Current Local Conditions

5-8 Fishing has been excellent this week. Rain is moving in tonight and tomorrow and we are expecting up to 2 inches!

James and Shenandoah Rivers: Rain is coming again tonight and tomorrow and may keep us from fishing smallies for another few days. We will update conditions tomorrow and Saturday as we see changes in the streamflow.

Mountain Streams: The fishing has been excellent this week. We have done well everywhere we have fished, but rain tonight may change things. We still need a bunch of rain and the 1-2 inches forecast will be a big help to our groundwater. Keep an eye out for streamflow updates tomorrow and Saturday. We fished the Jackson at Meadow Lane this week and pounded BIG rainbows on dry flies, nymphs, streamers, and wets. The Special Reg. Section of the Jackson also fished very well. Our local brookie streams are on FIRE. Dry River in particular has been fishing very well. Humpies, Stimulators, Trudes, Adams, Wulffs, Rapidans, Elk Hairs, Paralyzers, March Browns, Hendricksons, Blue Quills will all catch fish. Be sure to dredge the deeper pools and runs with small streamers or BIG nymphs and try to catch that trophy 10-12+ inch brookie you've been dreaming about. Dry River, Skidmore Fork, Madison Run, Paine Run, Jeremey's Run, White Oak Canyon, Rapidan, Conway, Rose, N. Fork Mormon's, St. Mary's, Ramsey's Draft, N. River Upper, Little Stony Creek, Benson's Run....will all produce great results this week. For larger rainbows and brown trout, the Jackson, Back Creek, Bullpasture, South River, North River DH, South Branch Potomac, N.Fork S. Branch Potomac at Seneca Rocks, and the Elk, will all be on FIRE! Take adams parachutes, sulphur parachutes, stonefly patterns, March Browns, Quill Gordons, BWO's, Caddis patterns, and emerger patterns for all the rising fish. Any attractor nymphs in size 12-16 fished on a 9' 4-5X leader under an indicator will produce a bunch of fish as well. Be sure to fish some large streamers on these waters as well. The fish will be really active and should aggressively take any of these flies swung down and across or stripped erratically through your favorite holes and runs. Keep an eye out for an evening hatch of sulphurs as we have already spotted them on many of our local streams! Get out and enjoy the springtime!

Spring Creeks: Be ready to chuck some streamers out on the spring creeks this weekend. Heavy localized rainfall will bring up flows and turn these crystal clear creeks to chocolate milk. The big browns will be on the prowl for big streamers. Mossy, Smith, and Buffalo Creek will be giving up a good number of fish on dry flies and emergers on light tippet(5-7X) again once the creeks clear up. Look for the bulk of the sulphurs coming off the creek or hitting the water at dusk. The best action will be from 1 hour before dark until you can no longer see! For any early risers, remember there will be a bunch of spinners still making their way down stream in the mornings that have been stuck in the vegetation and back eddies from the night before. Fish should recognize a sulphur parachute, emerger, or rusty spinner 1st thing in the morning...so if you see a rising fish but no bugs on the water, try one of these patterns and you should hook up! Swinging sulphur and BWO wet fly patterns in the morning and afternoon hours should produce fish as well as these insects will sporadically emerger and hatch throughout the day. If the action is slow, switch to a heavy sculpin, crayfish, or baitfish pattern and target the undercuts and slots in the vegetation. Good luck and have fun!