2012 WV Free Fishing Weekend

It's about that time of year again for West Virginia to have their 18th annual free fishing weekend. This weekend, June 9 & 10, is the state's annual free fishing weekend for everyone ( resident and non-resident). This is an annual event that is held in conjunction with National Fishing and Boating Week and sponsored by Take Me Fishing. Have a great weekend and get fishing! Also don't forget to let someone tag along with you so they can learn about and start to love the art of fishing.

If you want more information including (where they stock adult channel catfish) on this weekend, click here.

WIN A SAILFISH ADVENTURE

You read it right, you could win a Sailfish adventure! My great friends at SoCal Salty and iFished are offering an opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime memory! I'm not sure how anyone could pass this up. Since my recent adventure into the world of salt water fishing, I've been looking for any chance I could get to head back to that mystical salty water. You can find out more details here. All you have to do is sign up to get registered for this once-in-a-lifetime memory! I know I have, now it's you turn!

Besides entering in for the grand prize, they are currently having weekly prize drawing. The grand prize drawing will be on November 1, 2011, and the date of this adventure, if you win, will be December 13, 2011. Don't fret, if you win and want to continue this adventure there will be discounted rates if you want to extend stay. Even if you don't win you can still join in at discounted rates! Make sure to check out the contest for further details.

Country Roads, Take Me Home..

Last Fish of the Trip.

As you are reading this, if all goes well, I should be on my way back to West Virginia and my Foggy Mountain. It's always hard to leave at the end of vacation, but it makes it a little easier to know that I have a place down here anytime I want. It has been a great two weeks and has helped develop my new hobby and love for Surf Fishing! The last few days of surf fishing went well....

The last few mornings have began to blur together,  but each morning has been a great experience. With the help of JM of Something's Fishy, I have managed to find a love for a new form of fishing, Surf Fishing. It was an interesting adventure in the salt water! The last four days I've only managed to catch two more sand sharks, but I did load up on quite a few more whiting, with a few that rivaled my personal best (sadly, I didn't get to measure them). The most interesting morning was the morning that I couldn't catch anything but Channel Catfish, when the first one hit I wasn't even close to knowing what was on the end of my line. The bite didn't feel like anything I had reeled in before, but as soon I saw those whiskers I knew what I had caught. With my last bit of shrimp and last cast today, I ended up landing my largest catfish of the trip. I couldn't help but laugh as I returned my that catfish into the ocean, because all I could think was I could be home catching catfish but I had to come all the way to a sandy shore in Florida to do it. I wouldn't have it any other way though!

My last morning fishing and releasing the last fish I caught that day.

Although, I am sad to leave behind the salty shore, John Denver said it best when he said, "Country roads, take me home.. To the place I belong.. West Virginia, Mountain Mama.. Take me home, country roads.."

Guest Post: SoCal Salty on ICAST

Hi guys. My name is Joe, and I write a blog called SoCal Salty about my fishing adventures in the Pacific Ocean off Southern California. Justin asked me to fill in a bit over here on FMM while he was on vacation. It's funny because he's been messaging me about how much he's enjoying fishing in the salt, so I hope he comes back here and continues to give you Trail Cam Tuesdays and the rest of his great stuff ;-)

I posted on my blog recently about my first trip to ICAST, the huge fishing tackle show in Las Vegas. It's where all the manufacturers trot out their new gear for the retail tackle shops to see and stock in their stores in the coming year. I was lucky enough to be granted media access, so I thought I'd share with you some of the interesting finds.

VMC Spinshot Hooks

VMC Spinshot Hooks

These hooks are designed for drop shot rigs. The hooks are suspended in the middle of a swivel with eyes above and below the hook. The idea is that you tie the top end to your main line, and then tie some leader to the eye below the hook to your weight. The typical line twist issues prevalent in a drop shot scenario go away. These hooks won best of show in the Terminal Tackle category and I can't wait to try them out.

They only make these up to 1/0, so I asked VMC when they were going to start making them bigger to suit the fishing we do out here. 1/0 is just barely big enough and I'm going to try them for sand bass fishing, but you should definitely give them a look for fishing those bass holding deeper in your home lake. (vmchooks.com)

Logic Lures Wiggly Jiggly Heads

The Logic Lures Lineup

I thought these jig heads looked really promising. Essentially, the idea is that instead of a static head fused onto a hook scenario, these are built so that there is a joint between the lead head and the business end of the lure. One benefit of using them that I observed was that when attaching plastics they swam the body too, and not just the tail.

The problem for me is that they only make them up to a 1/4 oz. Someone buy these and let us all know if they help you get more hook ups. (logiclures.com)

Bait Saver Hooks

Bait Saver Hooks

Finally, one I can use today. These are normal hooks that have a thin gauge wire on either side of the hook and and a little brass collar on the shank. You attach your bait then cinch down the collar. The wire clamps down on the bait so that your bait is more secure on the hook. I love the funky baits that freshwater guys tell me they use...wonder bread, chicken livers etc. These hooks should be great to help you keep those baits on a hook longer. I plan to use them for flylining anchovies which are fond of flying off my hook midcast. Check out this video to see what I'm talking about: http://www.baitsaverhooks.com/how-to-use/
I hope you found this information useful. Tight lines!

On the Water: July 22 - 25, 2011

This is a whole new version of an "On the Water" report, normally it is  a post about me running up and down the river banks. That's not what's happening this time, this time I am thigh deep in salt water. I have been a little busy fishing the last few day as well as laying on the beach and just relaxing, since I am on vacation, haha. But I will get everyone caught up with a quick overview of each day I went fishing as well as a few pictures.

July 22, 2011

This day went great and horrible all at the same time, it was the first time I set foot in the water attempting to be a surf fisher. It went well I hooked up with two whiting, but the managed to get off roughly, five to ten feet from me. This was due in part to the fact that I was using store bought rigs, and not the homemade ones JM had instructed me to use when he was giving me advice early last week. This instilled the confidence I need to know I could catch fish, and the need to start tying my own rigs. Since I started using my own rigs, I haven't lost a fish.

July 23, 2011

My First Surf Fish

Armed with my own rigs I gave it another try the next evening after a day on the beach. I wasn't expecting much as the other fisherman around where not catching much, but I was hopeful.  Apparently all I needed was a little hope and dumb luck, I managed to land my first fish only a few casts in that evening. It wasn't a beast, it wasn't even the hardest fighting fish, but it was my first. It was a seven to eight inch Whiting (See picture left). I was ecstatic, yes even for a little fish like that, but what I was about to catch next would put a smile on my face you couldn't wipe off. As the second wave of people came to the beach they slowly started pushing me away from where I was fishing. I decided walk down the beach to avoid the swimmers and surfs and it paid off. I cast in and was starting to wonder how a larger fish would feel if it hit, luckily I didn't have to wait long, I felt something tug on the line, it wasn't much of a fight, but it was a 15 inch Sand Shark (my largest thus far). It was only a baby, but for a redneck from West Virginia it was amazing to catch even a baby shark.

July 24, 2011

First Catch of the Day

Sunrise

After catching my first fish and shark while surf fishing, I was hooked (no pun intended). Cassie and I decided to get up and early and head to the beach for some early morning fishing. It paid for itself, just with the sunrise and calm of getting to sit on the beach with no one around you. I did manage to catch three Whiting and another Sand Shark, nothing very sizable, but it was fun to be catching fish in the ocean with some amount of regularity.

July 25, 2011

Another morning, another beautiful sunrise and another round of three whiting and a sand shark.

First Cast and First Catch all in one.

Another sand shark

My Largest Whiting to date, 13".

Woods & Water: A lunker bass … on trout PowerBait?

PowerBait, really!? After reading this article in Woods & Waters I believe I need to get that old jar of Orange PowerBait out my trout vest and stick it in my Bass Box. When I think about PowerBait I think back to when I was a child first learning to fish, not that it is taboo by today's standard, but it is looked at as an easy way of fishing. The majority of the time, this method doesn't allow the fish to be release easily or without damage as they normally swallow the hooks and possible damage their gils. I am not bashing PowerBait or saying not to use it.  Most people I know use it and yes I have some and used it occasionally, but mainly fly fishing, use of jigs or spinners, or even live bait are more my speed these days, but this might all be changing after the lunker that was landed during a bad day of trout fishing with a gob of PowerBait.

