If you want to refine your skills as a dry fly trout angler, the wild mountain trout are presently willing to help you. As you fish your way up the mountain you will see a trout or two feeding on adult natural drys in almost every pool. Move in carefully and present a Mr. Rapidan Parachute Dry Fly size 14 on a slack line cast and you will land your trout. If you are looking to fish a dry and dropper set up then add a Bead Head Prince Nymph size 14 on an 18 inch dropper below the dry fly. There are 3 different hatches occurring on the mountain streams over the next few weeks so take advantage of them.
Yesterday was our first On The Stream Fly Fishing School for Spring 2022 and in addition to the flies listed above, the students did well with Blue Quill Dry size 16 and Copper John Nymphs size 16. Fish these on our Mountain Leader 6ft 5X. The water temperature is currently running around 46 degrees.
All of the streams in the Shenandoah National Park are clear and fishable.
You can either come into the streams from the top (off the Skyline Drive) or from the bottom to get good fishing. Bring your hipboots or chest waders and dress in layers to accommodate for the cooler air temperatures in the mountains.
If you need help on finding these streams, see my book Trout Fishing in the Shenandoah National Park or download my latest video on the Park streams.
The National Forest is opening the gates that have been closed for the last few months in the next few days. Therefore you can start fishing some of the national forest native brook trout streams again this weekend.