West Virginia Bass....
peter odell
Spent the weekend in West Virginia at Timberline near Davis. Community lake there is a private community lake full of bass that seem to love topwater baits. Most are around a pound, but this guy grabbed the trailing foam ant (red) early in the morning. He was at least 5 lbs, maybe 6. Big fight out of my kayak with a 5wt. I caught around 25 bass total across 6 hours of fishing split over a couple of days.
Jason McMahon
peter odell
I think its called spruce lake - there is a small pond by the entry/guard station to the community, and then a large one about 300 yards inside - likely 10 acres, and best fished by kayak or canoe (no motor boats and catch and release restrictuions). I saw some big carp in the pond, but the lake is where I've caught all the bass. Its very lightly fished, and looks to be well maintained.
cpa...@gmail.com
I know this is an old post but i just have to say the fishing at spruce island is incredible, ive seen some 8 to ten pounders get caught. weedy tho so be careful
On Tuesday, May 27, 2014 6:25:27 AM UTC-4, peter odell wrote:
Spent the weekend in West Virginia at Timberline near Davis. Community lake there is a private community lake full of bass that seem to love topwater baits. Most are around a pound, but this guy grabbed the trailing foam ant (red) early in the morning. He was at least 5 lbs, maybe 6. Big fight out of my kayak with a 5wt. I caught around 25 bass total across 6 hours of fishing split over a couple of days.
VolFan
Scott Stankus
Oddly, we drove in last night, and I'm seeing this as I wake up this morning. We do this every year, cheap lodging and great fishing. There's even a few muskies in there.
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"There are 10 types of people in this world, those who know binary, and those who don't"
VolFan
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.