Bassclave 2009

July 3, 2009 by Joel.

Another Bassclave has come and gone. What a great time! Left Chapel Hill at ~6:45PM on Thursday June 25. Arrived at the Greenbrier River Campground (on WV63, about half-way between Roncerverte and Alderson) about 11:15PM. Drew Nix was waiting up for me, but most of the encampment had turned in for the evening, as most folks had floated on Thursday…

Woke up early, and got my gear ready to go. A big group of us (7) decided to float from Second Creek to the campground, about 7 river miles. We got the campground staff to drive us to Second Creek (took about 30 minutes to wind around the mountains and get to the put-in). I put on a chartreuse popper and started working the banks. I started catching fish pretty quickly. It was a good day, catching at least 30 bass. They weren’t big, with the best one about 13″, but satisfying. Also caught probably twice that many red-eyes and a handful of bream. It was nice to finish at the campground, just pick up the boat and walk 50 yards to the camp! Enjoyed the company of my fellow fishers. I’d met most before, but had not met Jerry or Hector. Great to renew old friendships and make new ones.

On Saturday, we planned to float from the campground about 4 miles downstream. Dale and Henry drove their vehicles to the take out, with Hector bringing them back. We slipped into the water and enjoyed what’s probably the most scenic part of the river, with many nice rapids and great river views. I tried the poppers again, but they weren’t working for me (though Jim had a great day with poppers…go figure!). I switched to a crayfish and started catching fish regularly. Again landed about 30 bass and about that many red-eyes. More small fish, but several 11-12″ bass, especially toward the end of the float. Shuttled back to camp and we all fixed dinner for a pot-luck. Good stories around the “circle” as we enjoyed near-perfect weather.

Sunday, I went with Steve to fish for trout at Second Creek. There’s a C&R section just a few miles up from the Greenbrier. I fished about 2 hours before heading home. I had a good morning, landing a 15″ rainbow and two 12″ rainbows. Caught all on a soft hackle nymph. I’ll come back to Second Creek again! I’d forgotten how much fun a nice rainbow was on the 3wt.

All in all, a wonderful trip. Pictures are available here.

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