Let’s discuss the different fly fishing options you can expect for the month of July. In the mountain trout streams, there are many Rhyacophila caddis hatches. I enjoy fishing the Mr. Rapidan Delta Wing Caddis (Olive) #16 to the rising trout.
Frequently you will see a commotion on the stream surface and assume the trout are taking the adult drys. Actually they are taking a natural caddis pupa an inch or two below the surface. An excellent technique when you suspect this, is to fish a #16 Mr. Rapidan Soft Hackle (Olive) on a 6X dropper below the Delta Wing Caddis mentioned above. In some cases I catch trout on the dry and some on the soft hackle. This hatch and egg laying is the heaviest the last two hours of the day. If you can, be willing to stay and fish until dark.
Smallmouth Bass Fly Fishing in July
A great location to catch large smallmouth is in the tail of the pools at dusk. The bass move into this water which is 1-2 feet deep to feed on the natural Chub Minnows and Dace Minnows. Listen to my podcast as I explain how to fish the Murray’s Floating Minnows.
For more information on trout and bass streams throughout the state of Virginia, check out my book Virginia Blue Ribbon Streams. If you are interested in fishing the native brook trout streams in the Park, then check out my book Trout Fishing in the Shenandoah National Park. Both of these books list streams along with access and include hatch charts.
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