New Pipestem park program brings anglers on horseback to well-stocked Bluestone River
You don't need to travel to the Rockies or spend a small fortune to take part in a fishing trip that involves a scenic trail ride into a remote canyon to cast for citation-size trout with a professional guide, followed by a night in a cozy lodge.
PIPESTEM, W.Va. - You don't need to travel to the Rockies or spend a small fortune to take part in a fishing trip that involves a scenic trail ride into a remote canyon to cast for citation-size trout with a professional guide, followed by a night in a cozy lodge.
Pipestem Resort State Park's new Trout Wrangler package, offered in November and April, brings groups of no more than 10 anglers at a time into Bluestone Gorge, where a mile-long stretch of the Bluestone River has been stocked with large trout.
The horseback-powered trips give early-season and late-season anglers access to the lightly fished trout waters when the park's aerial tramway to Mountain Creek Lodge is closed for the season. From November through April, this section of the Bluestone can be reached only by a long hike or mountain bike ride.
"Mountain Creek Lodge basically sits isolated for six months a year," said Steve Bolar, Pipestem's superintendent. "We think this will be a good way to use it for an extra two months, when the weather's usually still good for trout fishing."
The $319 package makes use of horses, gear and guides from Pipestem's stable, which operates year-round. Lewisburg fishing guides Charlie and Paul Hughes of Top Water Guide Service accompany the trips to provide flycasting instruction and trout stalking advice. A steak or rib dinner, two lunches, breakfast and snacks are included, along with lodging in Mountain Creek Lodge, which fronts the mile-long stretch of the Bluestone's trout waters.
The idea of stocking larger trout in Pipestem's stretch of the Bluestone to stimulate shoulder-season business at Pipestem was a collaborative effort involving personnel from the State Parks system and West Virginia University.
WVU researchers, interested in creating new markets for West Virginia fish producers while stimulating the state's tourism industry, received a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to launch the Pipestem project.
"We want to find out whether a resort like Pipestem can attract enough guests to justify spending money to stock fish supplied by West Virginia aquaculture," said Kenneth Semmens, an extension specialist in aquaculture at WVU.
"We're looking at a different, little more upscale market segment here at Pipestem," said Chad Pierskalla, program coordinator for the Recreation, Parks and Tourism section of WVU's Division of Forestry and Natural Resources.
Rainbow trout bought from private producers in Mercer and Monroe counties were stocked in the mile-long stretch of the Bluestone within Pipestem's boundaries last spring and fall, and will be stocked again in spring and possibly fall of 2009. Most of the rainbows were in the one- to two-pound range, but some tipped the scales at five pounds or more.
Radio transmitters were attached to some of the trout to allow WVU personnel to determine if the fish would remain in the targeted stretch of the Bluestone, which extends about one mile upstream from Mountain Creek Lodge.
"Wildlife biologists tracking the fish have found that they have stayed in this section of the river, even during periods of high water," Pierskalla said.
Since the Bluestone trout-stocking project began, Division of Natural Resources and State Parks officials have sought voluntary compliance with catch-and-release practices. Eventually, mandatory catch-and-release regulations might be sought. Guests taking part in the Trout Wrangler packages will be urged to practice catch and release, and fly-fishing will be emphasized.
PIPESTEM, W.Va. - You don't need to travel to the Rockies or spend a small fortune to take part in a fishing trip that involves a scenic trail ride into a remote canyon to cast for citation-size trout with a professional guide, followed by a night in a cozy lodge.
Pipestem Resort State Park's new Trout Wrangler package, offered in November and April, brings groups of no more than 10 anglers at a time into Bluestone Gorge, where a mile-long stretch of the Bluestone River has been stocked with large trout.
The horseback-powered trips give early-season and late-season anglers access to the lightly fished trout waters when the park's aerial tramway to Mountain Creek Lodge is closed for the season. From November through April, this section of the Bluestone can be reached only by a long hike or mountain bike ride.
"Mountain Creek Lodge basically sits isolated for six months a year," said Steve Bolar, Pipestem's superintendent. "We think this will be a good way to use it for an extra two months, when the weather's usually still good for trout fishing."
The $319 package makes use of horses, gear and guides from Pipestem's stable, which operates year-round. Lewisburg fishing guides Charlie and Paul Hughes of Top Water Guide Service accompany the trips to provide flycasting instruction and trout stalking advice. A steak or rib dinner, two lunches, breakfast and snacks are included, along with lodging in Mountain Creek Lodge, which fronts the mile-long stretch of the Bluestone's trout waters.
The idea of stocking larger trout in Pipestem's stretch of the Bluestone to stimulate shoulder-season business at Pipestem was a collaborative effort involving personnel from the State Parks system and West Virginia University.
WVU researchers, interested in creating new markets for West Virginia fish producers while stimulating the state's tourism industry, received a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to launch the Pipestem project.
"We want to find out whether a resort like Pipestem can attract enough guests to justify spending money to stock fish supplied by West Virginia aquaculture," said Kenneth Semmens, an extension specialist in aquaculture at WVU.
"We're looking at a different, little more upscale market segment here at Pipestem," said Chad Pierskalla, program coordinator for the Recreation, Parks and Tourism section of WVU's Division of Forestry and Natural Resources.
Rainbow trout bought from private producers in Mercer and Monroe counties were stocked in the mile-long stretch of the Bluestone within Pipestem's boundaries last spring and fall, and will be stocked again in spring and possibly fall of 2009. Most of the rainbows were in the one- to two-pound range, but some tipped the scales at five pounds or more.
Radio transmitters were attached to some of the trout to allow WVU personnel to determine if the fish would remain in the targeted stretch of the Bluestone, which extends about one mile upstream from Mountain Creek Lodge.
"Wildlife biologists tracking the fish have found that they have stayed in this section of the river, even during periods of high water," Pierskalla said.
Since the Bluestone trout-stocking project began, Division of Natural Resources and State Parks officials have sought voluntary compliance with catch-and-release practices. Eventually, mandatory catch-and-release regulations might be sought. Guests taking part in the Trout Wrangler packages will be urged to practice catch and release, and fly-fishing will be emphasized.
"We want to limit the size of each group to no more than 10 to preserve the remote, wilderness fishing experience," said Bolar. "We want the minimum-size group to be six, to make the trips economically feasible. I think the package will be especially appealing to small corporate groups, church men's groups and family groups."
During a debut Trout Wrangler tour last Friday that included the cast and crew of the Sportsman Channel's "Fly Rod Chronicles" angling show, the Bluestone rainbow trout proved to be a hit.
Following a two-hour ride down Pipestem's River Trail and a grilled kielbasa lunch, Shelley Fleming, wife of "Fly Rod Chronicles" host Curtis Fleming, cast a nymph toward a brush overhang across the stream and hooked up the day's first catch.
"She hadn't fly-fished since taking the Kanawha Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited's fly-fishing school at Beverly two summers ago," said Bridgeport native Curtis Fleming. "So the first fish she catches is a six-pound rainbow."
Everyone in the group landed trout during the two-day shakedown tour, designed to prepare outfitters, guides and the resort staff for next April's official launch of the package.
Fleming said WVU grad student Sarah Brown raised the biggest trout of the tour, and battled the rainbow for 20 minutes before it broke the line.
"We're guessing that it was in the eight- or nine-pound range," Fleming said. "To catch fish like that in West Virginia, after two years of drought, is amazing."
Fleming said he recorded enough material for two 30-minute shows during his Pipestem visit.
"We shot in 15 states this summer, and we're getting ready to go overseas, but if you asked me right now where I would most like to take my daughter to spend a couple of days fly-fishing, I'd say Pipestem. Those are world-class fish down there, and the package is an incredible bargain. I'm anxious to let the people in West Virginia see what they have in their own backyard."
The "Fly Rod Chronicles" Pipestem shows are expected to air in January or February. The program also can be viewed on its Website, www.flyrodchronicles.tv.
For more information on the Trout Wrangler package, call Ed Wooton, Pipestem's outdoor specialist, at (304)466-1800, send email to edwoo...@wvdnr.gov, or visit Pipestem's Web site at www.pipestemresort.com.
Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelham...@wvgazette.com">rsteelham...@wvgazette.com or 348-5169.
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