Gotta be on the River -- Harmons

Henry and I were looking at going to Gunpowder but after checking water levels we found that the better water might be on the South Branch of the North Fork of the Potomac at Harmons on in WV....boy were we right.    Originally we planned this trip as an out and back but with the long drive we decided to meet in the afternoon and get a late afternoon in day 1 and a full day on day on day 2.


Hen arrived, checked into cabin 8, got our passes and was already on fish when I was still miles away!   I arrived as the sun set in the deep gorge and was able to catch a trout from the riffle above the bridge before low light closed us out.

 Dinner in honor of past feasts was monster ribeyes seared in cast iron, baguette and salad washed down by beer and wine to settle our excited nerves.    Day two started with breakfast in Petersburg as the family restaurant Scott will remember .75 miles north on 220 along the river had closed down.

Henry and I were trying to pull off a local-look but I was betrayed by my work shoes from the previous day (damn...I was so close w my old Camo).  After breakfast the stream beckoned and 1.5" of fresh snow gave it a magical feel.

Hen started w his standard weighted-fly ESN set-up and began lighting them up immediately in the large pool above the upstream most cabins.   I started out w a 2x fly under an indicator rig but it was quickly apparent that Hen's approach was the winner for the day and I switched over, but not before Hen had landed 5-6 beauties.

A great day continued as we headed up the river to there uppermost hole and then back down.   As we approached our money hole we saw activity below us....turns out the Harmons was hosting PHW the next day and they were stocking 1100 lbs of trout!

Damn...some 11-13 inters but MANY breeders...wow, these fish were dazed upon entry to their new haunts and wouldn't bite but it was fun to see some huge trout.   The Hottest fly of the day turned out to be a size 14 tungsten weighted blow torch, but you had to be tight and attentive to your fly to discern the subtle takes in the 42 degree water.   Hen ended up staying another night and fished for a few hour before the PHW crew took over and caught more than any two men deserve😁. what a treat.

Thanks for having a look