# Elk River in West Virginia?



## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Hey all, I'm goin down to WV this weekend and hoping to fish the elk (I love big rivers... we have precisely none in ohio ). I'm thinking of fishing the C&R fly fishing stretch of the river down near... well honestly I don't even know where but if we were in a car I could drive you there  Lotta really narrow dirt road action with some cliffs haha.

So yeah, I'm going down there. But that brings me to making a point; last time I went my dad and I got 2 trout between us. We find this fairly unacceptably slow, and were wondering what we did wrong. Got there at like 10 a.m, nymphed all day upstream with indicators.

This time my arsenal is much expanded  i'm gonna try the galloup streamer craziness at least half a day while there, and I've got my floating line with me too so I can throw dries or nymphs. Are there any good flies that produce on there? Or at least a methodology? I slay the trout on the mad with BHPs, but I dunno if it'll work down there... long drive to get skunked.

And just so you know, I never keep any trout I catch. Not ever


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## One Legged Josh (Jan 27, 2008)

Talk to Flyfishdog, he lives on the ELK. Im sure he could help you out with any questions you have.


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## fishmerf (Mar 28, 2008)

Be prepared to see alot of fish and to be frustrated as well. Small, small flies and very light tippet. The most successful guy I know that fishes that river uses size 32 flies and 10x- yes 10x tippet. 
I am sure FlyFishdog can help you out as to what is hatching. You will love it there. If you like big rivers with bigger flies let me know. I'll show you a couple of PA rivers I think you willl like.

merf


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Haven't been to the Elk yet, but I fish a lot in WV. I'm headed down tomorrow, actually. I will be camping by Seneca Rocks and fishing a few streams close by. This trip I will be targeting small wild brookies for the first time with my 3wt. I've picked up a lot of info and feel prepared, so we'll see what happens.

For Elk River info, go to www.wvangler.com and check their reports forum. I frequent that board, also. Lots of Elk fans are on there that post almost daily reports. It sounds like they are having some great hatches there right now, lots of dry fly action around dusk, and mostly nymphing during the day.


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

TheCream said:


> Haven't been to the Elk yet, but I fish a lot in WV. I'm headed down tomorrow, actually. I will be camping by Seneca Rocks and fishing a few streams close by. This trip I will be targeting small wild brookies for the first time with my 3wt. I've picked up a lot of info and feel prepared, so we'll see what happens.
> 
> For Elk River info, go to www.wvangler.com and check their reports forum. I frequent that board, also. Lots of Elk fans are on there that post almost daily reports. It sounds like they are having some great hatches there right now, lots of dry fly action around dusk, and mostly nymphing during the day.


I have to honestly say that will be your big mistake hanging around Seneca! Gonna be very crowded around there as it always is Memorial weekend! Yea I am member of WVangler but has been going downhill with the advent of meatheads taking over with not sticking to what it was suppose to be! Flyfishing that is.


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

Ok, now on to the Elk. According to Elksprings the sulfer hatch has begun so fishing the evening will be best. But also do stop at the Elksprings fly shop and talk with John or Dave especially early inthe morning as they will be guiding to get the best info up rto date. I was there last weekend and got at 40+ but not from the river itself since I am still not able to wade for awhile yet. Right now I be fishing some caddis patterns especially emergers, ants, beetles, sulfurs patterns,stimi's and March Brown dries. No need to go down to 32's and 8-10X yet so your normal 5x will do. But do take Zoo cougars in olive/yellow and black! Black/purple EP minnow patterns and in clousers had worked for me well last time I fished it. So dont be afraid to throw streamers cause can tangle with some big boys! a few 30"+ have been caught the past few months.
Have a good time!! I may be driving through this weekend.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Flyfish Dog said:


> I have to honestly say that will be your big mistake hanging around Seneca! Gonna be very crowded around there as it always is Memorial weekend! Yea I am member of WVangler but has been going downhill with the advent of meatheads taking over with not sticking to what it was suppose to be! Flyfishing that is.


I won't be fishing Seneca, just staying there. Believe me, I know the Memorial Day crowds all to well down there.


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

Alright Cream, Have a good trip!


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Flyfish Dog said:


> Alright Cream, Have a good trip!


