Table of Contents

6 About the Author 7 About the Illustrator 9 Foreword 10 Fly Fishing the Mid-Atlantic 14 Flies to Use in the Mid-Atlantic

Top Mid-Atlantic Fly-Fishing Waters Delaware 22 Brandywine River 26 White Clay Creek Maryland 30 Beaver Creek 34 Big Hunting Creek 38 Gunpowder River 42 Potomac River, North Branch Photo by Jon Luke. Jon by Photo 46 Savage River New Jersey 50 Barnegat Light,

Island Beach State Park King Montgomery by Photo 54 Musconetcong River 58 Pequest River 62 Raritan River, South Branch 66 Sandy Hook North Carolina 70 Beaufort and Harkers Island 74 Davidson River 78 French Broad River Photo courtesy Mike Smith. courtesyPhoto Mike 82 Neuse River 86 Oconaluftee River 90 Outer Banks 94 Tuckasegee River

4 Pennsylvania 98 Delaware River, West Branch 102 Elk Creek 106 Falling Spring 110 Lehigh River 114 Little Juniata River 118 Little Lehigh Creek 122 Monocacy Creek 126 Penns Creek 130 Spring Creek 134 Susquehanna River, North Branch 138 Tulpehocken Creek 142 Walnut Creek 146 Chesapeake Bay Islands 150 James River 154 New River 158 Rapidan River 162 166 Shenandoah River 170 South Holston River 174 South River

West Virginia Folger. courtesyPhoto Alan 178 Cherry River 182 Elk River, Slatyfork 186 Greenbrier River 190 Potomac River, Main Stem 194 Potomac River, North Fork of the South Branch 198 Second Creek

202 Trout Unlimited Tri-State Conservation & Fishing Camp 202 Virginia Fly Fishing & Wine Festival 203 Project Healing Waters 204 Th e Future of Menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay 205 Conservation 206 Other No Nonsense Guidebooks 207 Fly-Fishing Knots

5 To Front 81 66 Shenandoah Rapidan Arlington National Park Royal River, Upper 95 81 64 64 Richmond

M 64 il Roanoke l 95 Pr 643 o 81 Hampton ng 77 5 ng 1 2

Pro 231 l

e 1 Camp Hoover

r 3 Syria u a

L 4 2 Locked Gate To 649 3 670 U.S. Hwy. 29 Rapidan Family Camp 609 4 Rapidan Wildlife Banco Management Area 5 Graves Mountain Lodge R 231 a p Interstate i d U.S. Highway a To State Highway n Culpeper

29 Other Roadway R

i Boat Launch

v

G e Fish Hatchery a r r t Campground h Madison

R u n 634 Wolftown 0 2 Miles 230 Pratts 230 To C 29 o Culpeper n B w e a 621 a y 662 231 To R n u iver u t U.S. Hwy. 33 R i f k u l l 15 E 230 R

u

n

609 R 621 a 620 To pi da Harrisonburg Burtonville n To 609 Orange 620 231 633 33 R iv er 641 To Orange Ruckersville un 20 h R ars 29 M Old

To 33 Somerset 15 1 Charlottesville 20 231 To To Gordonsville Barboursville

To Rapidan River Gordonsville

158 virginia Types of Fish This is wild brook-trout heaven. Rapidan River Known Hatches Different fly hatches can occur throughout the year. These hatches include but are not limited to winter stoneflies, blue quills, blue-winged olives, Hendricksons, March browns, quill Gordons, caddisflies, Cahills, inchworms, irginia’s Rapidan River was named for England’s Queen and terrestrials. Anne, who reigned from 1702 to 1714. This river’s original Equipment to Use name was the Rapid Anne River but this was eventually shortened Rods: 3- to 4-weight, 6½ to 8 feet in length. to Rapidan. Her Majesty was something of a friend to writers: Reels: Standard trout reel. Lines: Weight-forward floating, matched to rod. In 1709, she issued the Statute of Anne, Great Britain’s first Leaders: 4X to 7X leaders, 9 feet in length. copyright law, which gave authors rights to their work rather than Wading: Hip waders are fine here. publishers. Though Queen Anne never visited the river named Flies to Use for her, another head of state, Pres. Herbert Hoover, certainly Drys: Adams, sizes 14-20; Blue-Winged Olive, 14-20; did. Hoover, an avid fly angler, asked his aide, Lawrence Ritchey, Elk-Hair Caddis, 14-20; Flying Ant, 10-18; Gelso’s Little Black Stonefly, 16-20; Light Cahill, 14-20; Little to find him a trout stream within 100 miles of the White House Yellow Sally, 14-20; March Brown, 10-14; Murray’s that was above 2,500 feet (so that Hoover wouldn’t have to fight Mr. Rapidan, 14-20; Pale Morning Dun, 14-20; Quill mosquitoes). Ritchey eventually discovered the Rapidan River Gordon, 12-22; Stimulator, 12-20. and recommended the place to his boss. Continued was the first complex set aside specifically as a presidential retreat. The main building, called the Brown House, presumably to set it apart from the White House, received such luminaries as Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Supreme The Rapidan has a strong population of Court Justice H. F. Stone, Mrs. Thomas Edison, Gov. Theodore brook trout, and all fish must be released Roosevelt Jr., British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, and immediately. Rich Hiegel casting drys to the great Winston Churchill, who was then Chancellor of the rising fish. Photo by Beau Beasley.

