I’m planning a 3-day fishing trip on the Greenbrier River this April. Was wondering if anyone could advise on a section of the river with good fishing. I’m rigged for up to class III water, but my primary goal is good fishing and camping.
Thanks in advance for any tips
Kevin
All of it
– Last Updated: Feb-13-07 1:21 PM EST –
I've only fished the area around Hinton, which was a very pleasing trip, though not terribly productive to me for fishing. Others on the trip (those who paddled to the front and were hitting 'new' water) did pretty well using finesse presentations. I generally fish tubes, but on the Greenbrier grubs with low or no weight drifted through current seams see to work better. Pick your color based on the water conditions. Never fished it that early int he season.
Catch & Release, please. Or at a minimum if you choose to catch dinner, be sure and stay within the regs.
- Big D
edit to add p.s. - I'm jealous. That whole corner of West Virginia was surely made by God showing off what he can do it's so beautiful.
Thanks Big D
I almost always put’m back.
The Greenbrier rocks…
– Last Updated: Feb-14-07 6:19 PM EST –
Kevin, you'll be hard pressed to find any class three water on the GB. May be a couple of 18 inch drops and one awesome chute below Pence Springs on the way to the Talcot landing, but that's about it. Up above Alderson there's some good classII water, but nothing really serious. Like Big D said, take lots of tubes and Jerkbaits, maybe a few spinners and work the riffles hard. But don't forget to try those slow eddies and seams as well. Could be a few hawgs in there. Alderson all the way to Talcot is good water as well. A few areas hold muskies too (mostly the big pools) There are several takeouts along RT 12 between Alderson and Talcot as well. Check with the locals in Alderson, they'll be more than happy to help ya out. I don't know much about the section they call the "big Bend" but I would imagine it could be a good float. Only problem with it is that it's about 15 miles long from Talcot to Willowwood bridge! No other take outs to break it up. This may be a good float to break into 2 days by camping along the way if you can find a spot. Willowwood Bridge to the conflux with the New River at Bellpoint is good water. Good fishing and a couple of really nice technical class II runs in that section. Take yer skirt if you're in a sit-in yak....you're gonna need it. Make sure you have enough water level if you're doing the bridge to Bellpoint. The last mile to the takeout at Bellpoint can be really hard on your boat if you don't. It can get VERY shallow and it's full of flat 'tabletop' rock with deep fissures in them..about foot width..good place to sprain or even break an ankle if you end having to get out and walk.
And what Big D said...practice CPR...we'll be down there around Sept or so
Further Upstream
Kevin, DoahRiverRat has provided some good info. I have also floated/fished the sections he mentioned several times.
You didn’t mention whether you planned to base camp and float different sections or do a continuous three-day float and camp on the river. The sections that the Rat mentioned are mostly private property along the shore and you might have trouble finding camping spots. Also you didn’t mention if you will have two vehicles available for shuttles, etc.
Further upstream (north of I-64) there is about a 75 mile section that has the Greenbrier River bicycle trail running along it (old railroad bed). The trail has camping spots every 10 miles or so, most with access to drinking water and pit toilets. This makes it nice for multi-day floats as you won’t be camping on private land. Also, you can use a bicycle to help set up a shuttle if you desire. I have done this a few times, usually using the Watoga State Park (on the river) as a base camp and then using my van and bicycle to set up canoe floats. The fishing seemed as good as the areas downstream that have been mentioned, so you might also want to consider this area as an option for your trip. I might also suggest you use a GPS to mark the camps you want to use ahead of time as the sites are not easily seen from the river.
Here are a couple links to info/maps:
http://www.greenbrierrivertrail.com/
http://www.greenbrierrailtrailstatepark.com/
Hope you have a great time whatever you decide.
DE
SHoot…I plumb forgot
about the river trail DE!! GLad you brought that up. I know people who’ve done that (besides you) and have considered doing it myself.
Greenbrier, WVa
Thanks for help. I’ll have 2 vehicles for the shuttle and plan a continuous float. Looks like the parks along the bike trail might be a good place to leave the cars. Any thoughts?