FEBRUARY FUN

Dry Fork (2/7/14)

FEBRUARY FUN

Do you think that this is the month that we start paying for December? I don’t know; it may be March and April. I do know that I am going to take advantage of all the tolerable days we get. I need fish heads for the tomatoes. I imagine there will be plenty of time to accumulate them; since we most likely will not be setting out warm weather crops until June. I don’t know what lies ahead. I just wake up every morning and go from there. No need to worry about it. Just go with the flow.

I do hope that the backroads remain passable during the rest of the winter. Catching a few fish is not worth the risk of becoming stranded somewhere out in the boonies. One must rationalize and use a little bit of common sense. The rewards usually are nowhere worth the risk involved. Hypothermia is scary. I’ve felt the first stages a few times. Think first before trudging on.

We may have a really good trout season looming on the horizon. I understand that 6 or so streams have been removed from the stocking schedule. I believe that they were all monthly allotted trout streams. Those fish will be distributed to other streams on the stocking schedule. More is always better. The warm fall and early winter also allowed the fish in the hatcheries to feed and grow more than during a normal year. Therefore we should have more fish and bigger, healthier fish. We can only hope that the stars line up.

Winter trout fishing can be very good; as long as snow-melt isn’t running into the streams. I have found that if snow run-off is flowing out of every hollow; fishing is pointless. Cold weather fishing really isn’t bad if you do not venture far from the vehicle. I really do not think one should venture away during frigid weather any farther than you can get back to a heat source if you would go for an unexpected swim. Run it through your mind as to how tough you think you are; then divide that by four. That should be about right. You do not have much time. Think first; live longer.

I used to drive to Marlinton about every day for work. I always left early if the weather was tolerable. I would stop on the upper-Tygart and catch two or three trout. I would leave when I couldn’t feel my fingers and stop on Knapps Creek and catch a couple more. That system worked pretty well for about three years. I enjoyed it, too. I had my freezer fish by the time the temperatures started warming and my catch & release fly-fishing time kicked in.

I do not anticipate the ice-fishermen being happy this winter. They are normally out there as of the time I am writing this. Not this season. It doesn’t bother me one little bit; I went ice-fishing once and only once. But, I do know many people enjoy doing so. I hope they don’t get too ambitious when we finally get a cold snap. Think twice and stay safe. Some like to ski, some like to fish and some even like to blow snow. Maybe everyone can be happy for once. 

This is my February 2016 article for Two-Lane Livin

(c)2016 High Virginia Outdoors. Photo (c) 2014 High Virginia Images All Rights Reserved

Riding Around In The Rain

Turks Cap Lily

I decided to take a little trip to Tucker County, yesterday (8/2/14) and see if there were any ripe blueberries. The rains decided to follow me throughout the trip. I left the normally cloudy and dreary Elkins town around 2 pm in the bright sunshine. It didn't last. It started sprinkling as I was going out Olson Fire Tower Road. I was hoping to find an elusive Monarch or a seemingly now elusive edible mushroom. Nope, neither was to be found. Amanitas and False Chanterelles were in abundance; of course. On to Davis. The rain intensifies.
Rain was pouring and river were running down the road at my next stop. I was hoping to find a few migrating sandpipers. I honestly couldn't look out my window and tell if there were any ripe blueberries; just 5 feet away. Oh, well..
I drove on to wind-whipped Canaan to look for the Merlin that was spotted recently on Timberline Road at a tree surrounded by Turks-cap Lilies. I rode and rode on Timberline Road which was at the time some type of race course. I couldn't find the lilies. I had given up. Finally I found the lilies at the beginning of the road, looked up and there was the Merlin. I was already past it. I went down, turned around, set the camera settings properly and went back. Pulled somewhat off the road and turned on the emergency flashers..Waited for the next round of speed racers to go by and got out. Focused the camera on the Robin that was now sitting in the tree. Still don't have a Merlin photo. The rain had now caught up to me, too.

I stopped at a couple of spots on Dry Fork, saw a few trout and bass. I couldn't find the Common mergansers that hang around the area. I actually haven't seen any merganser broods this year. And the rain set in. I started to go up Gandy and look for chanterelles. the skies looked ominous, I decided against it.Went home and took a nap in the rainstorm. The End.

(c) 2014 High Virginia Outdoors All Rights Reserved
Photos (c)2014 High Virginia Images All Rights Reserved.

Signs of Life

Case- Maker Caddisflies

I stopped along the Dry Fork River on Sunday (2/24/13), just to let the dogs out for a walk. The sky was blue and the winds were somewhat calm but the air was still quite cool. We pulled of in the mud and snow; downstream from Jenningston. I noticed that there was some underwater activity going on.

There were hundreds of these Case-Maker Caddidflies clinging to the rocks in the calm shallow water areas. Some were actually crawling around, seeming to jockey for position and intercept some rays of sun.

Case-Maker Caddisflies are of the (Limnephildae) family. They live in stationary waters and can be found in the streams margins and calm backwaters.They are climbers and clingers and do not attach their cases to the substrate. They are shredders and feed upon decaying vegetation. The stick-worms in the photo are probably from the genus Pycnopsyche  and will hatch into adults during mid-summer. No matter what you want to call them; they are fish food. There are millions of them out there in the streams and they are available year-round. They don't look like Power-bait either, do they?

Dry Fork

Posted by High Virginia Outdoors  Photos (c)2013 High Virginia Images

WV Trout Stocking Changes

DNR Announces Changes for the 2013 Spring Trout Stocking Season

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has several changes for the current trout stocking season, according to Curtis I. Taylor, Chief of the DNR Wildlife Resources Section.

Trout stocking of Laurel Fork of Holly River in Webster County will be delayed as a result of ongoing work at Holly River State Park. The park is currently closed as contractors work to restore power and repair infrastructure that was damaged by Superstorm Sandy. “We hope to stock trout there in March,” Taylor said.
Trout stocking of Boley Lake and Glade Creek (of Manns Creek) in Fayette County also will be delayed due to replacement of the bridge that spans Glade Creek and provides access to the stream and lake. Work on the new bridge is expected to be completed by late March and trout stockings should resume in April.
The Corps of Engineers plans to dewater and clean the stilling basin at R. D. Bailey Lake in Wyoming/Mingo counties. Trout typically are stocked in the stilling basin below the dam and downstream. This work is scheduled for late March and is expected to be completed by April 4, 2013. Due to the scheduled dewatering, trout will not be stocked in the stilling basin until after the work is completed. Trout will be stocked downstream according to the normal schedule.
New Creek Lake (Site 14), in Grant County, will not be stocked until the Natural Resources Conservation Service has filled the impoundment. The lake was drained a couple of years ago to facilitate repairs to the water-release structure. After partial filling, NRCS will test the gates used to regulate the amount of water discharged from the lake. If the tests are satisfactory, the lake will be filled to its normal pool level. Trout stocking is expected to begin later this spring.
“As these waters become available for trout stocking, we will put a notice on the daily trout stocking update page,” said Taylor.
Anglers can call the Fishing Hotline at 304-558-3399 or visit the website at www.wvdnr.gov to find out which streams and lakes have been stocked each day.

**DNR**