How to Beat High Smallmouth Rivers

1. I head upstream to get above as many feeder streams as possible. For example, from where my fly shop is in Edinburg by driving upstream 10 miles I can fish the North Fork of the Shenandoah River in a manageable water level because I have gotten upstream above 3 of the main feeder streams.
2. The second tactic I use is to go to sections of the river where I know there are islands which split the flow of the stream. Frequently I’ll get great fishing on the small side of the island when the large side still has too much water.