robinson River (VA – Rt 600 Mile 1)

Good stocked water where the Robinson joins the Rose

Trout Hike – Smith River (VA – Field Ave Bridge)

Easy access to a wide, deep stretch of the Smith River south of Bassett, VA.

Trout Hike – Rapidan River (VA – Middle Upper)

Lon and I bumped down the rough, rutted road over the mountain from Criglersville following Quaker Run Road from its junction on the Robinson. We ground to a halt where it met the Rapidan River inside the Shenandoah National Park and considered our options. We could continue on the road and fish our way up …

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Trout Hike – South River (VA – Constitution Park)

Volunteering at the Virginia Fly Festival provides a cover story to hit the South River again.

Trout Hike – Smith River (VA – Gov Stanley Hwy)

Another nice section of the Smith that runs next to a factory

Trout Hike – NF Moormans (VA)

No pot of gold at the end of this rainbow either …

Trout Hike – South River (VA – Hopeman Parkway)

The center of the fallfish universe – found in Waynesboro!

Trout Hike – SF Moormans (VA)

No pot of gold at the end of this rainbow…

Trout Recon – Crooked Creek (VA – Lower Fee Fishing)

After fishing the middle and upper parts of Crooked Creek, I did a quick recon of the rest of the fee fishing area.

Trout Hike – Big Stony (VA – Columbia Furnace Upstream)

A pleasant spot worth a visit later in the season

Trout Recon – German River (VA)

A nice, sunny Sunday provides the opportunity to do a recon of the German River

Trout Hike – SF Holston (VA – Buller Catch and Release)

The Buller Hatchery has a 1/2 mile long catch and release section

Trout Hike – South River (VA – Ridgeview Park)

Nothing compelling to recommend it other than a place to take your kids for a picnic

Trout Hike – Rose River (VA – Above Syria)

The Rose River above Syria should be no different than the section in the Park

Trout Hike – Chopawamsic Creek (VA – Bottom Section)

The stocked signs were here, but the trout were not

Trout Hike – Smith River (VA – Trenthill)

The river runs next to a factory, but that does not bother the trout

Trout Hike – Dry River (VA – Lower Section)

The Dry River is one of my favorite waters within a reasonable distance of Northern Virginia

Trout Hike – Crooked Creek (VA – East Fork)

A mistake puts me on the wrong body of water

Trout Hike – Big Stony Creek (VA – Below Columbia Furnace)

Murray says that Big Stony Creek is one of the best stocked waters in Virginia

Trout Hike – Little Stony Creek (VA – FR92 Downstream)

Nothing moving in late December – tough fishing and hiking

Trout Hike – Paddy Run (VA – Middle Access Point)

Paddy Run is a pleasant surprise!

Trout Hike – Upper Passage Creek (VA)

Upper Passage Creek is starkly different from the other sections which are miles downstream.

Trout Hike – River Valley (VA – Fee Fishing)

fished River Valley Farms under the worst possible river conditions, but you would not know it from my results.

Trout Hike – Locust Shade Park (VA)

Need a quick trout fix? Go here.

Trout Hike – Crooked Creek (VA – Middle Section)

I felt like I drove into a mall parking lot

Trout Hike – Happy Creek (VA)

Easy access to one mile of stocked water in the heart of Front Royal

Trout Hike – North Creek (VA)

Rough walk with no payoff

Trout Hike – South River (VA – Waynesboro DH Section)

Next time, I’ll start farther up into the delayed harvest section

Trout Hike – Hawksbill Creek (VA)

If you don’t mind getting advice from the folks walking by, Hawksbill is a pretty nice spot during the stocking season.

Trout Hike – Passage Creek (VA – Delayed Harvest Section Upstream)

Nope. Passage Creek is no different in the fall on a weekday in the delayed harvest section. This place is under constant pressure….

Trout Hike – Jennings Creek (VA)

Jennings Creek = Passage Creek … just in a different part of the state

Trout Hike – Sugar Hollow Reservoir (VA)

Sugar Hollow Reservoir is a tough nut to crack – bank fishing only.

Trout Hike – Dan River (VA – Powerhouse Upstream)

Stunning beauty, empty water?

Trout Hike – Smith River (VA – Bassett/Special Reg)

The Smith River is the tailwater flowing out of Philpott – native browns!

Moormans River (VA – TU Section)

Pathetic end of season location ….. bad advice brought me here on June 13.

Trout Hike – Dry River (VA – Upper)

Need a trout fix in the middle of summer?

Trout Hike – SF Holston (VA – Buller Dam)

The SF of the Holston up by Buller Dam was a washout on the day I was there.

Trout Hike – Big Wilson Creek (VA – Lower)

Lower Big Wilson, above the stocked area, offers a nice walk to nice brookies and rainbows

Trout Hike – Skidmore Fork of the Dry River (VA – Middle)

Heading downstream from the parking lot reveals a dramatically different section

Trout Hike – Skidmore Fork of the Dry River (VA – Upper)

It’s a long hike that leads to a short, pleasant meadow stream under the dam

Trout Hike – Hughes River (VA – Middle Section)

Even though this was road fishing, I had a great time

Trout Hike – Little Wilson Creek (VA)

The Little Wilson is a tight, small stream where it slams into Big Wilson Creek in the Grayson Highlands State Park

Trout Hike – Rose River Farm (VA – Fee Fishing)

There should be a warning about places like this…. “Monsters lurk here…”

Trout Hike – Chopawamsic Creek (Quantico MCB – middle section)

Quantico MCB offers good trout fishing for about two weeks after each stocking

Trout Hike – North River Gorge (VA)

A long walk puts you onto great water.

Trout Hike – Passage Creek (VA – Put and Take)

While Passage is heavily pressured, it is a pleasant place to wet a line

Trout Hike – Peters Mill (VA)

A trickle of water that limps downstream towards Passage Creek

Trout Recon – Fox Creek (VA)

I did a drive-by of Fox Creek – it needs further investigation

Trout Hike – Bullpasture Gorge (VA)

A nice section of water – very, very scenic and has trout!

Trout Hike – Rapidan River (VA-Graves Mill)

On my way back from Whitetop-Laurel, I had a few hours so I diverted to fish the lower Rapidan near Graves Mill. I had been here twice before back in my spin fishing days, but had never spend any real time working this section. Today was to be no different. Unlike the upper part of the …

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