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Fly Fish Virginia | Ramseys Draft – March 11, 2021

March 13, 2021 By Tom Sadler

Date: 11 March 2021
Time: 1:00-6:30 p.m.
Weather: 65 degrees. Mostly sunny
Water: 46 degrees, clear and full (3.09 at Ramseys Draft gage)

Had another chance to play a bit of hooky with a friend. We took advantage of a warm March afternoon to run up to Ramsays Draft. Water levels were excellent with a few risers here and there. We caught all but one on nymphs, with hare’s ear being the preferred offering.

Below are a few images.

For details on this and other watersheds check out VA DWR’s Where to Go Trout Fishing (Interactive Map).

Fly Fish Virginia | North River | First Trip of 2021

March 6, 2021 By Tom Sadler

Date: 03 March 2021
Time: 1:00-5:00 p.m.
Weather: 52 degrees. Sunny
Water: 42 degrees, clear and very high (180 CFS at Stokesville gauge)

First trip of 2021, and it sure felt good. Had a chance to play a bit of hooky with a friend. We took advantage of a beautiful March afternoon to run up to North River. It was high water conditions so we picked our spots carefully. We managed to bring a few to hand, mostly on a jig head pheasant tail nymph. We saw a few risers and had a couple of takers on a parachute Adams.

Below are a few images.

You can get the direction to the North River here.

Field Notes:
VDGIF stocks this water. You will need a valid trout license from October 1 to June 15 in addition to the other fishing license if you are fishing in these designated stocked trout waters. License information: https://gooutdoorsvirginia.com

For details on this and other watersheds check out VDGIF’s Where to Go Trout Fishing (Interactive Map).

Fly Fish Virginia – North River | First Bridge

February 19, 2020 By Tom Sadler

Directions from Staunton, VA

Rt 250 W toward Churchville and West Augusta.
Travel about 15 miles from the Rt 262 bypass.
Turn hard right onto Rt 715 (Braley Pond Rd) toward Braley Pond/Elkhorn Lake.
Travel about 6 miles to the intersection of Rt 715 and FS 95.

Turn left toward W.VA onto FS 95.

Travel about 1 mile to the first bridge.

looking upstream
looking downstream

Travel about a ½ a mile and you will come to a parking area on the left.

I parked here and walked back to the bridge.

Date: 17Feb2020
Time: 1:30-4:30 p.m.
Weather: 48 degrees and partly sunny
Water: clear, cold and full (35 CFS at the Stokesville gauge)

Below are some shots taken as I worked my way upstream back to the parking spot.

Field Notes:
VDGIF stocks this water from here, up to the fourth bridge. You will need a valid trout license (annual or lifetime) in addition to the other fishing license if you are fishing in designated stocked trout waters from October 1 to June 15.

License information: https://gooutdoorsvirginia.com

For details on this and other watersheds check out VDGIF’s Where to Go Trout Fishing (Interactive Map).

Guide's Day Off – Skidmore Fork

December 29, 2019 By Tom Sadler

The weather report said 60 degrees and clear and I didn’t have any pressing obligations, so I grabbed my gear and headed to Skidmore Fork to see if I could scare up a brookie or two.

Side note, I actually left my rods at home and only realized it when I was three quarter of the way to the water. My patient and understanding wife was kind enough to meet me half way and bring me my rods…

I hit the water about 12:30 p.m., starting at a hole not too far from the parking area. And sure enough there were a couple of fish ready to pound a nymph.

a Skidmore Fork native
Another Skidmore native.

I had a couple of places on the stream I wanted to fish so I moved on, hitting likely pools as I went along. In some spots I was a bit surprised that I didn’t move any fish but I didn’t switch flies or tactics, being content with the occasional take. If fact, I managed to fish the same two flies and rig all day.

The first place I wanted to see was upstream aways so I jumped out and went up the fire road to see how good my memory was. It had been a couple years since I been to that spot.

Surprisingly, my first shot landed me 20 yards above where I wanted. But it was quick work to get there.

What the tenkara rod saw…

I managed to miss a nice fish in a small back eddy, that took a whack at the dry just as it landed. I fished up from there, with little action for the effort.

My final destination was just above the second ford. Years ago I had been fishing with a good friend. As I recall, it had been a bit frustrating of an outing. Rising fish but spooky. Pre tenkara, which made it worse.

As we were scouting the run, a nice fish rose in a tricky spot under some overhanging limbs. My friend fired a picture perfect cast, got a good drift and landed a the fish. It was one of those experiences that keeps you coming back.

I was thinking of that day, as it was my friend’s birthday the next day and I wanted a fish to commemorate the memory and his birthday.

Sometimes you get lucky…

-30-

The Philosophy of Brook Trout

November 17, 2014 By Tom Sadler

If you have even a passing interest in brook trout then you will want to pick up a copy of Downstream by David L. O’Hara and Matthew T. Dickerson.

