Tommy Lawhorne at South River Fly Shop in Waynesboro says that no stocking has taken place yet in the South River Fly Fishing Only Area in Lyndhurst, but some really nice fish are being caught. Trico’s are falling on most days in late mornings along with some small caddis flies and the occasional Blue Wing Olive. Water levels are low, but Monday’s rain helped a great deal with more to come this week.
There are lots of great holdovers from the first summer of the new Catch and Release Area in downtown Waynesboro. Fall stockings have been completed and the stream just needs a little more rain. Small mayfly nymphs and caddis larva have been working well. Midges are hatching daily and a zebra midge pattern will work on most days. Streamer fishing should pick up as water levels improve, but has been fairly slow up to this point. Several 20″ rainbow and brown trout holdovers have been caught in the past two weeks on small pink or orange Frenchie Nymphs.
Tommy says the mountain streams are critically low now and stressful to the native brook trout. The spawn will probably start as soon as we get some flow. The best recommendation is to give the brookies a break until after the spawn.
Low water conditions are also a problem on the Upper Jackson, Bullpasture and Cowpasture rivers. Some stocking has occurred, but the fishing has been difficult due to low clear water and stressed fish.
When in Waynesboro, stop by the South River Fly Shop at 323 W. Main Street for flies, top quality gear and up-to-date information.