From small creeks to the expansive Jackson River, Beau Beasley shows you where to fly fish in Virginia. Detailed maps, photographs, and Beasley's wisdom guide you through the many waters in the Old Dominion. Use this book to plan your next trip and then take it along with you!
More than 100 of the best places to fish, both fresh- and saltwater, and includes both a section dedicated to trout fishing and a section on urban fishing holes.
In this second edition of Bob Gooch’s Virginia Fishing Guide, M. W. Smith offers an updated version of a classic work of Virginia outdoor literature. Providing a new preface and appendices, Smith also recasts the volume’s introduction and site listings to reflect such changes as new "catch and release only" designations and stocking schedules (for trout streams). This edition features a fresh design with new maps and photographs.
"Care not, I, to fish in seas Fresh rivers best my mind to please Whose sweet calm course I contemplate And seek in life to imitate." --Izaak Walton With Walton's lines as inspiration, M. W. Smith launches us on an informative journey to the best fishing spots in and around the New River Valley. Covering a wide range of prime fishing territory across western Virginia, Smith's guidebook explores techniques designed to increase the day's catch and locations certain to enhance an angler's enjoyment of the region's natural beauty. Fishing the New River Valley includes lists of stocked trout streams, tips for successful wintertime fishing, live bait approaches, and spinning and fly-fishing suggestions. Smith offers helpful tips on fishing Claytor Lake for striped bass and walleye during cold-weather months and for smallmouth bass during the spring, summer, and fall. He also provides excellent information on float trips, wading, and fishing from boats at key points along the New River. The book features a comprehensive map of New River Valley streams and specific fishing locations along with extensive listings of local guide services, tackle shops, rod and reel repair shops, boat dealers, and more. Whether you are a novice or professional angler, a visitor or a longtime resident of western Virginia, Fishing the New River Valley will tell you where, when, and how to catch more fish.
A beautifully illustrated guide to the diverse and numerous freshwater fish species in Virginia. In Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of Virginia, the foremost experts on Commonwealth fishes bring their decades of field experience to readers, offering a complete reference to the fishes of the entire state of Virginia. Gathering information that until now could only be found scattered across numerous reference works and online databases, this book provides everything you need to know to identify fish families and species in the Virginia region. Covering how to collect, handle, observe, conserve, and protect these unique fishes, the book's key features include • more than 175 vibrant, full-color illustrations, set side by side with descriptions of each fish • helpful line drawings that depict the most reliable diagnostic characteristics for field identifications (e.g., snout shape, pigment patterns, mouth morphology) • descriptions of Virginia's freshwater habitats • examples of incredible fish spawning and feeding behavior • tips on observing fish in the wild and in captivity • a chapter on the taxonomy of family and common names of the fish species most common throughout Virginia • up-to-date fish distribution maps • a complete glossary of terms Providing a fascinating foray into the wonders of the Commonwealth's swimmers, Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of Virginia will appeal to scientists, naturalists, teachers, native fish aquarists, students, anglers, and fish collectors.
Rich in angling lore, the secluded lakes and rivers of Virginia's Highlands offer some of the best trout and smallmouth bass fishing found anywhere in the state. From the Alleghany Highlands in the north (which encompass Alleghany, Bath, and Rockbridge counties) to the Blue Ridge/Grayson Highlands in the southwest (which include Grayson, Smythe, and Washington counties), these portions of the commonwealth offer many high-yield rivers, lakes, and streams including Lake Moomaw, the Maury River, South Holston Lake, and the North Fork of the Holston River. In his new guide, Fishing Virginia's Highlands, M. W. Smith extends his ongoing tour of the state's greatest fishing spots to these two remote regions, offering readers excellent advice on where, when, and how to catch more fish in Virginia's Highlands. Renowned for its mineral springs, the Alleghany Highlands is home to world-famous spas, including the Homestead in Bath County, making it a popular destination for many outdoor enthusiasts. The Blue Ridge/Grayson Highlands, which is surrounded by such cities as Abingdon, Bristol, Winston-Salem/Greensboro, and Charlotte, is also a common weekend getaway spot. By considering these two areas in one volume, Smith provides valuable information for anglers and other visitors, giving readers the information they need to enjoy the natural beauty of the waters and to catch more fish from them. Complete with a comprehensive map of the regions' streams, notes on specific fishing locations keyed to maps in DeLorme's Virginia Atlas and Gazetteer, and an appendix that lists local guide services, tackle shops, camping sites, and parks, Smith's guidebook is a compact and informative resource. Whether you are a visitor or a longtime resident, novice angler or pro, Fishing Virginia's Highlands will prove an indispensable guide to every fishing adventure you undertake in highland waters.
Modern-day fly fishing, like much in life, has become exceedingly complex, with high-tech gear, a confusing array of flies and terminal tackle, accompanied by high-priced fishing guides. This book reveals that the best way to catch trout is simply, with a rod and a fly and not much else. The wisdom in this book comes from a simpler time, when the premise was: the more you know, the less you need. It teaches the reader how to discover where the fish are, at what depth, and what they are feeding on. Then it describes the techniques needed to present a fly at that depth, make it look lifelike, and hook the fish. With chapters on wet flies, nymphs, and dry flies, its authors employ both the tenkara rod as well as regular fly fishing gear to cover all the bases. Illustrated by renowned fish artist James Prosek, with inspiring photographs and stories throughout, Simple Fly Fishing reveals the secrets and the soul of this captivating sport.