Long Rods And Lucid Dreams

Fall Turkey Season

2011-10-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

Fall Turkey season opened this past Saturday the 22nd, and I could not go out due to work. Today I made it to the turkey woods just before daybreak and headed for a large stand of Cherry, and Scarlet Oaks that I know the turkeys like to roost in. This is also the same stand of woods I was fortunate enough to kill a bird in last fall. Shortly after first light, I found myself leaning against an old cherry tree that was as broad as my shoulders listening for the tell tale sounds of turkeys on the roost. It wasnt long before I thought I heard some soft tree yelps coming further down the ridge. As it turns out I wasnt wrong so I immediately put my gloves and facemask on and sat down against the big Cherry tree I was leaned against. I got out my custom cherry slate over glass and began making some yelps. It wasnt long before turkeys started flying down from the roost. I immediately saw a brood hen and following behind her was at least 8 young of the year juvenile birds. The brood hen was searching for the pleading kee kees and when she made it to 30 yards, I dropped the hammer on her with my Remington 870 and a load of Hevi-Shot #4s. Turkey season opened and closed for me in less than 1 hour.

October... The Time to Hunt

2011-10-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

October arrived in Preston County with a horrible rain/wind/fog and a general disregard for any outdoor activity. October 1st was also the opening of the WV archery season. After an uneventful first week of not seeing much, I finally connected on a nice mature doe. The shot was made quickly as this doe and 3 yearlings came into my shooting lanes on the trot. Luckily for me, I was already standing and ready due to me having been busted by these same deer a day earlier. Today at 6:25 I was ready for another encounter and at 6:30 the doe and her yearlings trotted by at 25 yards. I couldnt have asked for a better shot as the Rage 2 blade punched through both of her lungs and she never made it more than 50 yards before piling up.

September Action

2011-09-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

Late September marks the beginning of the 2011 hunting seasons with Squirrel season opening on Sept. 10, and special antlerless archery and muzzeloading seasons taking place the second and third weeks of September. I did not get out for the early archery, but did get to get out with my Dad as we hunted my cousin's Lewis County farm. The hunt started on Friday evening the 23rd with me being able to take a yearling with my muzzeloader. I had to shoot him twice, but as a rule of deer hunting I got him on the ground, and I will eat whats leftover. Saturday morning I decided to go out for a squirrel hunt since I was tagged out for deer. I started at just past 9AM and finished by killing a limit of grey squirrels around Noon. Good start to the hunting season.

Dry Flies & Blue Lines Pt. 4

2011-06-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

Day 4 began with a slower than expected start, but after a good breakfast at camp, Chris and I headed south for lower Pocahontas County and the Elk River watershed. We had plans on fishing some tributaries to the Elk River then fishing the main Elk later that evening. Those plans changed quite a bit after talking to a good friend and finding out that the #18 sulphur spinners were not hatching during the evenings like I originally expected. No worries, though we had plenty of water to fish and made a decision to fish a tributary stream that I had been told was full of Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout. After spooking a thick water snake from his perch on a rock, we headed up stream for parts unknown. Chris and I did have a few missed hookups and we moved a nice fish, but no trout were landed from this stream, so I will not write this stream off yet, just have to visit it another day. As the day went on, we decided to head to the headwaters of the mainstem of the Elk River. We arrived at the parking lot and decided to eat a bite for lunch before making the 3 mile hike downstream. We were headed down river for a tributary that is not named on some maps, but has been rumored to have an extremely thriving population of wild Rainbow Trout. During the first mile of walking Chris and I either stepped over or dang near stepped on 5 different snakes. We couldnt positively ID any of the snakes, but then again we weren't really trying to stick around to find out either. After trekking through waist high vegetation, nettles, briers, etc., we finally located the mouth of the stream we were looking for. As soon as we started up into the mouth of the stream, we started prospecting pools and it didn't take long until we found out the rumors of wild Rainbow Trout to be true. This stream was extremely steep and loaded with plunge pools, pockets, and riffles. I honestly dont know how many little rainbows we caught, but as the daylight started to fade, we reached a stopping point and began the long hike back to the truck. Another day on another fine WV wild trout stream.

Dry Flies & Blue Lines Pt. 5

2011-06-16T16:57:00.000-07:00

The last day of the June brookie extravaganza arrived and sadly Chris and I had to pack up camp and head back to the usual drag some of us call work. It had been a long week, but not long enough and I guess it had to come to an end at some point. We decided to try and make the camp cleanup as quick and thorough as possible making sure we didnt leave anything behind. We had plans to visit one last brookie stream that both Chris and I had fished only a handful of times before. As we left the campground, we headed north and crossed into Pendleton County and cut down a forest route that is well used, but man is it secluded. As we were driving down the forest service road, I spotted a fairly big coyote running hard up the mountain. Add that to the growing list of wildlife seen. As we reached the last point of access on the forest service road, we got out of the truck and I realized I had forgotten my reel for my fly rod. No worries though, Chris and I would just share his rod as this was a small stream. We began working our way upstream and it wasn't long before I hooked up on the first brookie. Chris followed suit shortly thereafter, hooking and landing a nice brookie as well. The fishing wasn't spectacular by any means but we attributed that to a quick thunderstorm that rolled through earlier that morning as we were packing up camp. We did spook several fish that werent caught, but we also caught a few more before we decided that we would have wrap it up. On our way back up the mountain on the forest service road, we spotted a young Black Bear running strait down the middle of the road. We both thought it was about 100 pounds, not big by any means, but it topped of the pretty vast list of wildlife we had seen this week. It was time to put another great trip in the books and go our separate ways.

