A few weeks ago I got to spend a great weekend with all of my high school friends at our 5th Year Woodberry Reunion. The weather was perfect and it turned out to be one of the greatest weekends I've ever had. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that I kicked it off with a day on the upper reaches of the Rapidan River chasing wild Eastern Brookies.
Although I attended school 45 minutes from its clear waters, I had never fished the upper Rapidan and had long heard of its popularity with Virginian fly fisherman and other avid outdoorsman like former president Herbert Hoover. In High school I spent many a day fishing the lower Rapidan which flows directly thro
ugh Woodberry Forest School, however that water does not hold trout.
I traveled into Shenandoah National Park to explore the streams headwaters.
Fishing for Brooke Trout on small eastern streams is one of my favorite types of fishing. The mentality I enjoy while doing this is a little different than the mentality I have on a big river out west. It’s less about the fish and a little more about enjoying a positive experience and all its therapy. Cormac McCarthy wrote in his book The Road, "Once there were brook trout in the streams in the mountains. You could see them standing in the amber current where the white edges of their fins wimpled softly in the flow. They smelled of moss in your hand. Polished and muscular and torsional. On their backs were vermiculate patters that were maps of the world in its becoming. Maps and mazes. Of a thing which could not be put back. Not be made right again. In the deep glens where they l
ived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery." I can't help but be captivated by the very mystery that McCarthy writes of. In my opinion, these fish possess the most interesting appearance of all the trout species. Everything from the red orange hue of their fins to the intricate tattoo like ripples on their backs seem to me to be echoes of another time, of an ancient time. 
Chasing native fish is always fun. The size and numbers game takes a back seat to the simple fact that you are outside on a beautiful day doing what you love, and each time you do catch one, regardless of its size, it is a great moment and you make sure to pause and fully comprehend the beauty of the wild fish you have been connected with.
There is a nice trail that runs along the stream. I followed it for about 2.5 miles. The water cascades atop many large boulders into many picturesque and clear pools. Many of the pools reminded me of one of my favorite rivers in New Zealand, and I found myself sneaking up to them, with the futile hope of finding a monster swimming within their depths. But the fishing is still fun. A few hatches went off, small mayflies. I recommend a 2 or 3 weight not longer than 8 ft for the upper Rapidan. Make sure you bring a long a few different stimulator patterns as well. They liked the yellow sz 16, also Royal Wolf got a few.
It’s a great spot and def worth checking out!
For information on the effort to protect the brooky and the ongoing battle facing the Eastern Brook Trout, see tu.org and http://www.tu.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=kkLRJ7MSKtH&b=3076087&ct=5880069
Although I attended school 45 minutes from its clear waters, I had never fished the upper Rapidan and had long heard of its popularity with Virginian fly fisherman and other avid outdoorsman like former president Herbert Hoover. In High school I spent many a day fishing the lower Rapidan which flows directly thro
ugh Woodberry Forest School, however that water does not hold trout.I traveled into Shenandoah National Park to explore the streams headwaters.
Fishing for Brooke Trout on small eastern streams is one of my favorite types of fishing. The mentality I enjoy while doing this is a little different than the mentality I have on a big river out west. It’s less about the fish and a little more about enjoying a positive experience and all its therapy. Cormac McCarthy wrote in his book The Road, "Once there were brook trout in the streams in the mountains. You could see them standing in the amber current where the white edges of their fins wimpled softly in the flow. They smelled of moss in your hand. Polished and muscular and torsional. On their backs were vermiculate patters that were maps of the world in its becoming. Maps and mazes. Of a thing which could not be put back. Not be made right again. In the deep glens where they l
ived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery." I can't help but be captivated by the very mystery that McCarthy writes of. In my opinion, these fish possess the most interesting appearance of all the trout species. Everything from the red orange hue of their fins to the intricate tattoo like ripples on their backs seem to me to be echoes of another time, of an ancient time. 
Chasing native fish is always fun. The size and numbers game takes a back seat to the simple fact that you are outside on a beautiful day doing what you love, and each time you do catch one, regardless of its size, it is a great moment and you make sure to pause and fully comprehend the beauty of the wild fish you have been connected with.
There is a nice trail that runs along the stream. I followed it for about 2.5 miles. The water cascades atop many large boulders into many picturesque and clear pools. Many of the pools reminded me of one of my favorite rivers in New Zealand, and I found myself sneaking up to them, with the futile hope of finding a monster swimming within their depths. But the fishing is still fun. A few hatches went off, small mayflies. I recommend a 2 or 3 weight not longer than 8 ft for the upper Rapidan. Make sure you bring a long a few different stimulator patterns as well. They liked the yellow sz 16, also Royal Wolf got a few.
It’s a great spot and def worth checking out!
For information on the effort to protect the brooky and the ongoing battle facing the Eastern Brook Trout, see tu.org and http://www.tu.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=kkLRJ7MSKtH&b=3076087&ct=5880069
