tangledup

Thank you for the update! I have a work trip to Denver coming up in a couple weeks and plan to tack on a couple days at the beginning for some fishing. I’ve been researching different areas to figure out where to go so this was helpful information.

Some of the pictures didn’t upload for some reason.

Well I have to admit, this trip turned out far better than I expected. I had resigned myself to fishing the stocked urban streams that were closest to my hotel and hoped to fish at least two of them after I finished with work Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Those evenings came and went with no time to fish. While going on one of my virtual journeys in the hotel room, and cursing my vocation for keeping me so busy, I stumbled across an apparently well know stream in the Shenandoah National Forest named the Rapidan. I had never heard of it before but have since learned it’s a fairly famous stream. Thursday afternoon rolled around and we actually finished up work around 1:00pm. I can’t describe how excited I was when I realized I actually had an opportunity to fish a picture perfect trout stream and add a brook trout to my list of species. I have wanted to catch a brook trout since I began fly fishing about four years ago. I jumped in my rental car and stopped at Walmart on my way out of town to purchase the necessary tags. Only to learn their computers were down. After about 20 minutes, the dedicated employees had the computer up and running and I had my out of state trout fishing package purchased and stowed in my bag. After grabbing a few snacks, I was back on the road and completed the hour and a half drive to the lower Rapidan parking area. I really wish I had taken more pictures. That drive was absolutely beautiful. And the Virginia farms I passed along the way were all immaculate and well kept. I arrived at the parking area around 3:00 and changed shoes and got my rod rigged as quickly as I could. I hiked in 30 minutes straight, passing several attractive pools, with the strategy of getting past the areas with the most pressure to increase my odds of catching fish. It had rained earlier in the day and the river was roaring. About 20 minutes into my 30 minute hike I met a local who told me the water was a little high for his liking and he was headed up to try the upper Rapidan. I gleaned as much intel as I felt was polite and kept hiking up the trail. Once I hit the 30 minute mark I wandered off the well marked trail and began hitting some pools that weren’t flowing quite as quickly. I began with my standard hare’s ear and pheasant tail with no success. After losing a pheasant tail in a deep pool I sat down to tie on another fly but began to notice fish rising in the pool I had just fished. I tied on a parachute Adams then took a few minutes to work myself around to a better angle. On the second cast I was rewarded with a strike but missed the fish. Somehow I had left my floatant at home and the parachutes were only good for a few casts before they started drowning. I missed two more strikes on the parachutes in this hole. I tried a couple smaller foam patterns in the hope I could continue to get surface bites without the need to dry my fly every couple casts but the fish weren't interested. About a hundred yards up the stream I found a pool that had formed under two giant boulders the size of my living room. At the bottom of the pool was another large boulder about 8’ tall and 12’ wide. The top of this boulder was flat, allowing me to crawl up on top of the boulder and lay comfortably with a bird’s eye view. I noticed a mayfly hatch starting and the activity of the fish in the pool increased. I don't know my insects down to the order very well, but I think they may have been Hendrickson's. They were large with that rusty brown color. Watching the hatch progress before my eyes was quite an experience. When I first laid down on the boulder I saw two or three large mayflies bouncing around, with another much small species flying in the background. This species was too small and too far away for me to identify. As I watched the mayflies dance up and down in the air I noticed their numbers increasing. Very slowly at first but within five or six minutes the air was full of them. All moving through the air in dance that was unchoreographed, yet at the same time had a very obvious rhythm and flow to it. I was so mesmerized I almost forgot to fish. Almost..... I switched over to a small soft hackle I have started tying and using in small streams. Less than five minutes after my first cast into the pool I was rewarded with two brook trout. This was a species I have wanted to catch for a long time, so I was thrilled with this success. I only got to fish until about 6:30 but it was amazing and I got to see some beautiful scenery.

What you say is all very true. I do have some general ideas in mind. I just meant I’m not as prepared as I would LIKE to be when going to fish a new area. It might sounds strange but, to me, the process of planning a trip is almost as enjoyable as the trip itself. I typically build a binder of maps, destinations, a rough plan of the trip, lists of specific places to go and a goal list of the species I want to catch. By the time I take the trip I have spent so much time on Google earth, YouTube, and other digital resources that when I get to my destination it almost seems familiar. A preview to the trip, I suppose. This trip had such late notice I haven’t been able to prepare in my typical manner. But maybe that will add to the enjoyment of the adventure! Either way, I plan to spend some time outdoors, fishing new water, instead of shacked up at the hotel. I will add a report when I get back.

While I normally dislike internet scouting (both being the one doing the scouting and the one asked about scouting), I guess I must swallow my pride and stoop to the low levels of other internet scouts. I am getting sent to Stafford, VA for a work trip this coming week and figured I might as well pack a fly rod or two in the hopes of adding another state to my list of places I've been blessed enough to get to fish. The time available for me to conduct my typical pre-fishing trip research is extremely limited, hence my resorting to internet scouting. Most of the remote, small stream fishing that I enjoy so much seems to be on the wrong side of the state, but I have found three "urban" fly fishing areas less than 30 minutes from where I'm working and staying for the week. I have not began my research on the possibility of saltwater fishing yet. I have checked the Virginia public website for a list of various places and am slowly making my way through those suggestions in an attempt to plan out my fishing excursions for each night. Would any generous anglers on here be willing to point me in the right direction for some places to fish for trout or smallmouth within about 30-45 minutes of Stafford? I'm not looking for any specific secret spots, more just general areas to look at. A particular conservation area, public access, or body of water that might expedite my research time. Thanks in advance!

I don’t know much about classic fly patterns, but I do know that they are beautiful. This guy is a member of another fb group I’m part of and he ties some beautiful flies. EDIT: I can’t get the fb link to copy for some reason. But check out his page! https://m.facebook.com/guideschoiceflies/

Oh I don't think he's boring at all. He's quite a character. As a matter of fact, I just watched a couple of Galloup's videos today about picking mallard flank feather. I just meant from an instructional perspective, I like the direct approach of Flagler.

Kelly has forgotten more about fly tying than I will ever know, but he does like to ramble lol. I can't remember which video it was, but he actually mentioned that in one of his videos. Said people complained about how long his videos were. But then he said he didn't care enough about the reviews to edit his videos to be any shorter HA!

I've learned so much from Tim Flagler. He produces some of the best fly tying videos out there in my opinion. Your flies look good Daryk! I've learned that fly tying is like reloading....you don't save any money by making your own, but you get to produce everything specifically to meet your needs...AND it's a lot of fun in the process.

I had every intention of joining you guys that day....even had my stuff set out and ready to go. Unfortunately a last minute work thing got in the way and I wasn't able to make it. Hopefully we can do this again soon. Sounds like fun!

Austin is really nice. I try to give them as much business as I can. They have started expanding their selection of tying materials too, which is really nice. That was very generous of you! Thank you very much for the donation. Hopefully I get to meet you in person one of these days and shake your hand. I have probably learned more from those kids than I could ever hope to teach them. I’m jaded and cynical but they see the world through a lens that is devoid of the clutter of politics, prejudice, or any of a million other things that adults get caught up in. They enjoy life and the experiences it holds in a way most adults can’t fathom.

Haha I read too quickly and opened the thread with the exact same thought!!

Thanks for all the responses! They will be very useful. I know YouTube and other sites are full of resources, and I fully intend to use many of those resources. I was just looking for something specific from that website.

I am going to Plateau but not sure if I’ll make it today due to work. That is very generous of you! I should have most of what we need. I may be a little low on hooks, but I need to check and see.

About 30 but I’m not sure how many are taking the class.