Blue Ridge Fishing Adventures

Blue Ridge Fishing Adventures is run by Zach Brantley out of Rockbridge Baths, Virginia, and it splits its Jackson River work between two very different stretches. The lower river is a tailwater below Gathright Dam, where cold and comparatively stable releases hold trout through the year and where the shop notes fish regularly pass the twenty inch mark. Above that, the upper Jackson runs through Hidden Valley as a smaller freestone stream of riffles, runs, deep pools and fast channels. Float trips cover the tailwater and walk and wade days are offered on the upper river, in full day and half day lengths, with beginner lessons and conventional spinning tackle available for anglers who prefer it. Brantley guides full time, came to Virginia after guiding in Colorado, and describes his approach as instruction centered with patient teaching built into the day. The Jackson is treated as a four season fishery: heavy streamer work in spring and fall, hatch driven dry fly fishing in between, and slower cold flows in winter. Brown, rainbow and brook trout are the targets.

The same guide service also works the South Fork of the Shenandoah, which its own river page calls one of Virginia’s most well-known warm-water fisheries: close to a hundred miles of broad, meandering bends through the Shenandoah Valley over cobble bottom, soft riffles and deep ledges holding smallmouth bass, sunfish, channel catfish and seasonal musky. Float trips cover the most productive stretches with six and seven weight rods for streamer and popper work, and wading is possible at some access points when the water drops. Spring puts pre-spawn fish tight to structure, summer pushes them onto ledges and shaded banks, autumn brings the most aggressive feeding of the year, and winter rewards slow, deep presentations.