A lunker bass … on trout PowerBait?

July 3, 2011 by John McCoy

Experts would say Hilda Baker didn’t have the right gear to fish for bass. Maybe so, but no one can argue with her results.

Earlier this month, while staying at her family’s Pocahontas County camp, Baker went fishing for trout at Seneca State Forest and ended up landing one of the biggest largemouth bass ever caught in West Virginia.

Weighed on official scales more than 12 hours after it was caught, the lunker largemouth checked in at 9.55 pounds and measured 24 inches in length. Since dead fish tend to quickly lose body mass, it’s reasonable to believe the bass weighed close to 10 pounds when Baker caught it.

What’s most remarkable about the fish is that it came from a 4-acre public pond not known to yield many bass of any size, let alone a whopper.

Baker, who lives in West Hamlin, certainly wasn’t thinking about bass on June 7, when she and her husband loaded up their ultralight spinning rods and made the short drive from their Huntersville camp to Seneca State Forest. Hatchery crews had stocked Seneca Lake a couple of weeks before, and plenty of trout remained to be caught. To continue reading, click here...

Our Weekend in Photos - June 25 & 26, 2011

I know this weekend I was supposed to do a garden update again and an few more "Quick Takes" of some more goodies I got, but that got put on hold. Cassie was suppose to work this weekend and I was going to help her as well, but we found out early Saturday morning that she wasn't needed and shortly after that we had a house guest for the weekend. She stole the camera and snapped some pictures along the way.....

This weekend my best friend, A, came to visit us. She wanted to relax and do anything outdoors. After she spent hours helping us clean out our flower beds and shrubs, Justin decided to take us out of the house. He said it was for us, but personally, I think we just gave him an excuse to let him do some of his favorite things. While everyone was playing, I happily stole the camera and got some pictures.

We loaded up the my jeep full of firearms and ammo. What is more fun on a Saturday afternoon?

Justin gave us a short tutorial before we got to shoot each gun...

Of course when I shoot the gun gets stuck....

A was most excited to shoot the Glock...I wish I would have got her picture shooting it!

We finished up mid afternoon and headed back to the house to change clothes and get ready for our next adventure... I am not sure why we'd want to change, I think this look suits us both....

Myself & A

Justin so selflessly offered to take us fishing Saturday evening. So we took out all the firearms, loaded up our poles and waders and headed out ...

Justin & A

No one caught anything, Justin affectionately refered to our fishing trip as drowning worms, but we all had such a great night and really enjoyed our day. We finished up the night by grilling steaks & veggies and listening to the river. It was the perfect ending to a great day!

We woke up early this morning and made blueberry pancakes and got A packed up to head home. I hated to see her go, We had such a great visit and  I we was so happy she came!

To make me feel better Justin offered to take me fishing again today. So we reloaded the jeep and met Jay there to fish some more. Apparently, the fish aren't biting this weekend - but again we all had fun...

My favorite fisherman

The boys...

The Meadow....

 I hope everyone had as much fun as we did this weekend. Have a great week :)
- Cassie

Free Fishing Weekend!!

Who doesn't love FREE? This weekend, June 11 & 12, is the state's annual free fishing weekend for everyone ( resident and non-resident) in the state of West Virginia. This is an annual event that is held in conjunction with National Fishing and Boating Week and sponsored by Take Me Fishing. So what are you waiting on? Get out there and get fishing and don't forget to let someone tag along with you so they can learn about and start to love the art of fishing.

If you want more information including (fishing derbies for kids) on this weekend, click here.

GreenFish ~ Promoting a lifestyle of sustainable fishing - Writing Prompt

I had been contemplating if I should do the latest Outdoor Blogger Network writing prompt, they have partnered up with GreenFish, I decided to go a head and attempt it. I love to fish for anything from trout to bass, well actually that's about all I fish for around here. Throw in a few catfish, bluegill, and crappie and that's about all I'm going to catch in a year. The trout get stocked for close to five months, January through May, the bass have always been in the river behind my house, and the catfish, bluegill and crappie are in the farm ponds we fish in the summer. As you can see, sustainability hasn't always been the foremost thought in my mind when it comes to fishing.


