Trout Fishing in High Country

I've spent some time fishing with my uncle Lowell this past month.  We've been hitting his favorite trout spots in Greenbrier, Pocahontas, and Nicholas Counties.  We tried our luck a couple of times at Knapps and Anthony Creek.  There is some really interesting geology in that area with a most notable stop called the Devil's Backbone.  Our best day was on the Cranberry River where I limited out in one hole in under 20 minutes.  It was an awesome mix of Rainbow, Brook, and Brown trout; the first Browns I had caught in a few years. We tried again the next day on Knapps Creek and the Williams River but were flooded out due to an intense thunderstorm that hit the area the night before.  It's one of the most scenic places I've ever been.  We drive up into the high country, where on a clear day you can see for what seems like a hundred miles.  Lowell explained to me how the Red Spruce trees grow up there and how they only survive in the higher elevations.  They seem to be as environmentally finicky as the trout we were after.  Once you reach the peak of the mountain the trees become more stunted and the limbs only grow thick on one side, due to the high winds and cold weather.  We turned our attention south on one trip to Potts Creek near Virginia and caught several trout, finishing up the trip with a respectable meal at the Swinging Bridge restaurant in Paint Bank, VA where they server up buffalo meat.      

Bluegill Trip

Took Bella up to the farm to catch some bluegills.  She's really come a long way.  She's got her casting down and can tie on and bait her own hook.  We have to work on her hook set a little bit, but she's dong just fine.  She caught several bluegills and I picked up a couple bass.  I look forward to our next trip.

Winter Pan Fishing

Austin and I took my Jon boat and headed to the Lake to do a little Winter pan fishing.  Apparently, everyone else had the same idea.  There were over 20 boats, but it was pretty laid back and didn't feel crowded at all.  We caught several Bluegill including a 10" citation that I landed.  I also caught a pretty nice Crappie as well.  The day started off fairly warm for this time of year, but the temperature dropped throughout the day as a cold front moved in.

The Rain Continues

If this weather keeps up much more I believe I am going to upgrade my kayak to an Ark!

More Rain, Different Day

The wet and rainy Spring has progressed to a wet and rainy Summer.  Austin and I floated our usual section from the Dam to Southside.  We landed several, but most came in slack water and eddies.

South Branch of the Potomac Trip

My brother Brian, Austin, Jamie, and I headed up to Grant/Pendleton/Hardy County to spend a week fishing the South Branch of the Potomac water shed.  The water was up and it rained nearly every day, but the fishing was good and we landed several nice Smallmouth with Brook and Rainbow Trout mixed in.  The night before we left we had a huge bonfire burning up the week's supply of firewood in one night given that the rain wouldn't allow a camp fire earlier in the week.  A fitting way to reflect on a great trip. On the last day we did a little native trout fishing before heading home.

South of the Border

Austin, Joe and I bought our Virginia fishing licenses and loaded up for a float trip from Narrows to Glenn Lynn, VA.  It was a real easy float with little to no rapids.  I was able to leave my kayak seat in the high position the entire trip without fear of tipping over in fast water.  I caught a couple on spinners but it seemed that the way to catch them on that day was to slow fish the bottom of the river with jigs.  I used a crawl-fish colored G-Tail most of the time.  Joe had the most success of anyone landing 19 bass by bouncing tubes off the fiver bottom.  Austin caught 10 and I ended up catching 11 including my second musky in as many weeks.  This time we were able to get a picture.  It measured 20 inches.  Not a monster, but still an apex predator that's always a thrill to catch.

Up at Dawn

Austin and I got up before the Sun to beat the crowds and get the best bite on a Memorial day weekend.  The air was a little cool for this time of year; in the upper forties, but it warmed up quite a bit throughout the day and the water temperature was near normal so the bite was good.  We caught 46 fish between the two of us and were off the river as most people were just getting started.  The high point of the trip was a near 25 inch musky I caught throwing a white G-Tail on the upper Greenbrier side of the of our Bellpoint to Southside float.  It's the first musky I'd caught in a couple years.  Unfortunately we dropped it back in the river before we could get a picture but it was still a blast to catch and a real boost to the ego.

Carposaurus!

Austin, Jamie, Greg and I along with one of Austin's co-workers set out for an early morning float trip on the New just below the dam.  Between the 5 of us we caught 56 fish.  Most were a mixed bag of smallmouth and red-eyes; however one was whopper of a carp.  I was throwing an in-line spinner below the first bridge on the opposite bank from the state police station in an effort to catch a big smallie, or perhaps a muskie, when something started swimming off with my lure.  It wasn't a real hard hit.  In fact I thought I was snagged on a log at first.  As it became more clear that it was a big fish I set the hook hard and then it was on.  I immediately knew it wasn't a bass by the way it fought.  Swimming deep and peeling drag I thought I had a musky or possibly big catfish.  I was a little under equipped with a medium light rod and 8lb. test line.  It was mildly amusing as the fish pulled me and my kayak around a deep pool in the river.  It looked as if I was propelling myself along with a trolling motor.  After several minutes I was able to land the 13 pound fish; a carp.  Not the biggest of this species, but plenty big enough to give me all I could handle.  It was definitely
the highlight of the trip and a memory I'll hang onto for a while.

Birthday Shanklin's Trip

For my 36th birthday I decided to take the day off work, hitch up the john boat and head up to Shanklin's for a day trip.  I caught 9 to 10 nice size bass on a pretty laid back trip.  I recently installed a prop and skeg guard, which actually paid for itself on this trip as a hit a couple of rocks that normally would have damaged the lower unit.  One of the neatest things about this trip was that I took my boss' aerial drone with me to capture some interesting pictures of the area.