If we could explain why grown men are so fascinated with brook trout, or why we spend so much of our time waist-deep in their waters, soaked to the bone, shivering, and delighting in every encounter with a specked trout, we wouldn’t need to write stories. This book is the best answer we can give.”

So begins this excellent book that explores the nexus between brook trout, fly fishing and some of the more interesting locations these very special fish call home.

The authors switch off with narratives that reflect both their personalities and points of view. The joy in the book comes in how they share their experience of fishing for brookies and the insights they give to the importance of the habitat the brook trout occupy.

The only complaint I would lodge is that they did not include Virginia in their travels. It would have been wonderful to see my home waters through their eyes.

The authors explore not only the impacts wrought upon the brook trout’s habitat, they also share their experience as fisherman; the teaching, manners, politics and connections to home. Dickerson is quite adept and entertaining at sharing the conundrums many fly fisherman face.

At the beginning of the conclusion, O’Hara quotes Kathleen Dean Moore from Pine Island Paradox.

I believe that the most loving thing you can say to a person is “Look.” And the most loving stance is not a close embrace, but two people standing side by side, looking out together on the world. When people learn to look, they begin to see, really see. When they begin to see, they begin to care. And caring is the portal to the into the moral world.”

Then, in my favorite part of the book he delves into the question of why he fishes. No doubt the answer to why is going to be different for everyone; but he does a fine job of putting on paper something that I and many others can relate to, to know the world we live in and our own lives better.

Downstream delivers an excellent “look” that Moore describes and the reader will come away with a sense of having stood side by side with the authors as they share their sense of caring for these special fish and the places they live.

Clear the Air, Save a Brook Trout

December 22, 2011 By Tom Sadler

“This is good news and real evidence for the value of our national investment in improving air quality,” said Rick Webb, a U.Va. environmental scientist and coordinator of the VTSSS. “At the same time, there is more to be done, and many Virginia brook trout streams may never fully recover.”

what clean air can do...

That quote comes from an article I wrote for Orvis News. Webb was referring to some encouraging news in Virginia showing that water quality has clearly improved since 2000 and how the Clean Air Act’s investment in air quality improvement was working. He noted sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants dropped by 64 percent between 1990 and 2009.

Yesterday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took another step toward cleaner air and if history repeats itself, as it is likely to do, then some of the “more is to be done,” that Webb refers to may actually get done.

The U.S. EPA issued the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. These court ordered standards will reduce emissions of mercury and toxic air pollution like arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium, and cyanide by relying on widely available pollution controls already in use at more than half of the nation’s coal-fired power plants.

“Since 1959, TU volunteers and staff have worked to protect and restore trout watersheds throughout the nation, and we’ve come to realize that fish-trout in particular-are barometers for both air and water quality,” said Steve Moyer, TU’s vice president of government affairs. “Along the Eastern Seaboard, we’ve had to react to pollutants in the air that eventually find their way into the water. For instance, eastern brook trout in some Appalachian mountain watersheds are particularly susceptible to pollution that alters the natural chemical balance in their native streams. In order to keep some populations from winking out altogether, we’ve had to resort to unusual tactics to keep these fish alive, including adding lime to some streams to restore the water’s chemical equilibrium.”

Of course not only brook trout will benefit. Dirty air means dirty water. Fish and organisms that depend on clean water suffer. Mercury builds up in fish to a point where it is no longer safe to eat them. Birds and mammals that eat fish and insects can all be exposed to high levels of mercury. They wind up behaving abnormally and have less breeding success.

When I worked for the Izaak Walton League, air pollution was a key focus area. The IWLA has been working for 10 years to try and get these standards in place.

“We applaud EPA for taking this step to protect public health and the environment,” says Nancy Lange, Director of the Izaak Walton League’s Energy Program. “This standard is long overdue, and the American people have been paying the price with their health. More than half our nation’s coal-fired power plants have already upgraded their facilities to scrub mercury out of their emissions. It’s time for the rest to follow suit.”

According to the EPA, power plants are the largest remaining source of several toxic air pollutants and are responsible for half of the mercury and over 75 percent of the acid gas emissions in the United States.

“By cutting emissions that are linked to developmental disorders and respiratory illnesses like asthma, these standards represent a major victory for clean air and public health– and especially for the health of our children. With these standards that were two decades in the making, EPA is rounding out a year of incredible progress on clean air in America with another action that will benefit the American people for years to come,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will protect millions of families and children from harmful and costly air pollution and provide the American people with health benefits that far outweigh the costs of compliance.”

Clean air and water should be something we can count on in this country. EPA has put in place a responsible, workable and politically courageous plan to improve the quality of our air and water. Administrator Lisa Jackson and her team deserve to be congratulated.

 

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