Blue Line Recon -- Jordan River

Surprisingly Big Brookies for this tiny water

From the 211/522 intersection at Massies Corner West of Warrenton headed north, the first fishable water is the Jordan River.   I've long wanted to explore the Jordan as it's the closest blue line to our house.  The Jordan holds its secrets well, it's small water and is justly overshadowed by the lure of the Rapidan and Hughes to the south. 

It doesn't have publicized waterfalls to draw hikers,  it's not easily accessed from Skyline Drive nor is the trailhead obvious from the valley floor.  It took a deep-dive into hikers' BLOGs to find good directions to the Jordan River Trails' trailhead access tucked behind a private property gate at the end of Bean Hollow Road (RR 629) in the backwoods of the historic hamlet of Flint Hill.  

Jordan River from Lower Bean Hollow Road

Flint Hill is a historic community of 200 trying it's best to ignore the DC Sprawl, 50-miles to the east but a world away. From 522 north make a left on Fodder Stack Road, then a right on 659 then a left on 628.  When 628 takes a 90 degree left hand turn stay straight ahead on Bean Hollow Road (629) which weaves its way over the Jordan River.  

Part of the herd from the 'Over Jordan Farm'

'Over the Jordan Farm' is across the river to your right (North).  4 huge white herding dogs guard a large flock of sheep and greeted me with barks promising they would either lick me silly or rip me to shreds. 

cute log cottage on the way in tells you that you're almost these

This is a lovely dirt road, the kind of place you'd like to build a cabin and escape and when you get to the colorfully named 'Big Bastard Mtn Lane' you can see a cute tiny log cabin to your right where someone had the same thought when cabins were hewn from logs and insulated with clay. 

 

Proceed up this driveway from the end of Bean Hollow Road 

The other feature that caught my TU educated eye were the raised culverts allowing the Jordan to flow under the road, but barring trout from movement on the river.  A 1/4 mile after Big Bastard Mtn Lane Bean Hollow ends at a misshapen cul-de-sac. There's a powerline cut that comes down the Mtn from the right, the river crosses the road at 2-o'clock, the gated path (drive way) you'll walk up is directly ahead.    Circle around the cul-de-sac and park headed back in the other direction with your passenger door against the forest.    

Right of way is up the driveway and then on to your right

It way gray, raining and chilly when I pulled in and I gear-up in the back of the Jamie.  The gated drive (right of way) has a sign on it that says 320. I walked up the driveway access and in 75m there's a well cared for camp on the left with the trail and Jordan River a straight walk up on the right.   

Another 50m past the camp is the SNP access and trail marker with the first seemingly fishable pools on your right.  Once you get into the park on the raised trail with the river below and on your right, it feels like the start of the walk into the Hazel or the Upper Rose. 

Just past the cottage is the entrance to SNP -- start fishing here

I decided to walk up the trail to out walk any pressure and 13 min from the Jeep found myself at the top of a small hill with three runs crossing the trail from left to right.   This is small water and fearing that these runs might be the  headwaters of the river I followed them down 50m to the main stem.   

The hike up should you decide to walk up further

Jordan River trail is yellow-hash blazed

First Rainy pool yielded a spec on the first cast

Grabbing roots along the way, I slid down the thorny and moss covered bank into the small gorge carved by the river.   This is micro-water.  What the Hazel is to the Rapidan, the Jordan is to the Hazel.   The only water similar in size and constriction is Devil's Ditch off the Conway.    

An uncommon bigger pool for the upper Jordan

male Brookie, notice the colors and beginning of kyped jaw

With rain soaking my shoulders, the water beginning to stain, a #16 Adams-chute on my shortest rod, a 5'9" CGR Glass Road from Cabelas I was rewarded with a 6 inch brookie on my first cast into a small but inviting pool.

young male brookie

I ducked, twisted and belly rolled up stream and quickly found that the "river" disaggregated into non-channelized runs.   I had BTH 7 surprisingly nice brookies, but when Jacuzzi size pools turned into bath tubs and then into kitchen sink pools I climbed back to the trail and made my way down stream to see if there was fishable water below where I had turned off trail earlier. 

Small pools characterize the upper Jordan

another colorful male

With 45-min of fishing time left I slid down into the lower river just above the SNP entrance.   The water here is still small but much more accessible than the upper reaches where I felt like I was casting inside the hallway of a single wide.  

This pool is lower/ closer to the park entry, I caught one brookie here to the left of the little falls

 I caught another half dozen in my remaining time, caught a beautiful brookie on my last cast to total 15 BTH for the 2.5 hours fishing and then with a smile on my face and another blue line in my memories, I turned back to the jeep for dry clothes and a jolt of coffee.  The Jordan doesn't have miles of fishable water like some other more remote streams, but from the SNP marker up to the where it disaggregates there's enough water for one angler to spend a great day here.  

tangled but released unharmed

mature female brook trout -- Thanks