West Virginia, cool mountain air and bass

FISHING AMERICA

As always when my wife Billie Jo and I planned our road-trip to West Virginia I wanted something different and I found it in Fayetteville. Larry Nibert AKA Redneck and his hired fishing guide Dusty Keenan who also serves our country in the Army National Guard introduced us to the New River. Larry is an excellent tour guide and shared history of the local area as he drove us through the steep hills around Fayetteville.

Billie Jo was all for the touring around in a vehicle and hearing history but as always I could not talk her into going fishing. I may have found the very best guide service in West Virginia but one thing I did not find in this state was a flat spot.

When Larry dropped Dusty and me off at a ramp south of the New River Bridge he said, “I’ll see you two in a little while.” From there we shoved off and then I went drift fishing for the first time from a raft that was powered by Dusty using two oars and the current of the New River.

Our target was a single species, that being Small-mouth Bass. He showed me the technique which was easy to catch on to and we started drifting downriver catching many of the them. We tried a few different lures and went back to a brown and pink rubber worm on which I caught most of them. I enjoyed the basic approach with no fish finders or fancy gadgets. The most technologically advanced thing we had were the reels on the rods.

Dusty had everything required and more that makes a guide complete. This US soldier that cooks for the 30th Armored Combat Brigade has amazing rafting skills and needed them for this type fishing in this type water. He allowed the current to take us downriver and then maneuvered the big raft made of thick rubber in behind gigantic rocks to still and calm places he picked to fish in this river that runs south to north. Every time I hung a hook and broke a line in the rocky bottom Dusty had another one rigged and ready to go. I have river fished before but this was so different and so cool. Cool in more ways than one breathing that cold mountain air off the water while taking in the beauty of the New River Gorge. In the calm places behind the boulders the sound of the water rustling over the rocks where the grade fell was ever present at all stops while I fished and visited with my new friend in the New River.

About half our distance traveled downriver I caught one of the fish right directly under the awesome New River Bridge that is the third tallest in the United States at 876 feet and is also the longest arch bridge in the world. After catching a few more Small-mouth and about 4 or 5 hours from the time we shoved off, Redneck picked us up at another ramp north of the bridge. On the way back to his place he told us that we just happened to be in town only two days before the big day.

Larry explained how each year people would come from all over the country to bungee jump from the bridge on the only day set aside for it. Then he asked if we would like to try our hand at it on this day that the bridge is closed for it. I told him if I ever bungee jumped it would probably be the first time in history that a man who was already dead went bungee jumping (Weekend with Bernie-Bernie goes Bungee Jumping). I want to get back in this river someday but not from the bridge.

For those of you interested in all this the name of Larry’s guide company is The West Virginia Experience. Thanks Larry, we loved the experience and several other Texans back home loved the fish I fried for them. This easy-going Redneck’s guide business is online at www.wvexperience.com and offers more than just fishing.

Rafting the rapids, camping on the river, hunting and more are offered by his company in this beautiful setting where they made us feel at home. I told him I would like to come back to Walleye fish with them someday. While there we also visited The New River Bridge Museum at the north end of the bridge on highway 19.

The day before fishing with Redneck and Dusty, Billie Jo and I rode an old logging train that had been converted to a tourist train with enclosed cars. It took us high in the hills stopping at a waterfall for a half hour. We made some new friends and had lunch on this train while taking in the beautiful WV scenery. The train is one of several owned by Durbin and Green Valley Railroad that offers tourists various tracks and durations. We took the four hour New Tygart Flyer from Elkins and loved it.

They are online at www.mountainrailwv.com. The day after fishing the New River we visited the Exhibition Coal Mine at Beckley. Along with a tour of the museum, camps, and church, was my favorite part, the tour underground in the former coal mine on a coal car train.

We loved everything about our West Virginia road trip and the people of West Virginia especially Larry Nibert and Dusty Keenan. What a wonderful first visit to West Virginia and another awesome experience in Fishing America.