Trout Hike - Jeremy's Run

When we drove up to Skyline Drive, we asked the Park Ranger at the entrance for advice on good spots to fish - she told us Jeremy's Run.  That's were we were heading anyway on this trout hike, but that should have been a huge red flag that this stream gets a lot of traffic. To get there, follow Skyline and park in the Elkhollow Gap picnic area - that's the trailhead.  It's an easy walk down, not much vertical gain, but is a hike that you should wear hiking boots on.  Do not wear your fishing shoes as the hike out with wet shoes and socks could produce a blister.  It was a pleasant sunny day as we headed into the valley and we were excited to see the stream.  But after following it for a while, it became clear that this was a low water fishing event.  The stream is very shallow - but does support a good population of native trout.  Most are pretty small; the larger pools supporting the larger fish.   It's hard work fishing this as the target area is so small.  It's like fishing in a series of mud puddles.  There are a small number of bigger pools and, as you can see from the pictures below, we caught a few 6 to 9 inch fish - but - these were the exception rather than the rule.  Most of the guys hanging out were like the one to the right - small and aggressive.  I suppose fly fishermen like trying to catch these, but they did nothing for me. We did see a number of other folks fishing - at least 7 other people - so this stream does get some pressure.  Bottom line:  I will not go back here - it's just not good enough. Caveat: I did not go all the way down to the bottom - it might be better water down there... but ... still plenty of pressure on this water
Dick at the top of the trailhead to Jeremy's Run - easy walk	Dick was using these mayfly things and had good luck.  I stuck with my Panther-Martin spinners
The larger fish were all about this size - 6 inches or so	The trail is clearly marked with blue blazes on trees - you will not get lost
As you can see, low water, low flow	There are a few decent size pools - I imagine these get heavy pressure
	Another good pool We practice immediate catch and release - all these fish are still there for the next person. Since this is in the Shenandoah, it's single hook - be sure you take a pair of pliers along with you to snip your treble hook

 Unless stated otherwise, this article was authored by Steve Moore

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