Fall is a great time to fly fish so I recently explored the new Special Regulation Area on the South River just outside the City of Waynesboro. This river is the birthplace of the first Trout Unlimited chapter in the state, the Shenandoah Valley chapter which is still very much in existence today.

The South River is blessed with millions of gallons of cold water from underground springs and thus has a pretty good flow all year. Though the river is actually a freestoner, it behaves more like a classic spring creek, according to Kevin Little, co-owner of the newly opened South River Fly Shop. “The year-round cool temperatures from the springs are really impressive. They provide all sorts of minerals which prevents the river from getting unnecessarily cloudy. It also supports excellent insect life, which produces good hatches of sulphurs, PMDs, Tricos, Isonychia, caddis, BWOs, Hexagenia, and loads of midges.”

Tommy Lawhorn who guides on the river and acts as Little’s partner in the shop agrees. “Most people are shocked at the insect life when they fish this stream. The truth is there is so much for trout to eat here the potential to land a big fish is always a possibility”. Lawhorn ought to know as he assisted members of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries do a fall stocking on the South River. Lawhorn along with members of local TU chapter ferried buckets of young brown trout and spread them all along the river. Lawhorn even created a floatable box so he could move the trout to other parts of the river away from easy access points.

In the special regulation area, small white signs indicate angler access points, and maps are provided at angler parking spots. Access points are easy to reach, and each one is different. The “springs” section is in the uppermost part of the river with deep and clear water and significant blowdowns that act as cover. The next sections, at Shalom Road and Lyndhurst Road, are shallower and offer a much harder bottom to anglers who must fish from pool to pool as river otters and ospreys keep the trout in hiding.

Further downstream is the Waynesboro Nursery access point, where anglers can wade downstream to Back Creek where a small plot of private land prevents you from fishing any farther. Anglers can also begin at the Oak Lane access point and fish up to Back Creek. Again, all of this land is private and should be treated with the utmost care. If you see trash, by all means pick it up, and obey all of the “no trespassing” signs you do see.

A delayed-harvest section for trout exists in town between the Second Street Bridge upstream to the base of the Rife Loth Dam, though anglers may have to bushwhack their way through some heavy growth along the banks. Built in 1907 for a foundry, the dam causes the river’s water to back up, warming it before it travels downstream. Anglers are as apt to catch carp or hefty smallies here as they are to land trout.

The river is easy to wade in town, and locals are known to sneak out for a quick trout fix on their lunch hour. The rock structures you see, which were paid for in part from money raised from the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival and placed by members of the Shenandoah Valley chapter of TU, provide cover and help to oxygenate the water.

The new Special Regulation Area is for single hook artificial lures only and only two fish over 16 inches can be kept. This new section adds four additional miles to the popular delayed harvest section in downtown Waynesboro and really worth your time to explore. For the latest fishing information on the South River, or to check on things at the newly opened South River Fly Shop check out their web-site at www.southriverflyshop.com