Wild Trout Symposium - Wild Trout X

"Conserving Wild Trout"

September 28-30th 2010

Holiday Inn, West Yellowstone, MT

Our Mission is to provide a forum for professional wild trout biologists and fishery conservationists to interact, to get to know each other in an informal setting, and to be exposed to the latest wild trout status, technology, and philosophy. These conferences equip participants to better preserve and restore this magnificent but declining resource.

WWW.WILDTROUTSYMPOSIUM.COM

Originated in 1974, this symposium offers exposure to the latest information on status, science, technology, philosophy, and preservation of cold-water wild-salmonid, in an international forum for professional wild trout biologists and fishery advocates. The primary cosponsors of this event include: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the USDA Forest Service, the Trout and Salmon Foundation, the Federation of Fly Fishers, and Trout Unlimited.

New Native Trout Forum

This entry is to announce the development of a new native trout network/forum. This site is the brainchild of Anders Halverson from Boulder, Colorado. The site also has significant input from fellow native trout enthusiasts from Scott Carles (Cutthroat Stalker) from Mendon, Utah; Gary Marston (gigharborflyfisher) from Gig Harbor, Washington; and Dave Balducci (DaveB) from San Francisco, California.

These guys all reside on the west side of the Mississippi, but that doesn't make them bad people. In fact, the "life list" these guys have compiled is quite impressive! Some have over 20 native species all caught in their native watersheds - including one species, the Alvord Cutthroat, which is considered to be extinct by Dr. Robert Behnke. The jury is still out on that one.

If your interested in educating yourself or locating native species, go to The Angler's Life List & Native Fish Network.

You can find the link on the border to the right. You can also find the links to these fellow native trout aficionados' blogs in My Blog List, also in the border to the right.

Thanks,

Chris

Almost Heaven, West Virginia

This will not be one of my typical blueline exploration reports. However, it is an exploration of sorts - simply no brookies involved.

I have a young coworker from Salt Lake City, Utah that has been asking me to take him to the mountains to do a little hiking. He is a ChemE and a 2008 graduate of the University of Utah and I was honored to "show off" the beauty of my home state.

What better place to do a day hike than the Dolly Sods Wilderness area and the Seneca Backcountry. The plan was to explore some new trails in the Sods on Saturday, camp on Spruce Knob (highest point in the state), then into the headwaters of Seneca Creek and the Seneca Backcountry.

Our adventure would begin at the Red Creek trailhead.

This particular piece of information caught my young friend's attention.

The plan was to take Red Creek trail to Big Stonecoal trail (1.5 miles), Big Stonecoal trail to Rocky Point trail (1.2 miles), Lion's Head Spike trail (0.5 miles), Rocky Point trail back to Red Creek trail (1.8 miles), then Red Creek trail back to the trailhead (3.2 miles). With a little bushwhacking thrown in, the round trip would be a little over 8 miles.

The first flat 1.5 miles went fairly uneventful, until we had to cross Red Creek to get to Big Stonecoal trail. At this point my friend informed me he had already developed blisters on his heels. I had loaned him a pair of hiking shoes but I did not notice he had put on "footies" - not a good choice for these rugged, rocky trails.

In his own words, he would "man up" and keep going. The next 1.2 miles were uphill the entire length. Once we hit the first switchback I looked for the cairns that would signal the beginning of the first bushwhacking adventure. At this point on Big Stonecoal trail there are supposedly some very nice falls below the trail in Big Stonecoal run.

The bushwhacking would be quite the adventure! The rhododendron thickets were very difficult to maneuver through, but I would take the lead and make a trail. I got to a certain point where I could see through the rhododendron that the solid ground seemed to disappear. So it was back up the mountain, around the ridge and try to pick my way down again. This would lead to the same result, so I repeated this and the third time was a charm as I finally able to make it to the stream.

I would not be disappointed and the rain the previous day added some water to the stream, adding needed flow to the waterfalls and cascades.

These next few shots ran consecutively on Big Stonecoal:

As we worked our way downstream through this very rugged section of stream, I learned why the ground seemed to disappear in the rhododendron thicket - there was no ground! It's a good thing I decided not to push through the thicket, had I done so it would have been a real bad day.

After working our way past this obstacle we found a route we could work our way back up to the trail. It was nearly straight up but at least we weren't fighting the rhododendron.

Once back on Big Stonecoal trail, our next destination was Rocky Point trail and the Lion's Head spike trail. I was concerned I would not find this spike trail but again rock cairns marked the trail.

It was another quick uphill climb and the trail leveled out in this pine grove. The pines were obviously planted in nearly perfect rows, possibly by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp).

Once at the end of the pine grove we were looking for a small trail out to the rock outcroppings that would contain Lion's Head. The trail was easy enough to find and the view was simply amazing.

Can you make out the Lion's Head?

After taking a nice break while enjoying the scenery and a quick lunch, it was backtracking to Rocky Point trail. Once we returned to Rocky Point it was back around the point below the Lion's Head formation and the junction with Red Creek trail. By the way, Rocky Point trail is aptly named as about a mile of this trail is composed of softball-sized limestone cobble - real ankle breakers.

The junction with Red Creek trail is well above Red Creek and the trail downhill to the creek is much steeper than the trail up Big Stonecoal. I think we chose our route wisely.

Once down and back across Red Creek, my next goal on the way out was to locate Thea's Falls. I had the coordinates but traveling from the north Thea's is easily spotted from the trail. Another beautiful set of falls in Dolly Sods.

We stopped one last time for another snack at the junction of Big Stonecoal, completing the loop section of our journey. The remaining 1.5 miles back to the vehicle went without event and we completed our journey in about 7.5 hours.

After popping a couple of Aleve (those rough trails were rough on my old knees & ankles), we took a quick photo at the entrance of the Sods before we headed up the road to the top of the Sods.

I had one more spot I wanted to visit before we headed toward Seneca Rocks and Spruce Knob. There is an overlook with a great view of North Fork Mountain and the Chimney Rocks formation.

From the top of Dolly Sods it was down to the Potomac watershed and one of the most scenic drives in the state - Route 28.

Our next destination was Seneca Rocks, but on the way we pass Champe Rock formation. Champe Rocks are named for Sergeant Major John Champe, a Revolutionary War soldier who became a double agent in attempt to capture the American traitor General Benedict Arnold. Commanded by Major Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee and handpicked by George Washington for the mission, Champe "defected" to the British side and came very close to succeeding, but at the last minute, Arnold changed plans and the whole endeavor had to be called off. Champe settled near the rocks after the war.

Following a quick stop at the Seneca Rocks Visitors Center, it was on to Spruce Knob where we would set up camp for the night and meet another friend for Sunday's journey.

This is another view of North Fork Mountain and the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River valley (that's a mouthful).

From the overlook we made it to the campground, pitched the tents, and had dinner. These would be firsts for my young friend: first night in a tent and first freeze-dried meal.

Following dinner we made a quick trip to the top of Spruce Knob, hoping to catch a sunset over the Seneca valley but we were too late. By the time we returned to camp our third member of the Sunday adventure had arrived. It was a couple of quick introductions, a little conversation, then off to catch a few winks.

The plan for Sunday was up before sunrise and back to the Spruce Knob summit with hopes to catch a sunrise over North Fork Mountain. As with the attempt to catch sunset, we missed sunrise due to heavy fog. However, we did find temperatures down to 41 degrees (in July) and a wind chill that most likely pushed it into the upper 30's.

Having missed the sunrise, we returned to camp, packed up and hit the trailhead.

I was anxious to hit this trail, as it would be the personal completion of Seneca Creek. I had traveled Seneca from the mouth to just below Judy Springs and this section would complete the "puzzle" which is the entire Seneca Creek watershed.

It would also be the first time I had laid my eyes on Judy Springs - one of the major sources of upper Seneca Creek. Three miles down the trail....Judy Springs.

Judy Springs is also a major junction for several trails in the Seneca Backcountry.

The next stop on our journey was the upper falls of Seneca just above the junction with Horton Trail. As an indication of how low the water was, this set of falls normally has two major streams over the falls.

Once at the deepest point in our adventure, we stopped for some photos and a quick bite to eat. The next task was to put my young friend on the first fish of his life - he had never been fishing before. With the low water I had my work cut out for us. It was difficult to put a first-time fisherman on fish with the low water and trying to do it with a fly rod compounded the difficulty.

