Moormans River VA Mountain Stream

[Johnsfolly]

The Folly family is on the go. Heading out to MO and KS to see the kids and grandkids. Any Folly trip is going to have fishing stops along the way. First stop was only 215 miles from home, the Moormans river (really just a creek😉) that feeds into Sugar Hollow Lake in the Shenandoah Natl Forest in Western VA.

Water in the creek was running high but clear. The faster water made it difficult to sight fish. We fished this spot last year and Livie caught a mountain redbelly dace and I did not. Last year this was almost a vanishing creek with a series of pools. This year a flowing creek. 

We had to fish blind but the fish were there and active. Quickly caught a few bluehead chubs in some of the deeper water.

I tried some edge water off the main flow and caught another bluehead. The next bite was a little more subtle and was a mountain redbelly dace!

This was the first of Hopefully a few lifers on this trip! A spawning male would have been great but I am way happy with this catch under uncertain circumstances. Both Livie and I caught more blueheads and Eastern blacknose dace.

We fished for about 70 mins. Towards the end Livie missed what looked like a trout that came out from under a large boulder. She cast again and landed her largest bluehead.

Not wanting to disturb that fish too much We went and fished downstream some before she tried drifting past that Boulder again. She got another cast and good drift and it bit again. This time we both could see that it was a 10 to 11 inch brook trout. Then it was off and gone😟.

Couldn't spend too much more time with a lot more miles ahead of us. Sue found some chanterelles while we fished. We all looked and ended up with about 20 goldens and cinnabars.

[Johnsfolly]

A couple more photos since @snagged in outlet 3 likes them. 

My last fish of the day, a rosyside dace.