Mountain Trout Streams: The Eperous mayfly nymphs are very active and the duns are starting to come off well. A very effective tactic is to attach a
Mr. Rapidan Parachute size 14 to a
Murray's Classic 7.5 foot 5X Leader. Then attach a
Mr. Rapidan Emerger size 14 or a
Mr. Rapidan Bead Head Nymph size 14 to a twenty four inch 5X piece of tippet material which is tied to the bend of the dry fly with an improved clinch knot. The most productive fishing is found by coming into the heads of the streams from the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive.
Large Trout Streams and Delayed Harvest Streams:
The trout are now spread throughout long stretches of water so a good tactic is to use a
streamer with a soft hackle dropper. This enables us to show the trout imitations of both the minnows and nymphs they are feeding upon. My favorite flies are the
Shenandoah Skunk Simple Streamer size 10,
Shenandoah Silver Ghost Simple Streamer size 10 and
Mr. Rapidan Olive Soft Hackle Nymph size 12. This is great on Big Cedar Creek, the Smith River and Bullpasture.
