Paddy Run Trout Fishing (VA – Brookie Section)

After fishing the stocked section, I was curious about the upstream water. Earlier, I had pulled in the appropriate background files from the fisheries people and the Eastern Brook Trout Venture into Google Earth and discovered that Paddy Run, upstream of the stocked section, was rated as water that would hold wild brook trout.

I drove the truck approximately 2 miles upstream from the intersection and walked down to the stream to assess the volume and quality of water. Since it was still in the middle of the spawning season, I was careful to remain on the bank as I walked in search of holes that would be deep enough to hold trout throughout the year. As you can see from the pictures, I found several. I did not see any evidence of full-grown brookies. I threw a few rocks in some of the pools to see if I could spark movement but did not see anything bigger than a few inches dash for safety.

After checking out the southern end, I drove halfway back to the intersection and walked to the stream once again. I stopped at a campsite on a high ridgeline and skidded down to the stream from there. The water looked pretty good here as well.

As I looked downstream, I saw fallen logs spanning the creek with the requisite, mandatory deep pool lurking beneath. Upstream, the same situation prevailed. I walked for a few hundred yards up and downstream to check things out and concluded that there was plenty of good-looking water to hold the invisible brookies. A few test flicks with rocks only energized movement from the tiny fingerlings.

I believe this is a place I want to investigate when it warms up in the Spring and I can fish it thoroughly. I will come out here after they stock Paddy again, and after pursuing the stockers, I’ll bounce upstream and see if I can fool a few skittish brookies.

Getting There: From I-81, take exit 296 for US-48/VA-55 toward Strasburg. Turn left on Paddys Cove Lane. The turn is about 13.3 miles from I-81

Google Local Coordinates: 39.080842,-78.504809

Secrets Revealed? No. This is a very public location that is documented in the Virginia VDGIF stocking plan and the Flyfisher’s Guide to Virginia

Tell a friend about this article by clicking on this link

Date Fished: 12/22/2011

 
 

Unless stated otherwise, this article was authored by Steve Moore

Articles on this site are out of date since some go back to 2006. Regulations and property ownership may have changed since publication. It is your responsibility to know and obey all regulations and not trespass on private property.

Disclaimer and Warning:  The contents of this site reflect the opinion of the author and you, the reader, must exercise care in the use and interpretation of this information.  Fishing is a dangerous sport.  You can slip and fall on rocks and sustain severe injury.  You can drown.  You can get hooks caught in your skin, face, eyes or other sensitive places.  All sorts of bad things can happen to you when to go into the woods to visit the places documented here.  Forests, streams and lakes are wild areas and any number of bad things can happen.  You must make your own judgment in terms of acceptable behavior and risk and not rely on anything posted here.  I disclaim all liability and responsibility for any actions you take as a result of reading the articles on this site.  If you do not agree with this, you should not read anything posted on this site.

Disclaimer and Warning:  The contents of this site reflect the opinion of the author and you, the reader, must exercise care in the use and interpretation of this information.  Fishing is a dangerous sport.  You can slip and fall on rocks and sustain severe injury.  You can drown.  You can get hooks caught in your skin, face, eyes or other sensitive places.  All sorts of bad things can happen to you when to go into the woods to visit the places documented here.  Forests, streams and lakes are wild areas and any number of bad things can happen.  You must make your own judgment in terms of acceptable behavior and risk and not rely on anything posted here.  I disclaim all liability and responsibility for any actions you take as a result of reading the articles on this site.  If you do not agree with this, you should not read anything posted on this site.

Scroll to Top