In the Dead of Winter, Fly-Fishing on the Rose River Still Is a Lure

Beau Beasley of Fairfax shows off a rainbow trout caught at Rose River Farm, which is known for beautiful scenery and abundant trout. (By Angus Phillips For The Washington Post)
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Dear, fishing upstream, took longer to connect. "It looks bad when you can't even catch fish on your own stream," he grumped. Before long, he'd found his mojo and was battling one trout after another.

Dear, who retired from the commercial mortgage business to develop properties on his own, bought the 200-acre farm five years ago with the primary aim of establishing a trout-fishing operation. He built a lodge of massive western spruce logs with a 360-degree view of the surrounding mountains, fenced cows off the stream and moved a few rocks around to improve the habitat. He stocks about 250 to 300 trout a month in season to keep the population up and allows catch-and-release fly-fishing only.

He is board chairman of Project Healing Waters, a national nonprofit organization that teaches injured veterans how to tie flies and fly fish, and welcomes the vets to the farm from time to time. In May, he'll host a "two-fly" tournament to raise money for the charity, at which 10 teams of veterans will compete.

The rest of the time, he limits traffic to four anglers a day to keep the pressure down.

I've fished the Rose River a half-dozen times over the years. I always was impressed by the water quality and the beauty of the place but disappointed by the scarcity of fish, unless you were willing to battle the crowds just after the stocking truck left.

"The key to good fishing on streams like this is catch-and-release," says Dear. He'll get no argument from me.

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State stocking trucks are on the move in Virginia, where trout season is open all year, though the best days still are a month or more away. To track the stocking status of individual streams, check the Web site http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing. For information on Dear's operation, go to http://www.roseriverfarm.com. Beasley's book, "Fly Fishing Virginia," which includes good maps and covers all sorts of fishing from oceans to mountain streams, is available at http://www.beaubeasley.com.

In Maryland, where many of the top streams are closed for stocking most of March, stocking schedules are at http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries.

Meantime, trout enthusiasts should mark their calendars for the following events:

¿ March 19, "A Night to Remember" with fly-fishing legend Lefty Kreh, who at 83 still is churning out fine instructional books. This session at Boatyard Bar & Grill in Annapolis honors Kreh with appearances by Flip Pallot, Bob Clouser and others. Tickets are (gasp!) $500, with proceeds to benefit the Maryland Coastal Conservation Association. Call 410-280-8770.

¿ March 29, National Capital Chapter of Trout Unlimited holds its 33rd annual Angling Show at Georgetown Prep in North Bethesda. Check for details at http://www.ncc-tu.org.