Happy Birthday OBN!!!

Hmm.. It's Tuesday. I'm sure everyone is wondering where Trail Cam Tuesday is, well I am postponing it until tomorrow. Why you might ask, well today October 18, is the Outdoor Blogger Network one year anniversary. Little did I know last November when I stumbled onto this directory what it would hold for me. It took me until January of this year to submit my blog. Little did I know this would opening my up to making some great new friends, getting the opportunity to review some great gear and more importantly to be able to have my blog delivered to people that truly want to read it. To the Outdoor Blogger Network, I thank you for everything that you (Rebecca and Joe) have done for myself and the outdoor blogging community as a whole. So there's only one thing left to do...

Happy Birthday!!! 

And here's to many more!!!

Gear Review: Montana Fly Company

I am conducting this review much later than I had intended to be, but the first time I got out on the water this year was a little over a week ago and that was with a spin reel mainly. I did manage to get to play around everything enough though to get a review done on everything.

Back in mid January, the OBN announced the winners of a Gear Review Opportunity for Montana Fly Company. I entered this gear review in hopes of building up some of my fly tying materials and tools since it was barely a year at the time since I purchased my first fly rod and reel, as well as my first vise and fly tying materials. To my surprise I received the opportunity to review some great products, and you better believe I was ecstatic. First thing I did upon receiving my package in mid-February was to rip it open like a little kid on Christmas morning any good fly fisherman, to inspected the goodies I had received.

Mountain Fly Company loaded me up with some great products to test out. I received three new spools of MFC Thread (White, Chartreuse, and Dark Gray), River Camo Ceramic Bobbin, River Camo 4" Forceps/Scissor, River Camo Hair Stacker, and a River Camo Aluminum Fly Box. Once I have everything opened up and laid out for this first inspection, the first thing I noticed was the sturdiness of their craftsmanship. This is something that is very important to me, if I am going to get something, I want something that is going to be able stand up to a little wear and tear, and I will admit I am not the most gentle person at times. After saying that, I want a product that is built to last.

  A general look over of everything: the Scissor forceps seemed to be extremely strong and looked to have many uses, the ceramic bobbin looked to be a  upgrade from the kit bobbin I had been using, and the fly box seemed to be solid with a tight closing lid. That was my only initial concern about any of this products was the fact that the fly box didn't have a tab or latch to close, but you can chalk that one up to personal preference.

After my initial excitement and fiddling around with everything it was time to start testing everything. Considering I was still looking out at about a foot of snow at the time, I knew I wasn't going to be fishing much in the next few weeks so I settled in for a little fly tying. As I still consider myself a novice fly tier, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into with this review, but much like everything else I dove in head first.

The first thing I tried was the new thread and River Camo Ceramic Bobbin. I wasn't sure how much of an upgrade this could be, I was sadly mistake. As soon as loaded the bobbin with thread and made the first wrap or two around that hook, I could tell this was a huge upgrade. It actually felt like a different kind of tool, as the thread easy fed through the bobbin with limited resistance and allowed me to spend more time concentrating on what the fly I was trying in comparison to making sure the thread wasn't going to get stuck or hung up in the bobbin. I not only recommend that anyone getting into fly tying upgrades to a ceramic bobbin immediately, but I am looking to pick up a few more of them myself.

Then not until last weekend was I am to make it out an trying out some of new new fly fishing gear, I thought that if the bobbin, thread and hair stacker were make with such quality that I wouldn't have anything to worry about with the River Camo Aluminum Fly Box and River Camo 4" Forceps/Scissor. The main thing I was worried about was the fly box, I loved the feel and seeming durability of the box, but as I had stated before I was just worried about it not having an external latch to keep it from opening. But after having it in my pocket, pack, and even had it "accidently" fall out to see if it would open, and it didn't have a problem once. The internal latching systems seems to work well enough I won't have to worry about it again, this was my only worry about this box. Other than that it has a beautiful brown trout covering over a rugged aluminum box.

