W/ Fritz on the Rapidan 16 April

Sneaking up on Rapidan pool

        Fritz and I had been looking to get out on the river after life began to settle down and today worked.  We decided upon the upper-Rapidan and just after we passed junction pool we found a camper whose car had quit so we drove him and his dog back down to the Blue Ridge Parkway to get a tow, we were 25-minutes late to the river but it looked like a great day ahead.  We drove to the gate at the roads end, geared up and and headed to the river.  I began with a 2wt rigged with a dark hendrickson and pheasant tail dropper.

Get me back in the water!

Fritz w a trusty Orvis 4wt and a elk hair caddis followed by a 16 bead head prince.  As it turns out a well presented paperclip would have have some success today as the river was alive and action was constant between 0915 and 1300. We moved up the stream chatting, spotting and fishing.  The fish were exactly where they should be,  The water looked high down low in Criglersville but by the time we jeeped to the end of the fire road it was perfect.  I didn't take the temp but suspect it was 56.

Typical Rapidan colored Brookie

The fishing markedly slowed down from 1330-1500 as we picked up rock hopping speed in order to make the Brown House by 1500.  All and all a great 100 fish day between the two of us the majority of them were in the 4-5 inch range but 6-7 inch fish were not uncommon and a 8-9 incher was the prize for the day. Great fishing and even better to catch up with Fritz.

Upstream and up-waterfall

Classic Spring Day in Heaven -- On the river

11 April: Scott and I left NOVA at 0730 and headed to our favorite waters of the upper Rapidan .  The weather was holding ahead of an approaching front, promising highs in the 80s and light breezes.  When we arrived in Criglersville we found ourselves behind a slowish outback heading to the river, this company on the road was a harbinger of things to come.  The TU member allowed us to pass on the 2nd switchback (thank you). We passed the 2nd bridge and decided to fish the river on the right hand side until lunch as we were not so familiar with it as with other sections. Anxious to hit the stream we both geared-up w 2-wts and waders although you could have made a fair argument to wet wade (next time maybe).  The water was 56, clear & w optimal flow. We began to pick up fish immediately, Scott with an Adams Purple Parachute and hares-ear nymph and me w an elk-hair caddis trailed by a 16 bead-head prince.  Action was pretty fast for about 90-minutes then trailed off towards the end of our section.  We walked back down to our car .25 of a mile, although it seemed like more distance on the river as it always does.  We lunched by the river and that's where we saw our first company a TU veteran who kinda snuck-up behind us.  He was a gentlemen
and exited the river although we were happy to have him fish through.  We moved upstream to survey our post-lunch stretch and found that 8 SUVs had rallied at the campsite just below the Marine Camp.  They seemed like they were out for a good time so we gave them a good deal of river and put in upstream.  As it turned out they separated and scattered every couple of hundred yards as we quickly were penned-in and were not pleased that they had jumped in just 75-yds ahead of us.  We exited the river, moved upstream, only to have to repeat the process again as there were more of them.  We finally resolved to go to the upper gate and out-walk them upstream,  This worked well and we ultimately fished all the way to the presidential retreat unmolested.

 Golden Stonefly Nymph

Quill Gordon Nymph

Mid-afternoon was slow for me as I failed to change flies as the day changed and was cursed with some messy windknots, but action stayed relatively constant for Scott who adapted better to the changing conditions. There was a constant hatch throughout the day and we were fascinated by all the action on the water.  We still caught 60% on the droppers, but surface strikes were common and exciting, but all to frequently trout would rise and nose our dries only to resubmerge, so the issue became presenting what they were looking for.  Small dries worked mid day and then larger dries and larger droppers worked better late. 

Catching trout in President Hover's backyard

We ended the day as we like to, both catching a trout on our last casts within sight of the brown house.  It wasn't a record day but it was a great day.  I caught 28 trout Scott north of 50.

Matt landing a nice brookie

Classic pocket water and short riffles

Native brookie that fell for an Adams Purple Parachute dry fly

Shenandoah Valley 19-22 March

I had the opportunity to spend a week in Harrisonburg while Carole was working on an Alternative Spring Break program at James Madison University.  Having not spent much time in this area, my first stop was Mossy Creek Fly Fishing.  I talked a bit with the owner Colby who was exceedingly knowledgeable and friendly.  On Monday, I picked up some tying materials and planned to tie some Kreelex flies while staying in the hotel. 

On Tuesday, I headed out to Beaver Creek, but all the stream passes were logged out by the time I got there.  I decided to give Mossy Creek a shot for a couple of hours as I had never fished there before.  Air temp: high 30s, water temp 45 degrees, winds howling above 25 mph.  I had my dogs Allie & Jumper with me so I planned to fish for only a couple of hours while leaving them in the truck.. Casting was a challenge throughout... I had one hookup and one follow, but nothing brought to hand.  I'd like to give that water another shot someday when I have a bit more time. 

