Winter Fishing Report
Big Bend Farm and private waters – The fish have stabilized into a consistent winter feeding pattern. Dark, smaller nymphs fished deep have been the ticket, in addition to a variety of streamers either swung or stripped “low and slow”. We’ve been seeing sporadic hatches of midges and blue winged olives and the occasional riser. Take your 6x and small bugs if you hope to pick off one of these surface feeders.
Mountain streams – The brookies have been off and on. Most days we are seeing some nice activity but typically smaller fish. The larger fellas have definitely slowed down and are holed up waiting for a bigger meal in heavier flows. A dry dropper set up is a good bet on 5x or 6x with a heavily weighted nymph to get down fast. In the deeper pools and runs a nymph rig fished under an indicator or tight lined may reach the fish not looking up. Get out and enjoy the crowd free rivers. Remember to steer clear of the redds (fine pebbly patches of gravel) as to not disturb the eggs deposited this fall.
State managed waters – Keep an eye out on the VGDIF site for the trout stocking schedule. Many of our managed waters such as the South, Tye, Jackson, and Cowpasture have been producing nicely. This time of year, a deep fly box full of a variety of nymphs and streamers in different colors, sizes and weights will help you have success on the water.