159 The Rapidan is the quintessential brook-trout stream and plays host to anglers as well as schoolchildren wishing to learn more about the environment. Photo by Beau Beasley.

160 Exchequer across the pond. The camp even boasted a majestic stone fireplace built to be Flies to Use (continued) Nymphs & Streamers: BH Goldilox, sizes 6-10; BH used in photo ops of visiting dignitaries. Hoover Hare’s Ear, 14-20; BH Prince Nymph, 14-20; Coburn’s donated Rapidan Camp to the Commonwealth Inchworm, 12-14; Green Weenie, 14-16; Mickey Finn, Murray’s Mr. Rapidan of Virginia when he left office in 1932. In 1935, 6-10; Pheasant Tail, 14-20. it became a part of the . When to Fish Anglers can access the Rapidan from Route 662 near Wolftown. Fishing is best on the upper Rapidan in the early spring Park at the end of the road, and then hike upstream. To fish higher and right through the fall. in the park next to Camp Hoover, access the Rapidan from Route Season & Limits 649 (Quaker Run Road). This is a tough and winding road that You can fish the Rapidan year-round, but you can’t doubles back on itself in places—and when the hard surface ends, harvest its trout. you’ll still have 7½ miles of rough road before reaching a locked Nearby Fly Fishing gate. Take the time to walk upstream or downstream if you see a car Numerous Shenandoah National Park streams are an easy parked on the side of the road. Distance makes good fishing pals. drive from the Rapidan. To view Camp Hoover (or take a Park Service tour of the place), Accommodations & Family Activities park at the end of Route 649 by the locked gate, and then hike up Graves Mountain Lodge is a family-owned business, and their excellent meals served family style are not to the service road for about a mile. It can be a long walk to Camp be missed. Trout Unlimited’s Tri-State Conservation & Hoover, but it’s worth it—and you can always fish on the way up. Fishing Camp held each June are open to boys and girls The Rapidan is home to a healthy population of wild native ages 13 through 17 from various backgrounds, and no experience is needed. Camp staff consists of retired and brook trout that can entertain fly anglers all season long. The active doctors, nurses, environmental experts of every problem is landing them. These fish spook easily and won’t tolerate sort, fly-fishing guides, a professional biologist, and a poor presentations or sloppy footwork. Successful tactics run former battalion chief from the fire department of Austin, Texas, who reminds me regularly that he still outranks me. the gamut from casting drys along a foam line to plumbing the The camp is successful primarily because of the selfless depths of small plunge pools. Be prepared to keep a low profile, work of the staff members who often take vacation time to and have plenty of extra patterns on hand—the surrounding tree volunteer at the camp. Campers learn how to wade safely, tie their own flies, and of course, how to cast. A maximum branches are frequently hungry. On a side note, don’t let a heavy of 24 campers attend each session and scholarships are rain put you off. The Rapidan often runs clear even soon after a available. The camp is nothing short of superb. downpour. The river bottom is mostly rock, so turbidity, while Graves Mountain Lodge Syria, Virginia an issue, is not a big problem on this excellent water. www.gravesmountain.com Though named for British royalty and made famous by an (540) 923-4231 American president, the Rapidan River is a trout stream for the Shenandoah National Park everyday angler. The river serves as a living classroom for Trout Luray, Virginia www.nps.gov Unlimited’s Tri-State Conservation Camp, held here each June. (540) 999-3500 The camp, the sponsors of which include Dominion, L.L. Bean, Tri-State Conservation Camp and Orvis, has been so successful that it’s now used as a model Camp Director Paul Kearney www.tucamp.org for similar programs. See page 202 for more details. (540) 229-0563 Guides & Fly Shops Albemarle Angler Charlottesville, Virginia www.albemarleangler.com (434) 977-6882 Angler’s Lane Forest, Virginia www.anglerslane.com (434) 385-0200 Mossy Creek Fly Fishing Harrisonburg, Virginia www.mossycreekflyfishing.com (540) 434-2444 Murray’s Fly Shop Edinburg, Virginia www.murraysflyshop.com (540) 984-4212 Rhodes Fly Shop Warrenton, Virginia The author has visited Camp Hoover on many occasions. For your www.rhodesgiftandflyshop.com first visit, you may enjoy a full tour offered free of charge by the (540) 347-4162 National Park Service. Photo by Fire Capt. Tony Kostecka.

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