Specks in VA...

[tomitrout]

Had an afternoon to myself to do some exploring...this time a creek I've often portaged a bicycle across. Always wondered and now I know, the Ramsey's Draft Wilderness sure does hold some nice brookies.

 

[afishinado]

Very nice fish and Pics of the stream. You take the best pics on here. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Canoetripper]

That is beautiful water. I spent this past weekend in the Poconos and really thought that spring has arrived as I was approaching the Blue Mountain. Once I got to the top of the mountain and started going down the mountain heading north I noticed a big difference with greening leaves now just barely budding.

It looks like spring has arrived in Virginia from your photographs.

 

[bikerfish]

Awesome! I've been all around that area for years, but never fished it. Might have to one of these days!!

 

[Nymph-wristed]

Yes, those are some good ones!

 

[Wild_Trouter]

I know that place well! Next time you go, make sure you save some time for the Dry River.

 

[tomitrout]

Thnx guys.

WT, yeah, the Dry is on the radar, been scouting it off and on this winter/spring but haven't yet had a decent window to get out in the water.

 

[3wt7X]

Very nice pictures and brook trout. Thank you for sharing!!!

 

[salmonoid]

Nice looking water and nice looking speckleds.

I'm pretty sure my brother fished that stream a few years ago; he sent me some pictures of a pool that had 30-40 brookies milling about in it. I was jealous, for a bit, but I've since found my home state equivalent of that pool.

Wondering about the water situation down there. For this time of year, the stream looks low. Or maybe its because we've been blessed with rain here and water seems to be running aplenty locally.

 

[Wild_Trouter]

TT-

Another one really worth the drive down to VA is the St. Mary's River within the St. Mary's Wilderness Area of the Geo Wash Nat'l Forest. You will have no problem finding the ever elusive 12" native brook trout there.

 

[tomitrout]

Wondering about the water situation down there. For this time of year, the stream looks low. Or maybe its because we've been blessed with rain here and water seems to be running aplenty locally.

Can see why you'd think that, but the levels are actually pretty decent for this time of year. Those little streams drain some rather large watersheds for their size relative to what we might be used to here in PA. So when flooding happens, it really happens. Makes for quite expansive high water marking after the creeks retreat to more seasonal flows, the appearance can be deceiving as a result. There are all sorts of flood control ponds and reservoirs up in the mountains along the 'front range' of the GW to help out the valley residents, but none on this particular stream.

 

[tomitrout]

Another one really worth the drive down to VA is the St. Mary's River within the St. Mary's Wilderness Area of the Geo Wash Nat'l Forest. You will have no problem finding the ever elusive 12" native brook trout there.

Thanks for the tip, was actually in that neck of the woods for a bike ride on Saturday. We started at Sherando and hopped over the Parkway a couple times...rode up along the Tye and then followed the North Fork of the Tye on the east side and it sure looked good, other than all of the posted signs.

 

[Letort]

Tried to fish it last summer and there was NO water.

Glad to see levels back up.

 

[tomitrout]

Tried to fish it last summer and there was NO water.

Glad to see levels back up

.

That's curious, as I've run across the same thing while down there biking in the summer and fall. Based on the dry conditions I'd seen before, I was figuring on smaller size trouts, but the fish I got into this time have definitely survived for a couple years. I was pleasantly surprised by the average size of the fish on Monday.

Where were you when you checked it out? My theory is that there at the access point up to where the Bridge Hollow trail crosses the creek, the stream bed is so wide that the water disperses so much that it looks 'dry', while up above in the narrower channel there's actually decent enough flows and holding water for the fish to summer over...granted they may be stacked up in refuge holes, but they're definitely holding over somehow. I only went about a mile or so up the drainage before rumbles of thunder had me turning tail back to the car.

 

[Letort]

I was at the access point. Didn’t go any farther, because there was no water.

 

[sarce]

Really nice fish! I haven't made it that far south yet. I have heard the same about that stream drying up in summer at least in the lower end. Brook trout have been documented to survive buried in gravel where there is water flowing just below the ground surface. That may be the case here, or as you said they find a couple refuge pools (probably upstream) and then spread back out when water level comes up again.

 

[Swattie87]

Makes you wonder at what point instinctively a Trout decides the water is too low, I need to move. Clearly this needs to happen while there is enough water to still move. Or, are the ones that end up in those refuge pools just the ones naturally in close proximity to it anyway. Interesting to think about. Any studies on this?

 

[lycoflyfisher]

I am not aware of any studies tied to water levels, I would imagine it may have more to do with certain temperature thresholds after which a fish decides it needs to seek out cold water and the next highwater event provides enough flow for them to seek out colder water. While electrofishing I had the opportunity to observe the phenomena described by sarce where trout would literally be buried into substrate to avoid capture as well as in areas where there was subsurface flow. In one particular stream there was a large gravel bar, island atleast 30 feet wide and fish would go under it from one side and come out the other. It was rather fascinating.