I would imagine the Cranberry area would be suicide this weekend. I've been there on normal weekends and it's bad. I vowed never to go back.


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

Probably! But to tell you this I have never fished it yet. Why? I got 90 percent of better fishing much closer within 1 hour drive and without the crowds.


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Holy cow guys, thanks for all the info! 

In other news; Am I gonna get mobbed on the Elk, or does it stay generally less crowded? I was thinking of fishing the fly fishing catch and release only section, thereby bypassing the powerbait crowd... Will this work, or will 7000 other ppl just like me have the same idea? haha.

Or should I try to go for broke and hit the Blackwater river? Supposedly a big brown or two down there...


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Clayton said:


> Holy cow guys, thanks for all the info!
> 
> In other news; Am I gonna get mobbed on the Elk, or does it stay generally less crowded? I was thinking of fishing the fly fishing catch and release only section, thereby bypassing the powerbait crowd... Will this work, or will 7000 other ppl just like me have the same idea? haha.
> 
> Or should I try to go for broke and hit the Blackwater river? Supposedly a big brown or two down there...



I have not been to the Elk or Blackwater, but have fished a lot of rivers down there and one thing they all have in common: fish the C&R sections and you'll fish in peace and quiet. I've fished C&R sections of North Fork of South Branch of the Potomac, South Branch, Cranberry, and Williams. I saw 1 other fisherman at North Fork once, other than that, I was there by myself.


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Awesome  I'm glad to hear it. When I was down there on non-C&R sections, I saw an awful lot of non-C&R fishing  A WHOLE lot. Kinda depressing. 

Oh well, I'll hide in between the big red signs and hang out


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Clayton said:


> Awesome  I'm glad to hear it. When I was down there on non-C&R sections, I saw an awful lot of non-C&R fishing  A WHOLE lot. Kinda depressing.
> 
> Oh well, I'll hide in between the big red signs and hang out


They read that detailed sign and see no Powerbait, no live bait, no salmon eggs, no barbed treble hooks, and no keeping fish, and they go somehwere else. 

Or stay there and break the law, so I hear, so if you see someone else, keep an eye on them.


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

You definitely going to see more on the Elk C&R sectionin thfolowing months for sure but dont let it deter you though. Just about everyone flyfishing in the C&R sections will not be as rude as the par-bait slingers for sure. Be sure to talk as you will get better and helpful info!


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Not sure how you did, Clayton, but I had one heck of a trip! 

Hope your visit to WV went as well as mine!


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

Back already?


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Ohh what a feelin' :-D

We murdered em :-D (metaphorically, of course). Granted, they were pretty tippet shy and that made em challenging, but I caught my biggest brown ever on the smallest dry I've ever thrown (#18 sulphur). Fish was 16.5" long hen.

I also coaxed a 15" long rainbow to hit a bugger.... 7' from my feet. As I was standing knee deep in the water with her  She was 'special' haha.

The hatches were really something to see. I'm so spoiled... to hell with the Mad, whenever I have the time I"ll go down to WV!

Oh and that reminds me, my fishing licenses may or may not be ruined. Got my wallet wet lol.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

I knew you'd enjoy it, it really is different and a great time to fly fish down there, especially for the wild fish. Good work!


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Anybody ever heard of a hybrid between rainbow and brown trout? Or a good reason why a nice brown would turn pink and green and chrome?

Just wonderin  because I think I caught one.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Clayton said:


> Anybody ever heard of a hybrid between rainbow and brown trout? Or a good reason why a nice brown would turn pink and green and chrome?
> 
> Just wonderin  because I think I caught one.


I think in the last few years WV has stocked some tiger trout. They are a brown/brookie cross. I have never seen one, but have talked to folks who have seen them caught in stocked streams. That could be what you had.


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

A brown and bow cross has not been made(I wont say its impossible, but I'd say dam close), it wouldnt happen in the wild for sure.
there are tiger trout stocked in a few places, but you would confuse those with brookies before browns I would think.
what you describe doesnt sound all that off the wall, lake run browns can be very silvery with olive backs and in the right sun have a good amount of faint pink on the side. even without lake influence I have seen some pretty silvery browns. pink green and chrome sounds like a bow to me, clayton have you been fishing the mad so much that you forgot other species exist


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

haha, I know it sounds like it, but you're talking about a short little bow here with spots as big as a brown typically has! I'm used to my bows being speckly, not spotty. The spots were as big around as a bic pen! It definitely had a brown-style spot pattern, and was silvery.

