Why Fishermen Can Be Excited About Snow Days Too

I remember when snow days were looked forward to.  As a kid they meant neighborhood-wide capture the flag, barricading plow truck access to Chivalry Road's epic sledding hill, and hot cocoa (not that instant stuff but the mom-made stuff).  But as an adult apparently our perception of snow days is supposed to change into one full of bitterness, complaining about salt on your car, and hot packs to relieve sore backs from shoveling snow.  

The view from my apartment during the last snow storm

For fishermen, however, I think there's always reason to enjoy the wintry weather.  Why you ask?  Because the slow melt of huge snowfalls does wonders for our water table.  And high water tables equals greater reserves late in the fishing season.  If you don't believe me, let's go ahead look at some graphs (if you haven't realized... I love graphs.  Go ahead Rich you can say it, I'm a nerd.)


So here are the USGS water level stats for central Virginia since 2004.  

This basically just shows how our water table usually rises throughout spring and then falls as things warm up.  So while storms throughout the year provide us with changes in stream levels, these are just transient.  Starting off the fishing season with a high water table will provide us with much better conditions than having to depend on sporadic storms.

So where are we now compared to last year?  Take a gander at this:

At this time last year, our water table was sitting around 25.5 feet below land surface.  Currently, we're (provisionally) around 19-20 feet.  This was where we were at the peak of last year's season!  And we've still got a ton of snow still sitting around Virginia.  So unless we have a drought worse than the one we had in 2007, fishing should be golden.  I fully expect to see the north fork of the Moorman's running at more than a trickle this year.

So yes, while salt on your car is annoying and shoveling snow is so miserable that it makes you want to purchase a blow torch to do the job instead, there are things about huge snowfalls that can make fishermen just as excited as a kid on a snow day.  (Although it's impossible to beat mom-made hot cocoa.)

*still aching for more graphs? I've gotten you addicted haven't I.  Feel free to search around the USGS Virgina site for more.

Fishing Report: Rose River Farm

With finals looming and stress peaking, Cameron and I decided to treat ourselves to a study break at Rose River Farm yesterday. I kept hearing such great stories about the place from customers and staff at Albemarle Angler so I just had to check it out for myself. Admittedly, after hearing so many fantastic reviews I became just a little skeptical of just how great RRF could really be. After yesterday, however, my doubts were completely put to rest.

The farm is located near Syria, Va and the Graves Mountain Lodge so it only took us about 45 min to get there from Charlottesville. RRF is a fee for fish spot that must be booked in advance. That said, fishing at the farm is a perfect example of getting what you pay for. They do a good job of limiting the pressure by only allowing 4 rods per day so we all had plenty of room to spread out. Even with all of the snow we've had recently, the property is very well maintained with clear roads and tractor paths cut along most of the river. I could have easily made it there in my little Honda. I've always loved the scenery along the east slope of the Shenandoah National Park, and the views from RRF did not disappoint. In fact, had I not dropped my camera in the river like a fool I would have taken many more pictures (thank you for supplying us with the slideshow, Cam).

I'm sure that somewhere along the line an older/wiser person told you, "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is." Well, I can sincerely tell you that when it comes to the fish at Rose River Farm IT'S ALL TRUE! I've never seen so many trout in my life. Cameron and I actually lost count of the fish we caught, but it could have only been a small fraction of the trout working out in the Rose. I say working out because these are like Arnold Schwarzenegger rainbows. There were some fish we had to fight for a few minutes before we could land them. We saw plenty of jumping and tail-dancing, and we had a few fish make runs that tested the drag on our reels. A couple of these bruisers were over 20 inches and all of fish had beautiful color and spots.

Many of these big guys are in long, beautiful pools that might well be called aquariums with easily 50-100 fish each. I can only imagine what those pools are like in April and May when the 'bows are all taking bugs off the top. Must be an awesome sight! It's not only about long pools at RRF either. There are a few deep, fast runs along under-cut banks with over hanging trees reminiscent of Beaver Creek. These are absolutely my favorite sections because of the technical casting in close tree cover and the heightened activity of the fish there. Cameron and I hooked fish after fish from one bend in the river where a jumping fish seemed not to spook the rest of the pool.