The fish were plenty but fly line in the air spooked them, shadows spooked them, and a not-so-gentle presentation also spooked them. He was able to move a couple of fish, fishing downstream in plunge pools and using the large in stream rocks as cover. He simply couldn't get the hookset down.

I picked up three of these little guys as I demonstrated technique or if we hit one of the many long, slow pools above the falls.

We continued to make our way back upstream toward Judy Springs, hoping to put him on a fish but with the low water it just didn't happen. At least he can't say he has "never been fishing" now.

Even though Seneca changes gradient significantly above the falls, it is still a beautiful stream!

The hike out was uphill the entire way but the uphill grade was not noticeable and the trail was in much better shape than the day prior - or at least not as rugged. The total distance for this day when we returned to the trailhead? A little over ten miles.

I think Almost Heaven West Virginia showed itself very well for our visitor!

Chris

I Have an Addiction

After the WV weekend outing I was really burnt on driving, so I had planned to take a few weeks off.

That didn't last long; a coworker sent me some brookie photos on a new stream (for him) I sent him to, I helped a friend plan a trip to Colorado (I 'm not going this year), and a day at Columbus Children's Hospital reading The River Why & Flyfishing the High Country was more than I could take. I had a four-day weekend coming up so I thought I would take a quick overnighter to soothe my anxieties.

When I told my boss I was also taking Thursday off to go fishing again, his response was: "I think you have an addiction". I think he may be right!

I had planned on soloing but when I told my friend (nameless this time to protect the innocent) of my plans, he agreed to join me. He was planning on doing a day trip to a stream I had never fished, so that's where we started.

This stream has been on my list for a long time and I was finally committed to exploring it. We left Parkesburg at 4:30 AM and rolled into the trailhead parking lot about 7:30 AM and we were in the stream before 8:00. We had planned to hike in before we started fishing but the water looked too good, so less than a quarter-mile up the trail we jumped in.

It didn't take long and the little elk hair caddis produced the first fish of the day - a little guy but a brookie nonetheless.

Shortly after, I caught a second. A little bigger - things were looking good:

That second brookie is a typical average fish in almost every brookie stream I have fished in West Virginia, but at the risk of getting ahead of myself this would not be the case today. The next flat pool produced this guy:

So it started, nearly every little pocket produced a fish and even the long slow pools produced brookies on a slow drift. I don't know if it was the overcast skies or the low 50-degree air temps, but the day was definitely one of my best (if not THE best) brookie fishing days in West Virginia.

These guys kept turning up and turning up:

By this time I had easily hit double digits but my friend was still picking up a few here and there until he switched flies. I typically fish small flies for the brookies, and they produce, but when I saw what m friend had switched to I was amazed. He had switched to a very large (size 10?) grasshopper with a caddis wing and he was absolutely hammering them now.

It didn't take me long to put something larger on. I switched to a big grasshopper - no luck, then a Hornberg - no luck, and then I dug deep into my fly boxes and pulled out a very large (size 10?) green stimulator - GAME ON!

I don't remember the last time I fished with one of these large stimulators; they are actually what I learned to fly fish on. But, big flies were what they wanted.

The fishing was so good; when I stopped to have a bite to eat I did a little streamside dance. Apparently my little dance turned out to be a rain dance because the overcast skies had turned to rain and I had to put my DSLR in the dry bag and put it away. I still had my underwater video camera and it takes decent stills but it doesn't have the filters to reduce glare. It would service fine, notice the size of the fly:

The little palm-sized camera does take good macros:

It also takes nice underwater shots too:

And so it would continue, for over six hours we caught fish at an amazing rate. I would guess between the two of us we had to be pushing triple digits. The amazing thing was the average size. Most brookie streams I have fished have an average size of four to six inches; this stream average fish was six to eight inches with several fish over the ten-inch mark!

At one point, near the end of the day on this stream, we walked up to another long flat pool and bet a dollar on who would catch the first fish - second drift and I was a dollar richer.

A couple of things about this stream were the fish, not the size, but the color. We caught a few that were almost gold (excuse the glare - no filter):

The last fish of the day for my friend had a strong gold tint to it. It's hard to tell in this photo, but you can almost see the monstrosity of the fly he was fishing.

The other amazing feature of this stream was the resemblance (we both agreed) to Roaring River in Rocky Mountain National Park. Both streams have been absolutely scoured by floods. Minus the hardwoods you can see resemblance of the streams

West Virginia stream:

Roaring River in RMNP:

Before we started our mile and a half hike back to the vehicle, I hit a hole where one of the feeders dumps in - for the second time. I had already caught three out of this junction pool but one more drift had a brookie come about two feet out of the water as he missed the big fly and another drift resulted in yet another eight to ten inch brookie - time to call it a day.

On the hike out we reflected on the rating of this stream. I have fished a few brookie streams in West Virginia but none I have fished have yielded this type of numbers and this type of size. Was it the stream or was it the on and off rains and low fifty degree July temperatures? Who knows, but this day was one of the most memorable in West Virginia.

From this stream, it was back to my original plans. I had some unfinished business in the watershed I had fished two weeks earlier. For one, one of the streams I thought I was fishing wasn't the stream I thought I was on - I had to explore the correct stream. Secondly, I had been given information on a stream that was said to contain wild populations of brooks, browns, and rainbows - a rarity in West Virginia.

We stopped at a roadside stream on the way to our next destination. Through on and off rains, we had no luck in the short period of time we were on the water.

At our final destination we set up camp and we hit the main stream. I had not fished the main branch in about five years, but it didn't take long as I picked up four fingerling-stocked browns and a small rainbow in the hour or so before dark. I'm not sure how many my partner caught, actually I do know but I'm not saying.

As darkness fell we headed back to camp for a nice campfire and some brats for dinner. Unfortunately, as we got back to camp the rain that had plagued us on and off all day started again. I couldn't get the fire started in the rain and my friend chose not to boil the brats in beer and onions before they hit the grill. So, we stood under the raised tailgate and had dinner and watched the fire fizzle out before we hit the tents.

It rained for most of the night, so we didn't know what to expect when we woke. One thing I didn't expect was how sore I would be. I hadn't spent that much time on a stream in a long time and eight hours of rock hopping and hiking had paid a toll.

I had coffee going on my backpack stove by 6:30 AM and by 7:30 we were on the stream that I missed two weeks prior.

When we finally found the correct stream, the bed was dry (?). As we hiked up the dry bed, we jumped out of the streambed to avoid a set of dry falls, when we jumped back in the streambed we had moving water (?).

The unique geology of this area has streams that disappear and reappear above ground - this stream just happened to be one of those.

As my friend rigged up, I pulled a little brookie out of a small run - a good sign. The next little pocket produced another brookie; only this time there was a problem. It is never a good sign when you catch a brookie with the head of a 6" fish and the body of a snake - not a good sign.

With the rain continuing, I chose to leave the DSLR in the car. It's a shame because this little stream had some beautiful moss-covered rocky runs of many little brookie streams I have fished.

As we moved upstream, picking the favorable looking pockets to hit, I found that that second fish was an anomaly. This little stream produced some nice little fish:

We fished for a little while, just long enough to validate a healthy brook trout population - as I do with most of the streams I explore.

On the way out I took some video of the stream as it goes underground, comes back out, gathers momentum, and sinks back underground for good.

The stream goes underground in an almost toilet bowl fashion:

A couple hundred yards away, the stream seeps back out and starts to gain momentum.

Shortly after it gains momentum it goes back underground for good. You can't tell from the video, but I am standing about twenty feet above this large sinkhole. I am also just about level with the top of the cascade.

By the time we returned to the car the rain had stopped, so it was on downstream to the stream that is rumored to contain reproducing populations of brookies, browns, and rainbows.

When I last saw this stream it was running chocolate milk. What would the recent rains do to the stream this day? Apparently this stream has had recent logging done in the extreme reaches of it and again the stream was running off-color. It was not complete chocolate milk but off-color enough that it was still fishable.

I started out with the small, 18 elk hair caddis but the heavy canopy and the colored water made it very difficult to spot - even on drifts of only ten feet. I soon changed to a high floating, size 18, yellow stimulator.

It took a while but I finally moved a fish. I stung him pretty good but could not tell what type of fish it was. A little while longer, I stung another fish and again I could not tell what it was. Shortly after this my friend's skirt flew up in his face and he made the decision to switch to a small wollybugger and fish his way back down and out. I can understand as scrambling over large rocks and downed timber was difficult enough in shorts - but in a skirt it must have been nearly impossible.

