9/2/10

Myths and Mossy Creek

Mossy Creek is one of the most written-about trout streams in the Central Virginia era.  Fed by cold springs and winding through beautiful farm land, the creek is home to a healthy population of large brown and rainbow trout.  It is one of the few Virginia trout streams fishable all year round.  Right now, during successive ninety-degree days without rain, almost all of the mountain streams have slowed to a trickle, while Mossy is still fishing nicely.

Mossy Creek is also one of the most talked-about streams in Virginia.  I have heard more myths and frankly nonsense about it than any other place.  In a reputable angling magazine, one author exclaimed that an angler could score a "triple crown" on the river--catching brown, rainbow, and brook trout.  Simply put, there are NO brook trout in Mossy Creek.   The state does stalk some rainbows and there are chubs in Mossy, but the main attraction is its large brown trout.  Another myth is that only big meaty woolly buggers will draw attention from these large browns.  I have found the opposite to be true.  The trout have seen so many presentations of large woolly buggers that they shy away from them.  If you are going to fish a streamer, try one of the Galloup patterns or a unusual sculpin imitation.  Contrary to popular perception, the big trout do feed on terrestrials and nymphs.  A Murray's Flying Beetle in sizes 14 and 16 in just the ticket during the spring and summer.  I caught a nice 17-inch brown on one this past spring.  Local Thomas Jefferson Trout Unlimited members have had luck on scud nymphs and small hoppers.  The key is to match the insects the trout are feeding on--which are often smaller than the patterns anglers are throwing. 

1 comment:

Flycurious said...

There are brook trout in Mossy creek, albeit very few. They do not reproduce in the creek but swim up into Mossy via Beaver creek and Spring Creek which all come together before flowing into the North Fork of the Shenandoah. Every year a few people catch brookies from Mossy but I wouldn't count on it.