DAMNIT

Horned Grebe (c) 2013 HVI

I knew a dog named that; once upon a time, seems appropriate right now. I was going to Elkins this morning at around 10:30 am. I've been staring at the waterfowl along the Fossil Park straight for a month and there hasn't been much happening. The birds were standing at the water-line as I was passing by. Goose, goose, goose, mallard, mallard...Mini goose, mini goose, mallard, pull over.. Try not to get run over..Not good, too much traffic. Pull out the binoculars, yep..Two Cackling Geese; about an inch taller than the mallards they are surrounded by..Too much traffic and I need to be somewhere else. No problem, they'll still be there in a couple of hours when I come back through..Nope, nothing there around noon..Figures.

Back to Elkins at around 3pm. I have to go somewhere and then have a half of an hour to kill. I ride out to the spillway..Nice; seven Horned Grebes and I can actually get photos of the nearest ones..Happy, now. Head to my next stop and then head home... Decide to check out the slow part of the Tygart River at the road to the Tygart Valley Regional Jail...What is that? I reach down for my better set of bad binoculars and realize that they are still laying on the bridge at the Elkins Spillway. Grab the other binoculars; which are best used for traction in case you may get hung up. Two Bonaparte's Gulls are floating down the middle of the river. Nice. I turn around and fly back to the spillway for the binoculars...Amazingly, they are still there. Head back to Norton; chasing the sun, in hope of getting photos of the gulls. I can't find them but there is another Horned Grebe there, constantly diving. No chance for photos in the dwindling light. Oh, well just another winter day..I hate winter.

Elkwater Fork Dam

I took a ride up Elkwater, last Thursday to look at the new Elkwater Fork Water Supply Dam. I wanted to see it before the graffiti and trash take over. It is a nice quiet spot, right now. The Elkwater Road has received major upgrades. I can remember when nothing except for a high four-wheel drive vehicle could reach this area. The road is now passable for everything. The dam was built as a much needed water supply for the Upper Tygart Valley. It has yet to be determined or publicized as to what recreational opportunities this pond will bring. Elkwater Fork was at one time, my favorite trout fishing spot; when other waters were too crowded or too high. I caught my first trout on an artificial lure in Elkwater on Easter Sunday 1974. I also caught my first trout on a dry fly there in 1975.

I truly hope that this area will be managed properly for recreational opportunities. It would be a real shame if it becomes a dumping ground for mattresses and refrigerators; like so many other spots in the Upper Valley. I also hope that it doesn't just become another West Virginia mecca for lawn chairs and play-dough dunkers. The area deserves better. I will not bore you with the ponds' details, you can read them from the next photo.

Mountain Trout This Week: 6/13/11-6/19/11

Tygart River 6/16/11

We need the rain that we were promised. The upper reaches of our streams barely have enough water to cover a trout up. I stopped at several locations this week and found plenty of trout and smallmouths. In one spot today on the Tygart; I could look upstream from one spot and see 11 browns and one 15 inch smallmouth in prime feeding lanes. There were a few sulphurs flying and 2 of the browns were actively feeding on the surface. I also saw one late green drake spinner land in the water. It didn't last long.
I had my dogs at Shavers Fork this evening and saw quite a few nice smallmouths. They were nosing right up to the shoreline, barely covered with water. Every one was within 6 inches of dry ground and waiting on something to move. This is the time of year that is very enjoyable to fly fish. I for one do not care if I'm catching 12 inch trout or 12 inch bass, either is just fine with me. We have to remember that a lot of our so called "trout streams" are in reality smallmouth bass waters; which receive trout allotments. The hatchery trout are just visitors. We really need some rain to raise the water levels and keep the temperatures down.

Mountain Trout This Week 2/7/11-2/13/11

The cold temperatures continue, but there is some relief in sight next week.  The WVDNR has started stocking some of the smaller monthly and bi-weekly streams.  These smaller waters are my favorites. Red Creek, Clover Run and Horseshoe Run in Tucker County were stocked this week.  The Right Fork of Middle Fork in Upshur and the Tygart River headwater section also received trout.  I came down the Tygart yesterday, the river was low and clear, with shelf ice extending from the banks and a lot of floating ice sheets.  For the complete list of waters stocked this week go to WV Trout  Back Creek over in Bath County was stocked this week, as was the South Branch of the Potomac in Highland County; for the complete list of Virginia trout stockings, go to VA Trout The cold morning temperatures that we have had in our region over the past week make mid-afternoon the time to be on your favorite stream.

What Color Is Your Water ?

