Mossy Creek Fly Fishing Forecast 5/1/2023

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Brian brings us the forecast this week. The good news is we had some significant rainfall at the end of last week and through the weekend that really replenished stream flows across the State. We are still behind on rainfall totals for the year but streams from the mountains to the valley floor will be fishing great for the next few weeks. Along with the rain we have some cooler temps. Lows in the 30's and low 40's are expected most evenings this week with highs only in the 50's hitting the 60's by the end of the week. Watch the wind Monday-Wednesday as we are expecting gusts over 30mph. Calm and more stable weather will bring about a great weekend ahead. Brook trout fishing should be prime once water flows calm down a bit. Just about all of our mountain streams should have fishable areas within the next 2 days. North River, Dry River, Skidmore Fork, Ramsey's Draft, St. Mary's, and many of the Shenandoah National Park streams are coming online today. We are back to fishing larger flies on top and subsurface while the creeks are swollen. Size 10-12 bushy dry flies will float best in turbulent water. Royal Wulffs, Stimulators, Elk Hair Caddis, Humpies, and Limeades are excellent choices right now. Go bigger with your nymphs for extra heft to get them down but also so the fish take notice of them in the swifter currents. Size 10-12 bead head nymphs like Copper Johns, Jig Prince, Hare's Ear, and Pheasant Tail nymphs, Psycho Prince, Jig Caddis, Arizona Hare, Yellow Sally, Puparazzi Nymphs, Bloody Mary's will all catch fish. Now is a great time to streamer fish for brook trout as well. Crystal buggers in size 10 and kreelex in size 6 are excellent patterns to catch some big brook trout right now. Many of the same flies will work on our stocked trout streams. Add some more streamer patterns like the Jig Zonkers and Leeches, Sculpin Snacks, Near Nuff Sculpins, Soccer Moms, and attractors like Squirmy Worms, Squirmy Jigs, Egg Patterns, and Sucker Spawn. Grab some split shot and strike indicators as we anticipate water levels being swollen most of the week. The spring creeks have been seeing hatches of tricos and sulphurs along with a mix of other mayflies like hendricksons, march browns, and a variety of caddis. We have some windy and overcast days ahead so be armed with a mix of big streamers like Peanut Envy's, Dungeons, Monkeys, Kreelex, Sparkle Minnows, and other baitfish, sculpin, and crayfish patterns. The bass fishing will slow down this week as we deal with high muddy conditions and colder water temps. Some smallmouth have spawned, some were about to spawn, but the cooler temps moved many fish off their nests before the recent high water. Many of these fish will wait for warmer water conditions in the next few weeks to drop eggs. It is not uncommon to see male bass guarding fry into June! We will continue to update everyone on the spawning progress once we have the visibility back in our river systems.

BEST BROOK TROUT FLIES THIS WEEK: