Re: {Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: West Virginia Bass....

ya, this year hasn't been the best fishing wise, its true there isn't a big abundance of panfish, therefore the bass aren't really in the shallows hunting them often. I really don't know what happened but the bluegill pop. really went down. Dont get me wrong though, the lake still holds some monsters. Also if your looking for good fly fishing the Blackwater river is right on Timberline property far off the side, and there are pretty good fishing spots. mostly just little rock bass and creek chub, but have caught a brook trout and seen a few rainbows. amazing scenery and good fishing. what more could you want. 

On Saturday, August 9, 2014 8:42:10 PM UTC-4, VolFan wrote:

Well so it goes like this - we stayed Saturday to Saturday at the Bear's Lair in Old Timberline. Spruce Island Lake is the larger lake and is fully contained in Old Timberline and thus considered private (so you don't need a WV license).  Sand Run Lake is just to the east, still mostly within Old Timberline, but you need a license for it as it crosses into wildlife management area property. It's 185 miles  from my house in Alexandria, and takes less than three hours if you don't stop for lunch, views, or accidents.  We left there at 10 AM, stopped in Strasburg for some curly fries, and had the car unpacked at home by 1:30. I love the area in and around Davis and Thomas, WV, and the blackwater and Canaan Valley State parks, and I find it to be remarkably underused for how close it is to DC.

So the fishing - I fly-fished the last two years with good success, mainly with things like deer-hair mice, girdle bugs, foam diving minnows and sliders, your basic top water offerings on a 7 or 9 wt.  Last year we had a lot of rainy/cloudy/choppy days where the bite would go all day.  We had a couple 50+ fish days between 3 of us last year.  The water is pretty clear and you can see the bottom (and or the weeds covering the bottom) throughout most of the lake. The deepest water I found was right at 12 feet, a cut located right between the islands running towards the dam for about 50 yards.  The weeds for the most part follow the contours of the lake, so if you fish where the weeds appear to drop off, you'll be in the right place.  The dam end of both islands was pretty productive for us, as was the dam itself and the cut between the islands, but fish were pretty well scattered everywhere with any depth.

The fish - Almost all were in the 1  - 2 lb range with maybe two over the week that would've crossed 3 lbs.  I had a fish with a five pound head and a 2 pound body.  It was a little sad that most of the bigger fish were very skinny.  There's not a strong population of bluegill in the lake, at least not that I could see, and it would appear to me that the lake could use some forage based on the body condition if the fish. The lake is used for water to make snow for the ski slopes, so i wonder if that may affect the spawn of panfish.  It's also a short, cool growing season, so there's that. My best success was before the sun topped the horizon or on the graveyard shift while everyone else was sleeping.  It is truly beautiful up there with the mountains, the fog off the lake, the sunrise/sunsets, and all the wildlife. Definitely one of the most scenic small lakes I've fished and so very peaceful (when my four year old wasn't with me :-). ).

The confession - Forgive me fly guys, for I have sinned...I fished a lot of swimbaits this year. Big, nasty, 8 inch, quarter pound baits that look like your pet hamster or goldfish and sound like a cinder block hitting the water.  But they move big fish.  I can't tell you how many silly big fish I've had follow (or sometimes even caught) on the Potty.  But other than the previously-mentioned large-headed largemouth, I didn't see anything that made me believe there's 8 or 10 pound fish in there, or the rumored musky. I had a ridiculous amount of follows and takes from the 1 and 2 pound fish, but nothing to get trophy excited about.

The conclusion - This is a beautiful place where you can relax, enjoy the scenery, mountain bike, hike, swim, rock climb, whatever.  It's really a jewel and very reasonably priced.  The grocer in Davis has a great beer selection, including some local brews and some hard-to-find brews, and there's a few good places to eat and/or get coffee.  Canaan Valley State Park has two pools, rock climbing  horseback riding, a golf course, a tube run, and enough other stuff for families to do to burn a solid week.  It truly has become my favorite week of the year.

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