Road fishing.
What does that conjure up in your mind? In mine, it’s the worst of the worst. Road fishing is a section of water that is right next to the main road. All that is needed to fish it is a spot wide enough to pull the truck over and throw in a line. In fact, in many road fishing situations, you could probably would not even need to leave the truck!
Granted, there are a number of folks who are not physically capable of walking in to a stream, so this is perfect for them. However, ease of access translates directly to increased pressure; especially when the water is stocked. In my mind’s eye, I see every one of the pullouts occupied the week after the stocking as folks beat the water to yank out as many fish as possible.
But, it’s legal. Peace and enjoy. But I do not need to go back there. This section of the South River is a boring stretch of water that parallels VA 621. The fishable section of the river is marked by the “Stocked Trout Water” signs that also signal public access. You do need to be careful as you work your way up the South since there are numerous posted signs and personal residences scattered along the road.
The river contains pools that are deep enough to harbor a trout but are separated by long stretches of flat water. If you parked and walked up the river, you would probably spend more time walking than fishing – especially if you had to skip around holes near the road that are already occupied.
The upper part of the river is marked as “wild trout” on the DGIF trout map. Since this was just a recon, I did not have time to get out of the truck and hike back in to see how that section of the river would look. Since it comes out of the Blue Ridge, one can assume that it might be typical small brookie pocket water.
Bottom line: There are better places closer to Northern Virginia than this.
Getting There: Find Stanardsville in Mapquest. VA 621 is north of this town and will follow the river for several miles.
There are a number of parking spots along this section of the South River – many of them are near nice looking water
As you can see, the South River is fairly wide here. However, it appears to be very shallow in much of its run in this stretch.
Unless stated otherwise, this article was authored by Steve Moore