Berkeley Springs, WV - Access/Local Intel?

[Patrick Kearns]

Hey all,

The weekend after next, I'll be at Cacapon State Park in Berkeley Springs, WV for an annual weekend of golf and fishing with my dad.  With the golf, I'm beyond help, but I was hoping y'all might have advice on the fishing.

We've fished both bodies of water in the park itself (the lake with the beach  and the reservoir further back into the park) with mixed results - mostly panfish and small bass.  We'll hit those up when we only have an hour or two at the end of the day, but on our one full day we're looking to strike out from the park for a change of scene.  Does anyone have advice on better shore fishing within 30-45 minutes drive?  

In the past, we've talked up folks at the park and local stores, but always either gotten lost trying to find the spots they told us about, or found them full of locals swimming and tubing.  Given the number of runs, creeks, ponds, etc. (in addition to the two big rivers) I get the impression that picking which spot of many to go fish out of our options may be more of the challenge.

From the WV DNR website, it looks like there should be good access & fishing where the Cacapon River meets the Potomac by Route 9, and there's also mention of a power plant further up the Cacapon.  Does anyone have any experience in these or other places nearby?  

Not asking for anybody's honey hole - just a place where there's some walkable shoreline and the possibility of slightly larger quarry.  Any intel is much appreciated.

[Danny Barrett]

Ive never fished the Pot there. But I have fished it in many places all across VA, DC, MD, and WV.  And it has always been productive with smallies in the middle section around MD, VA, and WV.  Lots of large mouth and salt species down by DC.  And trout as you get into Western Maryland.  It was a bit high and very muddy this weekend upstream about 35 miles from Berkley.  Most of my hits were on sub surface stuff, and very little top water.  Given the high temps of that river, id avoid power plants and places that would increase the temp of the river.   

Tight lines,

Danny

dannyt...@gmail.com

(540)-222-8064

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[Andrew LaVigne]

Just got back from that area yesterday. We stayed at a cabin a few miles upriver from Great Cacapon on WV-9. The subdivision was called Morgan Woods, and had private river frontage, but there was a pull-off public access just downstream with room for 1-2 cars, and a path down to the river. It wasn't marked all that well, but if you find the Morgan Woods entrance, you can backtrack to it. Be careful around there though - the private property signs are everywhere, and the owners were out in force to make sure people weren't walking through. 

There are other accesses closer to Great Cacapon that are marked with signs, and near the bridges. I think it is probably just worth exploring some to see what's public and what's not. 

The Cacapon in that area was wadeable in general, but had its challenges. Slick rocks and a slit layer on everything meant you really needed good wading shoes and take it slow. It was sort of like a combination of the ridges/reefs in the Shenandoah near Luray and the slow/silty areas in the lower Rapidan. 

Fishing was decent the first day - July 4 - standard stuff like clousers and rubber leg buggers got a few subsurface hits until the topwater game started, and then blue poppers were getting aggressive strikes. Had several small bass and sunfish, a few 12-14 inch bass landed, and one big fish that broke me off on a rock, after I couldn't turn it fast enough on a 5 weight. 

The 2nd day (Saturday), the river was flowing higher & cooler, and had some stain to it, I assume from the big rains on Thursday charging up the tributaries and springs. Fishing dropped off markedly, with only a few topwater hits in 4-5 hours of fishing. There were some areas on the back side of islands I wish I could have gotten to, and with lower flows, you might be able to make your way over.

For reference, here's the streamflow data from USGS for the river. Note the rise/spike on July 5

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wv/nwis/uv/?site_no=01611500&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060,62614

Watch for the streamflow to get back into the normal range - wading will be much better, and fishing with it. 

Good luck out there. Pretty countryside. 

[Patrick Kearns]

Thanks, y'all.  I'll let you know how we do!

[Chuq Yang]

I've fished that area a lot.  There are some good wading rivers.  I prefer the Cacapon at the place that is mentioned on the switchfisher page for middle cacapon.  There are some decent sized smallies there.  Mostly bluegill though.  It can get deep, so be sure to bring some streamers and split shot.  It's a little bit of a hike from Berkeley Springs, but in the same general area.  You'll have to take Rte. 9 for a while.  As Andrew mentioned above, there are a lot of public access points.  The Dam usually gets pretty packed with people on the weekends, and I didn't fish there the one time I drove it.  

As for the lakes at the park, it's mostly bass, but I did manage a nice brown stockie in the lower pond.  There isn't much room for a backcast on the lower lake, but more so on the upper.  I also don't believe you can wade either of them.  

Best of luck, hit me up if you want more information.  Make sure you stop by the Mountaineer for a drink when you're there.  They've got the best selection in town if you ask me.

Chuq

[Timothy Murphy]

I like the falls on the cacapon which is right after the parking area off of 9.  If you follow it pass the railroad bridge which is only a few hundred yards you are at the upper Potomac.    Both can be great for bass and catfish but the main river is deceptively deep.   The lake at the start park is usually productive with poppers.   There is also another mountain lake with camping closer to the VA line that is extremely productive. 

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[Patrick Kearns]

Murf - Might that other lake be Sleepy Creek Lake?  It's about 45 mins drive from the park and, according to the DNR site, produces monster largemouth on a pretty regular basis.  That's near the top of our list, but I'm uncertain about shore access.  I'm planning on giving the relevant DNR district a call, but it looks like the Tuscarora Trail runs most of the way along one side of it, which is promising.

Chuq - I'll probably drop you a line separately, but thanks for the tips on fishing holes and (almost as important!) watering holes.

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[Timothy Murphy]

It is sleepy creek.  I use to live down the street from it.  Access is sufficient just watch for snakes.

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