The River Camo 4" Forceps/Scissor were actually what impressed me the most during this review, as they has the most used for various aspects of fishing. They obviously work well in removing hooks, but they incorporated scissor is was I found most useful. Instead of having to having to dig for clippers I was able to trim my tippet/line with the forceps that are easily attached to the outside of my pack. They even did well in purring a small branch while trying to retrieve my fly from an ill advise cast. Now a pause for some laughter, as I even had to laugh at myself for this one. This pair of forceps are far and above my new go to forceps in replacing my old medical grade forceps, as they provided me with many more uses.

I would highly recommend all these products to any fly fisherman from novice to expert. They have met and greatly exceeded the expectation that I had set forth for them.

Disclaimer:
All reviews conducted on Foggy Mountain Meanderings are my honest thoughts, feelings and opinions on said product(s), I received the MFC Thread (White, Chartreuse, and Dark Gray), River Camo Ceramic Bobbin, River Camo 4" Forceps/Scissor, River Camo Hair Stacker and a River Camo Aluminum Fly Box free of charge, thanks to the product review giveaway from the OBN and Montana Fly Company, and agreed to provide a review in exchange for these products. Foggy Mountain Meanderings is not sponsored by or associated with Montana Fly Company and is accepting no other compensation, monetary or otherwise, in exchange for this review. 

Featured Outdoor Bloggers - Week of 3/7

Little to my surprise, I was on my way home from work this evening when I got a tweet from Joe, at SoCalSalty, saying congratulations. You can imagine my confusion when I got this, of course this happened on a stretch of road that has horrible service, so I waited till I got home to find out that I was listed as one of the three Featured Blogger of the Week on the Outdoor Blogger Network.

Thank you OBN for this honor!!

Playing Outdoor Favorites - Outdoor Blogger Network: Photo Prompt

It sure has been busy the last few days; everything from work,  buying a new toy and the WV Hunting, Fishing, and Outdoors Show. As you can see I have some stuff to write about, it's just a matter of finding the time to write. However, for tonight's post I am using the prompt; The OBN's last photo prompt is "Playing Outdoor Favorites." The task is to choose your favorite outdoor gear, everything from your old trusty deer rifle to that hand me down fly reel from your grandfather or is it that brand new spinning rod and reel you got last year?

There are too many things I use to pick a favorite per se; I hunt, fish, camp, hike, garden, forage, can... I do way to much outdoors to pick just one favorite thing. I took this on as more what are the items you can always find within an arms reach of me almost anytime I am outdoors, that one wasn't to hard to do.

My "Favorites"

I know some of these items a few of you are going to give a little guff for, as I take some from my friends also, but let me explain a little and they'll start to make more sense.

• My Camo WVU Hat - I normally have this thing on 24/7 outside of work and the dinner table you'll normally find me wearing it. Not to hard to explain or understand this one, everyone need a good hat. The only except to this one is during Deer Season it sitting in the Jeep while I'm in stand, due to the fact there is no way this hat would be scent free.
• My Pocket Knife - This is my "multi purpose tool," yes some time I carry an actual Leatherman or a fixed blade knife on my belt depending on my activity, but there isn't a day that goes by that this isn't in my pocket. Currently, for the last few years I've been carrying the Gerber Obsidian, it has been a great knife.
• My Camera - This one is for obvious reasons, I take a lot of pictures, and have even started taking more since I started this blog. It's an inexpensive Canon PowerShot series, that might actually be getting upgrade soon, but we'll have to wait and see on this one.
• My Phone - This one gets on some people's nerves, I understand that. But it is first and foremost, a necessity as far as having it for safety! Secondly, I use it for checking the weather, the hunting and fishing times ( Time2Fish & Time2Hunt), a back up camera and maps/GPS. There are a lot of different things that it can be used for that can help us in the outdoors. 

There's a little glimpse into what my "favorite" things to carry on me outdoors are, they might not be for everyone, but they work for me and always help me along on my outdoor adventures.