As I sat back and thought about all the things that it means to have sustainable fishing and what it takes for a fisherman (or woman) to promote a sustainable style of fishing, all these ideas started flowing in. This list had everything from picking up litter along the shore to helping the biologist collect data on the last group of stocked trout. The shocking part as I started to write down some of these ideas, I started to realize I do a lot of these things.


1.) Litter - The simplest thing of picking up garbage, this helps immensely with stopping the pollution of our waters and helps keep everything healthy and able to thrive. One of the simplest things is making sure to take out the garbage you brought in, it is always overlooked by most people.


2.) Stocked Trout -  Another simple one, if you're not eating it, you're not keeping it (stocked trout). Now you may be wondering how I consider this helping, I know that I am taking fish out, but normally this is only done with the stocked trout that are put in the selected waters for this reason. Also there are a few other things that go along with this, we always make sure the trout is able to survive after being caught (if not, it looks like you're having trout for dinner), if it's a wall mounter, there's normally a pass given on the aforementioned rules, but I've yet to find any for my wall. Haha

A West Virginia Native Brookie

3.) Native Trout - This one ties back to number two. Native trout are off-limits, no it's not that we don't fish for them, it's that we want to keep fishing for them. We always try to find new native streams to fish so that we don't over fish or harm the streams.

4.) Bass, Catfish, Crappie, and Bluegills - All these are normally just caught and released since we fish mostly the same ponds and we always need to have that time to kick back, relax, and catch the next monster.

5.) Teaching - The biggest part of creating sustainable fishing and helping the hatcheries, at least in my eyes, is teaching everyone from the old timers to the next generation about conservation of our resources. And yes, I consider fish and the beautiful places these fish live as a resource.  I want to help people understand they don't need to bring home a stinger full of fish to make them feel good, going back and catching those fish again in two months is just ad fun.

These are a few of the main points I think it takes to have sustainable fishing, they may not be the most earth shattering or scientific, but I'll do whatever I can to make the water ways that I fish sustainable for years to come. Oh, and to define what I believe sustainable fishing; it is as simple as making sure, people know, understand, and appreciate fishing for many generations to come.

This blog entry is my submission for the GreenFish

 and Outdoor Blogger Network Writing Prompt Giveaway

You Don't Know Trout

Did you know a Brook Trout is actually a Char? I didn't. Earlier this month I was browsing through Trout Unlimited's website when I came across this quiz, You Don't Know TROUT! This quiz is what enlightened me to this fact. I suggest if you have a spare moment today, go take the quiz and see if there's anything on it that you didn't know. You will have to enter your e-mail / sign up for TU's Newsletter, but it's a good read and they don't flood your inbox, plus the quiz will enter you in to win a dream fishing trip for two at Forrester’s Bighorn River Resort in Montana, the 2010 Orvis Fly Fishing Lodge of the Year. The winner will also receive an Orvis fly fishing package that includes two personalized Orvis Access rods, one Mirage Large Arbor II reel, and one Orvis Safe Passage Sling Pack.

Here is an answer to one of the quiz questions: Although commonly referred to as “trout,” brook trout, bull trout and other members of the Salvelinus genus are actually char. The easiest way to tell a char from a trout is by observing the light spots on its dark skin. Trout, on the other hand, often feature black spots on light-colored skin.

Note the dark skin with the light spots.

As much as I'd have liked to have played this one off like I knew, I didn't. I'm slightly embarrassed that I didn't know this, but I'm glad I have learned this and am able to pass this information onto everyone else out there. 

**Note I am not a member and/or sponsor of Trout Unlimited**

Long Weekend and Late Birthday Presents

This weekend started in a firestorm of things to do. We had to run back to my house to get some things done and to get some things for this weekend. Then had to high-tail it back to Cassie's apartment in Morgantown, so that we could get some sleep before headed out to Parkersburg, WV, to spend sometime with her family and to have a late birthday dinner for me with her parents. With fishing season right around the corner and with me out growing my beginners fly tying kit and materials, I started searching for a local fly shop. Lucky as I could be, I found out that there was one in Parkersburg, and even more so that Cassie's father knew the manager at Angler's X Stream, an official Orvis dealer. Of course they had no problem showing me where the shop was, and of course I had to explore and pick up some new items. To my surprise, they knew I wanted to get a new fly tying vise, so they surprised me with one at the store as I was getting some new tools, materials, and hooks.

