Last month I gave a pretty dismal fishing report. I usually switch to other topics during the summer, but I need to recant much of what I said earlier. About the time the June addition of the Chimney Rock Chronical was sent off for printing, I had my best trout fishing of the year.
The last stocking of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources was on Thursday May 2nd. That weekend we got heavy rain and the river flooded which made trout fishing difficult if not impossible. For me that was a good thing.
I didn’t get to fish right away. Based on earlier fishing excursions, what was the hurry? Turkey season was in and I wanted to take a few rides through the mountains and check out the new and improved powerline road (can you believe there are mile markers!?). That and I’m putting siding on our detached garage/outbuilding and needed to get started.
Finally, the Friday of Memorial Day weekend I had a free morning to fish my favorite stretch of the North Fork. I walked in, put half a nightcrawler on my #6 hook and immediately hooked a small brook trout. A few minutes later, along a rock ledge, I caught a nice tiger trout. Working my way downstream, I hooked two more trout but they both got off. All this occurred above a deeper hole of water where they normally stock, so I thought there may be more fish to catch. Sure enough, even though I didn’t get an immediate bite I could see several trout rising to feed on the surface. After a lot of casts, I finally managed to pester another tiger trout to bite.
By then my back was getting tired and I was down to my last half a nightcrawler. I’m only good for an hour or two until my back and shoulders wear out. I decided to walk back to where I parked and fish until my last nightcrawler was gone. I waded out into the stream and made a couple of casts with no results. Up the river a little farther I made another cast and felt a bump. A nice rainbow put up quite a fight until it wore out and could be released. A good day… time to go home, but with a lot of trout still scattered throughout that stretch of river, I knew I had to come back.
It was more than a week later until I had an uninterrupted morning to return. This time I started fishing further upstream and caught a nice tiger trout on my first throw. Not a bad way to start the day. The trout were pretty much fished out from where they were the week before, but I was able to catch two more tiger trout in the riffles further downstream.
Below those riffles is a big deep hole that has easy access by the stocking truck. I don’t normally spend much time there because it’s usually fished pretty heavily. I threw a worm out into the head of the hole and not surprisingly didn’t get a bite. Moving on, I walked the bank and found an open spot where I could cast and get to the river’s edge. What the hey…I’ll give it another try. The bait hit the water and I felt a bump. I gave a jerk and missed one. Hum, let’s try that again. This time I hesitated a second before I set the hook and reeled in another nice tiger trout. In the process I could see several more trout swirling in the deeper water. They were interested but educated enough not to bite. After a while I was able to aggravate another tiger trout to take the bait. It was time to head down stream toward the Trailblazer. I thought sure I would catch a few more but it was not to be. Should have stayed longer back at the deep hole.
I have concluded that early spring fishing, at least for me, isn’t that great. Less fish are stocked, and the holes are fished out very quickly. Later on, in late April and early May, the fishing gets better. There are fewer fisherman and more trout. However, watch the weather, if the river floods right after a stocking the fish scatter and the fishing gets much better. My best fishing was a month after the last stocking.
Hold over trout that have been in the water awhile tend to bite better, put up a good fight, and the orange fillets are quite tasty. I might have to keep a couple and fry them up one day.
R.D. Cullers
Graduate of Bergton Elementary (Class of ’65)