Random Ramblings: III

Well this isn't want I had planned on posting this weekend. I had this wonderful idea of taking everyone with me along on my  trip to get a new toy (ok, it's not a toy and you may already have a clue what it is), and then testing it out. This would be all well and good, except that fact that I didn't get even as far as leaving my house this weekend. I was hit with my own personal version of the plague, I will spare you the details, but it reminded me of those college mornings you swore you weren't drinking again, only I didn't drink the night before.

• If you hadn't gathered it yet, I have a few post planned here in the near future with my new purchase, well once I get the time to go get it now since I wasn't able to this weekend. If you haven't guessed it yet, I'll give you a clue, go look at what I did last weekend and the question I asked.

• I haven't forgot about the product reviews I had promised everyone either, they're still in the works. I have actually played with part of the stuff and am working on a write up for it. Just like most of you know, real life takes over sometimes. 

• New weekend is the 2011 WV Hunting, Fishing, & Outdoor Sports Show, that I wrote about back in January. Everyone knows where I will be next weekend for sure.

Image Credit:
Noise on the Line

• John over at Noise on the Line, a blog for Fish Creek Spinners, is doing a great monthly give-aways on some spinners. If you are interested in entering here is the link, don't be shy.

• Don't forget you can always find us on Facebook at our Fan Page or on Twitter at @FoggyMtnMeander. The twitter account is lock, but request to follow and I'll be sure to accept it soon there after.

• And lastly with this post, either late tonight or sometime tomorrow morning, Foggy Mountain Meanderings should hit 5,000 page views. This is insane for me to think about that it has only been two months since I submitted my blog to the Outdoor Blogger Network, and I have already reached this milestone. Thank you all who visit and participate with this blog.

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

OBN Rendezvous - Who do you wanna meet? - Writing Prompt

When this writing prompt got released on Tuesday, I was tweeting back and forth with Rebecca, one of the Co-Founders of the OBN, and I told her how much I liked this topic and how my list might get a bit extensive. Well with some careful thought I think I've got it so I won't exceed the cap on mentions. We'll have to see how this goes..

I'm still relatively the new kid on the block, it seems that most of you have known each other for some time now, I don't  know why it seems like that because all of you have been very welcoming and helpful. Not to mention I feel like the little brother, as I am only 24, and everyone else seems to be old, like at least in their 30's. Haha. After a few conversations with Cassie, it looks like there might be a possibility both of us will be able to make it out to Denver to the OBN Rendezvous, we'll both just have to see about work, and the fact that it's looking like Denver might fall during our Florida Beach trip. As much as she loves the beach, Cassie said she wouldn't mind delaying the trip if need be, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything will work out.

Once we got out there, it'll be getting towards the end of July, and my mind will already be changing gears towards bow hunting and deer season. Sorry gurus of fly fishing (Mike at Troutrageous! and Owl Jones at Fly Fishing the Southern Blue Ridge), although I need to talk to you about my roll cast and my improper use of streamers, I think I'll have to have a sit down with you two later on in the day, no hard feelings. With whitetails and bow & arrows fresh on my mind, I'm sure I'll be trying to find the table with Al (The SoCal Bow Hunter), Lisa (Hunt Like You're Hungry), Kari (I Don't Wear Pink Camo to the Woods), Tommy (Following Ghost) Ben (Ben G. Outdoors), Brian (heyBJK), and Bill (Fall Road Archer). That table is bound to have some good, interesting conversations, as well as a few well placed personalities!

But of course, we can't spend the whole time talking about our hunting seasons coming up, because what fun would that be, actually.. Nevermind, must move onto fishing.. Now that I'm back towards the fishing side of things I'd need to go find the Fly Fishing Gurus (Mike & Owl) to get help with that roll cast and streamer problem I am having. I'd also want to find that crazy pier fisherman Josh (Something's Fishy) (That is if we don't meet up for a fishing trip before then), The Functioning Fishaholic himself, Ivan (Yukon Goes Fishing), and Glynn (A Reel Lady).

