John Roberts - Virginia Fly Fishing Guide

Summer trout fishing is usually a little slower, you have to work a little harder to catch fish which can be a good thing.  Trout are spooky in the lower flows and you have to approach pools in stealth mode. If you learn to catch them ''hard'' you should not have a problem catching them other times of the year. I like to explore streams at this time even if I'm not fishing that much, it will give you special insight into the structure of a stream and this can be used later when you are fishing the same water when flows are higher. I have watched trout spook when a high flying buzzard casts its shadow over them lately. Lower flows see predators move in, blue herons hunt them trout all night so any fishing plan right now has to factor in stealth. Osprey, snakes, eels and 4 legged critters are out there looking for an easy meal now. The old trout self preservation moniker, ''to hide is to live'' is very true. Any good predator like yourself will always be studying his or her's prey's habits and likely holding spots. Case out their ''joints '' if you get my drift. John