For most of the trout anglers in the state, their season ends with the last stocking for the Memorial Day holiday. The casual angler believes that once the stocking stops, the trout are gone. This is far from the truth and the serious trout fisherman will find some excellent fishing in June, especially the fly fisherman.

But for many of our anglers, June kicks in the bass fishing season.

It was mid-June when we loaded the raft at Class VI and prepared for a day on the water. While we would be floating through what is known as the Whiter Water section of the New River, ours was a fishing excursion more than a whitewater rafting experience. I have made the trip with several of the competent outfitters on the river but this day it was a repeat trip with Class VI.

Over the years I have experienced some great smallmouth bass fishing on the South Branch of the Potomac, the Cacapon and the Greenbrier, but day in and day out I feel that the best smallmouth bass fishing in the state will be found on the New River.

Largemouth bassThere are several reasons why this fishery continues to improve. Contributing to the great fishing here has to be the quality and quantity of the water. There is a lot of good water and a lot of habitat to hide the fish. Another contributing factor to great fishing in the whitewater section is that you normally get one shot at a fish. As the raft drifts along you plug each great looking little pocket. What usually happens is that a nice fish will shoot up from the depths and smack your lure. If you miss the strike you will have moved too far to hit the same pocket again. If you hook the fish you will fight it through that particular rapid and be on down the river by the time the fish is netted.

The raft was loaded with fishing gear, safety equipment and streamside lunch ingredients. The rowing platform with the guide was located in the middle with Rick fishing from the front of the raft and me in the rear. We hadn’t gone 100 yards when I tossed the watermelon colored jig into a quiet pocket behind a large boulder. The jig sank about a foot when I saw the bass shoot up from its hiding place and suck in the bait. Instinctively I struck and the fight was on. The guide was holding the raft in the current and maneuvering it into calmer water near the shore.

The bass shot out into the middle of the fast water, jumped and bored deeper into the green water. All could do was hold on! In a few seconds I had it turned toward the slower water and working toward the raft. Rick had the net and in a few more seconds he scooped up the thick, 16-inch smallmouth bass. Hooked only in the side of the mouth, it was an easy release. This was the start of another great day and before we took out below the New River Bridge later that afternoon we boated and released more than 80 nice bass.

Smallmouth bassWe enjoyed the magnificent scenery of the area, the exhilaration of the white water float and, above all, some of the best smallmouth bass fishing in the east.

As stated earlier, I have had good days over the years on the South Branch, the Greenbrier, the Cacapon and even the Tygart Rivers. Point is, in West Virginia we have some of the best bass fishing to be found in the Eastern United States. The great thing about many of these rivers is that while you can float fish them you can also get out and wade. Wading in a river is as much a part of bass fishing for me as wading in a trout stream. It just seems wading puts you directly into the fish’s habitat. And nothing is more enjoyable than the cool water on a hot June afternoon.

If you prefer to float, the DNR puts out a nice publication that outlines different float trips on various streams. It will give you the area to put in and take out as well as distance of the float.

So far we have talked only of smallmouth bass and river fishing. But just as enjoyable is the great lake fishing for largemouth bass found in the impoundments of West Virginia. If you use I-79 as a starting place you can find excellent fishing opportunities starting in the north at Cheat Lake. Then you can work your way south to Stonewall Jackson, Burnsville and Sutton. Of these lakes, Stonewall Jackson is probably the one most famous for numbers of big fish. The catch and release regulations for bass at Stonewall have allowed the bass to grow into the 10 pound class.

So whether your choice is to wade, float or a combination of both, June should provide some exciting and rewarding days on the water.

Story by Frank Jezioro, WVDNR Director. Go online at www.wvdnr.gov.
 

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