Tailwater · Mixed Metamorphic · Virginia, US

Smith River

Indian fish weir Smith River Henry County Virginia
Prime · Brown Trout
Blue Winged Olive · 16-20
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
River steady at a fishable height. On the feed top to bottom — start on the rises with a dry, drop a nymph if they stay down.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.54 mLast reading 4h ago
  • Water temp9.9°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Blue Winged Olive
Blue Winged Olive16-20
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.54 m
Last reading 4h ago
Water temp9.9°C
ClarityClear
Weather15°C
WindN 22 km/h
Pressure1023 hPa
Rain · recent0.1 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

Live readings only. Trends shown where the gauge supports them.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Cool — slow
9.9°Cideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°

A dam sets this river's temperature, not the weather, so it can shift several degrees within hours when the release changes. Measured 3 km from the gauge. It also warms as it runs away from the dam.

How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — conditions well-balanced, with water temperature particularly in your favour.
Likely species
Mayflies
Chironomids
Damselflies & dragonflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 21h

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 6 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 4 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 as a supporter.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
SulphurHatch
2
3
2
Trico (Eastern)Hatch
2
3
3
2
Eastern Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Eastern Summer BWO (Drunella)Hatch
2
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Fly box · Brown Trout
Local fly shops: Mossy Creek Fly Fishing
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Gallery · 2
  1. Indian fish weir Smith River Henry County Virginia
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Supporting
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Smith River' (VAW-L52R_SRE05A00), 2022 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Fully Supporting. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · VAW-L52R_SRE05A00

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 87 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature98 × 28%27.4
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time85 × 13%11.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity65 × 12%7.8
Conditions total= 87
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts