Why I Fish - Reason 1

I recently took my annual trip for our local TU chapter campout. For the last five years, the Friday of this outing has been spent with my good friend and WVU professor, Rick.

The first two years of this (now) annual tradition was a 10-mile trek into the Seneca backcountry. The third year water was up so we didn't make the long hike, instead I showed him a couple of my other favorite waters. Then, last year, he decided he would rather fish one of those streams. It was hard to believe it had been three years since Rick and I had been in the backcountry.

This year, we found ourselves planning the Seneca backcountry trip again. This year we would shuttle a vehicle to the top of the backcountry, make our usual gruelling hike over Allegheny Mountain, then fish our way out the gentle grade trail to the top - avoiding the brutal hike out after fishing all day.

Also different this year, we would have a couple of friends joining us. One of these friends would be (Don)  an old college friend that I've only seen a few times over the last 25 years.

We were up early, took care of the shuttle vehicle at the top, and soon found ourselves heading up the mountain on Horton trail. It's been a long time since my college friend and I have actually just talked and the hike in was all conversation  - it was nice to catch up! However, things did get pretty quiet when we got near the crest of Allegheny Mountain, as the final quarter mile feels straight up.

More good conversation ensued on the downhill section of the trail and before we knew it we were unloading our packs and getting ready to hit the water. Don and Rick getting the day started:

I took the first good looking run, while the others spread out upstream. I always catch a nice rainbow or brookie here - not this day. Although I struck out in the first run, it didn't take long to land my first brookie of the day.

After I got the day started off right with a nice, little native brookie, I caught up to Don and he invited me to share a nice pod of rising rainbows.

Don landed a nice little rainbow, stepped to the side, and allowed me to do the same. The day was looking good early!

This day was going to be outstanding,sharing one of my favorite sections of stream (anywhere) with two good friends.

We had five miles of stream and trail to cover, and even with four of us "hop scotching", that's a lot of water to cover - so we moved fast. However, I couldn't pull myself away from probably my favorite spot in West Virginia - the upper falls of Seneca Creek.

I snapped off several photos of the falls, caught a few wild/native fish, then moved on to catch the crew. When I finally caught up with them, they were watching Rick's brother-in-law working a nice pool. He landed one of the nicer fish of the day, a beautiful Seneca wild rainbow.



Over the next few hours I took more photos on the stream than I have in years. I found myself watching my friends work the water as I trailed with the camera out.



I could help but wonder when the three of us would be on the water together again. Rick and I seem pretty committed to making our annual outing happen every year. I hope we can get Don out with us again in the future.

When I wasn't snapping off photos of Don and Rick in the same frame, I was taking shots of some amazing water.

I didn't only take photos, I did pretty well with the rod too!

When we got to Judy Springs, a primary source of Seneca Creek, I knew we had three miles to the trailhead. It was new territory for Rick and they took turns heckling me as I fished for a couple of risers below the foot bridge.



After I whiffed at a couple of strikes, we took Rick over to see the springs. It's one of the largest spring heads I know about in West Virginia.

This was all new territory for Rick and it's nice to introduce friends to the sites that you hold near and dear to your heart. I've personally only fished above the springs on one other occasion, so I was going to hit new water myself.

The fishing didn't slow down above the springs. I walked up on another pool of risers, and in back-to-back drifts I landed these two guys.



The rainbow was my largest of the day and he was very dark - his mouth was actually black.

Then I made a couple more drifts for good measure and landed another little brookie.

By this time of the day we were covering water quickly, with a couple of miles still remaining to the trailhead. I was nearly done for the day, just watching everyone else work the water.

I caught Don landing one in this nice pool. On the tail of a drift, he landed one as he was about to lift his fly for another cast. I told him it almost looked like an accident.

I picked a nice little run next to the trail and landed one more little rainbow on the day.





Nobody in the crew wanted to end this day but when the skies opened up, they all packed up their rods and prepared for the final hike out. We had another two miles to the trailhead but everyone had commitments they had to meet that evening - as we all do in life.

Once we got to the trailhead, it was time to just hang out and laugh at each other. The day seemed to fly by but we had actually been out for nearly ten hours. It was also nice to just sit around and talk. I enjoy that almost as much as the fishing - ALMOST.

Why do we fish?

One of the main reasons I fish is the camaraderie. I enjoy sharing the water and scenery of where we find wild and native salmonids with friends. I particularly like it when it is new scenery for my friends.

I hope I have many more outings with Don and Rick - and all of my other fishing friends!

Chris

Just Cleaning Up Around Here

After fishing western Maryland a couple of weeks earlier, I thought what better way to give back to a resource than to participate in a stream clean-up on the main branch. It's also a good (justified) excuse to go fishing again.

This trip would also be the first outing of the year for my son, Ross. He always looks for opportunities to get out on the water - even if there is a little bit of work to be done first. He also doesn't mind the 4:30 AM wake up call because he can sleep for the almost 3-hour car ride.

We met a couple of friends in Morgantown, then it was on to the river for the clean-up.

The Youghiogheny chapter of Trout Unlimited sponsors this clean-up every year. The turnout was low, but so was the trash - of course I'm comparing this to the Elkhorn clean-up.

After walking a few miles of road and maybe collecting a bag of trash (that's a good thing), Ross commented that, "compared to the Elkhorn clean-up, this is more like a scavenger hunt than a stream clean-up".

We had a nice lunch, provided by the hosting TU chapter, but I could tell Ross was getting anxious to hit the water. While our friends decided on a nearby delayed harvest stream, Ross and I decided to hit a new brookie stream.

We only took one rod in - I wanted Ross to do most of the catching!

I was wet wading and I could tell by the water temperature that they were still feeling the effects of the heavy snow two weeks earlier. I guess what I'm saying is the fish weren't cooperating for Ross.

I started him out on a dry fly, then switched him over to a small green woolybugger - both with no luck. I let him fish the first few runs by himself, then I grabbed the rod to give a nice pool a second go at it. I knew he wanted to get his hands on some fish!

Sure enough, we landed our first brookie of the day, and I let Ross release him.

 

We continued this operation as we worked our way upstream. I would let Ross work the pool over pretty good, then I would grab the rod and give it a try.



 

 

It worked out several times as we landed several nice brookies. Ross seemed alright with this - he enjoys handling the fish and releasing them.

 

 

We fished as late as we could, keeping in mind it was a Sunday, we had a 3+ hour ride home, and Ross had school the next day. 

 

He was very patient but I could tell he was disappointed he hadn't landed any by himself when I told him we had to start the hike out. I did tell him we would hit a few more pools on the way out and we did.

 

The first nice run I spotted, we stopped to check it out. I spotted a nice brookie feeding actively in the tailout and while I found him, Ross spotted another one on up in the pool - and he didn't have the benefit of polarized sunglasses. I was impressed!

 

I put on a dry/dropper rig and let him try for the first fish in the tailout. The fly line got caught on some woody debris and put the fish down, so he moved on up the run.

 

His first drift through the run and he hooked his first brookie of the day/year! With the excitement of Ross landing his first brookie of the year, I didn't get any photos.

 

This was also Ross' first Maryland brookie - to go along with West Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. He's only a few states behind me but I have a few years on him.

 

I look forward to returning to this clean-up next year and Ross made a recommendation for next year. He wanted to know if we could clean up along this stream, which is maintained behind locked gates at both ends. The TU chapter is looking into it!

 

So, with this clean-up on Sunday, I also had the annual Elkhorn clean-up the following Saturday. I was tired of driving (which doesn't happen often) but I owed it to my mentor and friend who recently passed and was the coordinator of this event.

 

I was on the road at 4:30 AM again but this time I didn't even pack a rod. We knocked out the clean-up in no time. I heard comments that things are starting to look up in the area - but it's all relative. In the same amount of time we filled maybe a truck bed full of trash on the Savage we filled up 2-3 roll-off dumpsters on the Elkhorn. We also had many more volunteers on Elkhorn - a true reflection on a great man. Ernie Nester will be missed!

 



 

 I had a nice lunch, chatted fishing and fishing trips with some good friends, then it was on the road for the 4-hour ride home.

 

Chris

This Crazy March Weather - Part Two

I had planned this Good Friday trip a few weeks in advance so when Maryland received nearly twelve inches of snow earlier in the week, there was no backing out. In addition, I hadn't fished this area of western Maryland in almost nine years!

It's hard to believe just two weeks prior to this I was wet wading in near 80 degree weather. What do they say about March coming in like a lamb?

When we got to the stream, there was still 6"-8" of snow on the ground - and it was cold! Other than the Elkhorn Clean-up, I hadn't worn waders in three years.

I hadn't fished this area since the cicada hatch of 2004 and since that time there was a 5-year brook trout "no kill" study completed.

We fished the main branch first but the cold temperatures and some snow melt kept us from moving any fish.

After fishing a short section of the main branch, it was off to the tribs.

Rick was the first to strike with a nice two-hander brookie on a small olive woolybugger.

After Rick picked up the first brookie of the day, he gave me the lead on several nice runs. I know there were brookies in there but the cold water temps gave them a bad case of lockjaw.