I should also take a minute to comment on the ongoing copper/gold silver/gold kreelex debate. Hands down, copper/gold kreelex took in more and bigger fish yesterday. That's not to say silver won't catch fish, but if you can tell a trout from a chub you would be crazy not to fish copper (*cough* Cameron). All kidding aside, kreelex, copper johns, and pheasant tails were the big producers for us yesterday. The other fishermen we spoke with also had great luck with yellow caddis, san juan worms, and an assortment of nymphs. I saw a few rising fish in the afternoon, but I could never draw a bead on what they were eating so I stuck to the sub-surface action.

Overall, fishing at Rose River Farm was awesome. If you are looking for big fish, beautiful scenery, and a pristine stream look no further. Another cool thing to note about the farm is their commitment to hosting Project Healing Waters events. Anyone who supports our wounded veterans in such a big way is tops in my book. That said, RRF is a first class operation and I hope to make it back sometime soon.

Another Connection Between Medicine and Fly Fishing

Okay, connections between fly fishing and medicine don't happen that often.  But when they do, man they are exciting (at least for a nerd like me.)  Last time we reported on a connection, it was about the EPA study that found 7 pharmaceutical drugs in fish sampled.  That was sort of stretch.  It wasn't like they said in the study that fishermen should practice catch and release because of these drugs... although they should.


But this time, we actually have a video for you made by Dr. Szlyk from Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, VA.  If you can't tell, I'm excited about this video.  I mean, it's the proverbial hat trick with regards to our blog:  1.Fly Fishing 2.Medicine 3.Virginia. (in case you couldn't tell from our uncreative blog title.)  I don't know who Dr. Szlyk is but I think I can safely assume that he's awesome at fly fishing...and at surgery using the da Vinci surgical robot.  




This video also begs the question, when is Renzetti going to jump on this bandwagon?  I mean, come on. Their MOST expensive fly tying vise is ONLY $939.85.  Seriously.  That pales in comparison to the $1.3 million price tag on a da Vinci robot "fly tying vise".  


Finally, I need to give credit where credit is due.  I didn't find this obsessively searching youtube for videos (despite what you may believe, I do study sometimes).  Rather, I found it courtesy of Moldy Chum.  

"Who dat" Waldner's Saints Spoon Fly

You have heard me talk about my friend Rich Waldner and his awesome spoon flies before, but now there is a collectors "Who dat" New Orleans Saints version available from Uptown Angler. Just to reiterate what I've told you all before, if you are fishing for Redfish anywhere on the gulf coast the Waldner Spoon is absolutely essential gear for a couple of reasons. First off, it's as weedless as any fly gets. I've fished Rich's spoons through some very tough grasses and it does wonderfully. Secondly, it's a tough fly (all epoxy and wire) so it will last for a very long time. Thirdly, the action is unbelievable. The spoon wobbles like crazy and will make fish turn to bite it, but it will not spin and tangle your line. All said, this is one awesome saltwater fly. Now all you Saints fans out there can show your pride and bag some serious reds at once. Let's see them win the big one today! Geaux Saints!

Albemarle Angler Now Carries Kreinik Kreelex Material

I walked in Albemarle Angler today to pick up more beadheads for nymphs and of course I perused the store to see if I could walk out buying more than I intended.  (what else are student loans for anyway?)*

I was pleasantly surprised to see some of my favorite Kreinik flash material, which is what makes the Kreelex streamers have such great action, hanging up on the wall.  They had copper, gold, and silver styles.  And while there are other colors out there, these seem to be the best for catching trout.

Which brings up another topic...Rich and I have had a year long debate as to which color coordination is more successful.  He swears by the copper/gold while I swear by the gold/silver.  If you agree with me, please comment below.  If you agree with Rich, I hope you catch only chubs this year comment elsewhere.