Dry Flies & Blue Lines Pt. 3

2011-06-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

Day 3 arrived with bright skies, and mild temperatures. Today Chris and I planned on fishing some new water on the top of Cheat Mountian. We were headed for the Shavers Fork of Cheat River and some of its tributaries. The Shavers Fork is a truly unique place due to its high elevation spruce forests and its very colored history. At one time this river which has been claimed to be the highest elevation river East of the Missisippi was once home to vast stands of laurel, virgin Red Spruce, Balsam Firs, Rhodadendron, Birch, Beech, and Maples. After the logging boom of the late 1800's and the early 1900's the virgin timber was gone along with much of the river structure, and consequently the Brook Trout that Shavers Fork was famed for went along with it. Timbering coupled with coal mining has taken its toll on this special place. Today the DNR along with other conservation minded people have begun to implement plans such as dumping limestone fines into the headwaters to improve water quality, and their is currently a mitigation plan in place to attempt to restore habitat quality to the river and hopefully alot of Brook Trout habitat will be restored along with the Brook Trout. Chris and I began our exploring on a stream that neither he nor I had ever fished, let alone seen. It is a major tributary of the Shaver Fork that receives limestone fines. It wasnt long after we had strung up the rods before we found our way upstream picking through pockets and in short order Chris caught the first brookie of the trip and out of this stream. Filled with tannin colored water, the Brookies were very colorful. The tannin water is attributed to the vast spruce and decaying vegetation that gives the water its color. Speaking of Spruce, Im not sure I have ever fished a stream with so much downed timber, mostly old spruce, laying across the stream. It made upstream travel for us difficult, and because of that, we decided to head to elsewhere. Further down river, we found ourselves at another smaller tributary. This stream is a stream that I had fished briefly the summer before, but it deserved another shot. We began fishing upstream and I hooked up on a smaller brookie, then I caught a nice little Brown Trout. Chris hooked and landed a few Brook Trout as well. We approached a nice pool from the tail out and I laid a nice gentle cast out on the pool near the head of the pool and out of nowhere a nice 14'' Brown Trout(monster for this stream) slammed my Stimulator. I fought the fish for a few seconds as it got closer to me, the fish threw the hook. Needless to say I was a little dissapointed. Several pools later we moved another fish that was in the 12'' to 14'' range, but he would have nothing to do with our flies. So, later that day we found ourselves at a trailhead that would take us to the mouth of another tributary and the main Shavers Fork. As we were hiking down the trail, we spooked a mother hen Turkey and her one and only polt. I honestly think she scared us as bad as we scared her. We finally made it to the mouth of the tributary we had been parellelling and decided since the evening time was approaching we decided we would take in the scenery and fish the main stem of Shavers Fork. Chris and I split up fishing picking the fast water and pockets. We missed several fish and spooked more, but I did manage to land a nice little Brown. It began to get dark and we had to hike a fur piece to get back to the truck.

Dry Flies & Blue Lines Pt. 2

2011-06-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of the adventure began after a hearty camp breakfast and a drive over the mountain into Pendleton County. Chris and I planned to make a long hike from one side of the mountain over the the other traversing 2 completely different watershed drainages and attempted to catch brookies from both of those watersheds. To do this we needed to park his truck near the top of the Allegheny Mountain at one trailhead, and park my truck near the bottom but on the other side of Allegheny. We quickly loaded up our packs, strung up our rods and looked for pocket water on the Cheat Drainage side of the mountain. It wasn't long before I spotted a nice brookie for Chris from the trail, and after 2 casts he had fooled brookie #1. I tried my hand at a few pools, but the low water and smaller sized stream made some pools difficult to approach without spooking the whole pool. Finally farther up the trail, I connected on not one, but two brookies that were full of life, and color. Decidedly we'd had enough and moved it on up the mountain and after a longer hike than Chris and I planned for, we finally topped out on the top of Allegheny Mountain. After a brief break and lunch, we descended the mountain on the back side headed for a stream that is a personal favorite and we were trying to catch another brookie from anothe watershed. After finally making it to the stream, I tried the first pool, and on the first cast, I hooked a really nice brook trout with shoulders that measured 10.5 inches. Brook Trout in my opinion seem to be the novelty of this stream and are rare anymore, but this guy is by far my best Brook Trout from this stream. As we progressed forward upstream, we hooked and caught several more rainbows, but neither Chris nor I caught another Brook Trout. We leapfrogged one another for the rest of the afternoon slowly working our way up the mountain again headed for his truck, and finally after approximately 9 mile of walking/fishing/wading, we made it to the other trailhead where his truck was parked.

Dry Flies & Blue Lines Pt. 1

2011-06-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

Early this Spring, my cousin and good fishing partner Chris Mitchell and I made a camping trip during the first few days of April and with snow on everyday of that trip, the weather was less than desirable. We made plans for a june trip that would rectify the awful weather the first go around. Well June finally made it, and we agree on where we would meet at. I arrived at the Island Campground in northern Pocahontas County about 12:30pm on Sunday. Knowing that he wasn't going to be arriving until close to 4pm, I decided to unload my truck and try my hand at a few new streams. After unloading my truck, I headed east over to a stream that Phil Smith had told me about earlier in the Spring. I untubed the rod that he had made for me, my 6 foot 4 inch hand split custom bamboo rod designed and built specifically for what I was about to do, explore blue lines on topo maps for brook trout and other wild trout. I started up the small tributary and not long after I started, I spotted, hooked, and landed, the first trout of the trip, a nice little brookie. I followed that fish up with a suprisingly different species, a wild brown trout, and I could only assume that the brown had came from the larger stream that this tributary flowed into. It wasnt long before I had breezed through a couple of hours in a hurry, and I needed to make it back to the campsite to meet Chris. After him and I talked for a bit, we unloaded his truck and then we decided to fish a stream that makes a major contribution to the Greenbrier River. This stream is on the fingerling stocking list, and we had to see if we could catch some of the browns that are planted every year. As luck would have it, 2 other fisherman had fished about a 1/4 mile of the water we had planned on fishing, however, we did see several good sized fish up to about 16 or 17 inches, and we even hooked a few and did manage to land a couple.

Lambs and Lions

2011-04-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

Well March was ushered in by beautiful weather so I guess it was only fitting that it go out with a bang. You know the old saying, "If March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion". Well out like a lion it did, only it lasted until the 3rd day of April, and I found mysefl deep in the Monongalia National Forest for this wonderful weather. I had planned a camping trip with my cousin and faithful fishing partner Chris Mitchell. We decided no matter what we were going to have a good time and thats exactly what we did.

I arrived at our camping area on Friday April Fool's day and set up shop with a little time left to fish before we were supposed to meet. I decided to hit a stream that makes up part of the headwaters to one of the headwater forks of the Greenbrier River. I rigged my bamboo brookie rod up with a big bushy #14 Usual on top and dropped a #16 Green Weenie off the back. After fishing a little bit, I caught my first fish of 2011, a native Brook Trout, and immediately followed it up with another one. I did fish for a little more upstream, but the results were nill. I headed for the campsite and meet Chris and help him unload his truck.

