Shenandoah Brook Trout, Madison County, VA - Wooly Bugged 

John D. I did see a few bugs on the water by mid-afternoon. Great temps for late December!

Good catch John

While he's talking a brook trout got his snack, lol

Charles Gaither thanks Charles, I appreciate your comment. Ya, rock hopping is fun until you’ve done it for a mile, haha.

Mike Smith thanks Mike!

Klemens Tomaszewski you’re a lucky guy, beautiful place.

I moved to Maryland but still make the trip to SNP several times each spring to fish for brookies. There's no place like it.

Ian Jones that’s a great stream, glad you were able to fish it! Great place for a first!

Ron Carlson thanks Ron! Happy New Year to ya!

the indicator disappears and the fish flashes....national geographic stuff

Thanks Coleslaw 😊

Dustin J-M would love to learn more, send me a DM through my website if you don’t mind.

@@WoolyBugged will do

Michael Capurso ya, a Tenkara rod is definitely on my list for something to try out!

Patrick Andrews check them out, they make some amazing rods.

It's mostly preserved and part of SNP now.

SOFTAIL X thanks Softail! You been out at all this winter?

@@WoolyBugged no not much. Ski season for me now. Bought a little bass boat over the summer and learning bass fishing a little more.

@@WoolyBugged also. Look at Ghostech strike indicators. If you haven't already. I just got some. I haven't tried them but they are different.

SOFTAIL X ya I’ve tried those out before. They work well in certain applications.

Just posted one today!

Osny Fishing Adventures thanks Owen! Hope you’re doing well, I see you finally hit your 1K sub goal, congrats. Hope school Is going well. You certainly need to get up to Erie, although once you go and catch one, you’ll want to keep going back. We will have to see about January, I have a busy schedule in the new year. Worse case, definitely in the spring months.

Wooly Bugged thanks Mike!!! Schools going great, but it’s been hard keeping up with the workload! Editing and making videos on top of doing good in school was absolutely torture 😂😂😂 but got the job done, and surprised myself by making the deans list! Do you really need to time it with the rain, or are the fish always in the tribs up there? Wasn’t sure, because my dad was telling me of it doesn’t rain, their not going to be in there but maybe he’s wrong 😂 keep me updated if any days open up in January 👍🎣🐟💦 tight lines, and can’t wait to make another run at making a video together!💯

You know what, I do that with my glass rods that are longer than 7' because I feel they can move that much line but I have issues moving that much line on the 6' glass rods. Perhaps bamboo handles differently? I'm curious about the furled leaders. I tried those once but had issues with the line not floating well with dry flies. Do you use furled leaders for dry flys?

BrookieBum it really was a beautiful stream Nate.

@@WoolyBugged that's the next state on my list to fish. Would you suggest this stream?

BrookieBum I’m not an expert on VA, but it seems that a majority of the streams in Shenandoah National Park have good populations of wild brook trout.

BrookieBum if you go, let me know and I’ll help you out.

@@WoolyBugged I appreciate that. I will give you a shout when I go.

That's a good place to live Jake! I'm jealous!

Jacob Heitzer that bag is made by Fishpond. They made it in orange and green for 2019. Now will be a good time to get one on sale as the 2020 bags just hit stores.

Love that rise!

bassnote1 that is an Approach Genesis.

Tight Lining MD hey Mike, thanks for saying hi. Ya, you should certainly get down to VA if you get a weekend and check out some of the water down there. As far as cameras go, I’ve met several folks that speak highly of the Sony RX100 as it is reasonably priced and shoots 1080 at 60FPS. It can also accept an external mic. Camera quality is number one and then ways to use it, for example various types of tripods can be useful. I think you’re set for editing software. You get fancier than that you might as well be shooting fishing documentaries and the cost benefit is harder to make on paper. I still like the GoPro for some action shots. Yep, I’ll be up at the Kettle Creek Healing Waters event this spring so we can chat all you want then. Caleb from Allegheny Natives knows a lot about higher end camera equipment if you are interested in making the investment. Hope that helps.

@@WoolyBugged Thank you very much. I was suggested that same camera by one person, as well as the Canon EOS Tl6 I believe. Will need to do a comparison to see which makes the most sense. Thanks for the feedback! I am planning to attend at the moment, so it will be nice to meet you and best of luck with trips and such until there. Later Mike!

R Blatt a majority of the time brook trout do stay small when they live in small headwater streams, and even in slightly larger rivers. A trophy sized wild brook trout on the east coast would be anything over 10”. Their size is dependent on their environment, for example what food sources are available to them. Most brook trout only have a life span of up to 5 years. There are always exceptions and you often hear stories of the occasional 15” wild brook trout. In the north, in places like remote Canadian lakes and ponds, wild brook trout have plenty of deep cold water, food, and no pressure. Those fish grow much larger than the brook trout in small east coast streams.

@@WoolyBugged That is fascinating. Thank you for the detailed response. I am also from the east coast up here in WNY and have yet to catch a brookie! I have seen videos of very large brook trout being caught in those northern Canadian deep waters and it's truly a testament to nature on how a species can change to its environment. Super neat! Thank you as always for posting such epic and tranquil videos. Look forward to more! Tight lines man.

Hillbilly Sportsman I have not but that’s next on my brook trout east coast locations. You know that area don’t you?

Wooly Bugged I have fished in the park. I do most of my brook trout fishing in northeast Tennessee.

Chad Green thanks Chad! Happy New Year!

Wooly Bugged you too bud!

Ed Hunt you were the first with the right answer Ed, if you send me your address to woolybugged@gmail.com - I’ll ship that flask to you, thanks!

Phil Cleven I have tried euronymphing before, I just enjoy using an indicator. I do understand the benefit of the method in some situations.

Ian Jones you are correct Ian! Unfortunately Ed Hunt below was the first to comment with the right answer.

Brian Foley there are a lot in there! Haha

I don't know what it is but I have fished natives in Virginia for a long time and the fishing has gotten better and better. With the biggest improvement in the last 5 years as far as I am concerned. I used to hike a ways into creeks for the better fishing, now I know creeks with good fishing straight out of the car. More catch and release has to play into that. The fish seem to be trending bigger.