Mountain Trout Streams Fly Fishing Report - July 13, 2022

The late Truman Coffman was one of the finest trout fishermen in the Shenandoah Valley. One of his favorite tricks to catch trout when the hatches were sparse and the trout were not rising was to "create a hatch". Truman would space 4 or 5 dry flies along his leader and cast it up to the head of the pool. A typical rig would consist of a Mr. Rapidan Dry #14, a Spirit of Pittsford Mill #14, Murray's Professor Dry #14, and Mr. Rapidan Olive Delta Wing Caddis Dry #14.  I was always impressed with Truman's success with this rig so you might want to try it one day. 

I was in the Shenandoah National Park earlier this week and the flies mentioned above were working well on a 7.5ft Classic 6X leader. I was also catching right many on the Murray's Flying Beetle size 16.  If you are looking for a new fly rod outfit for these streams, then check our Exclusive Murray's Mountain Trout Rod which is 6'10" 3-weight 3pc made by the Scott Rod Company. 

With the rains storms going through every couple of days, the streams in the Shenandoah National Park and George Washington National Forest are in good shape whether you come into them from the Skyline Drive or the lower boundaries. The water temperature was 61 degrees on Monday. I would still try to hide your approach so that you are not scaring the fish and try not to fish behind someone. What they didn't catch, they have already spooked. 

If you need help on access, see my book Trout Fishing in the Shenandoah National Park.