The next morning, we awoke to 4'' of fresh snow and decided we would chuck some salmon eggs and catch us some dinner, or so we thought. More on that later. We fished 4 streams that were stocked only 2 days prior. We thought this would be easy pickins', but we found out we were wrong. I also was reminded of how much I hate stock trout fishing. Anways, after a long day and a lot of water covered, We did manage to catch 4 trout. I had parked my truck about 1/2 mile down the road from where we exited the river. I wanted to put my hands in my pockets to warm them up, so I layed the trout on the bank next to a guard rail and covered them up with snow. When we returned with the truck, the trout were gone, stolen. The nerve of some people. Oh well, we grilled some deer meat that night and I didnt have to clean any fish. After dinner we stoked the fire up pretty good and hit the sack.

The next day we awoke to blue skies, and the sun slowly cresting the ridges in front of the camp site. After breaking camp, we headed south for a tributary of the main Greenbrier river that a friend had told me about. After a bit of discussion we formulated a game plan and hiked down river on the old railbed and tracks. The scenery was impecable along with a vivid glimpse into a history of days gone by. What I would give to see this place in its prime. After rigging up our fly rods, we headed upstream into the unnamed tributary. It wasn't long before Chris had hooked up with a dandy Brookie. We switched places and I was also into a nice fish. Pool after pool, we continued to catch fish as we went further upstream. When we reached the headwater forks of the stream, we decided we needed to be making our way back to the trucks. The final day of this trip was the pinnacle of the entire weekend and a great way to start the year.

Halloween Brookie Walk

2010-10-30T19:24:00.000-07:00

Since I have the free time to fish now that I am not hunting, I decided to check on some Brook Trout in the southern part of Preston County. When I woke up at 7:30am it was a chilly 30degrees and I elected to wait for a little more sunshine. I made it to the stream at around 11am. After gathering all my garb, I decided I would walk for atleast a half hour before begining to fish. I wound up walking a little farther before stringing up the bamboo and starting to fish. I started the day with a #14 Rubber Legged Royal Stimulator and I fished that fly all day. It wasn't long before I picked up a nice brookie in his fall colors near the tailout of a nice pool. After a quick photo I launched the stimulator towards the head of the pool. I noticed a bigger sized fish heading towards the fly and thought, "If this is a brookie, it would be the Brook Trout of my life". I quickly learned it was a hold over Rainbow Trout from the spring stockings. Again, I quickly took a picture and released the Rainbow. This suprising turnout of Rainbows continued on for the rest of the day, in fact, I ended the day with 5 Rainbows and only 3 Brook Trout. I did see a few more Brook Trout, but not as many as I had hoped. Around 3pm, I decided I had finshed what I had started, and called it a day.

Tagged Out - October 2010

2010-10-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

Bow season this year started off for me having accuracy issues and needless to say after a few shirtails cut off, I learned a whole lot this year. After 2 blow chances the first day, persistence paid off on Tuesday the 20th with a button buck that I mistook for a yearling doe. This past Sunday was a day of scouting and preparation for an extended vacation that I was going to spend hunting. Monday evening, I headed for a spot that had shown evident signs of deer travel and also some signs of buck usage as well. About 6 pm that evening, I heard some Turkeys fly up to roost and had already made the decision that regardless of the outcome of the evening deer hunt, I would be back at dawn to try and meet up with the Turkeys. While listening to the turkeys roosting, I noticed a mature doe and 2 fawns headed for my stand. After the doe stepped in front of me at 16 yards, I couldn't take it. I let the arrow fly and the shot was a little farther back than I had hoped. As she calmly exited the woods, I quickly and quietly climbed down the tree to find my arrow and indeed confirmed the shot. I had followed the doe for about a hundred yards when she bedded down, no doubt to die, but with the warm weather, I need to make a ethical finishing shot. That's exactly what I did. At this point, I was tagged out on bowhuntin deer due to me only buying 1 additional archery tag. I should've bought them both. The next morning, I had come back to those same stand of Oaks where the doe expired and I was quietly waiting for the Turkeys I had mentiond earlier to fly from their perch. About 7:20am, I made a series of soft tree yelps on my glass friction call and the treetops lit up with yelping, cutting, turkeys. As the turkeys flew down one by one, the began to separate, and I just happend to be in the middle. The turkeys were being very vocal trying to regroup before starting their day, and I noticed a hen coming from behind my right shoulder. I needed to turn to make the shot, so everytime she went behind a tree, I moved to get my gun into shooting position. When she finally crossed my sight plain, I put the bead on her neck, and squeezed the trigger. In just a matter of a week, God blessed me with 2 deer with my bow, and a coveted fall turkey. So now, I am tagged out until firearms seasons.

Campin' and Fishin' part 3

2010-06-25T16:40:00.000-07:00

Today, as the rest of my family broke camp and went home, I headed over to a stream I had fished previously but had intentions on fishing a new section. I was meeting my good friend, Nathan Rees. Nathan showed up at the trailhead with his friend Dave and the 3 of us headed to the top of the mountain to drop off my truck. We headed back down the mountain where we first met and geared up. After begining our hike we headed strait up to the top of Allegheny Mountain and dropped into a different watershed than the one we just left. After getting creekside, we stopped for a much needed break and ate lunch. We began fishing around noon and the 3 of us worked our way upstream. This stream is teaming with Wild Rainbows and Native Brook Trout, but as I later found out, I turned out to the the only one who would not catch any Brook Trout. Despite the low water, the Rainbows were eager to take a well presented fly and a #16 Usual was the ticket for me. Plunge pool after plunge pool we made our way to an old meadow campground that is a popular hiker destination and the creek got smaller and smaller and turned from higher gradient to lower as we made our way upstream. As the day progressed, several fish were brought to hand between the 3 of us and around 5pm, we decided to finish our hike out. Around 6pm, we reached my truck and we had just completed a 9 mile hike through some of the most beautiful woods and water in WV.

Campin' and Fishin' part 2

2010-06-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

Today my cousin Nate and I decided to go check out some streams I had heard about and I wanted to try and mark a couple off of my "To Do List". Skipping breakfast, we left camp around 8am and drove over the mountain and headed South to a drainage I hadn't explored much. After arriving at the first stream, we both strung up the rods, tied on a parachute adams and headed upstream. Again low water was the case here, but we took our time and tried not to spook many fish. This particular stream was a Brook Trout stream but there were also rumors that a few Brown Trout called it home as well. It wasn't long before I hooked up on a nice Brookie, and I wanted to put Nate on some fish, so he was up next. We spotted a better sized fish in the tailout of a pool and Nate put the sneak on him and shortly he hooked and landed a Brown Trout. We continued to take turns on each pool and several more Brookies were landed, but Nate hooked a fish of really good size maybe in the 12 to 14'' range that we couldn't positively ID. I'll try that fish some other time.

