Trout Futures If you have not fished the mountain streams of the Shenandoah National Park in Va. you owe yourself a big treat. We like it so much we find ourselves going back each fall and we are looking forward to fishing there this April.We head for the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains south of Sperryville. From there it is easy to make day trips to the Hughes, the Rose and White Oak Canon Rivers. There are many more but these three have kept us occupied so far. White Oak Canon is harder to wade then the Hughes or the Rose. White Oak is just full of car size boulders that offer spectacular scenery and wonderful pools but is also very aggressive wading. Of course you could always skip the wading and take the hiking trail up to the falls. The Rose and the Hughes do not have the huge boulders of White Oak. The wading is more manageable. But I must add that if you do not like solitude, hiking, and some tricking wading these streams may not be for you. In the six days we have spent on them we have never seen another person after we have left the parking areas. Never. It is something to take into consideration when you are planning a trip. These rivers all produce native trout. You really have to work for them. You have to practice being stealthful and patient. It is worth the effort because native brook trout are beautiful. I caught myself so mesmerized by a perfect little Brooke in a pool just a few feet away from me that I do admit I did not even cast to it. I know that may seem ludicrous to many anglers but it was just captivating to watch. The colors were like jewels. For me it was pure pleasure just to look at that fish. But I will say that to catch one of these finicky, spooky trout is a very big thrill. I highly recommend that if you are thinking about going that you read and take with you "Trout Fishing in the Shenandoah National Park" by Harry W. Murray. Harry's book will give you all of the information you need including suggestions on what flies to use at various times of the year, what gear to bring, and how to fish these small, tricky mountain streams. He also gives advise about licenses that are needed and where you can get them. We have been there about the third week in October these last two years. The weather, fishing and foliage have been great. Of course some of this is luck. Try not to go on the weekend at this time of year if you can help it. Last year we arrived Sunday evening and the small country roads were just clogged with people leaving the area from a day of "leaf peeping." We stay at Graves Mt. Lodge in Syria Va. It is a wonderful blend of old and new buildings overlooking the Rose River. The Graves lodge offers three meals a day which are served family style. The food is good and plentiful and we have met many interesting people there. The staff is happy to provide a take out lunch for your day of fishing. One word of caution. The rooms do not have a TV, or a phone. The radio may pick up one station. But each room has rockers on the porch and the windows actually open. The view of the valley and surrounding mountains is spectacular. It is perfect for a few days of getting away from it all. On a serious note I want to mention about the fish spawning during the fall. The day we fished The Rose this past October we found pool after pool of spawning beds and spawning trout. Once you know what you are looking for the beds or "redds" as they are called are easy to pick out. They are a frying pan like depression of clean gravel. In his book Harry Murray writes "The spawning beds are easy to identify; the slight depression of cleanly swept gravel stands out so vividly one would almost assume they are illuminated with spotlights." I was not able to see the beds this clearly at first. It took me awhile and more then a few beds to become comfortable picking them out if they did not have trout actively spawning. This is very important because the trout are so vulnerable at this time. It is fascinating to see the largest fish in the pools this exposed to danger while spawning. The beds may have one female with two or three males actively working. The females makes the bed, then lays her eggs. The male fertilizes the eggs and the female covers them with clean gravel. It is also important to watch where you are wading even after active spawning because the eggs are so fragile. We did not fish The Rose that trip and kept our distance not to disturb the spawning fish. Don't think however that if you went to this area and the fish were spawning that you would not be able to fish at all. A mile or two down stream there were no "reeds" and my husband caught one of the biggest trout of the trip. On the Hughes we saw only one or two "redds" and had a great day of fishing. By learning what spawning beds look like and not fishing when spawning is going on you are helping to protect the future of fishing. One more thing. My "muse" took
exception to me talking about "tricking wading." He insist all wading should be
considered tricky. Point taking but that is another article. |