Muddy Run (off the Jackson - Virginia)

[switchfisher]

After working the special regulation area of the Jackson, I took the time to work up Muddy Run for about 3/4 of a mile (blog link below). Muddy hits the Jackson about 0.2 miles from the start of the special regs area and was advertised as having both brook trout and rainbow escapees that darted upstream from the Jackson.

Sadly, this stream is pretty beat up. Not from the normal problems of pressure and trash, but from drought. There was a barely visible flow - just a pathetic trickle of water. In fact, down by the Jackson itself, it was bone dry as you can see from the picture:

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I only found one pool big enough to fish - and it did have some trout in it. The farther upstream, the tougher the fishing became.

This was hands and knees - going through stuff like this:

I resolved to start bringing kneepads with me - most of the 3/4 mile was spent trying to hide -

I did catch a few small rainbows - nothing to brag about. In fact, upon reflection about the drought, I should not have even been up there as the catch and release probably added more stress to these already stressed out guys;

Next time I am here, I'll just stick with the main river. Unless somebody knows of anything great on Muddy Run beyond the 3/4 mile I penetrated?

 

[BigCliff]

Great post, as is this Switch Fisher - Bass and Trout Fishing Blog | New Fly Guy - The After Action Review

And yeah, that bayekane guy sure has some enviable pics to post.

 

[switchfisher]

It's amazing what he comes up with. He indicated that he just took a lot of pictures of the fish and was modest in his own accomplishments... but just to be within a mile of great results like is something I would love.

 

[dshort]

Definitely an enjoyable read. Your idea of switching to smallies earlier in the season is probably good for the most part. Most of the stocked streams in the state do get too warm in the summer. The brookie streams up in the mountains rarely get out of the 60's but usually suffer from low water. It was especially bad this year. But, since you're after larger prey anyway...don't forget about the spring creeks and the tailwaters which stay cold even in the heat of the summer.