Some of the goodies I picked up this weekend.

Then today was topped off with a WVU basketball game (and a victory!!) this afternoon with Cassie, her brother, my dad, and uncle. I didn't get much done outdoors wise this weekend but I was able to pick up some new fly tying equipment, and had enough time to bust a few new flies this morning, man am I rusty. It looks like I need to practice a little more before the products come from Montana Fly Company to review, but hey it's all in good fun. Guess I'll just have to banish myself to my fly tying table for a few nights this week to knock off the rust. Haha. Even though it was a long weekend, it was an enjoyable one. Next weekend looks like it's going to be very low key. Hopefully, that means that I'll get some more interesting post of up for you guys and some more flies tied. I'm also hoping that the stuff comes for the product review so that Jay and I can get together so we can get that write up done for the Outdoor Blogger Network.

Don't forget you can find us on Facebook and Twitter!!

And it has begun...

Well it actually started back on the 3rd of January, but who's counting. No, it's not the start of my New Years diet, even though I need to start thinking about that, dang no beer and wings tonight I guess. Anyways back to the point of all this, with everything going on recently in regards to joining the OBN, officially getting accepted into their "Everything Outdoors" section, and participating in their newest writing prompt, I haven't had a lot to say about what's going on outside of this blog. So time to catch you up on everything now, actually, not much has happened it's been a boring work week, but I hope to have a new blog up in the next day or two about my scouting and shed hunting adventure last weekend with Jay. Now that all that house keeping issues are dealt with (I know Cassie and my mother are laughing at the thought of myself and house keeping being the same sentence), I can continue onto today's post.

It's a New Year, with a lot of great new beginnings to look forward to, and one thing that my fishing buddies and I know is that come the first Monday in January, the state of West Virginia starts stocking trout in selected areas. There has been more than a few random trips, taking off at 4:00AM to find a stream that we had not fished before and all we knew was that it had been stocked yesterday and we had all day to find it and how to fish it. Those are some great, albeit cold memories (yes, I may have slip in, while not wearing waders, on my first trip with those guys). This isn't a trip down memory lane though, this is actually a post to say how thankful and how well of a job the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources does about stocking the streams and rivers of WV.

Here is an excerpt from the WV DNR page on stocking about trout, but they also stock maybe other types of game fish, please follow the link I provided for more information on this:

"Stocking appropriate sport fish is an important part of West Virginia’s fisheries management program that is used to achieve a variety of goals. The traditional seasonal trout stocking of more than 150 waters has expanded to provide trout fishing opportunities throughout the year."

"West Virginia’s hatchery facilities play an important role in the state’s fisheries management efforts. The DNR operates seven hatcheries and two warmwater hatcheries for fish production. The newest hatchery at Apple Grove in Mason County represents a major improvement in warmwater fish production. In conjunction with the existing Palestine Hatchery, the DNR’s ability to provide sport fish and fish for restoration and management efforts is greatly enhanced." 

From my personal experience they normally stock come hell or high water, and trust me I was wading that high water the next morning. Haha. There has only been a few times they have missed stockings due to snow storms and they then extended the stock period as well as the quantities they stock per stream.

For anyone wanting to fish in West Virginia for trout or any other species of fish for that later, you need to check out the fishing section of the WVDNR website. If you are from West Virginia (and you're fishing for trout) here are some quick links to a few of my favorite features on their website:

• Buy a License - This is the most important and first step you need to take if you haven't yet. Here are the 2011 Fishing Regulations (will open into a PDF file).
• Trout Stocking Schedule - This gives you every stream, the country it's in, and the frequency in which they stock those streams. For those who would like the schedule for lakes and ponds click here.
• Trout Stocking Map - It's an interactive map, it can take a minute or two to comprehend everything, but a very nice tool and provides you with everything from the regulation types to the stocking frequency when it is in identify mode.
• Daily Stocking Report - It is updated every weekday at 4:00PM with the streams that were stock that day. There is a hotline that will give you the same information, the number is (304) -558-3399.