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People at a fishing show

Vendor and Non-Profit Organizations

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Release Day – Trout in the classroom 4/16/2025

Rapidan Trout Unlimited extends a heartfelt thank you to Jessica Coffey and her dedicated students at Highland School for another outstanding year of Trout in the Classroom! Their hard work and commitment to the program culminated in a truly special moment—releasing the trout they raised into the waters of the Rush River at Rappahannock County Park in Little Washington.

On April 16th, 106 Brook Trout started their journey into the wild, thanks to these young conservationists who made it all possible ending their day conducting a macro invertebrate study. Check out the photos on the right capturing this unforgettable experience!

Highland School is one of 25 schools extending over 9 counties that participate in Trout in the Classroom through the Rapidan Chapter of Trout Unlimited .

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After scouring the internet for “Top 10 (or more) Fly” recommendations, I listed each in a spreadsheet and tallied the number of time a fly was common across the various lists. Shown below (in descending order from most frequent to least) are the flies most often found in “Top 10” lists of trout flies.

• Elk Hair Caddis
• Hare’s Ear Nymph
• Adams (parachute most frequently)
• Woolly Bugger (black, then olive)
• Pheasant Tail Nymph
• Clouser Minnow
• Blue Winged Olive
• Copper John
• Griffith’s Gnat
• Hoppers

You’ll always run into the persnickety trout that will only taking a size 32 of something you don’t have, but you’ll have an above average chance of taking fish if your fly box has this basic set of flies in it. And, always stop into the local fly shop for their recommendations. If you’re not fishing a home field advantage stream, the locals may provide you with an away-game favorite that could save the day.

I know there is nothing like a “Top 10 List” to raise the hackles (pardon the pun) of those whose favorite didn’t make the list, but you have to start somewhere.

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The key to casting big flies, then is to slow everything down, widen your loops, and avoid sudden changes in direction. To accomplish all these, you need to learn the Belgian cast (also called the oval cast). Rather than moving the fly back and forth along a two-dimensional plane, the Belgian cast keeps the fly moving at all times through a three-dimensional pattern. This means that there are no shocking stops, extra slack, or dropping fly.

To perform the Belgian cast, you make a sidearm backcast and then a forward cast over the top, with a nice, wide loop. The name oval cast comes from the fact that, if viewed from above, your rod tip describes an oval, rather than a straight line. When you are making the Belgian cast, line speed is not important, but you must keep the line moving at all times to keep the fly from dropping.

For a complete lesson on the Belgian cast, check out Macauley Lord’s excellent article on Midcurrent.

Copied from Midcurrents Techniques.  See more at http://midcurrent.com/experts/casting-heavy-flies/.

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As always, watch the fish before casting to the fish.  Understanding what they are feeding on, by reading the rise, may help you catch that trout of a lifetime.

Copied from Midcurrents Techniques.  See more at http://midcurrent.com/techniques/fly-fishing-strategy-tips/

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