One of last year's victims of a copper/gold kreelex

So do yourself a favor and run by the store to pick up some of this elusive material if you live here in C'ville and check out the Trow brother's video instructions which can be found here.  This doesn't pertain to those in the Harrisonburg area because the Mossy Creek Fly Fishing store has had kreelex materials in stock for a while now.

Also, if you're interested in fly tying (or as I usually call it "tie flying"... not on purpose mind you, just the dyslexia talking) sign up for email updates from Albemarle Angler as they've started having regular tying sessions at the store.  Only problem for those beginners out there: you'll need your own set of equipment and materials.  But if you're a member of the med school club then I can definitely let you borrow some materials (just not my rare collection of extinct tropical bird feathers.)**

*joke, obviously
**yet another joke... if that ornithological collection was truly wasted on flies then someone needs to set up a rehab center for fly fishermen.   

Fishing Report: Moormans River TJTU 1/15/10

Kyle and I fished the TJTU section of Moormans River today. I did a recon yesterday to check out the ice situation and it didn't look good. Most of the big pools were covered by a thin sheet of ice and the fish were holding down deep and not interested much in the few streamers and nymphs I dragged past them. Fortunately, Kyle convinced me to go out again today.

We fished from about 2-5 PM and rode the wave of the 50 + degree weather. It was gorgeous. The river actually thawed a great deal this morning and we basically had the place to ourselves. We started off throwing streamers but ended up switching to pheasant tails. We caught three 'bows on pheasant tails fished upstream in about an hour. Things slowed down a bit as the sun set so we tried our luck again with silver/gold and copper/gold kreelex. Sure enough, we landed two more on streamers. I expect tomorrow (Saturday) to be good as well since temperatures should remain in the 50s.

I forgot to post this before, but here is a slideshow with the "best catch of 2009". Hopefully we'll do even better this year! Oh and Cameron, maybe if you make it out of the library you'll catch more than fish than me this year...

New Year Resolutions

Everyone is making resolutions; Ridiculous resolutions that inevitably fail by the time February comes around. So instead, I thought I'd make some that may actually have a fighting chance of coming to fruition (this, of course, all hinges on whether we'll have time to fish while busy on clinical rotations). Here are mine:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/captkodak/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

1. Catch another gar. After I reeled in one of these prehistoric monsters last summer, I became OBSESSED and went on numerous occasions out to the Rivanna with the only goal of pulling in another to ensure the first wasn't just a fluke. I even bought heavy duty gloves to make sure I wouldn't lose a finger or two while trying to get the hook out. Alas, I received some head turns but never a solid bite. So by far the top thing on my list is to snag one of these guys again.

Huge Mossy Creek brown caught by Shane from Mossy Creek Fly Fishing (photo courtesy of MCFF)

2. Catch more brown trout (big ones). This may sound picky but really it means a lot more than it seems. Practically the only place to find decent brown trout around here is Mossy Creek. From our past posts about Mossy, you'll know that it's always a challenge to fish out there and going home skunked is a very real possibility. So this year, how about we pull in some of those famous monsters that the guys over at Mossy Creek Fly Fishing seem to pull in regularly.

3. Float the Jackson. Hopefully when I'm stationed in Roanoke in August I'll have some time to hit up the nearby Jackson River. From what I could tell from our quick visit just below the dam, the river is loaded with healthy fish and ideal water temperatures to ensure good fishing year round. Let's just hope that if I do float it, that I don't meet any angry landowners with shotguns.

4. Successfully fish the Shad Run. Okay last year I went out and tried my best to fish the Shad Run down near Richmond. This year, I think I'll play it smart and wade the Rappahannock instead. Also I'll probably need to get a sinking line and some properly made shad darters. Hopefully this time my trip will be more like Gordon's from Albemarle Angler as seen in the video above.

5. Catch more fish than Rich. Hey, I at least had to have something realistic on here right? Rich, you just been SERVEDDDD.