I knew it was only a matter of time and, sure enough, I soon caught my first Maryland brookie in nine years. A nice, dark specimen was my first of the day.

After getting rid of that skunky smell, I soon picked up another brookie. This one was a little bigger, had much better coloration, and had a unique defect.

In all of the thousands of brook trout I have seen, I've only witnessed this on one other fish - he was blind in one eye.

You can see it better in the next photo. The only other blind brook trout I have encountered was actually blind in both eyes.

These guys are survivors!

After both of us picking up a couple of brookies, it was back to the vehicle for lunch, then off to one of the other tribs in the vicinity.

The second trib we fished was much smaller. The air temps had increased enough to where I could stop dredging the woolybugger across the bottom and switch to my favorite rig of stimulator with a pheasant tail dropper.

The brookies were digging the small pheasant tail.

This stream was mostly runs and riffles versus the plunge pools in the previous stream.

I spooked a few brookies before I finally landed another nice brookie under a root ball in one of the larger (albeit small) runs in this stream.

We fished only a short distance on this small stream, but it was nice to add another new stream to my list.

We returned to fish the main branch one more time before calling it a day. I moved one fish off the bottom a deep run, but by this time the increase in air temps had added a good bit of snow runoff to the stream.

I did buy an annual Maryland license so I will be back to explore more of this watershed to see what a 5-year no kill regulation does for a fishery - even though this was an outstanding fishery to begin with.

Chris

The Passing of a Mentor and Friend

This is not an entry I want to make but I can't think of a better way to pay my respects to one of my Trout Unlimited mentors and a good friend.

I received an email yesterday informing me that my TU mentor and fishing friend Ernie Nester passed away after a short battle with cancer. Ernie was one of the founding fathers of West Virginia Trout Unlimited, he was the first state chairman and the first chapter president of the Kanawha Valley chapter. The Kanawha Valley Chapter was recently changed to the Ernie Nester Chapter of Trout Unlimited and he was affectionately referred to by many as "Johny Troutseed".

I referred to him as friend and mentor. If it were not for mentors like Ernie, I never would have accepted the position of state chairman or even NLC representative. I knew I could always count on Ernie to answer any concerns.

What I think I enjoyed even more than his support in TU were his fishing reports. I was lucky enough to be on Ernie's distribution list for his fishing reports. This was (to my knowledge) his last report from his beloved Middle Fork of the Williams:

Hi,

On Sept. 7, 2012 I fished the very lower section of the Middle Fork of the Williams from 12:50 until 3:10. The water was very low and the Williams at Dyer was running about 70 cfs. The water temperature was 64 degrees at 1:15 and 66 degrees at 3:10. I moved 22 brook trout, hooked 5 of them, but only landed 1.

I will miss these reports and I will miss his leadership and direction at two TU events I attend every year. If you go back through my blog entries, you can find multiple entries for both the Elkhorn Cleanup and the Middle Fork of the Williams Bucket Brigade - both of which he coordinated. I don't fish Elkhorn except following the clean-up. I don't assist with the clean-up to give back to a resource that provides enjoyment for me, I do it purely out of respect for Ernie.

The stream I fished a couple of weeks ago, and my last blog entry, was the first stream I fished with Ernie in 2005. I thought of Ernie several times as I fished that day, remembering taking turns fishing holes - several of which remain unchanged.

I also had the pleasure to complete the Wyoming Cuttslam with him and Josh Parks in 2007. One of the memories of that trip was when we were fishing a brook trout stream in the Colorado River drainage. Josh and I were catching 6"-8" brookies for dinner when Ernie landed this 18" Snake River cutthroat.

A couple of days later we were fishing another stream in the Colorado River drainage. Again, while Josh and I were landing 6"-8" Colorado River cutthroat, Ernie landed another 18" fish!



I appreciated the lessons and Ernie even gave me a couple of his "gray" nymphs that he landed both fish on.

During the same trip, Ernie led us to a lake in Yellowstone (not Grebe) where I caught my first grayling.

I was eventually able to return the favor, putting Ernie on one of my favorite western streams on his last trip out west in August of 2012. He made the hike into Big Meadows on Tonahutu Creek in RMNP and he agreed that was indeed "brook trout heaven".

Also on his final trip west, I was able to direct him to greenbacks and Colorado River cutts in RMNP. He had caught greenbacks on a trip to RMNP in 2007 but it appears as though he caught his first greenback again.

Greenback Cutthroat

Colorado River Cutthroat

Ernie and his fishing partner put in 48 miles of hiking on that trip, hard to believe he was diagnosed with cancer a little over a month after that trip.

