BirdTrout Open the map

Shenandoah Valley fly fishing trip

Valley limestone, the Shenandoah's two forks and the Alleghany highland tailwaters — the state's most productive and most fished water.

The water

Water	Miles	July mean
Mossy Creek Trophy Section — named stretch	—	—
The Waynesboro Catch-and-Release — named stretch	—	—
The Jackson Tailwater — named stretch	—	—
The Douthat Fee Water — named stretch	—	—
The Buffalo Creek Trophy Section — named stretch	—	—
The Conway Nine-Inch Water — named stretch	—	—
The Roaring Run Trophy Section — named stretch	—	—
The Rapidan Catch-and-Release — named stretch	—	—
North Creek Catch-and-Release — named stretch	—	—
Passage Creek Delayed Harvest — named stretch	—	—

Ordered by mapped length. July mean is measured at the USGS gauges standing in each river; a dash means no gauge on it reports temperature.

A 3-day plan

Assembled, not written: the days are the largest waters in range, longest first, and each one carries the nearest site in Virginia's own access file — measured from the middle of the water, so it is a place to start looking rather than a landing on that river. Fish them in whatever order the weather gives you.

Hatches to hit

The months with the most recorded hatches in the Virginia mountains: May (22), June (26), July (22).

Insect	Months	Hook
Little Black Stonefly	January–April	#16–18
Little Brown Stonefly	February–April	#12–16
Blue-Winged Olive	March–May and September–November	#16–22
Quill Gordon	March–April	#12–14
Blackfly	April–June	#18–22
Blue Quill	April–May	#16–18
Cranefly	April–June and September–October	#6–10
Grannom	April–May	#14–16
Green Rock Worm / Green Weenie	April–June and September–October	#10–14
Hendrickson	April–May	#12–14
Little Black Caddis	April–May	#16–20
Alderfly	May–June	#10–14
Caterpillar	May–September	#8–14
Crayfish	May–October	#4–8

Recorded from the Virginia mountains, earliest first. The year-round records sit at the bottom because they are true and they are not news.

Public land in range

• Ramseys Draft Wilderness — 2.8 mi
• George Washington National Forest — 2.9 mi
• Highland Wildlife Management Area — 12.3 mi
• Goshen and Little North Mountain Wildlife Management Area — 18.9 mi
• Goshen Pass State Natural Area Preserve — 26.0 mi
• Saint Mary'S Wilderness — 29.1 mi
• Deep Run Ponds State Natural Area Preserve — 30.3 mi
• Rough Mountain Wilderness — 33.1 mi

Blocks of ground with a page of their own, nearest first. Ownership from PAD-US as Virginia publishes it.

Camping and lodging

We have campground records for Michigan and for no other state, so there is nothing to list here rather than a list somebody guessed. The public land above is where the dispersed camping is, where the state allows it.

Fly shops

• Casta Line Trout Farms — 18.6 mi
• Walkabout Outfitters — 27.3 mi
• Mossy Creek Fly Fishing — 28.3 mi, Harrisonburg
• South River Fly Shop — 29.2 mi, Waynesboro
• Walkabout Outfitters — 36.3 mi
• Appalachian Trail Outfitters — 39.2 mi

From OpenStreetMap and a curated list, across all five states on this site. Call before you drive — a shop in a file is not a shop that is open.

Before you go

• Virginia regulations
• Virginia fishing report
• Shenandoah Valley fishing report
• Mossy Creek Trophy Section
• The Waynesboro Catch-and-Release
• The Jackson Tailwater
• The Douthat Fee Water
• The Buffalo Creek Trophy Section
• The Conway Nine-Inch Water

Open the map around here →Every trout stream in reach, coloured by today's water temperature.