# Heading to the mountains tomorrow!



## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

I have some time off this week, and I am heading to WV to fish some small streams for wild trout and hit up some of the stocked streams for other trout. I'll be flyfishing only. I just bought a new rod/reel to use on smaller waters and can't wait to give it a shot on some wild fish. It is a 7'9" 3wt St Croix Avid rod with a BPS White River Classic reel. I have a 9' 5wt Avid for the bigger rivers. Hopefully I will come back with pics to post!


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## Fishaholic69 (Apr 6, 2007)

flyfishdog lives up there. he always catches beautiful fish. good luck!


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

Be prepared for combat fishing on stockers and water levels are extremely low super clear for this time of year! we are 4 inches below normal.


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## bigduck10 (Feb 15, 2009)

I am in Paint Bank Va. this week working on some mine projects. I stay at this place thedepotlodge.com 

Check the web site out and check the fishing pics. Big rainbows I mean big!!
Caught three 4 pounders tonight and had one that had to be at least 6 ot 7. These are stocked fish but the stream is beautiful. There are native Brook trout around but I only caught the rainbows.

If you look at the web site check the Smallmouth that was caught on the stream.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Fun trip, I caught a ton of fallfish, but no trout! I lost one, and had a few others examine my flies and turn me down. The fallfish in the bigger streams kept me busy, though.


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

No trouts?? Where did you fish and what were you using??? I know I can put you on some good trouts for sure!


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

I just got back from a similar trip, spent 5 days down there  fished williams river, elk river (didymo filled hole that it is >.<) and a few sneaky little streams up a bit further in the mountains along a little crap dirt road haha. 

Fish report:

5 days fishing
Brookies: 15+
Largest: 13", caught by my dad
Rainbows: 45+, half stocked, half wild
Largest: 17", caught by me 
Brown trout: 1. Caught by me, on the Elk  15" long. I was pleased as could be 

We were testing out our own new rigs, 9' TFO pro series 5 wts with sage 1650 reels and rio grande line  God... what awesome rigs <3 they did beautifully at everything. Today we fished in the rain all day and caught a brookie and 15+ rainbows, so that was great lol.


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## Fishaholic69 (Apr 6, 2007)

looks liek fun to me! fall fish? I always thought they were called chubs round here? are they the same thing?


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

nice trips!, I would love to get a shot at some brookies, or get a shot at the elk!

and fishaholic those fallfish are different from our chubs and shiners, the minnows change everywhere you go, but they are always a fun sidetrack, caught two squawfish today


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## steelheader007 (Apr 8, 2004)

riverKing said:


> nice trips!, I would love to get a shot at some brookies, or get a shot at the elk!
> 
> and fishaholic those fallfish are different from our chubs and shiners, the minnows change everywhere you go, but they are always a fun sidetrack, caught two squawfish today



We want pictures Lou of your pike minnows.. lol...


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

riverKing said:


> nice trips!, I would love to get a shot at some brookies, or get a shot at the elk!
> 
> and fishaholic those fallfish are different from our chubs and shiners, the minnows change everywhere you go, but they are always a fun sidetrack, caught two squawfish today


Get on 33 and drive till it turns into 50, keep following it and going and you'll be there  literally the route from 33 to where I fished involves, like.... 5 turns over 250 miles  Hop to it! Brookies abound


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## bigduck10 (Feb 15, 2009)

Couple of Pics from my trip tp Virginia. Many fish, great time.


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Nice couple of fish  I had a few rainbows too but mine were stockers, so I didn't feel quite as proud of them as I could have... A couple of them felt wild though, but I'm not sure. They seem to have a different body consistency between stock and wild


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## bigduck10 (Feb 15, 2009)

Clayton,
I tried to use my 4wgt with 4x tippet but I couldn't land them. They were too big and strong. I went to my 6wgt with 3x and that did the trick. They gave me a great fight and still stripped line like crazy using the 6wgt.

These were stocked fish for the most part. I caught a few native fish but most were stockers. I must have caught one that had to be 6 or 7 lbs. Took me close to 20 minutes to get it in.