It didn't seem very long after he turned that I finally made a solid hook up and I was only slightly surprised that it turned out to be a nice stream-born brown. What was surprising was the size of the fish for the size of the water I was in. This was a good twelve-inch wild brown in a very small pocket of water.

I ended up stinging a couple more and picking up a total of four wild browns. These wild browns had some amazing features. The adipose fin on this one was blood red and the main rays of the caudal fin were also a brilliant red. The heavy canopy made photos with natural lights nearly impossible, so I used the built-in flash which, flooded out the colors.

I thought I was going to strike out on the other two species, but I was able to pick up this little guy before I finished.

I had climbed a considerable distance when I decided the scramble out would not be worth any further climbing. I did not catch the third species, the brook trout, but then again I've never had much success fishing for brookies in seriously stained water. I'll keep this stream on my list and hit it again when I can find it running clear.

The scramble out was a tough one, nearly 45 minutes of scrambling on rocks in the stream and fighting stinging nettle any time I chose to bushwack it.

After the soreness I woke with and another tough scramble in, I was done. My friend wanted another shot at the main branch, so we went to an old railroad trestle where I stood up above and heckled as he fished for very educated fish. He was able to pick up one nice rainbow on some type of streamer pattern before he had enough - again.

He was not done fishing so I took him to another stream I fished two weeks prior. In the short period of time I fished this stream it produced both a brookie and a small stream-born brown. Today would be different, no brookies to hand but I did spook a few. We fished a short distance upstream without luck, but to avoid another scramble out we turned for the vehicle in short order.

Before we hit the main branch on the way out, I hit a small pool just above the mouth and picked up a nice little stream-born brown.

Even though we fought off rain for two days, it was a great time to be in the mountains of West Virginia. The state flower, the rhododendron was blooming everywhere.

The blooming rhododendron was just a bonus on top of the memorable day we had on the first stream.

I caught brookies in two more new streams and caught wild fish in another - which I will return to in search of brookies.

Do I have an addiction? I think maybe I do.

Chris

A West Virginia Weekend

West Virginia celebrates statehood on June 20.

I celebrated this weekend with the 4th Annual WVAngler Campout and the Elk River Clean-up. I would meet three fellow WVAnglers at Kumbrabow State Forest, where we would make base camp for the three-day weekend. The original plan was to include my son again, but the previous weekend took a toll on him and he chose to stay at home to recover this weekend.

Without Ross along it would allow me to do more exploring, so my itinerary changed significantly.

The weekend started at 6:00 AM on Friday, with a 3.5-hour drive to camp. I watched radar on the phone for the first three hours (until I lost signal for the remainder of the weekend), as there was a storm headed our way. The rain appeared to be moving to the north of camp, so I quickly set up camp and headed for a quick few minutes on the stream before my fellow WVAnglers were to arrive.

This is where the story gets entertaining!

I arrived at the new, small stream I had on the list to explore with the hopes of finding brook trout. I parked near the mouth, put on my wading boots, grabbed a rod tube, then reached for the large blue tub I keep all of my fishing gear in (pack, flies, reels, hydration bladder, etc.). When I opened the tub I just about lost my breakfast - the identical tub contained my kid's jigsaw puzzles! So, here I was: 3.5 hours from home with two rods and wading shoes but nothing else!

What do you do when life gives you chicken poop? You make chicken salad, of course.

Undeterred, I grabbed my camera and headed up the stream to see if I could at least capture a few brookies with the camera.

The first stream produced two brook trout in the 100 yards I explored, but no photos. I then drove on up the road to the next stream I had planned to explore. Again, I would explore this stream with the camera.

The first thing I found was another gift from the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, in the form of limestone fines.

It didn't take long to verify a decent brookie population in this stream, both above and below the limestone fines dump, but again no photographic proof. With visual verification of the first two streams on my list, I headed back to camp to wait on my company.

While I waited the rain arrived, so I took temporary shelter under the rear hatch of my vehicle. Shortly after the rain started, my friends arrived and we discussed our plans with the current weather conditions. But first I had to explain my gear situation, take a few laughs, and ask for some gear to loan. After everyone was done laughing at me, we all loaded into my vehicle and headed off the mountain to another stream.

