Fly fishing in September can be excellent on the smallmouth bass streams. This is the time of year the Hexagenia hatch occurs. As most of your know, the remnants of Hurricane Ida just dumped 3+ inches in our area. Currently the streams are high and muddy. I like to fish what I call the “falling water”. Now I am not talking about wading in water that is unsafe, but as the streams start to drop and return to somewhat normal levels with just a little stained color–you can get some great fishing.
Hexagenia Hatch
Just this morning, a Hexagenia decided to come in the front door with our Fedex delivery. Since my fly shop is located right next to a trout stream, I know this hatch occurs starting mid August and runs through September. Of course I snapped a few photos of it and then released it out the back window. This can be a very heavy hatch and the smallmouth bass feed heavily on it. The Mr. Rapidan Skater size 8 is very effective when the bass are feeding on these adult flies. When I see splashy rise forms mixed with the dimple rise forms then I attach a size 10 Mr. Rapidan Soft Hackle Nymph (Olive) to a 2X dropper of my Skater. This way I am covering the whole area the bass are feeding.
Trout Fishing
Since we had such a drought this summer before Hurricane Ida came through, the Shenandoah National Park has closed the Park to fishing. The streams were extremely low. Even though we did receive some rain, I don’t feel it was enough to fix the conditions. There are other native brook trout streams in the George Washington National Forest that would be fishable. See my book Virginia Blue Ribbon Streams for more information or stop by the fly shop in Edinburg, VA.
Our On The Stream Fly Fishing Schools for Spring 2022 are listed online. If you are interested in learning more about fly fishing the native brook trout streams in the Shenandoah National Park, then these schools are for you.
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