Best Virginia Fly Fishing Rivers
Virginia has 13 fly fish spots.
Located in the US, the fly fishing in Virginia offers over ten good fly fishing spots. The best Virginia fly fishing based on popularity are considered to be Rapidan River, James River, Smith River, Rose River, and North Fork Holston River. For a detailed fly fishing river description and printable river access map, just select a Virginia fly fishing river or stream below.
Featured FLY FISHING RIVERS
Smith River
Near Martinsville, the Smith River offers excellent tailwater for brown trout below Philpott Dam. There is 15 miles of tailwater which is a perfect year round fishery supporting the brown trout, as well as rainbow and brook trout.
James River
West of Richmond, the James River is a a premier smallmouth bass destination. It has several rock beds, riffles and grassy shores. When fly fishing on the James River, you can expect to find smallmouth bass around 15 inches. Keep in mind that this is a managed smallmouth fishery, so any fish between 14 to 2 inches mush be released back).
Clinch River
Northwest of Knoxville near Lake City, the Clinch River is known for fly fishing huge brown trout and large rainbow trout. The best section for fly fishing on the Clinch River is near St Paul with access at A.R. Matthews Park.
Rose River
West of Culpeper and northwest of Madison, the Rose River is a popular destination for fly fishing the wild rainbow trout, stocked rainbow trout and wild brook trout. It is a perfect river for either dry fly or nymph fishing. For the wild trout, a 3 weight rod is fine with a small dry fly (14 to 16). The stocked trout tend to be larger, so you may want to go with a 4 to 5 weight rod with larger dry fly (10 to 12). The best hatches are mid-April to late June.
Whitetop Laurel Creek
East of Damascus, the Whitetop Laurel Creek is an outstanding trout stream. Access is easy via the parallel railroad grade. You can expect to find both rainbow trout and brown trout. Keep in mind that there are some specific artificial only sections.
South Holston River
Southwest of Wytheville and west of Sugar Grove in southwest Virginia, the South Holston River is known for its brown trout fly fishing. The best section for fly fishing on the South Holston River is upstream of the Buller Fish Hatchery.
Jackson River
North of Roanoake and Covington, the Jackson River is a well-known, all-year brown trout fly fishing stream. There are some rainbow trout to be found as well. When fly fishing on the Jackson River, the best public access is...
Mossy Creek
Northeast of Charlottesville, the Mossy Creek is known for its brown and rainbow trout fly fishing. Mossy Creek is world famous and has been written up in numerous publications. It is a limestone creek known for its wild brown trout, but also has some wild rainbow trout, too. It flows north along the Washington National Forest and the Shenandoah National Park.