I know I am missing more than a few here, but this was a quick list off the top of my head. I hope everyone can attend the OBN Rendezvous this summer and I can get a chance to at least start putting some faces (and voices) with a blogs. Plus it should be a fun time for all!!

Random Ramblings

Today's post is a hodge-podge of thoughts, happenings, and things that just quite didn't make it to be a full post or even thought in my head for that matter. Instead of inserting a bunch of filler right here and making you read more nonsense that what is about to happen, I'm just going to cut to the chase. I'm going to do this in a bulleted list, it seems to me the most clean cut way to break up these ideas. You can run now if you want to remain safe, I won't blame you. Haha.. 

• First and foremost, I promise I will finish with the Deer Jerky recipe tonight, it seems like I've been promising this for a week now (oh wait I have been), but there were a few things that took longer this week so, it should be up tomorrow.

• Sometime today, Jay said he'd be kind enough to run and retrieve my trail camera that we had set up close to my tree stand still. I'm hoping for one the bears didn't get to it again, but with all the snow I'm guessing they didn't. Two, I'm anxious to see what kind of pictures there are on there, maybe one of a buck with a half rack or even half of it just hanging on or maybe we'll start getting some early turkey sign considering we're going turkey hunting on this property for the first time this spring. Either way you guys are going to be seeing some trail cam pictures here in the near future.

• Anyone else sick of the snow, I don't mind it, but when there's no sun and it just snows, that's what I get tired of it. So guess what The Weather Channel is calling for tonight more snow!! Another 3"-5" tonight with more tomorrow. I'm thankful Jay's getting that Trail Cam down now before I can't get to it again.

• As you all know I've been part of the Outdoor Blogger Network (OBN) for a few weeks now and have been reading it for months. They recently had a post on Facebook and increasing you traffic on your blog and how to create a Facebook page for your blog, I had been contemplating this idea for a while and with the gentle nudge of this post I decided to finally break down and do it. It's still in the infancy stages and most of the likes are friends and family, but I'm working on trying to understand everything more with it, so bare with me. If you would like to visit the Foggy Mountain Meanderings Facebook page you can find the Facebook Box in the column on this right side of this page or click here. If you really like it and are a member of Facebook you can go ahead "Like" it!!

• One more social networking tid-bit as well, I'm sure you saw the Twitter feed under the Facebook box, if you are interested in an live updates on my adventures, random thoughts and ideas, or my commentary on WVU sports, you can follow me @foggymtnmeander. Not to mention there are a lot, I mean A LOT, of other great outdoor bloggers to follow on twitter also. Just to give you a few to follow: Tommy from "Following Ghost", Kari  from "I Don't Wear Pink Camo to the Woods", and Dennis from "Adventures... with Dad". There are a few to get you started, sorry if I left you out. I'm planning on doing a whole post on Twitter related stuff and the random characters on there. If I didn't get you this time, be warned I'll be sure to get on the next one. Haha. 

Thank you everyone for hanging in there on the first post of this nature, I'm not sure if I like yet or not. It'd be great to hear everyones opinions and thoughts.

What a way to start the week!!

Normally starting the work week is sluggish and mundane, nothing really changed that one until I checked out the OBN on my lunch break. Monday is normally the day they do the featured bloggers of the week and announce the winners of the product reviews from the week previous. This past weeks was from Montana Fly Company (MFC), now fly fishing and fly tying is still something I am a novice at and actually made a goal this year to improve these skills, so I thought I had a slim chance to review one of the three package, but if I did it would only aid me in my learning. So come to my surprise I actually won, that's right I get to review some of the great products from MFC. As ecstatic as I was that I got chosen, I had to call and tell Jay about this, because he has been messing around with fly fishing longer than I have and was actually one of the reasons I got involved in it in the past year or so. It looks like now we're going to have what we refer to as a fly tying party. Really it's just us sitting around having a few ice cold refreshments and tying flies on a random night, talking about what and when we're going to go fishing next. Now you're going to get two people to review this, we're still not sure what we're going to be tying up yet, guess that also  get determined on what kind of thread we're sent. I know the basics and Jay knows a few more advanced ones than I do, so who knows where we'll end up, but I do know Rebecca over at OBN has put in an order, so I'll be sure to get on that one first. Anyone else need anything? Haha. I would like to say thanks again to the Outdoor Blogger Network and Montana Fly Company for this opportunity, and keep your eyes peeled for my review here in the near future!!

