Upper Cedar Creek

With the crowds of Memorial Day Weekend beginning to seep into our beautiful Shenandoah Mtns I decided to forgo a trip to the Rapid Anne and try my luck on an unfished section of Cedar Run in the upper reaches of the Robinson River Watershed.  Well, I missed the fisherman on the Rapidan only to find hikers and waterfall jumpers on the Cedar.  Twice before I'd walked up the blue blazed well marked trail and fished to the first major water fall. This is great water and you can see it here. I hit the run at 0830, it was still running at full pool as it has rained here 18 of the last 22 days. The thick, green, fly grabbing foliage was fully budded and at a glance reinforced back cast discipline.  The water was flowing full, fast and cold at 57.  5 cars were in the parking lot when I stepped off, and I hoped I wouldn't encounter any of their hiking occupants for 4-5 hours.   I was wrong.

I emerged into the amphitheater of the first waterfall to the glorious crash of water smashing and carving rock, a symphony that's played here for 1000s of years.  The run above the falls was my target but I couldn't resist taking in this beautiful site. just above this first falls a Brookie surface-slapped my #14 parachute Adams and to my unending delight and fascination clamped it into his jaw. The strike, hook set and play is absolutely addicting, a hit of heroine I suppose, and begs another.   I'm hooked too.

These brook trout have been in Appalachia, here in this mountain run since the dawn of time and when you touch one you feel the cold energy whipping in its little body. My great grandfather Phil Riley would have dispatched them with a thwack of his billy club but today we're more respectful (and don't need to eat them for dinner!).   They're covered with a very light mucus layer so wet your hand before touching them if for some reason you need to lift them out of their watery home. I kept this first one underwater and released him gently to catch another day. 

Then the hikers closed in.   It's hard to begrudge people enjoying these amazing waters but they sure put a bite into the pools as they screamed jumped and generally sent the trout to hiding.  With hikers in the plunge pools I concentrated on the runs between the plunges but the further you ascend the more severe the gradient becomes.  The 8 foot first falls is dwarfed further up by falls approaching approaching 60 feet.  At one point as I hand climbed a mossy wall to the left of a fall I found an old climbing rope still hammered into the face.  This is steep water, really to steep for safe fishing.

I used my 2wt SF and it was perfect for these feisty fellows it's slow action a pleasure to cast light tippets and sensitive blank communicating the vigor of these little fish. The plunge pools and runs are spectacular and beg you to try just one more. 

I ended the day with a spec on my last cast and headed back down the trail, a beautiful day behind me and the promise of the Upper Connecticut River with Henry and Marc next week.