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Fly Fishing On The Bullpasture River, Virginia

Bullpasture River Virginia

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 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. 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
Limestone

Species
Brook Trout (Stocked with some
holdovers)
Brown Trout (Stocked with some
holdovers)
Rainbow Trout (Stocked with some
holdovers)

Size
Medium e

Location
Western Virginia Alleghany Highlands

Nearest Towns
Williamsville

Season
Year-round

Access:
Very Good

Non-Resident License
State of Virginia

Weather
National Weather Service Link

Season:
The season runs year-round
Winter:
Trout can be caught on warm winter days.
Spring:
Spring is the best time for fly fishing Bullpasture River.
Summer:
Summertime is okay, if you fish the right places, thanks to the cool spring water and heavy canopy of bushes and trees..
Fall:
Fall is the best time for big browns.

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 2013 James Marsh


Fly Fishing Bullpasture River Virginia
Bullpasture River is one of the best known trout streams in the state of Virginia. It is heavily stocked with rainbow, brown and brook trout. Although its name insinuates  
differently, only the uppermost section flows through a pasture and there the land is posted. There’s even a deep gorge that gives this stream a complete different look.

Although this is basically a put and take stream, in the eyes of many Virginia anglers, I couldn’t get by without listing it. The problem with the river, even though it is spring fed in many places, is much of its water gets too warm during the hot Summer to sustain a good
population of wild trout. Fly fishing  Bullpasture River can be productive during the Summer provided you fish the little tributaries and where they enter the main river.

In its gorge area, the stream has some huge boulders and deep pools. It looks entirely different than most other areas of the river. This area has some springs that add cold water and is where most of the holdover trout reside during the Summer.  

Above the gorge, Mill Run, a small size spring creek adds its cold water to the flow. Both it and Davis Run, another small tributary spring creek, have some small, wild rainbow trout. There’s a campground at the mouth of the gorge.

This river stays crowded with visitors during the warm months and especially on weekends. It is best to fish it during the week and during the colder months of the
year. You can catch plenty of trout then and some nice holdover brown trout. This will avoid having to deal with the spin fisherman which tend to spook the trout.

Accessing the stream is easy. State highway 678 follows most of the stream. Areas of the gorge needs some hiking to get to.