BirdTrout
The Rapidan Catch-and-Release — Rapidan River, Virginia
Also called the Rapidan, Hoover's water, Rapidan brook trout water.
65 NHD reaches, 25.7 miles of drawn channel — side channels and braids included, so more than the distance downriver. Nearest reporting gauge 22.9 miles away.
Open in BirdTrout
The line is the water this name refers to, drawn from the NHD reaches it resolves to; the
dots are the nearest gauges reporting water temperature, coloured by what they read now.
The mapped extent is the whole named Rapidan River. The catch-and-release water is the portion above the lower park boundary sign.
What it is
The Rapidan and its tributaries inside Shenandoah National Park and the Rapidan WMA, past the camp Herbert Hoover built on it. Plunge pools between boulders, and native brook trout in every one of them.
Catch and release, single-hook artificial lures only, no bait in possession, all trout returned to the water unharmed — on the portion upstream of a sign at the lower Shenandoah National Park boundary.
Where it is
This name covers a stretch whose boundaries are posted on the ground rather than held in any file this site reads, so the map draws the named stream and the boundaries are described in words above rather than guessed at with a line.
No access site in this state's file falls within 3 miles of the mapped reach.
Regulations on this stretch
Catch and release, single-hook artificial lures only, no bait in possession, all trout returned to the water unharmed — on the portion upstream of a sign at the lower Shenandoah National Park boundary.
Rules change every year and the posted signs are the authority, not this page. Check the current Virginia regulations before you fish. Where this stretch sits inside a larger river, that river's general regulations apply everywhere this stretch's do not.
Best times
Best from April through June and again in October. Brook trout of seven to nine inches, occasionally ten.
Live water temperature
| Gauge | Distance | Now |
|---|---|---|
| War Branch Below Trib Near Tenth Legion, Va | 22.9 mi | 58.3 °F |
Live from USGS — the number above is current rather than whenever the page was written. A gauge miles away is a gauge miles away: the distance column is there so you can discount it.
Fly shops nearby
- Appalachian Trail Outfitters — 14.2 mi
- Albemarle Angler — 23.8 mi
- Mossy Creek Fly Fishing — 26.1 mi
- Walkabout Outfitters — 27.8 mi
Straight-line distance from the centre of the mapped reach.
Sources for the name
BirdTrout did not name this water. 3 independent sources below use the name, and it ships only because more than one of them does.
- dnr Virginia DWR
- flyshop The Perfect Fly Store
- guide Dark Skies Fly Fishing