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Holy cow, 20 minutes for a 7 lb fish? That's a huge fish, yeah, but that's a LONG fight! Swift water give the fish an advantage? I broke off half the fish that I set on in quick water.. all they had to do was turn sideways and defeat me


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## bigduck10 (Feb 15, 2009)

I caught it on the edge of some fast water. I had the drag set some what loose. I had lost a few fish before with to tight of drag and being new to this game I would try and strong arm them in. I was on a steep bank and couldn't get in the water so I had to let the fish work.

You should have seen me trying to get the camera out, get into the water, I had no net. Interesting to say the least. I worked the fish to the shallows. I was worried that I may have worn the fish out to much fighting so I leaned down and the fly just popped out. The damn thing took off like a rocket. So much for being to worn out.


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

PREPARE FOR A LONG WINDED FISHING STORY:

Haha, yep, they seem to just about never get tired  I was fishing in a little pocket about the size of a small room (25' x 15' or so?) with a little half-circle of baby waterfalls feeding it, just drifting a nymph through again and again. Sure enough, after enough trial (and much error!) I got a take. 15" brown trout  (and yes, I own a tape measure, it really was precisely 15" lol). It fought a little, then decided to go rock climbing by diving behind a 4' wide bolder. I couldn't move b/c of the didymo and my unwillingness to fall on my butt while fighting a fish, so I just... dragged him up over the rock  thank god my 4x tippet held, and then he took off downstream like a rocket. After a little more fighting, the fish got to hang out with my net for a few minutes 

That was my only fish of the day  But it was so sweet. The only brown of the whole trip, but totally awesome! 

Yeah, I had a couple rainbows take off into fast water  I lost probably 4 or 5 flies in fish's mouths on hooksets, too! I used to fish a redington crosswater combo, and have now upgraded to a TFO pro series 5 wt. It's much faster action, and therefore a lot less effort is needed for setting a hook - I learned that the hard way  But learning is learning, and it had to happen sometime lol. It was also my first time using 6x tippet.... snap snap snap haha.


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## bigduck10 (Feb 15, 2009)

Guess what I bought this weekend? A net!!!!! I am leaving for New York this afternoon. Will hit the Stellhead on the Elk on the way to Rochester if the rain didn't blow out the river.

Wil hit a nice stream after work Monday. Spring feed stream that is not effected by rain. Stays the same tempt all year around. The Spring Creek is pretty nice. Runs throught the Place where I stay south of Rochester. Very famous Trout club on it. All the old Rochester money belongs. George Eastman founded the club in the 1800's. I fish just north of the club.

Link http://books.google.com/books?id=-a...X&oi=book_result&resnum=9&ct=result#PPA422,M1


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## bigduck10 (Feb 15, 2009)

Name of the club is Bonbright Trout Club. The founder George Bonbright was an New York investment banker. If you google him he is a very famous Fly inventor. Most famous for his Tarpon salt water fly and the Purple pupa fly.

Very interesting reading


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Clayton said:


> PREPARE FOR A LONG WINDED FISHING STORY:
> 
> Haha, yep, they seem to just about never get tired  I was fishing in a little pocket about the size of a small room (25' x 15' or so?) with a little half-circle of baby waterfalls feeding it, just drifting a nymph through again and again. Sure enough, after enough trial (and much error!) I got a take. 15" brown trout  (and yes, I own a tape measure, it really was precisely 15" lol). It fought a little, then decided to go rock climbing by diving behind a 4' wide bolder. I couldn't move b/c of the didymo and my unwillingness to fall on my butt while fighting a fish, so I just... dragged him up over the rock  thank god my 4x tippet held, and then he took off downstream like a rocket. After a little more fighting, the fish got to hang out with my net for a few minutes
> 
> ...



I also learned the hard way about hook sets on a new, faster action rod. The first 3 trout I tried to set the hook on with my new 5wt last spring I broke off on all 3 of them. 

And I have landed a big trout in heavy current, it is no easy thing! A few years back, on a light spinning outfit and 6lb line, I landed a 22.75" rainbow. Had it been in a lake or in an area with little current it would have been no big deal...put that fish in swift water, and all she had to do was hold deep in the fast stuff and there was not a thing I could do about it. It was no 20 minute battle, but I think it was around 6-7 minutes. I'd get her close to the bank, then she'd peel drag and get deep again. Finally got the upper hand and got her in the shallow stuff and landed her. That was my only citation trout in WV so far.


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