Fall Troutin' in Appaclachia

[Doug Vitale]

Back in mid-November I drove to the border region between Virginia and West Virginia and spent five days exploring several streams known as productive trout waters. I had never fished in this area before, so doing thorough research beforehand was a must. I purchased a few books on Amazon, and after conveniently buying VA and WV fishing licenses online, I was off.

The streams I fished in VA were the Jackson River, Back Creek and Bull Pasture River. The streams I fished in WV were the Elk River and Cranberry River. I did catch a decent amount of browns and rainbows, but none of any bragging size sadly. Thankfully, I did not cross paths with any rattlesnakes or black bear (the books I read warn readers to watch out for these creatures in the Blue Ridge Mountains).

You don't know what "remote countryside" is until you spend several hours driving through this part of the country. While the scenery is gorgeous, many of the people in this region are utterly poor.

Based on my experiences and on the info I have gathered in books and online, VA and WV are very underrated as troutin' destinations. If you're up for an adventure, consider paying a visit to the streams of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Just do your research ahead of time and go with a solid plan of action.

Here are the books I read to prepare for my trip.

Flyfisher's Guide to Virginia: Including West Virginia's Best Fly Fishing Waters

Trout Streams of Virginia: An Angler's Guide to the Blue Ridge Watershed

Fly Fishing Virginia: A No Nonsense Guide to Top Waters

Virginia Blue-Ribbon Streams: A Fly Fishing Guide

[Doug Vitale]

Photos continued.

[thmyorke1]

great post! handy info , exploring is a lot of fun how was it getting around in general? easy hikes, wading?

[icebadger]

looks like you had a good trip the water is really clear. those blue fox spinners are good lures for trout they cast great and catch trout really well. great photos as well. cool report.

[thmyorke1]

i make my own panther-martin styled spinners. The blades that dont need the clevis and just go right through the wire. I really prefer them for how easy they are to get spinning. Even my jank ass handywork can make productive spinners.
I use 1/8 or 1/16 oz bullet sinkers. Usually I use a treble hook and snap off one of the hook points. I bought some beads and it's mainly to add right below the blade so it spins freer? But I like some of the color it adds. Lil orange/red bead looks nice on the silver thing spinning.

[Sako1]

Good post, thanks Doug. Regarding the bigger fish, did you get the sense you were catching stockies, stocky holdovers, natives or a mix?

Dave