spring fly fishing
Fly Fishing Destinations

Spring Fly Fishing in the Blueridge Mountains- a Photo Essay

Spring is the season of hope, at least for fly fishers. We have become weary of winter, of fishing impossible-to-see midges, and of standing in chilly rain and snow waiting for an olive hatch to happen. Spring refills the trout streams with water, and promises a return of more predictable hatches, with flies that don’t strain the eyes. And hungry trout begin to leave their winter holes,  moving into more fishable water,  looking for a tasty meal. Indeed, spring is a season of hope and promise. Spring fly fishing in the Blueridge Mountains of Virginia offers both beauty and bounty.

The Streams of Spring

Spring brings showers, bursting streams, and warming stream temperatures. Tributaries spill down the mountainsides, filling the mainstem-streams below them.

spring fly fishing
a small tributary with blooming trillium
spring fly fishing
a tributary with waterfalls
spring fly fishing
a racing tributary

The tributaries race to join one another, filling the larger secondary streams, creating falls and fishable pools.

trout water
Blueridge trout stream
spring in the Blueridge
a Blue Ridge trout stream
spring fly fishing
spring waterfalls
spring fly fishing
a Blueridge trout stream

Springtime Flowers

Spring turns the riparian foliage green, and wild flowers burst forth, adorning the streamside banks with color.

Blue Ridge trout streams
mountain laurel in bloom
spring fly fishing
streamside flowers, blue phlox
wild blue phlox
spring fly fishing
streamside flowers, parsnip
streamside flowers- star chickweed, mixed with PI!
spring fly fishing
Trout stream with blooming redbuds
Blueridge trout streams
Streamside rhododendrons
Blueridge trout streams
Streamside cherry trees

Fishing the Blue Ridge

Some of last season’s trails are yet visible, bordered with fresh flowers.

Blueridge trout fishing
Blueridge trail with moss phlox in bloom

While others, less trod upon, are overgrown with moss and other ground covers. They hold the promise of a day of fly fishing in solitude.

Blueridge trout streams
untrod trail to a trout stream

Streamside campsites are rediscovered and beckon the angler to stay for more than a day.

spring fly fishing
streamside campsite

Hidden pools, filled with hungry trout, await the venturesome angler. Can it get any better?

spring fly fishing
Blueridge trout stream

A tug, a quick hook-set, and a Blue Ridge brook trout is brought in.

spring fly fishing
brook trout

Yes, spring is a beautiful time to be a fly fisher!

Virginia is blessed with hundreds of trout streams, and over 2,000 miles of wild trout water. For further information regarding Virginia’s many trout streams, explore the Fish and Game Departments Website.

or, read Dave Hart’s book,

for spring fishing strategies, see-

written and photographed by Al Simpson, June 2017.

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