Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes that make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Spring Creek
Species
Brown trout (wild and stocked)
Brook Trout
Rainbow trout
Size
Small
Location
Central Virginia
Nearest Towns
Bridgewater
Harrisonburg
Season
Year – round
Access:
Four miles of public access
Special Regulations
Fly Fishing Only
Non-Resident License
State of Virginia
Season:
Trout can be caught year-round
Winter:
The water comes from the ground and stays warm enough for year-round fishing
Spring:
Springtime is considered the best time for fly fishing Mossy Creek because of the hatches.
Summer:
Summertime is terrestrial time on Mossy Creek and the fishing can be good
Fall:
Fall is many anglers favorite time to fish the creek
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 12 ft., 5 or 6X Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Mossy Creek Virginia Fishing Report: April 23, 2024
The stream is still flowing near a normal level and clear. Scuds and Red blood midges, are working good. Blue-winged olives and Little Black Caddis are also hatching.
Afternoon Water Temperature: 48 (upper to middle sections)
Clarity: clear
7 Day Weather Forecast:
Recommended Trout Flies:
Brown Sculpin and White Belly Sculpin and Articulated streamers, size 6/4
Black Matuka and Olive Matuka Sculpin, size 4/6
Blue-winged Olives: size 16 nymph, emergers, duns and spinners
Aquatic Worms, size 12, pink, red, and others
Midges: Light Green and Red (Blood) midges sizes 20/22, larva, pupa and adult. Our larva and pupa midge flies, pre-rigged in tandem, are very popular here. You can fish them under a strike indicator keeping the larva fly near the bottom. https://perfectflystore.com/product/pre-rigged-tandem-midge-larva-pupa-tippet
Little Black Caddis: 18, pupa and adults
Fly Fishing On Mossy Creek In Virginia: Mossy Creek is a small limestone spring creek that begins near the village of Mt. Solon. It’s a beautiful, slow to moderate flowing spring creek with great water quality for growing trout, and an abundance of aquatic insects. It flows through farmland in the Shenandoah Valley and in addition to a huge population of aquatic insects, it has plenty of terrestrial insects for the trout to feed on. The stream is stocked with small fingerling brown trout that soon become very shy and wise. Fly fishing Mossy Creek isn’t for the novice. It’s large brown trout are not easy to catch, but the rewards are equal to the challenge. It has a large growth of aquatic vegetation that compounds the problem for most anglers. Watercress and elodea represent the main aquatic plants.The streams length is about eight miles and roughly half of that is privately held. The other four miles is open to the public for fishing thanks to an arrangement set up by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Trout Unlimited and the owners of the property included. For access, you need a free permit issued for one year by the Virginia DGIF located in Verona.A one-mile section of the privately owned section called “the Lodge”, is located on the lower end of the creek near its confluence with the North River. Another one mile-long section that’s privately owned is called the “Miracle Mile”. The regulations state that fly fishing only is allowed and only one trout over twenty inches can be kept. To sum it up, let’s just say that Mossy Creek is one of the best trout streams in Virginia.
Mossy Creek Fishing Guide: Mossy Creek is named Mossy Creek for a good reason. The aquatic vegetation in the stream is thick as it could possible get. Because of this and the fact it is a clear, smooth flowing spring creek, fly fishing Mossy Creek can be a challenge even for even the most experienced anglers.Since no wading is allowed, anglers have to fish from steep banks. The higher your profile, the easier it is for the trout to see you through their “window of vision”. If you don’t understand that, you certainly need to study how trout see object above the surface of the water before attempting to fish Mossy Creek. In essence, you will have to stay as low as possible, make longer than normal cast, and at the same time, make excellent presentations. Doing things right can result in catching some big brown trout. There isn’t anything wrong with crawling up to the banks of the stream on your knees to stay low.Mossy Creek is stocked each fall with fingerling brown trout. Due to an abundance of food, they grow quickly. In a very short time, as compared to fish stocked of larger sizes, the trout became can become as wary as any wild trout. Dry fly fishing can be good only is you fish slowly, stay low along the banks, wear clothing that matches the background and surroundings, and make prefect, drag-free presentations using flies that closely imitate the behavior and appearance of the naturals. Our Perfect Flies perform better than anything on the market on this stream as well as any other spring creek where the trout can get a good look at your fly.The biggest browns stay well hidden under undercut banks and down in holes on the bottom. They move in the shallow beds of moss usually only under low light situations such as very early or late in the day and when the water is stained from heavy rain.
Mossy Creek Hatches and Trout Flies: Our information on aquatic insects is based on our stream samples of larvae and nymphs, not guess work. We base fly suggestions on imitating the most plentiful and most available insects and other foods at the particular time you are fishing. Unlike the generic fly shop trout flies, we have specific imitations of all the insects in Mossy Creek and in all stages of life that are applicable to fishing. If you want to fish better, more realistic trout flies, have a much higher degree of success, give us a call. We not only will help you with selections, you will learn why, after trying Perfect Flies, 92% of the thousands of our customers will use nothing else. 1-800-594-4726. Mossy Creek comes from limestone springs that produce water with a very high pH. This provides the nutrients that creates the large amount of food for the trout to grow fast and large. There are about a dozen different species of mayflies anglers usually call Blue-winged Olives in Mossy Creek. Our samples indicate the grown ones range from hook sizes 20 up to 16. Most of them are on the smaller size. A few of them are species of the Baetis genera but there are at least five others. These hatch all winter and on into the spring months. In June, one of the larger species will hatch. We have even seen tiny ones hatch in July but the warmer summer weather has fewer hatches than the cooler months of the year. The largest hatches often occur in the Fall but they will hatch throughout the winter. Sulphurs begin to hatch in the middle of April and continue through June. This hatch is usually heavy for only a short time but can be sporadic throughout that period of time. Tricos, or the White Winged Curse, start to hatch about the middle of June. The largest hatches are usually during August and September, but hatches can last up until the first of November. This is a frustrating hatch for many because the mayflies are small, hook size 20, and also because the male duns and spinners are different colors. The trout can key in on both the dun and spinners but imitations of the emerging duns can outperform both the duns and spinners. Normally, the highlight is the spinnerfall. By the way, we have imitations of this insect in all stages of life for the males and females.Most of the public section of Mossy Creek runs through open meadows. In late June, terrestrial insects become a part of the diet of the trout. Beetles and ants are followed by hoppers and crickets. Windy days are best for this. Contrary to what many anglers think, bright clear days can be as good or better than cloudy, overcast days for fishing imitations of terrestrials. Streamers can produce the largest browns in Mossy Creek. They work best under low light conditions, but stained water conditions are even better. Anytime the area get a good dose of heavy rain is a great time to have a shot at a large brown. These conditions eliminate having to use delicate presentations and having to slip up on the trout. Another food that is plentiful year-round for the trout are scuds. There’s also plenty of damselflies and dragon flies.