Later in the day, Nate and I drove as far as the forest service roads would take us upstream in the watershed and fished another new stream. It wasn't a large stream by any means, but it held some nice Brook Trout. We didn't fish this stream for much longer than just to catch a few. Mark another one off the list.

Back at the truck, we decided to venture North for another tributary of the same river in an attempt to do two things; Fish another new stream, and catch the final third of a Randolph County Wild Trout Trifecta. On the way we drove through a major thunderstorm, but we pressed on and found ourselfs on a new stream. The passing storm put the fish down, and our catch rate was not that good, but I did manage to catch a small Wild Rainbow Trout and complete our goal. With better weather, I will fish this stream again.

Campin' and Fishin' part 1

2010-06-23T16:13:00.000-07:00

Every year for the past 4 summers, my dad, Uncle Ron, his two sons Ronny and Michael, all of their kids, and myself have been camping at Laurel Fork Campground in Randolph County. We use that campground because its a good base for lots of different streams both stocked and native and there is plenty of other things to do for those of us that dont fish or dont want to fish. This is a pretty large blog entry so its going to be broke up inton 3 posts for each of the days fished.

The first day started early in the campground with a hearty breakfast, but got to a slow start fishing. My dad, Ronny, and his two boys Nate and Jacob, and I finally made it to the stream of choice at around 1pm. After stringing up the rods, we headed up the trailhead and slowly broke apart so we could give one another room. Nate and I started working our way upstream and we began working each pool. Nate was fishing a parachute adams and picked up his first Brook trout of the day. I started with a stimulator and picked up a few Brookies here and there. The water was a tad on the low side and gin clear so finding fish that didn't see you first was the main challenge of today. A few really nice Brook Trout were spotted, but most of the time they spooked shortly after being spotted. Nate and I fshed upstream for over a mile and a half, and then we decided to make our way back to the others so we could head to the truck. The other half of our party brought some fish to hand as well, but no big numbers were put up today.

The Final Day

2010-05-22T17:04:00.000-07:00

Today unfortunately marked the last of Spring Gobbler Season. It was open for 4 weeks and It started in the last week of April. This year, I really got a fire lit under me by being at the right spot at the right time with the right bird. I was fortunate enough to bag a nice 2 year old Gobbler on the first time I went out this season. I learned alot this season with every time I went afield. I hunted 2 days the first week, 2 days the second week, 3 days the third, and 1 day the last week. I set up on a total of 3 birds, saw a total of 7 turkeys with 6 of them being hens. The first light of each day in the Spring Turkey woods is a magical time filled with beautiful sights, sounds, and memorable experiences. I hate to see it go, but maybe it will give me something to look forward to during the winter. Enjoy a few pictures from this Spring.

On The Hunt: Continued

2010-04-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

Today I headed south once again to investigate some more of my suspicions on the "To Do List". I decided I would hit a stream that I once hit last Spring, only I would fish a new section of it. Upon arival, I strung up the boo, and decided due to the low water conditions, I should tie on some light tippet, so I ended up going with 7x. The water is painfully low for April. WV is in dire need for some rain. I started with a #14 Lime Trude, and after catching a couple, I switched to a #16 Elk Hair Caddis. I began picking up a few more strikes and landing a few. I hooked and landed a really nice Rainbow for this stream. It was without a doubt the most beautiful Rainbow Trout I have ever caught. On several occasions while fishing I noticed the wild flowers are in full swing. After catching a few more brookies and 1 more Rainbow, I continued on south to a new stream for me. When I arrived the Quill Gordons were coming off with gusto so I switched flies to a #14 Usual in Dun color and it was on. The brookies were hammering it. This stream has a small tributary that flows into it and I suspected it had fish in it as well and I was not dissapointed. So after 2 new streams fished today, over a dozen of fish caught, several more lost or seen, I can scratch 2 more streams off "The List".

Scratchin' em' Off

2010-04-16T06:06:00.000-07:00

Today I continued with my quest to check out the streams on my "To Do List". I had done a drive by on this stream last summer and at that point the water was super low. I decided I would hit it in the spring. Today I finally got around to marking it off the list. I strung up the trusty bamboo brookie rod and tied on a #16 Natural Usual before heading upstream. The water situation here is pretty sparce for this time of year. I wound up spooking a couple of fish before I caught 1 tiny dink, then I lucked up and caught one a little bigger near the 8'' mark. Having other streams on the dockett to checkout out today, I headed back to the truck to head out for other destinations. So I found myself heading south and when I got there, more low water was to be found. I fished 2 tributaries of tributaries and I didn't move any Brook Trout. I still can cross those off my list, but I wont be making a return trip either.

The "To Do" List

2010-04-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

During the winter I had made a list of streams around the State of WV that I wanted to fish. This will be known as the "TO DO". On that list are several Brook Trout streams that I have not fished, but feel pretty sure of how they might fish. Today with the sun still shining (It was supposed to be raining), I packed up all my stuff, and headed south for the Monongahela National Forest. I arrived to a perfect looking stream that I hoped would be loaded to the hilt with Brook Trout. I strung up my bamboo brookie rod and tied on a #14 Royal Stimulator. Plunge pools, riffles, runs, and plenty of clear water held numerous Brook Trout and shortly I had well over a bakers dozen to my credit. I decided I wanted to try and fish another stream on the "list", and headed a little farther south. Almost as soon as I got there, the rain started and began to hammer the valley I was in. At that point I decided I didn't feel like getting soaked and would have to try it some other day. Oh well, I crossed 1 off the list.

Finally

2010-04-07T20:51:00.000-07:00

Today made my 7th straight day at work, working 10 hour shifts. It should go without saying that I really needed to get out and do some fishing. After getting home and grabbing my stuff, I headed out to an old favorite brookie stream here in Preston County. I decided I would fish a new section, new to me anyways. I dropped down into the steep canyon choked with Rhodadendren and Hemlock. As I reached the stream, it was in perfect condition, clear, and with excellent flows. I tied on a #14 Chartruese Humpy that was just freshly tied this week, and began picking apart the water. It wasn't long before I had picked up a few brookies, though none of them much bigger than 7'' or so. I worked my way back to the road crossing and headed for the truck.