Right there I am under Package two.

The weekend that wasn't..

..anything but relaxing, well for the most part that's true. After a week away from my house due to snow and deciding to stay the week with my girlfriend, it was time to head back there and relax. So that's exactly what I did; I'm kind of ashamed to admit I didn't even make it into the woods or river this weekend, but with the amount of snow and the warmth of my house, I didn't think it was the best idea to brave it. Haha. Even without having any great outdoors news for you there are still a few updates, well if you want to call them that.

This weekend did allow me to get started on the project of reclaiming my house from the last  few months (Deer Season) of dirty clothes and dust, well I should rephrase this, it allowed Cassie to start on this and me to help her. But I guess if she going to start moving her stuff in soon it means I need to start getting rid of the 329084352394 t-shirts I have along with those pants that I haven't fit into since high school. Either way this was a good project for this weekend, for one I got a start on another part of my 2011 Goals List, and two it really just needed it. Of course we are no where near the end of this, but the hardest part is always just starting. Plus, I am finding hunting and fishing stuff that I had forgot I bought or couldn't remember where I put it strategically placed to find at a later date, so it was like Christmas morning all over again. On a  serious side, tomorrow after work I will have three to four bags of t-shirts and clothes to drop-off at Goodwill. This is at least a good start for now.

Another great thing about a lazy weekend is getting to lay around and watch football and basketball, WVU played a great game and beat a #8 ranked Purdue team today, but really that wasn't were I was going with this. It was suppose to talk about how I spent half my weekend trying to find all my fly tying stuff after entering the newest Gear Review Opportunity at OBN, if you haven't checked that place out you should. After scouring my newly cleaned house I realized I knew where the equipment was (still on my desk), it was the materials I was lacking, so this means a trip to Cabelas here in the new future. Really, this just gives me more time to review some new flies I'd like to try and make on Troutrageous! and OMG It's Fly Tying!, just to mention a few.

The weekend wouldn't have been complete without some of the amazing brownies Cassie made (Thanks!!) or the Deer Jerky I made, yes that's right folks, I can cook (when I really, really need to that is). But you guessed it, I'll be posting the recipe and the step my step process of how I make my Sweet'n'Spicy Deer Jerky, so there's one post to look forward to this week. And with Jay making a quick trip back home from work in FL, I'm hoping we're going to be able to start hitting up the streams soon as well. But here's to everyone having a great week ahead!!

Are 4 Places to Many to Call My Favorite? - Photo Prompt

For the first writing/photo prompt and even some of the ones before I joined the OBN, I instantaneously had an idea and have the blog wrote before I take my first breath. With this one, it has actually took me a while to think this one through, or if I was even going to try this one. Not to mention the fact that, at my house there is close or over two feet of snow, so therefore I am staying at my girlfriend apartment in Morgantown, WV where I work, so that has taken a slight toll on my blogging, not her fault, just my excuse to be lazy. But the best way I could think to do is do favorite spot for certain seasons, you will have to bare with me because I don't have my picture archives with me.

Gandy Creek, Randolph County, WV

In the late winter and early spring they stock trout in West Virginia,  so therefore this means lot of adventures, but one of my favorite places to go is a grouping of streams: Gandy, Laurel Fork, and Glady Fork in Randolph County, WV. Normally, these are all day trips which always makes for great stories and memories, so I'm not sure if it's the place or the experience, but it is also a beautiful place.

