Shenandoah Park offers the Washington DC area trout fisherman a chance to find native brook trout in truly beautiful places less than 2 hours from home.  The real benefit is the exercise you get hiking to and from the fishing spots on most of these remote streams.  Find a blue line and hike the trail adjacent to it from the base of the mountain range where there will conveniently be parking at most of the popular streams.  Hike up the trailhead until you think you're a decent distance away from the lot and start fishing.

Brookies are a good indicator of water quality.  They prefer colder water and like most salmonids thrive in water from 45-60 degrees.  Their diet ranges from mayflies, beetles, ants, crickets, aquatic worms, mosquito larvae, caddisflies, stoneflies, crayfish, grasshoppers, freshwater crustaceans, hellgrammites, and any other winged insect that might fall in the water.

Brook trout have natural predators including herons, minks, kingfishers, and water snakes.  Keep this in mind when hiking thru the park, as water snakes and copperhead snakes have similar colors and patterns.  Because these fish are so wary, keeping a good distance and casting into pools over rocks or other obstructions is a must.

Brook trout are considered some of the most beautiful of all gamefish, particularly when in their spawning colors in the fall.  Although these fish are elegant, we ask most fisherman to avoid the park from late October through November to give these fish a chance to spawn peacefully.

How To Fish These Rivers:

Fishing Shenandoah Park can be rewarding and both easy and difficult depending on your tactics. Although hiking down from Skyline Drive means you get great sunrise views and less crowds, the hike back up to your parked car in the afternoon on hot days can feel like a death march. We suggest parking at the bottom and hiking upstream.

The Rapidan and other bigger rivers are unique - park your vehicle and hike downstream, making sure you’re not jumping in on anyone as you hike down the road or trail. Fish your way back up to your vehicle. Upstream has the right of way.

Wading is best around the average stream flow (yellow triangles in the graphs below). Anything lower than 50 cfs can mean low water conditions. 35 cfs and under is drought stage flows. During those tough times, give the fish a break. Also, avoid fishing between October 15 and March 15 each year to protect to brook trout spawn during the tough times of the year.