Exploration

2010-03-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

Today my Dad and I drove to a Pocahontas county Brook Trout stream only to find it high and off color from the rain the night before. At that point we decided we would continue driving north to find some more fishable water. After stopping at another Brook trout stream it too was high and unfishable. We did do some exploration and fish a stream that should've had fish in it, however our efforts turned up nothing. Back in the truck we drove a little farther north and found ourselves heading towards an old favorite. We started at the junction of a tributary stream and fished upstream on the main stem. Following a little trial and error, we hit money when we found out the fish were keying on bright colored nymphs not the dry flies I would've preferred. Dad and I fished for about a hour or so and having dinner plans with my mother, we had to high tail it all the way home from Pendleton Co. back to Summers Co. A day well spent with a few fish caught.

Pennsylvania's Finest

2010-03-23T16:10:00.000-07:00

Today Beaver and I left Preston County headed north for Centre County, PA and some of the finest Limestone influenced trout water I ever stepped foot into. After a little fiasco of buying our liscence at the local Wal-Mart, we finally made it to the water. Beaver said he was going to nymph fish and I decided to streamer fish. Almost immediately, I had moved 3 or 4 fish at the first hole only to lose them or fail to get a good hook set. Beaver quickly had moved and caught a couple of nice fish including a really nice rainbow. I finally hooked and landed a nice brown on a size 2 double bunny, and wouldn't you know it, I forgot my camera. Thanks Beav for the picture. Around lunch time, I switched the streamer rod for the nymph rod and shortly after that we went to check out a new section. Around 2pm, we came upon a really nice BWO hatch and I played catch up catching 7 more Browns. Again no camera. Around 5pm, we called it a day.

March Cometh

2010-03-01T17:57:00.000-08:00

Today I finally made a trip with the infamous Nate Rees. I picked him up after his last class on a brisk and overcast Monday morning. We headed south and arrived just shortly after 10:30am. We strung up our rods, and hit the first pool. At the first pool, I hooked and landed a nice Rainbow and Brown which proved to be my best two fish of the day. After fishing a short section upstream, we headed to another section of stream. Nate landed a really nice Rainbow and a few other fish. The total of fish caught today weren't really important catching enough to make the outing worthwhile. Much thanks to Nate for the amazing photography.

The First of 2010

2010-02-23T20:42:00.000-08:00

Today Beaver and I left Bruceton Mills at 7 AM with no real destination other than a county in WV. We arrived at a popular tourist destination to fish a popular tributary of an even more popular river. We fished a few holes with no luck early in the morning and decided it would be best to head for the bigger highland river. We were met with sunshine, gin clear water, ample flow, and last but certainly not least, fantastic February temperatures of 45plus degrees. We both strung up the rods and rigged up with bead head nymphs, and wooly buggers. Well it wasn't too long before "the Beav" and I both were hooked up with some beautiful Rainbows. We spent the rest of the afternoon high sticking pocket water, nymphing long smooth glides and pools with indicators, and catching over 2 dozen Rainbows, 2 Fall Fish, and 1 big stocked Brookie. Wooly Buggers, Glo bugs, and Beadhead Nymphs seamed to be the ticket today. Depsite a late start, it was a fantastic day to start off the new year.

Winter Steelhead Alley

2009-12-23T13:52:00.001-08:00

Just got back from 2 days of fishing in Pennsylvania's South Lake Erie shore. The target goal for the trip was to find and catch Steelhead in the tributaries of Lake Erie. The weather was a little on the frigid side and as a result water was slushy the first morning making for some tough fishing. The guides of our fly rods stayed constantly iced up, and my reel froze a couple of times. After going to 2 other tributaries the first day, Chris finally caught his first Steelhead on a white Suckerspawn. Grant landed about 5 fish, and I rounded out the trio with 1 fish. Indeed a tough day of fishing. Day 2 began with a temperature increase of a few degrees and we headed to a favorite stretch of the best Erie trib that PA has to offer. Few other anglers were out today and after some searching we found a few fish holding in a fast riffle and not another soul in sight. After we found what the meal ticket was, Grant, Chris, and myself all hooked and landed several fish. As the temperatures dropped, we decided it was time to call it day and head south to more snow and cold temperatures.

Opening Day 2009

2009-11-23T18:29:00.000-08:00

November 23, 2009 saw a rather so so start to the rifle WV buck season. The weather was a little overcast, rainy at times, and a little on the chilly side; perfect deer hunting weather. Not much happened until about 8:00 am when Don Speiden killed a dark racked basket 6pt. Several does were seen up until about 9am but things slowed down considerably soon after. Dad and I were eating lunch in my stand around 1pm and we were watching the fields when he spotted a deer. I grabbed the gun ID'ed the deer as a buck, and nocked the safety off. The buck began to trot across the field and I led the buck in the scope and squeezed off. I noticed the buck flinch and worked the bolt for another shot, but that only lead to a clean miss on the second shot. After dad and I waited about 20 minutes, we got down out of the stand and went to look for blood or hair. No blood or hair found, we headed in the general direction of the buck's last heading. Upon entering the cedar thicket where he went into, I saw the buck's white belly and I slowly approched the deer. After confirming the kill, I found out the buck I shot was a chocolate high racked 8pt. After dressing the deer, dad headed to his stand, and I headed home to skin the buck. Dad managed to put a little meat on the table as well when he put a nice doe on the ground that evening.

Cloudy skies with a chance of spawning Brown Trout

2009-11-10T15:10:00.000-08:00

Today, the Beav and I headed to a grade A #1 blue ribbon trout stream with the intent of finding some fall spawning Brown Trout showing their fall colors. We arrived at "The Spot" at about 7am and lined up the rods. We both started off with #16 Pheasant Tail nymphs and Olive Wooly Buggers. At the first hole, I hooked and landed one of the most beautiful Brown Trout Ive ever laid my eyes on. It didn't take Beaver long to hook up either, in fact his hook ups lasted all day. What can I say though, he's got 12 plus years experience fishing this stream. He knows it well and his experience and knowhow really showed that day. Now, I did hook and loose several more fish throught the day, but I was in picture mode so I snapped several pictures today. Beaver finished the day with over 10 fish and when you catch 10 or more on this river, you have recked house.

