The late master Ed Hewitt said trout feed heavily on natural ants because they taste good. One day on Nelson's, there was a great olive mayfly hatch. I found a very large brown trout lying in the shade of a large down fall. I tied on a Mr. Rapidan Ant size 18 and casted just short of reaching the brown trout. Much to my surprise, that big brown came out from under the down fall, passing up many olives on the water, to take my ant pattern. Maybe Mr. Hewitt knew what he was talking about.
The Mr. Rapidan Ant is very versatile as I have been using it on the native brook trout streams in the Shenandoah National Park as well. I have many customers that use it on the spring creeks in PA and trout streams throughout the west. It is easy to see and seldom lets me down.
The recent rains have helped the Shenandoah National Park streams, as they were getting low and the fishing was getting tough. The water temperature has been around 64 degrees at 10a.m. Try to look for areas that have natural springs and fish below these, where the water temperature is a few degrees cooler.
If you need help on where to go, stop by the fly shop or see my book Trout Fishing in the Shenandoah National Park.