By March, I am itching to do some mountain trout fishing. The nymphs are getting active and the trout will start actively feeding as the water temperature rises. Often we can still experience some snowy days on these streams in March but that doesn’t stop me from trying.
Some tips to help you prepare for the trout fishing in the spring:
- Check your fly rod and reapply ferrule dressing if you haven’t done so within the last six months.
- Look over your fly line by running your fingers over it, checking for any cracks. If your fly line needs to be replaced, then this is the time.
- Check your leader and either replace or rebuild it.
- Go over your flies and throw away those that are beyond their time and restock with the nymphs and drys that will match the hatches over the next couple of months.
- Make sure your hippers or waders are still in good shape with no leaks.
- Reevaluate the items in your vest or chest pack to make sure you have extra tippet material in the correct sizes, snips and zinger, stream thermometer, and any other streamside gadget that are needed.
- Lastly watch my video on March Trout Fishing in the Shenandoah National Park
In this video, Harry Murray discusses the hatches, fly imitations, and what you can expect to find will fishing the native brook trout streams in the Shenandoah National Park during March. For more information on these streams and hatch charts see Harry Murray’s book Trout Fishing in the Shenandoah National Park.