Of Beards and Broadheads

2009-11-02T20:23:00.000-08:00

Im a little late adding this to the blog, but nevertheless here is the most recent trip report. Last Monday evening, while sitting in the stand I noticed some movement out in front of me. About 8 gobblers were heading my direction. Seeing as how I didn't have a facemask or gloves on, I stood up, grabbed the bow, and readied myself as I knew this encounter was going to happen quickly. There was 1 gobbler that was out in front of the rest and as I was waiting on him to get within range, the others made a b-line straight for my tree. I drew my Mathews DXT, picked out a bird, settled the 30 yard pin and let the RAGE 3 Blade fly. The arrow hit the bird in between the neck and the wing butt and broke the leg on the opposing side and exited. The RAGE had put a hurtin' on this bird. I didnt offically weigh the bird, but I would guess it weighed about 20pounds and it had a 7'' beard and 1'' spurs. Not the biggest gobbler, but with a bow. Thats as good as a 10pt in my book.

2009-10-26T10:54:00.000-07:00

Hunted this morning on my landlords property right above my house. Left the house here at about 6:30 in the stand and quiet by 6:50. Cold morning, 37* when I left, when the sun came up and hit the woods things started moving. I saw 1 squirrel at about 7:45 and I noticed 3 does moving my way at about 8:15. One of the does didnt like what she saw or smelled and when she turned they all left in the opposite direction of me. I decided I would give it until 9:00 and I was headed for the house for some breakfast. At about 8:35, I noticed another deer heading towards my stand on the path that looked like I-68. I saw that it was a buck but didnt concearn myself with that, because I was going to shoot at it regardless. He came trotting by at 25 yards and I mouth grunted to get him to stop and I let the Rage 2 Blade Carbon Xpress Maxima arrow go. It slammed through the drivers side ribcage got both lungs and the buck ran about 45 yards before piling up in my sight. This buck is my first buck of the year, and biggest buck with a bow.

Fall Steelhead Journy #1

2009-10-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

Today I left Preston County at 2:55am. I met up with Beaver in Morgantown shortly after and we were Lake Erie bound, geared up for our first Steelhead trip of 2009. We arrived at our destination around 7am and were fishing by 7:45am. Low water greeted us depsite the recent rains. We began searching for fish and quickly found a few holding near the tailout of a long run. Beaver and I both tried most everything in the fly box, and eventually Beaver hooked and caught the first Steelhead of the day. Later in the morning, reports of more fish farther upstream motivated us to head up the creek to another spot. The reports rang true and we found far mor fish farther upstream. Shortly I had hooked and landed 3 Steelhead on various patterns. The afternoon brought us to a different creek altogether and we found more fish, lots more people, and high winds. Beaver hooked and caught 1 more Steelhead, and soon it was time to call it day and make the agonizing drive back to Morgantown. All in all it was a fantastic trip and hopefully it wont be the last of the fall run.

The Last or the First

2009-09-19T16:26:00.000-07:00

This post is a hard one to catagorize. Its either a fishing trip into the last of Summer or the first of Fall. Either way today was no let down. I left the house for a quick jaunt into the wilds of Preston County for some Brook Trout and some early fall colors. I was not dissapointed for either of my quarries. Today I would be fishing 2 native Brook Trout streams in the greater Cheat River drainage. I began at the headwaters of a small stream that I had previously fished and had done well at in the past. I lined up the boo and tied on a #10 Rubber Legged Stimulator and began my way upstream. The water was a bit on the scarce side, but I managed to scrounge up 4 trout and letting 2 more off. I headed for the truck and made my way off the mountain and down to the mouth of another stream I had no clue about. I was still using the same fly and began hopping rocks and boulders upstream looking for a decent pool to begin at. After spooking a few nice fish, I landed a few here and there. I wrapped it up after catching my seventh fish of the day and headed home. More fall brookies to come.... Stay Tuned

The Last Hoorah

2009-09-11T05:44:00.000-07:00

Today, I traveled south from Preston County into Tucker County in search of Native Brook Trout. I left Clifton Mills around 7:30am and arrived at my destination around 9:15am. After gathering my stuff, and loading up the pack, I hiked over the mountain and down into a rather steep gorge and began fishing a stream where stories of legends are born. I strung up "Salvelinus" my favorite bamboo brook trout fly rod, and tied on a size #10 chartruese rubber legged stimulator. I began catching fish after fish in every pool that the fly hit the water. Although I didn't catch any over the 11 inch mark today, I enjoyed being outside and the time alone fishing a new stream. I believe I ended up landing 18 fish and letting a few more off.

Summer Rain

2009-07-30T17:51:00.000-07:00

A lot of people dont tend to think of July as a typical month to trout fish, but with this summer's out of the ordinary rains, July has been a rather exceptional month to trout fish. Taking advantage of the weather, I talked Chris Mitchell into heading to Southern WV. We arrived at our starting location around 8am and lined up our rods. We both began using large wooly buggers to dredge the water. The stream had excellent flows today, but the water was a little off color so black was the color. The day started off a little slow but that soon changed. Today was largely dominated by Rainbows and only a few Browns. Chris and I both brought a chunky Brown and countless other acrobatic Rainbows. We finished the day out with about 20 fish between the 2 of us.

Floating under the Sun

2009-07-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

Today my I spent the day floating down the New River with my wife Andrea, brother-in-law Shawn, and his wife Trista. We floated about 7 miles of the lower New River and while we didn't boat a lot of fish, we did catch some that were very nice in size. The sun was very hot and consequently we all caught a few too many sun rays. It was a great day out to be away from work, and the everyday life. No clue as to how many we each caught, but Andrea caught the biggest of the day. We released all the fish.

Canyon Madness

2009-06-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

Today Mike Snyder and I decided to go spelunking, I mean fishing. I say that because our destination of choice was in a very deep, rough, rugged, and physically demanding canyon river. We met at about 2pm and the weather started off being overcast making for a very good day of fishing. After gathering our gear we made ready and headed down a trail that would have been better suited for a mountain goat. We finally made it to the river and decided that we would hike, climb, and clamber over the rocks to make our way downstream to have more water to fish. I started the day with a #10 black stonefly, and Mike tied on a large peacock stonefly imitation. In the first pool after a few dead drifts Mike hooked up with a nice 16'' rainbow. Shortly after I hooked up with a strong 14'' rainbow. Following the rainbow, I caught a little redeye. The rest of the day we made our way upstream slowly dead drifting nymphs and picking up a few more trout including a 10'' brown that Mike caught. We ended our ascent in a beautiful tannin stained plunge pool of a fantastic waterfall. I added some serious lead to my leader and tied on a #8 Black woolybugger and began picking up more trout. I hooked into a very nice trout in the 17'' range, but unfortunately he threw the hook. Mike and I ended the day with 11 trout brought to hand/net.

