Life Outside Summer 2018 - 18

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The Details

Top Three Flies: For trout,
Williams suggests Size 14-16
blue-wing olives, Size 12-14
pheasant tails, and Size 14
Josh's White Lightning.
Delayed Harvest
Sections: Only flies or
artificial lures allowed. Trout
license required October 1
to June 15. The Green Hill
Park section stretches from
Diuguid's Lane upstream
to a sign at upper end of
park. Riverside Drive and the
Roanoke River Greenway Trail
offer access to lower section.
Interesting Birds: Kevin
Collie, a wildlife photographer
from Salem, likes this section
for its raptors-look for kestrels,
ospreys, and Cooper's hawks.
Access Points: River right
shoreline access within Green
Hill Park in Roanoke County via
Diuguid's Lane and Route 460.
Take-out is on river left at
the Salem Rotary Park on
Route 419.

TON

SAM LIN

FISHIN'
Numerous quality fishing spots exist on the Salem
Rotary Park float (above), as well as the Green Hill
Park section (right).

GREEN HILL PARK TO SALEM ROTARY PARK
(7.4 miles)

The Green Hill Park junket is the one that possesses
two delayed-harvest trout sections, meaning, in
part, that from October 1 through May 31, catch and
release is required. Fincastle's Josh Williams, who
operates Dead Drift Outfitters, says both sections
offer quality trout angling.
"The Green Hill section has some really deep
holes with riffles below them that cause the trout to
stack up," he says. "The best fishing on the Colorado
Street Bridge to Route 419 Bridge section is in the
general area of the bridges. That's where most of
the deep channels and rocky cover are."
Williams adds that canoeists will likely find this

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Summer 2018 \\ LifeOutside Magazine

section difficult to float after June because of low
water levels. So kayaks are often the best choice
for much of the summer and fall.
David Holladay, a member in the Roanoke chapter
of Trout Unlimited, says the group helped establish
the delayed harvest sections in the early 2000s and has
helped to monitor them ever since for water quality
and that the catch and release regulations are followed.
"The delayed-harvest sections are a real success
story for the Roanoke and the community as a
whole," he says. "Rainbow and brook trout are
stocked every year, and there's some evidence that
the rainbows carry over from year to year."
Life Outside Summer 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Life Outside Summer 2018
