Let me just start with this picture and you get the idea. I mean... seriously - a 7 lb rainbow! Damn amazing I tell you.
I've been wanting to take my father-in-law Hans fly fishing for some time now and this past Monday and Tuesday we blocked our schedules and headed west (out I-66) then south (I-81),,, five hours later we found Blue Springs Creek. I had guided for Hans on a Project Healing Waters (he's an Air Force vet) trip to West Virginia last winter and we released the trout caught on that trip. Hans was looking for a few for the cooler on this trip, and though I haven't kept a trout in about 30 years, in the spirit of keeping good relations in the family, I agreed,,, and even had the pleasure of cleaning them!
Blue Springs Creek is a pay per fishery like many other prime trout waters in the state. It seems King George's landowner rights from the 1700s have turned many farmers into trout fishing entrepreneurs in the 21st Century. The country landscape of SW Virginia is magnificent and this little gem of a creek wove its way thru a little valley (they call them hollows out there) with the Blue Ridge mountains all around.
The water was low,,, as many trout waters in the state are experiencing similar conditions, but the water temp was refreshingly cold from the numerous natural springs in the area. The creek wove thru a scenic field and the trout holes were fairly easy to discover. Though the low water conditions made it fairly easy to find the fish, finding what they would eat took work - lots of it sifting thru multiple fly boxes.
After drifting all the usual suspects in the nymph category -- Prince, Copper John, Zebra Midge, Pheasant Tail, Black Stonefly, Hare's Ear -- it was clear they were not interested.
Out next came the streamer boxes, and after much trial and error, we struck on a combination of flies that produced the best results. Those flies were my hand-tied Kreelex streamer and Golden Retriever.
The fish caught were big, strong, feisty and hard chargers. For proof, there are several trout swimming in that creek today with flies in the corner of their mouths with broken 4X tippet.
Here are a few who didn't break off.
Not to be left out, there were a couple of Brookies in the mix, like this 15+ inch beauty.
We did have one double hook up during the trip.
 | A return trip to this little gem of a creek will be in the 2014 trip plans. | |||||||||||||||
| A successful day fly fishing |
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