Virginia Trout Fishing: Streams, Licenses and Limits

Rules: Virginia DWR (freshwater)

Virginia has more than 3,500 miles of trout water, according to the Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR), but the fishing is more varied than the number suggests. More than 2,900 miles hold wild trout, about 600 miles hold stocked fish, and a handful of special-regulation waters have their own gear and size rules. This roundup compares the ones covered on this site, explains the trout license window and the stocking program, and points to what is changing this season. Rules differ stream by stream, so read the section for the water you plan to fish.

How Virginia manages trout

DWR runs three programs. The catchable stocking program is the best known: designated stocked trout waters receive catchable fish from October through May. DWR’s management plan says Virginia stocks more than 600,000 catchable trout a year in more than 180 streams and lakes, that about 100,000 anglers fish for them, and that 80 percent of trout fishing depends on stocking because warm summers keep trout year-round only in high mountain streams and cold tailwaters. The wild trout program protects reproducing rainbow, brook and brown trout through habitat and regulation, and a smaller fingerling program supports many special-regulation waters.

DWR posted a new stocked trout management plan covering 2026 to 2031 in July 2026 and took comments through August. News coverage of the Board of Wildlife Resources vote said the five-year plan includes a 35 percent reduction in stocking statewide. Because that figure is a news report of the board’s action, check DWR’s stocking schedule for what your water will actually receive.

Season, limits and the trout license

Virginia’s trout season is open year-round. The statewide limit is six trout a day with a 7-inch minimum, and exceptions apply to heritage, urban, special-regulation and fee-fishing waters. DWR says success is highest in spring, fall and mild winter weather, and that low flows and warm water make June through September harder.

You need a Virginia freshwater license, plus an extra trout license only in designated stocked trout waters from October 1 through June 15. From June 16 through September 30 you can fish those waters without the trout license. The resident annual trout license is $28, according to DWR’s license page, and we are not publishing the non-resident price until DWR’s two fee sources agree. Most waters inside the George Washington and Jefferson national forests also need a National Forest stamp, and some wild-trout and special-regulation waters need a free signed landowner permit card. The rules snapshot above lists the rules, and the license guide has the rest.

Compare the waters

Water	Rule highlights	Gear	Best for
Mossy Creek, Augusta County	One trout a day, 20 inches or longer; free landowner permit	Fly fishing only	Fly anglers who want a challenge from the bank
Jackson River tailwater, Alleghany County	Release rainbows 12 to 16 inches and browns under 20 inches; four a day, one brown	Bait allowed	Wild rainbows and browns below a dam
Jackson River, Bath County section	16-inch minimum, two a day; trout license Oct 1 to Jun 15	Multiple-hook artificial lures permitted	Stocked and wild fish on a walk-in reach
Lake Moomaw	16-inch minimum, two a day; no trout license needed	Bait allowed	Large stocked browns and rainbows from a boat
Smith River, Henry County	No brown trout 10 to 24 inches; one brown over 24	Bait and artificial combinations permitted	Big browns below Philpott Dam
Rapidan River and other catch-and-release waters	Catch and release only	Artificial lures; some waters no bait	Small streams in Shenandoah National Park and the Rapidan WMA
Delayed harvest waters	Oct 1 to May 31: artificial lures only and catch and release	Artificial lures	Fall and winter stocked-trout fishing

Mossy Creek

Mossy Creek is the state’s best-known fly-fishing creek, a limestone spring creek that flows through farmland in Augusta County near Bridgewater. DWR says it was opened to public fishing in 1978 through a partnership of DWR, Trout Unlimited and landowners, and that its brown trout are mostly stocked as fingerlings and grow quickly in the food-rich water. The special-regulation area is four miles of private farmland open by landowner permission. Spring-fed water stays cold in summer and rarely freezes, and DWR calls it an excellent winter fly destination.

The rules are firm. Fly fishing only, one trout a day, and that fish must be 20 inches or longer. You need a free signed landowner permission card on top of your fishing license, available online or at DWR’s Verona Regional Office on weekdays, and no trout license is required. No wading, camping, fires, picnicking, loitering or dogs. Fish must be approached from steep banks, which DWR says can frustrate even experienced anglers.

DWR lists blue-winged olive, trico and sulphur hatches at different times of year, with terrestrials by midsummer. The summer trico hatch is technical.

Jackson River

The Jackson tailwater is the premier wild trout river in the state. Read the Jackson River and Lake Moomaw guide for the slot rule, the access list and the private-land caution.

Stocked trout and what has changed

Each year DWR publishes a stocking schedule, a pre-announced stocking list and a list of designated waters. Several waters have had changes as of this check, per DWR’s trout page: the Raven Cliff area on Cripple Creek in Wythe County is closed for construction through early 2027, so Cripple Creek stockings go to a lower site; stocking in the Lovill’s Creek section in Carroll County has been removed permanently because posting cut public access; Lake Thompson stocking is discontinued; and the Little Stony Creek stocking in Scott County is on hold until the roads reopen. Back Creek’s delayed-harvest section in Bath County has a no-trespass sign on a private service bridge; anglers can park below it and walk around. 2027 stocking dates are not yet published, so check DWR’s schedule.

Safety and land access

Much of Virginia’s best trout water crosses private land, and posted signs mean no entry. Cold water and wading at night are risks, and dam releases change the Jackson without warning. Never wade a tailwater when the flow is rising.

Tackle that suits trout streams

A 4 to 5 weight fly rod around 8 1/2 to 9 feet suits the tailwater and creek anglers use, and a light spinning rod with small spinners suits stocked water where artificial lures are allowed. A custom fly rod built for short, accurate casts from a bank fits creeks like Mossy, where the approach matters more than the distance.

Check before you go

DWR’s trout pages change monthly. See the Virginia rules guide and the Virginia hub for the rest of the state.