Charlottesville VA

I found out last week that I will be moving to Charlottesville, VA in mid June for the next 3-6 years as a Medicine resident at UVA. Is anyone familiar with the fishing opportunities in the area? I subscribe to the philosophy that if it swims and eats, it can be caught on a fly, so any and all species are in play.

Most of my fishing has been panfish/bass in ponds, Western trout streams (YNP area), and limited saltwater (Mobile Bay).

It seems that there is a pretty good fly shop in the area (Ablemarle Angler), as well as a private river nearby.

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

Tight Lines,

Bobby

My son goes there frequently due to doctor's appointments with specialists, although it is quite a hike for us (two hours one way). There is a nice size river that runs through or very near Charlottesville that I would be tempted to put my kayak on. Unfortunately, cannot comment on how good the fishing is on that river because its such a long haul for us we are usually so worn out that all we want to do is get right home. Sorry, but I am not entirely familiar with the area enough to give any other leads other than that river.

Paul

Bobby,

Congrats on your assignment to UVA, go Hoo's. Lots of fishing opportunities in/around, although I'm not real familiar with what's right in/around town. Shenandoah National Park is just a few mile west on I-64; great brookie fishing, lots of streams to choose from; Mossy Creek, a real nice limestoner about 60 miles away in Bridgewater; Jackson River, tailwater about 100 miles west below Lake Moomaw (watch out for where and where you can't legally access the river; it's been a very contentious area for years); Shenandoah River (both forks and main stem) used to be great smallmouth/panfish water but some serious fish kills (probably a result of farm runoff) have really hurt the fish populations. Make friends with the folks in the fly shop (Mossy Creek Outfitters, in Harrisonburg and Murray's Fly Shop in Edinburg are 2 shops that I'd recommend contacting, too) and you should have no problem finding someplace to go.

Regards,
Scott

Welcome to god's country
Albemarle Angler is great, that guy will set you in the right direction
Check this out http://vamedflyfishing.blogspot.com/
From C'ville I would head to Madison and Greene County, north on 29, and you will be into some great stocked trout water.
The fish kills have been minimal to none on the Shenandoah the last few years, and the projections for smallie reproduction is very optimistic.
This site is great for biologist reports and access maps of the Shenandoah, also stocking maps for Va http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/
You are set man! But when does a resident have any time to fish?????

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pillcaster

The fish kills have been minimal to none on the Shenandoah the last few years, and the projections for smallie reproduction is very optimistic.

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Pillcaster,

Glad the smallies are on the rebound, hadn't heard that; my intel is obviously a bit dated.

Regards,
Scott

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ScottP

Pillcaster,

Glad the smallies are on the rebound, hadn't heard that; my intel is obviously a bit dated.

Regards,
Scott

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It is good news, here is the specific biologist report fyi http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/fish-kill/

What is most encouraging, is it takes aprox 5 years for smallies to reach 14", and 2 of the best spawning years were '04 and '07.
Not to hijack the thread....

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm headed up to the area with my wife in the next few weeks to find a place to live. I definitely plan on at least stopping by the fly shop, and hopefully sneaking away for an afternoon to try my hand.

Welcome to the Hood...:) If you don't find a place to fish around here ,lol you ain't look"in ... The fly shop you mentioned has good folks in it, they can put you on some good fishin. also the other shops mentioned, they are not as near close to you as is the Albermarle Angler. Please take time while you are here to enjoy each cast, this is a beautiful place ..........:)