Fly Fishing Road Trips
Good People      Good Water       Good Fish

May 2021 Attempt

I attacked two streams in West Virginia through foggy roads and rain. The first was Trout Run down the mountain from Wolf Gap Recreation Area (38.92433, -78.68902). Unfortunately, I had no cell coverage, so I could not use the spots I mapped out, which didn't matter as it had been raining heavily for 3-4 days, and the stream was milk chocolate in color. However, I did pull off the slide of the road for 15 minutes to say I fished it. (38.99277, -78.6565)

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I traveled to the North Fork of the South Branch Potomac River, WV, on Junkers Lane (38.983, -79.22666) to see if I could find better water. Parking at Junkers Lane was different. "Fishermen, Welcome, but you need to park on the main road," a sign said. The main road is a 1/4 mile away. No biggy, but still different. The river looked like a prime spot, and the rain had not affected the flow. The river water has some of the best colors of green and blue due to various rock formations. The river was wide, but maybe that was due to the rain. Where I was fishing, the river narrowed and was deep. I saw one great spot after another, but nothing will take my Yellow Stimulator and Green Copper John.

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After a couple of hours, I drove upstream to a bridge, looked down, and saw a couple of trout where the stream was vast. Finally, it was time to move to my prime river selection Deckers Creek. (39.56546, -79.82289). When I arrived after driving all day, I had already struck out in Maryland, but I was still excited about this small stream. Unfortunately,  three days of thunderstorms took their toll on little Deckers Creek was like the Mississippi River.

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I had no energy left, so I left a day early to go home to Chicago, knowing the water would not recede for a couple of days.   I bought Ice Cream from a small shop and began to drive.

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October 2021 Attempt

I was pretty excited at my second attempt at WV. Finally, I had more than enough days and two streams to fish Deckers Creek again and the famous Elk River.

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The first water would be Deckers Creek near the University of West Virginia in Morgantown. I slept at the I-79 rest and arrived around 2 am. In the morning, I headed to Annie's Coffee and Creamery, one of my favorite coffeehouses. I love a place with a fireplace. I worked the morning at Annie's, then sneaked out for a two-hour try at trout between conference calls. I drove around Deckers Creek, unsure where to fish, but decided on one of the many turnouts and climbed down a steep embankment. On the way down was an old couch and trash, but as you got to the bottom, the stream was magical. Huge rocks the size of small cars and stream zigzagging around them.

 

Once, I geared and jumped from boulder to boulder, flinging my line in small pools. Finally, I saw a small 4x8-foot pebble beach. I climb on a rock just upstream from the clearing on the left. I threw a cast in what looked like a place that could hold a trout, but I didn't think it could happen. Then, on the third flick of the wrist, I felt a hard tug. Holy Shxt! Fish On!   

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It took 10 minutes to bring the brown trout to the beach.  Deckers Creek is stocked; from my readings, not all fish last the warm summer. So when I landed a 14+ brown trout, I was amazed!

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Lauren and I fished the Elk River after this unexpected triumph. I caught a couple of trout, but nothing compares to the Deckers Creek Brown.