Fly Fishing in Virginia

A regional note specific to this state: the trout water here is a mix of tailwaters and a handful of high-country lakes, and the most productive water is the tailwater below the state's largest reservoir, which produces trophy fish every year and is the focus of the state's trout program. Virginia trout fishing is a small but technically diverse fishery built on the cold-water streams of the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Valley and a few tailwaters in the central part of the state. The state has about 2,500 miles of fishable trout water, including the famous James River, the Mossy Creek, the Piney River, the Smith River, and dozens more. The most famous trout river is the James River, a freestone that runs through the Blue Ridge Mountains and produces wild browns and rainbows averaging 14 inches. The state's trout program is administered through the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, and the agency stocks the put-and-take rivers and lakes in the spring and fall while managing the wild trout water through a combination of slot limits and Trophy Trout designations. A regular Virginia fishing license is required, and the cost is $23 for residents and $47 for non-residents, and the daily limit is 5 trout combined in most waters with a 2-trout limit on the Trophy Trout water.