On Wednesday, Orvis hosted a Trout School at Rose River Farms.  Allie & Jumper again accompanied me for the ride, and enjoyed running around the fields before taking up residence back in the truck while I went to work.

 I would be guiding 3 gentlemen on the river today. I guided for Brian H,. Gerry B., and Charles W. --- and we had a terrific day on the water.
Air temp:40s, sunny, water temp: 46.  In the morning, we worked on dead drift nymphing techniques and everyone got into several nice rainbows. The hot fly for the morning was a size 14 Green Weeny -- don't laugh at the name, just enjoy the results!  I tied up a dozen of these flies a couple of days earlier and was happy that I did. 
In the afternoon, we fished a different stretch of water and worked on down and across streamer presentations.  Again, the group all successfully got the hot hand and were able to hook into some beautiful trout -- both rainbows in the 14-17 inch range, and brookies in the 11-12 inch range.  The best flies were #10 Olive Woolly Buggers, white woolly buggers also enticed a few aggressive rainbows.
All told, everyone in group caught, landed and safely released more than 10 trout apiece. 
At the end of the day, I grabbed my rod and headed down to fish for about 30 minutes.  The bite was still on.....

  On Thursday, I headed out to fish Beaver Creek.  It was bitterly cold.  Wind chill was in the mid-teens. 
While rigging up to start the day, I could not find my 4-wt reel & line.  My default option was my 7'6" 1-wt Superfine.  I knew if I caught a fish here that my rod would be put to the maximum test... and it soon was. 
Using a Kreelex fly that I tied a few days earlier, I drifted the fly down a sweeping run, then stripped out another 20 feet of line and allowed the fly to drift all the way through the hole.  At the end of the drift -- BAM the rod didn't literally double over -- it fully doubled over and then some.  Landing a feisty 16inch rainbow in fast current with a 1-wt full flex rod is a challenge.  But a fun challenge.  As I reached back for my net to land the fish, I found my 4wt-reel safely lodged in the webbing! I snapped a quick pic and safely released the fish back in the river.

 As the wind continued picking up and the rod guides continued to ice over, I decided to call it a day and head back to warm up.
On Friday, I tied a bunch of Clousers and Mickey Finns before picking up Carole and heading home.
Harrisonburg is a terrific area.... I could see taking up residence there some day.

Rapidan River Brookies 3-11-13

I've been fighting off some flu bugs and other viruses for about a week and Monday I woke to a clear head and sound body so what better to do on a day off than head up to the Rapidan and see what the brookies are up to.  The weather conditions as follows:  partly cloudy; air temp - 50; water temp 42.
Matt couldn't make the trip today so the trip was a solo effort.  The recent rains and snow meltoff made the road a bit dicey.  I spun the rear tires of my Ranger and headed up & down the switchback dirt road.

 

Today I fished the section from the Junction Pool to the first bridge.... about a 1.75 mile trek upstream.  I parked at the bridge and hiked back down to the Junction Pool to start fishing there.  The water level was higher than I've ever seen it -- good news for spring fishing.  I rigged my 7'6" Orvis Superfine  with a #14 Parachute Adams followed by a #18 Copper John.  When Matt & I fished the river last month, the fish were all small ones -- 6" or less.  Today I hoped to find some bigger ones.... and I did.  Although not a "lights out" day, I caught and released 10 brookies in the 7-11 inch range.  Six  caught on the Adams, 2 on the Copper John & 2 more on a #20 Zebra Midge.

I played around a bit with my waterproof camera and snapped these pics of the trout underwater.  I still have a ways to go on underwater camera ops.

I expect the fishing to heat up as the water temp inches up to 50 degrees and beyond.
See you on the river.  Tight lines! scott

Project Healing Waters 3-1-13

The Quantico & Belvoir Chapters of Project Healing Waters partnered for a wounded warriors flyfishing trip to Harmons Cabins on the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac in the mountains of West Virginia this past weekend.  I had the privilege of attending and lending a hand as a guide and also got to wet a line as well and fish this amazing stream.  The water was chilly -- 38 degrees, a little high, and a little faster than normal.  It snowed both days on the water.

More than 40 warriors and volunteer guides held court on the river and despite the tough environmental conditions, fish were brought to hand by nearly everyone attending the event.  PHW chapter coordinators Marty Laksbergs and Bob Gartner did one heck of a job in putting all the moving pieces together to make the event a huge success.  If anyone is not fully aware of the Project Healing Waters program -- Google it and learn what a terrific organization this outfit truly is and how it supports warriors nationwide.

I had the chance to guide for and fish alongside with my father-in-law Hans Svane -- and Air Force vet who served from 1967-1971.  Over two days we threw nearly every fly in the box at these trout -- sculpins, woolly buggers, nymphs, copper johns, midges.  We'd get a bump or short strike now and then, but the fish were few and far between.  On Day 1 -- Hans caught a 20 inch fallfish that I found out is a really huge fallfish!  Most fallfish fall in the 6-9 inch range.  This was the granddaddy apparently.

On Day 2, weather conditions were still a challenge, but reports were coming in from other warriors who were picking up some rainbows on san juan worms, copper johns and midges.
Matt joined us for the morning fishing, but having driven some 7-8 hours the previous night after attending a funeral in Upstate New York, he was pretty bushed.
We fished fast water, slow pools and everything in between trying to crack the code.  In between trying to keep our feet and hands functional, we had a few hits now and then, but that was all.

Finally later in the afternoon, I switched to a big sculpin and hooked a feisty rainbow. We packed it in for the day at that point.
After the group dinner that evening, Marty & Bob handed out raffle prizes to all the warriors that included a few fly rods & reels, nets, fly boxes and other gadgets.  What a great organization!









I headed back to Virginia Saturday night, but Hans fished Sunday morning with volunteer guide Drew Patterson from the Trout Unlimited Chapter in Winchester, VA.  Drew bunked in the same cabin as us and he's a genuine high quality guy.  What I couldn't do in two days, Drew did in just a few hours. He put Hans onto a nice rainbow before everyone packed it in for the day.  Thanks Drew.  Thanks Hans for coming out, and again kudos to Marty Laksbergs and Bob Gartner for putting the event together.

Project Healing Waters Outing to Rose River Farm

Scott and I set out this morning to meet our Project Healing Waters friends for a PHW outing at Rose River Farm.  We knew it would be wet with a storm approaching and were anxious to see what the PHW coordinator had lined up for us.  We arrived at the Pavilion at 0850 and the fisherman needing assistance were already spoken for by other guides.  Scott introduced me to the PHW crew (this was my first trip) then we headed down stream to the lower limit of the farms' waters.  Scott and I both opted for 4wts, his an Orvis TLS and mine a clearwater.  We fished dropper-dropper combos beneath strike indicators on 4 & 5X tippets.  The most successful fly turned out to be a #20 zebra midge.  We began the day with several hookups in the 15 inch range and continued to fish the same holes (for too long) until our desire to fish new water became too great.  The first cold rain drops hit at 0951 and came more steadily hour by hour ~ thank goodness wind was never an issue.  We retreated for lunch at 1200 fishing a few holes enroute to the pavilion where we found a pot of welcoming chili.  After trading stories we helped out a few friends, old and new at the pool at the pavilion.  After lunch we changed clothes and headed upstream to the bridge and fished back downstream toward the Pavilion.  We were skunked in the first two holes/runs then began to steadily pick up 3-4 strikes per hole often landing 1-3 fish per hole.  We fished all the way back down to our morning positions then worked our way back up to a honey hole along a rock improved bank.  The last two hours we spotted/guided for each other enjoying putting each other on fish at each hole.  This turned out to be perfect as an uninformed cast was useless and a guided cast had high hook-up potential.  Scott caught a gorgeous rainbow then put me on a gorgeous aggressive bow on the last cast of the day.  As we departed two fisherman Scott had helped on a previous PHW outing approached the pool and we spent another 10 minutes putting them on fish as well.  We left chilled, but with big smiles on our faces having caught 7-8 rainbows apiece, having made new friends and put some of those friends on some big fish.

 

Rapidan River 2-12-13

Matt & I hit the stream about 9 a.m.. Air temp was 34 degrees and windy.  No other fishermen were on the river.  We didn't have a thermometer to check water temp, but I'm guessing low 40s -- it was cold. The water level and flow were excellent -- a really good sign of things to come for the season.
This was my first chance to try out my new Orvis 761-4 Superfine fly rod.  It did not disappoint.  It cast accurately; it presented dries gently on the water, and it made even a 6 in. brook trout feel like a good fish on the end of the line.  Matt and I both had hookups in the first 5 minutes of fishing -- another good sign.  We proceeded to catch a fair number of brookies throughout the day.

Most of the trout were small... really small in the 2-3 inch range.  But we both also landed several in the 5-7 inch class.  Most fish were caught on #16 & #18 BH Pheasant Tail Nymph, the next best fly was a #18 orange parachute dry.  Other flies that produced 1-2 trout were Adams Parachute, Caddis Pupa, BWO Emerger, BH Hare's Ear Nymph and Elk Hair Caddis.

The sun came out and the air temp really warmed up -- probably the warmest day on 2013 so far -- high 50s. A hatch of some really tiny off-white midges started around noon.  Though the flies were stirring above the stream, there was no observable surface feeding.  Several casts with a #22 Midge drew no takes. We finished up at Camp Hoover ending with our traditional "fish caught on the last cast" signalling time to go home.  Fish count for the day was Scott 25 and Matt 12.  Not a lights out kind of day like we had last year, but a good start for 2013 fly fishing for Brook Trout in the national park.

If you get the chance to head up to the Shenandoah National Park this spring -- we hope to see you there! Tight lines!