Lon, Allen and I could not wait to get back to the confluence to fish again after our previous adventure downstream from the junction on the Rappahannock. As a result of some good contacts with local landowners, Lon set up a trip which allowed us to start at the confluence and work upstream on the Rapidan; ending on private property to which we also had permission to access. It would be an all-day adventure -- a 5 mile hike up the Rapidan. With that in mind, we got off to an early start and were excited to see the vast expanse of the confluence stretched out in front of us as we broke through the trees at the end of our hike to the water. Off in the distance, we could see two other fly fisherman, a father and son, already hard at work on the many slots in the merge. The confluence itself lived up to expectations. This was the first time I had been to the actual confluence and was impressed by the state of the densely scattered grassy islands which protected deep cuts and runs as the current of the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers slammed together in the tight merge. But we were not here to fish the actual confluence, we had a full day's hike ahead of us and so we moved out sharply to the left to head up the Rapidan. This is big water. Even though there were three of us, no one ever felt pressured or stepped on by anybody else. Part of that is that when fishing with friends you are happy to work closer together to share the experience and the advice. In the confluence area itself, the water is broad and wide -- it could handle 20 or 30 guys fishing and you would not feel pressured. As we moved farther up the Rapidan, the river narrowed -- and narrow is a relative term -- down to 70 feet or so across which is still plenty of room to leapfrog each other. All of us began catching fish within the first 10 minutes. Of course, there were the standard bluegills, but the smallies were out and active as well. Nobody caught a trophy on this day but we had plenty of normal size smallies in the 10 to 13 inch range. The fish did not seem to favor any particular method of angling. I was alternating between poppers and terrestrial patterns as well as using small plastic grubs. Alan stuck to case plastics on his spinning gear while Lon was the traditionalist and used normal flies and nymphs.  This section of the Rapidan features a broad diversity of structure both above and below the surface. While there were sandy stretches that would only hold the smallies in the deep holes near the shore, there were plenty of rocky areas which make up prime smallmouth habitat all over the river. In addition, there was an abundant amount of grass and other vegetation growing both in and out of the water to hide all sorts of fish. I found that I had the best luck either working the pockets on the shore or targeting the outflow of any small rapid or turbulent water area. Most of the rapids, and you have to smile when you say that since they were so small, have at least one deep cut/run out area.  The best spots to fish are where those run outs also hit the shore to form a deep hole. On the day we were there, the river was at a normal level.  The deepest water we encountered was about half a mile downstream from where we left the river.  At that spot, there's a broad section where it the southern bank has to be 10 to 15 feet deep. The water pools up strongly here and we had to wade on the northern bank to get by. According to Lon and Alan, bushwacking is a miserable option to dodge around this obstacle. Fortunately, on the day we were there the water only got up to chest high as we waded by. As a side note, I've never found these lake areas to be very productive. I must not know how to fish them or, as I believe, the fish prefer the faster moving water even if it's shallower. Given my previous poor experience in areas like this, I skipped by this feature as fast as I could. We ended our hike short of a concrete structure that has something to do with either the power company or the water company at a bend in the river. I wish we had gotten to this spot an hour earlier because it turned out to be one of the most productive of the day for me. Even though it was relatively shallow, it featured plenty of fallen logs, holes near the shore as well as grassy vegetation growing between the runs in the middle. I could see the larger smallies cruising around and, of course, ignoring everything we threw at them. Even with that, in short order, I picked up two or three nice 12 inch smallies in this area. If you are canoeing down the river -- which is the normal way to gain access -- you may want to spend a few minutes here before you proceed on downstream.  Speaking of canoe guys, we only saw two canoes all day - an indication of the light pressure the Rapidan gets below the last launch point at Ely's Ford.	Pressure Trout Size N/A Physical Fitness Bass Size Access Regulations Hard to Find Stocking Scenery Overall Remember to refer to my rating explanations - these are based on what I look for - so RED for Physical Fitness translates to easy physically - you do not need to be in shape to fish this section.  I prefer terrain that is tough to get into and out of. Purchase Switchfisher's books using the links to Amazon below for: Wade Fishing the Rappahannock River of Virginia (more info) Wade Fishing the Rapidan River of Virginia (more info) Wade and Shoreline Fishing the Potomac River for Smallmouth Bass (more info) Trout and Smallmouth Fishing on the North Branch of the Potomac (more info) Bottom line: As you can see from the green dots almost across the board in my ratings, I hold this part of the Rapidan in high regard. It was a great day on a great River with a good bunch of guys. The fish were cooperative, the weather was great and the water was warm enough to wet wade in. I would come back here again in a heartbeat. Getting There: Put in at Ely's Ford and canoe down to this stretch. Secrets Revealed?  No.  This is a public location that is documented in the following places: Virginia VDGIF Flyfisher's Guide to Virginia  Clore Bros Outfitter The Fisheries
Early morning sun, water, and a fly rod	Looking upstream into the Rapp from the confluence
Looking upstream from the confluence into the Rapidan	Dramatic blown down trees form structure
Lon actually caught a turtle here.... on a bitch creek nymph All fish... and turtles... were released	Rapidan has many wide spots with the deep holes on the side
Typical wide area	The "lake" - this is very deep on the left hand bank.  At higher water flows, you would have to swim this.
Canoe campers on the far bank	Tough climb out at the end point.  We had landowner permission to exit here