Beginner Fly-Fishing! (Rapidan River)

OVERVIEW

Casting out my net here to sea what sort of interest there is among club-members in fly-fishing!

If you have no idea what that is, check out this cheesy but well-made short video that gives a pretty good idea of what it’s all about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tfIL-HRSBI

I’ll only be able to take a handful of you out just given the nature of the adventure, but this is a beginner trip so definitely throw yourself on the waitlist whether you’ve already got some experience in your creel or are just looking for a cool new skill to add to your repertoire so I can gauge interest for future fly-fishing excursions. I’m more than happy to teach people everything I know, so even if you have no idea how to fly-fish, you’re more than welcome to tag along and learn or just watch!

The details:
Meet at Echols @ 10:00 and drive a little over an hour up to Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park (I have a pass). From there we’ll hike for about half an hour down to President Hoover’s historic Rapidan Camp along the Rapidan River, which is considered the best trout stream in the park (http://www.perfectflystore.com/wrapidianr.html). The water will likely be a bit high after all of the rain we’ve been getting, but I’m confident that with no rain in the forecast for Friday or Saturday that the water level will come down enough by Sunday to be fishable. We’ll probably walk another fifteen minutes or so more downstream from Hoover’s retreat before picking a place to start fishing, fish for a couple hours, eat lunch whenever we get hungry, fish a few more hours and maybe swim if we’re feeling, then hike back out and make the drive back to Cville where we should be getting back no later than 7:00. Possibility to grab Chipotle on the way back into town if people want.

You do need to have a valid Virginia freshwater fishing license to fish ($23- can buy online), but you only need a trout license between October 1st and June 15th so you won’t need that one for this trip, luckily. All of the fishing we will be doing will be catch and release by law.

It would be awesome if you have fly fishing gear, but if not the club just got a bunch of new stuff so I’ll be able to bring rods/reels/flies/etc for all attendees; that is to say anybody can join this trip whether or not they own any fly-fishing gear! Only a Virginia freshwater fishing license is required, which is reimbursable by the club with a receipt after you lead 2 fishing trips!

You can purchase a Virginia Freshwater Fishing License here: https://license.gooutdoorsvirginia.com/Licensing/CustomerLookup.aspx

What you need:
-sturdy shoes and clothes to wade in (can wear shorts, it’ll be warm)
-packed lunch/ snacks/ water
-Virginia Freshwater Fishing License ($23)
-fly fishing rod and flies (I can supply if you don’t have)
-clothes to swim in if you think you will be inclined to do so
-music and stories for the car ride!
-sneaky stealth mode skills to stalk trout