2009-06-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

Today Andrea and I decided to take the one man pontoons down the New River. We started at the Bluestone Dam at about noon. We were floating to southside. The skies were very overcast and the water was heavily stained. I started with a chartruese 3'' Gitzit G-tail and Andrea was fishing a pumpkin/chartruese 3'' Berkley Powergrub. After catching a few bass, I hooked a nice fish that I first thought was a nice bass, only to see an orange tail making me think I had foul hooked a carp. After a couple more minutes of the fight, I soon realized I had hooked a musky right in the top jaw. I jumped out of the pontoon and snatched that guy up against my chest. As Andrea was trying to get the camera ready for a trophy shot, the fish slithered out into the water again and broke the line. Ironically that was the only chartruese Gitzit I had and consequently the fishing went down the tubes quickly after that. I put on a Berkley Powergrub like Andrea was using and did hook very nice bass only to have it come unhooked later. A few more smallish bass later and the float was pretty much over.

Campin' and Fishin' with the Guys

2009-05-27T17:59:00.000-07:00

Just got back home from a camping trip that has sort of become a tradition for some of the men in my family. Spent the past 3 days with my Dad, Uncle Ron, cousins Ronny, Jacob, Nathan, Michael, and Chris. Needless to say it was time well spent away from work, phones, problems and just everyday life.

Day 1
Spent the morning and afternoon hiking upstream into the wilderness area of where we had our tent set up. Chirs and I picked up a few brookies and wild browns in this stream, but neither of us landed anything really big. Suprisingly we found a few ramps that were as big as tulip bulbs. Who would have thought ramps on Memorial Day.

Later that afternoon we headed down to a beautiful bug factory of a river to catch a sulphur spinner fall. The action wasn't as hot as I had hoped for, however, I wont complain. Chris and I fished until almost 9:30pm and Chris brought 4 rainbows to hand while I brought 6 Rainbows and 1 Brown to hand.

Day 2

We awoke to some kinda iffy weather with rain and thunderstorms in the forecast. We headed for a tributary stream of a great wild rainbow stream. We only spent a short amount of time on this stream but we did manage to bring a total of 8 fish to hand. All brook trout.

After leaving the first stream, we headed to the headwaters of a major tributary of the Potomac Watershed. With it raining hard we pressed on. Picking up fish here and there even with the rain, We found ourselves on a dandy of a trout stream. Chris brought 4 to hand, and I ended the day with 6 to hand, with one brook trout topping out the tape measure at almost 12 inches.

Day 3

Today was the day to break camp and head back to our everyday lives. After packing up at camp, Chris and I headed north to Tucker County in search of plunge pools and large brook trout. Weather indeed was in our favor today, and that made for some great fishing. Plunge pool after plunge pool, tanin stained water and beautiful Brook Trout was today's results. Chris and I ended the day with 17 total brook trout, several nearing the 10inch mark.

The Forest

2009-05-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

Today Andrea and I discussed it would be a good day to take Brandon out to somewhere he could run wild, yell, laugh and have a good day. Brandon is always wanting to know where the forest is. Its as if he thinks it is a magical place so I thought of no better place to take him than the Savage State Forest in Garret County, Maryland. We packed the cooler and headed east. After a nice lunch, Brandon started riding his bike and we headed up the Monroe Run trail head. We took our time today looking at flowers, bugs, and catching a few little Brook Trout. Enjoy the pictures from todays outing.

Beyond The Rainbow

2009-05-18T23:43:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to go do some small stream fishing and look for some wild Rainbow Trout. To do this, I decided Pendleton County was going to be the destination of choice. I arrived in the Seneca Rocks area at about 2pm planning on fishing until dark. I first began on a small tributary of a tributary of the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac. This particular drainage was a hot bed of a plethora of insect life, running through a very rich limestone bed, just teaming with wild rainbows and brook trout. Shortly after I had begun, I began picking up a few fish. I had landed 3 rainbows and 1 brook trout on the first stream. Having to choose my time wisely, I pressed on. I arrived tributary #2 to find the much of the same setting as the first stream. Mayflies, Stoneflies, Caddis, and Midges were coming off everywhere. I began fishing my way up the narrow stream. Quickly I began bringing fish to hand. I had caught 3 rainbows and 3 more brook trout. Now, on my way to tributary #3. I took a lunch break when I got to this stream, and only decided to fish a couple of spots on the this creek. I caught a very nice rainbow for this stream, it was about 11''. I had to leave this creek so that I could go meet Grant. Grant and I had decided to meet at 6pm so we could do some evening fishing. We headed over to the N. Fork of the S. Branch Potomac so that I could catch a fallfish. I tied on a #8 BH Slumpbuster and after a few casts, I caught a very nice 15'' rainbow. Quickly after, I was hooked up into my first and only 2 fallfish, followed by a smallmouth thrown into the mix. Grant and I headed back upstream into the drainage I had been fishing all afternoon. Grant was broke off by something he said was about 16 or 17''. Not too long after that he hooked and caught a WV bonefish (sucker) and several nice rainbows and a couple of brookies. I brought another 4 rainbows and 1 brook to hand to finish up the night.

Brown Town

2009-05-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

Today Andrea and I headed to Pocahontas County for the headwaters of a very well known river. We started downstream at about noon. After about a 40 minute hike, we started fishing. Andrea was using a panther martin and a rapala husky jerk and I was throwing the big streamers on my 7 weight. The day started out slow, but soon I moved a large 20'' plus brown on a double bunny. Not expecting it, I got excited and jerked it right out of its mouth. Shortly after, Andrea brought a brown to hand that was about 12''. She caught it on a husky jerk. Fishing was slow for a while after that and we decided to have a streamside lunch. After I finished my lunch, I decided to pick up her spin rod and throw the panther martin a time or two. First cast resulted in a brown that measured 18 and 3/4''. After releasing this trophy we headed back to the truck to call it a day.

For The First Time

2009-04-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

My Father has been alot of places I haven't but today I took him somewhere he's never been. I took him to a quality wild trout stream smack dab in the middle of McDowell County. We left Hinton at about 10am with a stout wind and some rain. We decided to go anyways. When we arrived at the stream, the sun was slowly poking out and the temperature was on the rise. We rigged up and hit the water at 11:20am. I was fishing the ole faithfull #8 Olive Bead Head Wooly Bugger and I rigged Dad up the same way. The water was a little on the high side so we began fishing the pockets, eddies, and current breaks. I think Dad was a little skeptical about this creek's potential until I hooked and landed a chunk of a Brown Trout that was a solid 16". Soon Dad had his first hookup and he never stopped the rest of the day. He ended the day with 8 and I finished with 3. He said he would be back. I know I will.