This is a tributary of Grassy Run, one of the crown jewels of Randolph County, WV.  Grassy Run has been useless, except as a sewage outlet since the early 1900's.  This small tributary hasn't always been in this condition.  For generations,  the "shit crick" has been a source of entertainment and recreation for numerous youngsters of the Norton community.  Its waters were dammed, "crawdads and lizards" were caught, countless summertime hours were spent in the "crick".

Sometime in the late 1990's, an abandoned deep mine containing many gallons of acid mine water burst open and spilled through this small stream. I wasn't living here at the time, but the "reclamation" process was to permanently drain the mine water into this tributary.  Just add another permanent scar to Randolph County, it won't hurt anything and nobody cares anyway.  This is the attitude that has destroyed northwest Randolph County over the previous century.

When I was a kid in the 60's, this little waterway had a tremendous bio-mass of amphibians and crusteations.  Louisiana Waterthrushes and other warblers were always present on summer days.  We would create a dam and keep fish from the Tygart River in the waters for weeks. Later, I caught mink and muskrats there.  These waters are now devoid of all life, the few trees and shrubs along the banks are dead or dying.  Nothing can live there anymore.  Yes, this water quality has been provided by the origional "Fiends of Coal", the process has happened time and time again:  Seek, Destroy & Leave.  Many of you will face issues in the next few years, which may potentially turn your little "crick" into a barren, lifeless stream of wastewater.  Think about your quality of life and that of those who will follow.  When water quality is gone; so is life.

Winter Trout

The New Year has arrived and it is time to think about winter trout fishing.  Last year was pretty much a bust; with several feet of snow in the highlands and impassable roads.  We can only hope that we can enjoy angling on our mountain streams, before the warm weather crowds arrive.

Make sure, when you are planning a trip to our region to check out the updated stockings and select stream conditions on the Stream Report page of High Virginia Outdoors.

Water conditions will be reported as I go about my daily travels in the Allegheny Highlands. If you haven't done so already; it is now time to go out and buy some new line. Don't let that one chance per year brown trout snap you off early in the season, because of equipment failure. It will haunt you for the rest of the year.

Slip Sliding Away

Fly-Fishing for Smallmouth
Redington Crosswater 9062 Fly Rod Outfit 6 wt. 9 ft.








I have never been one to not think much of August. Watching tomatoes turn colors and picking little fuzzy bean beetle larvae gets old, really quick. One August evening, intolerable boredom set in. I loaded up my fly rod, a fifty foot leash and a hard-headed beagle into my truck and drove a whole quarter of a mile to the river. I normally fish there once per year and hadn’t been down there yet. I wasn’t expecting much action. At least, the dog would have some fun.



I went to a section of riffles, above a railroad trestle on the Tygart River. We fought through neck high poison ivy, interlaced with rambler rose and finally reached the river. The smell of creosote permeated the evening air. This spot has waist deep pockets of water, it flows around large boulders and the bottom consists of snail covered smaller rocks. Hiding spots and food sources abound.



I tied a crayfish imitation to my leader. On the first cast, the fly snaps off behind me on the dog leash. The next cast isn’t much better, I’m standing on the main line. The fly lands about eight feet away and is ravaged by a three inch rock bass. The next dozen or so casts result in a couple of eight inch smallmouth and too many lost flies. Time to try fishing on the surface. As I dig through my fly box for a popper, I notice a few flies that I had never tried before. They are Clouser floating minnows. I tie on a black one and the first drift results in a foot-long smallmouth from a log jam. The next cast is a repeat. Then a beagle falls off the logs into the water. We move upstream to a table-sized flat mid-stream rock.



The fly floats on the surface a few feet in front of me as I strip out line for a cast. It dips and darts with the current looking just like minnow feeding on minute organisms. I quickly realized that you don’t need to cast this fly. Just let it drift into likely cover from an upstream position and let the current and the fly do the rest. The old Simon & Garfunkel song came into my mind and wouldn’t go away. This fly just slips and slides away until it is engulfed by a fish. Yeah, I know that a real feeding minnow would be moving upstream, but the fish don’t seem to care. I began using a no-slip loop knot to impart even more movement to the fly.



I fished using this method a couple of times per week, until floating masses of algae forced me to quit. The fly consistently caught smallmouth and largemouth bass, rock bass, bluegills and pumpkinseeds. I didn’t catch anything big, but anything is good enough for August. I did have a rock bass on one evening that was eaten by a Muskie.



So, if you are looking for something to occupy a steamy August evening head for the river and let time slip-slide away. Don’t forget your hard-headed dog. They don’t think much of August either.

(c) Randy Bodkins 2009 all rights reserved

This article first appeared in Two-Lane Livin/August 2009