A report from AndrewB
I got out for an hour around 2 pm and caught a nice 12-inch rainbow at the head of the bend pool below the second crossing. I saw several fish with splashy rises and tied on a size18 X-caddis and a green soft hackle and took the rainbow on the dropper.
Holmes Run is small stream right in the middle of northern Virginia suburbia-- strip malls, apartment complexes and single family homes. It's a gem for the urban angler looking for a quick trout fix because there aren't many places inside the Beltway where you can be on the water in 20 minutes and have a trout on the end of your line. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries maintains Holmes Run as a stocked, catch and release fly fishing only area during the Spring then as a put and take fishery during the summer. The water becomes too warm during the summer to support trout in any numbers although you will find holdovers throughout the year in deep pools and runs).
DIRECTIONS: The upper section of Holmes Run Stream Valley Park is located just off Columbia Pike (244) amid apartments, residential housing and strip malls. As you drive on 244 towards Leesburg Pike (Rt. 7) the road will slope downhill. To your right you will see a large apartment complex and on your left will be the face of the Lake Barcroft Dam. You will cross a bridge with a covered pedestrian walkway. At this point slow down and get in the right lane. The road will begin to slope uphill. To your right is a small, paved road that looks like a bike path. This is the entrance. It's a sudden right turn so make sure the car on your tail knows you're turning. Park and follow the path to Holmes Run.