Down South

2009-04-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

Friday while brookie fishing, Chris and I discussed heading down to the other end of the state for a chance to find some Blue Wing Olives, Browns, and Bows. We did exactly that. We arrived in McDowell county promptly at 10am and found the water to be less than perfect than what we wanted. We decided to head upstream into the headwaters and fish the small water and look for whatever would bite. We both started the day off with Olive Bead Head Wooly Buggers and fishing was a little slow. We both picked up a few fish by high sticking pot holes and current breaks. After a couple of hours, we decided to make way for a little out of the way spot we call the meadows. We figured that the slow water would be the place to look for the BWO hatch and we hit the nail on the head. We both began picking up fish on Parachute BWO patterns fishing them to sporadically rising fish, and just like that the fishing was on. Chris caught 5 and I brought 8 to hand. Not a perfect weahter and water day for fishing, but you know what, it sure beat being at work.

Ramps and Brookies

2009-04-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

Today Chris Mitchell and I headed north for Pocahontas County. We left Hinton at about 9:00am and the weather looked perfect. Shortly after we reached the stream we thought we were about to be rained out, but being the persistent weather warriors we are, we pushed on and headed upstream. It wasn't too long before we spotted the first patch of ramps so we decided to dig a few. After we dug all the ramps we wanted, we continued upstream and shortly we began catching some brookies. Both Chris and I started off with dry fly patterns and maintained that strategy all day. Most of our fish were caught on a #14 Orange and Chartruese Stimulator and a #16 Cottontail Usual. Chris and I finished the day with over 25 fish brought to hand and countless others that were missed or let off.

Time With Dad

2009-03-24T18:06:00.000-07:00

I had asked my dad if he wanted to go look for some brookies and ramps with me, and he agreed without any hesitation. We left Hinton around 11:00am and headed for Greenbrier County. After getting to where we wanted to start, we geared up, and headed down over the mountain. The sun was beating down and no doubt was going to make for some tough fishing. Dad and I began to leapfrog one another upstream in search of brookies. Dad caught the first one and shortly thereafter I proceeded to land one. While we had found a few brookies, we did not find any ramps. I told him that I thought a couple more weeks and they should be sproutin' up. After a while, we both decided we werent done fishing, but we were done with this particular stream, so drove over the mountain to a stream that has been a good one in the past. We began to leapfrog again and I picked up a couple of brookies. When we reached the waterfall we called it a day. At the end of the day we had definitely not put up any big numbers, nor had we found any ramps, but I thoroughly enjoyed the day spent with my ol' man.

A Little Heavy Liftin'

2009-03-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

My good friend and hurgan durgan trout chaser Grant and I left Preston Co. at about 10am. We were headed east for the neighboring state of Maryland, Garret Co. to be exact. We were on the hunt for some hungry Brown Trout. Armed to the teeth with 6 and 7 wt rods and monster streamers that resembled a Rapala we finally hit the water at around 11:30am. Grant was the first to hook up with a really nice brown. I was moving fish left and right, but I just couldnt connect. Finally after a lunch break, we hit a lower section of stream and I finally hooked up with a really pretty brown that had some awesome color and spots on its adipose fin. Grant finished the day with 5 brought to hand leaving me in the wake with a solid 1. All the fish were top notch quality brown trout that ranged from about 14'' to 18''.

Cold ... Yeah, but I was Bored ! !

2009-02-14T15:16:00.000-08:00

Today I left work at about 2:15pm, and decided since there was litterally nothing else to do today, I thought why not go fishing. I headed home, quickly gathered my waders, boots, and the trusty Sir D bamboo rod and beat feet over to a quiet little wild brown stream. I decided to tie on a #8 olive/brown wooly bugger. I started in the bottom of a fairly large run, only to drag the bottom with nil results. This negativity continued on for the next hour or so until I finally added too much split shot and subsequently got hung up. I made the executive decision that it was high time to quit and make like a tree and leaf. No fish harmed, hooked or spotted today, but I did snap a few pictures.

Spring is Here... Well, not quite Yet

2009-02-10T10:40:00.000-08:00

Austin and I left Hinton southbound for Pearisburg, VA with the intentions of finding some quality weather and time well spent on a quaint little trout stream that is nestled in the mountains of VA and emties into the New River. This particular trout stream is teeming with native brook and wild rainbow trout. After we left the parking lot, we began the walk up the trail and started fishing after about a 20 minute hike. Soon after that, we started picking up a few fish here and there. I caught 7 brookies and 1 rainbow and Austin caught about the same. All fish brought to hand were caught on either an olive wooly bugger or a black/chart. trout magnet.

South For The Winter

2009-01-13T17:41:00.000-08:00

JANUARY 13, 2009

Today my cousin Chris Mitchell and I headed to the southern most county in WV to search for some wild rainbows and browns. We werent dissapointed nor did we have any problem finding fish. I started out with a size 8 olive wooly bugger with a copper beadhead and Chris decided to fish a similar wooly bugger. Neither one of us changed our flies all day. We stayed in the upper reaches of this creek today opting to fish the smaller water and look for the low flows. Chris brought 6 fish to hand and finished the day with 12. The fish of the day went to a chunky brown in the 14'' range.

A Cold Start to '09

2009-01-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

JANUARY 2, 2009

I started 2009 off with what to some people may be a slow start. Accompanied by my 2 cousins Chris and Jason Mitchell, we headed for the headwaters of one of the longest rivers in WV and found ourselves in the wilds of Pocahontas County. We arrived to a halfway sunny day and a bit of a chill in the air. The water was a little on the low side but it was gin clear and beautiful. I strung up the 7 weight as I prepared to sling some big meaty streamers in search for a big brown. Chris and Jason were going to nymph fish and hopefull try and move a few fish as well. While we didn't move many fish we did see more than enough to make us want to make another trip when its a bit warmer. About halfway through the day, I hooked and landed one of the most beautiful wild Brown Trout that I have ever caught. I didnt pull the tape out but this fish was a solid 16inches. It made my day and my trip. As the day turned into evening, we heaed for the truck with not another fish landed and only 1 more hooked.