I still wanna say hybrid because it's cooler  But I'll accept lake-ish brown. But still... at like 10"?


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

I still say it cant exist though it would be totally awesome, it is possible that some hatchery has crossed them and I didnt hear about it, but I would expect that to make some news in the fish world.

you would be surprised at the genetic variation particularly in coloration among rainbows from different regions. there are some out here in callifornia, especially in the pit river that get steel blue backs and a handfull or large spots on the backs, with only a faint stripe. while in the upper sac only an hour away they tend to be silvery to yellow with long thin stripes and speckled. this reminds me of why trout are so cool(give me a moment to bath in nerdness...ok done). anyway, I wish I could see what you caught, it sounds really cool, you should go back catch one and get a picture and send it, then send it to robert benke(aka, trout god and king of the nerds) that would be a sweet new twist on cross genra hybridization


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

This is a tiger trout that was stocked by DNR. Every once in awhile there will be one in there. They hit aggresively! But to say a bow and brown, there genatics cant be married into another sub species for some reason that it to lengthy to post.If you were fishing the Seneca regions which supports wild and stocked trouts and some of the wilds bodies are broader cause they survive better then an uneducated stocked trout.


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Woah, I do like the look of the tiger. I think I'll set up on catching one of those as a goal for the future.

Speaking of colors, it seemed like the males had really really pretty colors this weekend, while the females were the usual (relatively) drab. When to trout spawn?


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

No pics from your trip, Clayton?


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Nope, scared to get my camera wet  I'll be getting a waterproof disposable for my next trip though!

And it's a good thing I didn't take one. Didymo had me sliding till my head was underwater one time. So no cam was a good choice! lol.


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## JeremyDavis (Jun 24, 2008)

Hey flyfish dog, are there any good places to camp along the elk river, state parks or nice private campgrounds? Also, any idea how much an out fo state license costs with a trout stamp? Thanks!


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

JD,off the bat,I am not sure the cost is for out of state license. You can buy your license online through WVDNR site. That is what I do. As for camping you can get a spot at the Elk Spring Resort & Fly Shop which right along the river or rent cabins but they are kind of expensive. You can probably camp out at the end of the C&R section just up stream of Whitaker falls but I heard there is a lot of grumbling going with some using it as a poaching base.


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## JeremyDavis (Jun 24, 2008)

Thanks man! I'll give it a look.


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Yeah, I was definitely wondering about whether or not I can camp freely in monongahela near the Elk. Naturally, I'll find somewhere secluded enough that I doubt anyone will bother my gear, and I'll be there through the week  But I would rather avoid angry rangers wanting to tell me about the rules I'd never heard of.

So, camping legal? ALl the signs at the pulloffs say "no camping", so I guess I need somewhere to put a car. Preferably that it wouldn't be broken into haha.


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## crkwader (Nov 7, 2008)

to be honest, I do not think a rainbowXbrown hybrid would be possible for one BIG reason, browns spawn in the fall, and rainbows in the spring....


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Ahh, I never knew when each spawned. I just catch em  Thanks though  I'll get that outta my sig sometime or other lol.

Going over to Mad River Outfitters to stock up once again on my way to class... seeya brian, if ya read this


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

I will be down there on the elk Resort the 12/13th for my friends wedding that weekend. I thought I rub it in!


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

hehe, by the 12th / 13th, you're gonna be seeing me down there  I'll be out of class for the summer and I'm totally bumming it up this summer and working very, very little.

I'm excited 

And my new 4 wt came today (9' 4wt st croix legend ultra!!) and I've got some line and a cheap-o reel I had laying around on it... gonna see what the Mad trout have to say about it. Tonight, the mad.... tomorrow.... THE ELK! lol.


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

summertime fishing the Elk,then you better have the small flies made up. I would say a 4wt will be overkill if the rain stops for awhile. Make sure you have enough DH beetles! I use my 0wt a lot during the summer. See ya down there!


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