While we were in route the rain stopped and by the time we had reached our destination the skies had actually turned to blue. Once at our destination, we cobbled together an outfit for me and what an outfit it was - a 4ft, one-piece bamboo with an old Pflueger Medalist reel!

The stream was a familiar one to me, so I headed up a small trib near the parking area in search of brookies. This small trib typically dries up each year but I had been told that it contained brook trout. I fished a quarter-mile or so with no luck. I was pitching an 18 stimulator into pockets the size of a coffee table, but no luck - I didn't even spook a fish. I am not arrogant enough to believe that because I didn't catch a brookie they weren't in there, but my log will show ZERO.

With another new stream crossed off my list (unsuccessfully), I headed back down the main branch to catch up with my partners. I have fished upstream from the parking area with great success but the lower end where we were fishing has always fished tough.

I did catch a couple of small brookies (no photos) and I also found another eft stage of the red-spotted newt. They always look so good in photographs.

With the fishing slow and nearing dinnertime, we headed back to camp to grab a bite to eat before hitting another stream.

The next stream is where I learned to fish for brookies, it is also where both of my kids caught their first brookie, and where my son caught/landed a brookie on video just a week before.

We hiked down the remnants of an old narrow-gauge railroad bed, left from the logging industry of the early 20th century. When the trail disappeared, we decided it was a good location to start fishing. I picked up three fish quickly in the first two pockets - a good start.

I also recently learned that my underwater video camera also takes super macros. This would be a good place to try the newly discovered mode; I think they turned out decent.

The fishing continued to be good for the remainder of the afternoon, for two of the three of us. My friend with the most experience on this stream (no names to protect the guilty) went back to camp with the smell of skunk.

After a good days fishing and armed with a story of forgotten gear, we decided to head off the mountain again. We would head for the Elk to meet additional WVAngler members and watch the evening hatch. The hatch did not last long, but when the Isonychia spinners appeared they were very heavy.

We watched until well after dark before heading to the Elk River cabin where the remainder of our group was staying. It was an excellent evening of stories and laughter!

The next day started early when the rain beating on my tent woke me shortly after 6:00 AM. Saturday was West Virginia day and the scheduled date of the Elk River clean up, but before the clean-up started I had time to explore another stream.

The stream enters the Elk at this landmark:

The water was low and the pockets small, you can see in the above photo there wasn't much water. I continued up the trickle and the sound of moving water grew louder as I continued upstream. After less than a quarter-mile I ran into the source of the moving water and at this point the gradient of the stream changed SIGNIFICANTLY.

This is what I found:

What I also found was a good bit of this water was tumbling down and straight underground - the reason for the lack of water near the mouth.

I climbed up and over this obstacle, but soon found that this was simply the beginning of the extreme gradient stream. I fished up and over boulder after boulder and did not catch or see any signs of a brook trout. Again, doesn't equate to the lack of brookies, I just could not visually verify their presence.

Even though I told my partners where I was headed, as rugged as it was I didn't think it was too safe to get too far in there. So, after about ninety minutes of scrambling I made the decision to stumble back down. After all, discretion is the better part of valor.

With time to hit one more stream before the clean up started, I headed back down stream. I had gained a recommendation to fish another wild trout tributary, but as I approached the stream the "No Trespassing" signs caught my attention so I moved on. I had a fall back plan, another stream I had fished without success probably 7-8 years earlier. I had been told the fish population had rebounded and I needed to verify.

As I pulled into the parking area the skies opened up again. The fish were already wet and I was there, so I put the DSLR away and grabbed the waterproof camera. I am typically not a jumpy person but when you have your hood up it's like walking in a tunnel. When a deer jumped into my "tunnel" of vision, I nearly came out of my wading shoes!

By the time I got to the water I had about fifteen minutes to fish before I had to head to the clean-up. I had to make the time count, and I did. The first small fish I picked up was a little brown and just above the brown was a brookie with an unusually high concentration of yellow spots.

After I released the brookie, I noticed a trail above me, which seemed a fitting opportunity to head out. I'm not sure one brook trout constitutes a population, but with the reports I have received I have to believe the population is in good shape.

Next on the agenda was the clean up. There were probably 20-30 people in attendance and we were able to clean a couple of miles of stream and road. The stream happened to be in good shape and we finished earlier than planned. The agenda also included lunch, which would consist of BBQ ribs and chicken. I had not been to the clean up in a couple of years but I do remember how good those ribs were. They did not disappoint this year either, they were probably the best ribs I have had anywhere!

