Virginia

Virginia holds more fly fishing variety per square mile than almost any state in the East. The Blue Ridge Mountains divide the state into two entirely different fisheries: to the west, cold freestone streams and limestone spring creeks produce wild brown and brook trout of surprising size and sophistication; to the east, the rivers spilling off the Piedmont into the coastal plain offer some of the finest warm-water fly fishing in North America, anchored by the James River's extraordinary smallmouth bass population.

The Shenandoah Valley is Virginia's limestone country, where springs emerge from the karite bedrock to feed streams of exceptional clarity and fertility. Mossy Creek, the South Fork of the Shenandoah, and a network of private and public spring creeks carry dense populations of wild brown trout that feed selectively on specific hatches — sulphurs, Tricos, and blue-winged olives dominate the calendar — and reward presentation over power. These are technical waters that will humble the angler accustomed to throwing attractor patterns at forgiving western fish.

The James River from Lynchburg to Richmond is a different world entirely: a broad, rocky Piedmont river with massive boulders, shallow ledge systems, and sight-fishing opportunities for smallmouth bass that rival anything in the Ozarks or the Susquehanna. Summer mornings on the James, with fog burning off the water and bass stacked behind every large rock, represent some of the most visually dynamic fly fishing available anywhere on the East Coast.