Cheat River along Rt. 72

As the spring start getting warmer and the trees start to bloom, the waters we fish start to expand. There is a private organization that stocks Cheat River along Rt. 72 between Rowlesburg and Kingwood. I might love it for the fact I grew up fishing this stretch or that fact that it is less than a five minute drive from my front door.

Just a normal day at the Beach

Of course summer is a time to relax and I'm kind of torn on this one, because we have a small three acre parcel of river front campground that I spent many of my childhood summers explore and learning about the great outdoor there, but who doesn't love a good beach trip. With my parents recently purchasing a new beach house at Ormond Beach, FL, this only make this a much cheaper and easier escape. Because there will be many, many post involving "The Meadow" (our river front property) this spring and summer, I'm going to post a picture of the beach for this one.

My view of a sunset in the middle of Bow Season

Of course the fall should be a no-brainer here, it's of course my tree stand, and Bell Hill, the 93 acre hunting grounds that my grandfather has owned for years. There's a thousand and one reasons I could post why I love this place, but this picture I'm sure can explain a few of them.

Of all my favorite places though, most of them tend to revolve around one place, my town. There is normally a family hike once every fall to the top of Cannon Hill to see the town and foliage at its best, but it's also just a great excuse to just to spend sometime with my family. It may be funny or a little to predictable, but there is to much to love about the place I grew up and now live to not have it be one, if not, my only favorite place.

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.

Where is Foggy Mountain? - Writing Prompt

Since I recently joined the OBN, they post writing prompts every week or so. Since the current writing prompt is something I've contemplated blogging about before, where did my blog name come from, I figured I should make a good showing and do this one.

Some of the stories I've already read are far more entertaining or have more meaning behind them than mine, but here it goes anyways.

Original copy of the picture that my banner was made from.

I've spent all most (I forgot those college years, but don't we all) of my life growing up in a small river valley in West Virginia. Naturally this leads to a great deal of my mornings being consumed with fog, it is something you become accustom to. Not until others, not from this area, come in and comment, do you realize that it is always foggy here. Proof of this is the picture I used for my banner, it is a trail cam picture of a normal foggy morning that randomly tripped the sensor. That explains the foggy part of Foggy Mountain Meanderings.

Now on the the Mountain part. It's pretty plan and simple. I'm from "The Mountain State", everything I do involves them, some times are more fun that others when they're involved, like dragging a deer from the bottom to top, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Nothing to exciting about that part, but now you have the explanation of the mountain part.

Lastly is Meanderings, this one I'll have to admit, I had to ask my parents and friends if it sounded OK before I "officially" deemed my blog this, but there is actual thought behind this one I promise, no more obvious ones. Haha. This one is more of me trying to explain how I wanted my readers to feel while reading this blog, just like I did as I sent most of my youth. I was either meandering through the woods with my grandfather, splashing up and down the river banks with my parents, or spending the night huddled around the campfire with my friends and family. It was just a hope that I could translate half of the meaning and love for the outdoors, that was given to me, on to anyone meandering through my blog. Nothing to special, pretty simple now that I look back at it, but hey it's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Well, it's only 4 days into the new year..

.. and I'm already checking an item off of my Goal List for 2011. No, I haven't managed to already catch four types of trout, with all of them being WV Citation size as well. I finally got up the nerve to submit my blog to the Outdoor Blogger Network. Now it's just a waiting game till I see if it gets accepted, if you guys from the OBN are reading this sorry about the mess up in URLs, but from what I've read about you two from your site, you're a pretty smart duo, so I'm sure you were able to figure everything out, Thanks again. Haha. But anyways it now looks like I've take my blog public and will start introducing my friends and family to this site, god help them. Haha, but I am hoping by doing this it will also hold me more accountable for posting on a regular schedule. For anyone reading this that has a love for the outdoors as well, and hasn't poked around the OBN website, you need to, NOW! It's a great site, with a lot of wonderful blogs and active bloggers.