Day Trip around McLean, VA

[Matt Gio]

Hey all,

I have been at college all summer doing research on native brook trout in South Carolina and I am going to be visiting McLean, VA for the weekend.  I am going to take my brother out to a trout stream and I want to put him on fish.  Frankly I am looking for a stream where we can catch quantity over quality.  All fish are going to be caught and released and I was wondering if any of you had suggestions about where to go relatively close to McLean.  Please let me know!

Thanks,

Matt

[Terry C]

Hi Matt, did you by any chance play baseball at Potomac? If so this is Mr.C. Look on Harry Murry's web page or call his shop in Edinburg Va. He could tell you. Also do a search on this website for fishing in the Shen park should find info. I personally like the Rapidan, Conway, and Rose rivers. There are a many within 2 hrs of McLean. The problem you run into during the summer is low water conditions. We have had rain this summer so it might not be to bad.

[Jason Hanerfeld]

I've fished the Gunpowder River a few times over the past couple of weeks.  Have been doing fairly well hooking some decent browns.  It's just over an hour drive from Bethesda, Md and you will have a great chance getting into some fish if you're there.  

[Horace Williams]

The shenandoah streams are some of my favorites in the area period, but especially for taking friends out to try to get them into fish, so I would second Terry's recommendation on that. They won't be huge but you can generally find good pocket water to fish where they won't be too spooky and you don't need much casting skill which helps if your brother is a beginner.

Like Terry said, the water can get low during the summer, but most of the reports I have seen suggest that this season has been pretty wet compared to normal, so i think you will still do well even this late in the summer. Checking with Murray's shop is probably a good bet.

Another thing to mention about the SNP streams is many of them can be fished either from the bottom of the park boundary by driving / hiking up from various parking areas or access roads, or from the top, by hiking down from Skyline drive. Coming in from the bottom will give you more water and (in my experience) chances for slightly larger fish. But from the top you can get some nice hikes with awesome views. So you can take your pick depending on what you feel like.

[Matt Gio]

Thanks Mr. C and the others who replied. I ended up taking him to tear up blue gill on the fly. I will definitely use the tips when I fish the SNP.

Thank you,
Matt