Following lunch, I planned to hike into the upper reaches of the Elk where the only access for over four miles is by foot. My destination would be a little over two miles in via the remnants of a railroad track and another new stream for me. Again, I would be solo and when I go solo my mind tends to wander. As I traveled along the tracks and sometimes through a "tunnel" of underbrush, my mind thought of bears and rattlesnakes. I don't know why, I am not the least bit afraid of snakes, but when I caught a glance of movement I jumped back. When I gathered and verified the movement, I was embarrassed to have been scared by a common garter snake!

I calmed down and continued up the tracks, about fifty minutes of total hike time. Another thought that crossed my mind on multiple occasions is how nice the fishing pack hydration bladder (back home in the garage) would be.

Using the GPS I found my destination but first I had to cross the main stream - I hope the rain doesn't swell the river while I'm over there.

I started fishing immediately after I got under the canopy and quickly picked up a couple of brookies.

I continued upstream until I ran into this wonderful site. The stream was low gradient to this point so this came as a surprise (although I was told to look for it).

After climbing up and around the falls the gradient changed, not as significantly as the stream from the early morning, but it definitely changed. What also changed was the fish population. Typically a set of falls of that magnitude would act as a fish barrier for invasives and protect the native population. You can understand my amazement when the first fish I picked up was this guy.

As I climbed upstream, I continued to pick up little rainbow after little rainbow - in nearly every pocket. The only other place I have fished with a population of little, wild rainbows like this was back in 2005 on the Middle Prong of the Little River in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The recent droughts had obviously not affected these little guys!

I continued to climb up this beautiful little stream, with moss-covered boulders and beautiful little plunge pools, all the while picking up little rainbows in nearly every pocket. Had it not been another solo adventure and a limited amount of water I could have fished this stream for an entire day. But again, caution got the better of me and I decided to head back out giving me plenty of time to get back to the vehicle before dark.

I felt very blessed to have been able to fish a stream like this!

On the way back to the vehicle I must have my awareness level must have changed, as I didn't notice these on the way in. I may be wrong, but I believe they are leopard lilies.

I made it back to the vehicle without issue, a total hike time of 75 minutes. I made it back in time to hit the lower Elk and watch the fellow WVAngler fish the evening hatch. I was early for the evening hatch but I did witness a couple of very nice fish being caught. When I got the opportunity to go back up on the mountain to see an old friend and mentor, I jumped at the opportunity. I would miss the evening hatch (I heard it was fantastic) but I hadn't seen my friend since the State Council meeting in September. I got some excellent advice and guidance on my new (to me) position of State Council chair.

The time seemed to fly by and before long it was dark and I still had friends on the river I wanted to visit with. It would be another excellent evening of laughter and stories with great people!

I didn't realize it until I was checking out my pictures early Sunday morning, but I had quite an accomplishment on West Virginia Day - a West Virginia trifecta. After viewing the underwater video of the little brown I caught in the rain, I noticed the par marks. I had caught all three species of trout, and all were stream born!

Brook Trout Par Marks

Brown Trout Par Marks

Rainbow Trout Par Marks

The next morning would not be as early and it would not include rain. It was early enough to get in a little fishing before making the long journey home.

First on my list was one of the new streams I had been on Friday morning armed only with a camera. This time I would have a rod and I would get video proof of the brook trout population.


I fished for about fifteen minutes and nearly hit double-digits. I would say the population in this stream is doing just fine.

I had time for one more new stream on the way home. I had never fished it, but my fishing partner had grown up in this watershed.

Once we found the stream (apparently it had been quite a while since he fished there) it didn't take long to find the brookies.

Again, in just a short few minutes on the stream we were able to verify a healthy population of brook trout. With this final new stream under my belt, it was time to call it a weekend and head for home.

The final weekend tally:

• Five new streams fished
• Brook trout caught in 4 new streams
• Wild browns and rainbows in 2 new streams
• All three species of stream-born trout caught

I also spent time with some great old friends and made a few new ones. It was a wonderful West Virginia weekend!

I have traveled five of the last six weekends and I am burnt out on driving, so I think I'll take a couple of weeks off.

Chris