After receiving 12 reports from that trip, I suggested Ernie and I coordinate another trip out west together - I had a few more streams and species I wanted to share with him. His response to me was: "That is a nice thought, but I cannot keep up with you". I don't need to worry about him keeping up with me on my adventures now, HE WILL BE WITH ME EVERY STEP AND HE WILL BE WITH ME WITH EVERY NATIVE SALMONID I LAND.

Not knowing Ernie was early in his battle, I sent Ernie a report from my last trip of the year for 2012. He responded by requesting higher resolution photos of my brookies - which he did often when I sent him reports.

Trout Unlimited has lost a great advocate and I have lost a great friend/mentor. I look forward to the day when I can again join Ernie on brook trout heaven as I'm sure he is already there waiting.

I will miss you Ernie!

Chris

This Crazy March Weather

After looking back on my blog entries for 2012, I noticed one thing: I did not fish nearly as much as I had in the previous few years.

I did, however, add a few items to my personal list:

1. A new species in the Paiute cutthroat
2. Eight new brookies streams in Virginia
3. Only one new brookie stream in West Virginia

Looking forward to 2013, I have a few tentative plans on my radar.

1. TU National meeting in Madison, Wisconsin: catch brookies in 4 new states (Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula). This will also be the 2013 edition of Brookiebum
2. Backpacking trip in the Smokies in June, finishing up with the Bucket Brigade back in West Virginia.
3. Another visit to the Smokies with my son at the end of July.
4. I've also been invited to backpack into the headwaters of the North Fork of the Big Thompson in Rocky Mountain National Park.
5. A visit back to the brookie streams of the Savage River drainage in western Maryland -haven't been there since 2004.

I also hope to get in a few more day trips to explore West Virginia's brookie streams, similar to this past weekend when the March weekend temperatures reached the upper 70s. Just five days prior to this day trip it was snowing and the mountain areas to the east received several inches.

Because of the snow and possibility of snow melt, I put off the decision to go or stay home as late as possible. I made the decision to go at 8:00 AM and by 9:00 I was on the road. By 11:30 I was parked and gearing up for my first outing since late October. The temperature had already climbed to above 60 degrees so I made the decision to leave the waders in the vehicle.

It was March 10 and I was wet wading! This March weather is crazy! Four days prior the mountains of WV received several inches of snow and three days after this trip it snowed again - crazy!

I tied on my usual cold water fly, a size 12 olive woolybugger, and in the first pool I caught my first brookie of 2013.

Being a little rusty from the long winter lay off, I soon lost the bugger in a nearby downed tree. I will say this:if this stream is any indication of the damage super storm Sandy left behind, the small stream fishing is going to be difficult! West Virginia received three feet of snow in some location, combine that with trees that had yet to drop leaves, and you have significant damage.

Enough excuses, I tied on my most popular set-up: a size 12-14 stimulator with a 16-18 bead head pheasant tail. Soon after re-rigging, I caught my first brookie on a dry fly for the year.

As the sun rose higher, the water temps raised a few degrees, and the top water action was outstanding - it is March, right?

 

I only landed one small brookie on the dropper, combine that with high numbers of downed trees, and I soon removed the dropper. I was fishing strictly a dry fly in early March, this was great!

 

This brookie stream is the closest to Parkersburg which makes it a great candidate for a quick road trip. However, it is NOT the most aesthetically pleasing stream as it happens to be the local "dump". The hillside is littered with tires, appliances, and general landfill material. If you keep your eyes focused on the water, it's just like any other brookie stream, except for the washer/dryer hole.

 

I landed brookies both above and below the log jam at the washer/dryer hole.

 

 

 A nice brookie from above the log jam.

 

As I moved up stream, I could feel the water warming and the dry fly action rose with the temperatures.

 

 

Having told people I would be home by 5:00, I soon found myself looking for a good pool to call it a day. I didn't find a good pool but this next brookie made for a great ending to a quick road trip. A very nice brookie in the 8-10" range.

 

 

There was much more good looking water ahead of me but if I was going to be home on time, I had to pull myself away from the stream.

 

 

On the short hike out, I heard another sign of spring. The sound of mating amphibians filled the air. I wish I could remember back to my vertebrate zoology classes in college and the distinct sounds of each species. I believe these may have been wood frogs and the puddles were filled with both frog and eggs. As I neared the puddles the frogs headed for the woodlands but their eggs filled the small pools.

 

 

 I look forward to 2013, just like I do every year, and I hope this crazy March weather holds out for my next planned trip. If the weather holds, I plan to be somewhere on a stream on Good Friday - possibly my first trip to western Maryland in eight years.

 

Chris