HistoryNerd27 Posted May 9, 2016 Posted May 9, 2016 Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone around here has some knowledge about what's going on at Beaverdam Creek Reservoir. I know they re-opened in May last year and are supposed to close again sometime, but I heard that people were petitioning against it so Loudoun County was re-thinking what they're doing. Anyways, I have never fished there but my dad has before it was sold by the city. If they drained it recently I'm assuming the fish population isn't very strong, but again I don't know much more than what I've heard and the VDGIF website isn't super helpful. Just wondering if anyone had some info on it since its within an hours drive for me. Thanks! Quote
Turtle135 Posted May 9, 2016 Posted May 9, 2016 They did not completely drain the lake during the draw down. After they reopened the lake I saw some reports where adult sized bass were caught (20" plus). I used to fish there prior to the first shut down and while the fishing there could be tough I always seemed to get at least one big bass per trip. Looks like the lake will be open until at least spring of 2017 and they now require a fee to fish there (detailed in the web link). Loudoun Water has partnered with the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks) to manage recreational activities and public access until the spring/summer of 2017. At that time it will close to complete needed repairs to the infrastructure. After repairs are complete, expected to take approximately 1.5 to 2 years, the property will reopen for public access under the management responsibilities of NOVA Parks. https://www.novaparks.com/parks/beaverdam-reservoir/about 1 Quote
TyF Posted May 9, 2016 Posted May 9, 2016 I havnt fished it in a while but I did fish it once or twice after they drained it and can honestly say that the fishing was better than my previous trips. before the drain I would go out and catch 1-5 fish most being under 2 pounds and one lunker (5-6lbs). After they drained it they restocked it with many bass in the 2-4 pound range. my buddy and I went for a 5 hour trip and caught about 10 fish each all in the 2-4.5lb range. no lunkers this time but constant activity with decent fish. This was right after they restocked it and I haven't fished it since so I have no clue how the fishing has been in the past few months. Quote
Red Bear Posted May 9, 2016 Posted May 9, 2016 oh wow, i did not know all this was going on. sounds like theyre finally gonna make it more accessible to the public. hopefully they will open up some bank fishing areas and improve the parking there. the place is loaded with nice bass and crappie. theres even smallmouth in there. the banks used to be clean and easily accessible in the 80s when i fished there as a kid, you could even drive right up to bank fishing spots. i dont mind paying a fee to fish there so long as its easily accessible and not overgrown like it was last time i went there a couple years ago. place is a haven for ticks.... Quote
HistoryNerd27 Posted May 10, 2016 Author Posted May 10, 2016 Thanks for the information guys. Seems like a lot of places are requiring fees to fish anymore. I guess if the fishing is good though it would be worth it. I definitely will have to swing over there sometime and see what I can do. Too bad they only have shore access and no boat launch. Quote
Red Bear Posted May 10, 2016 Posted May 10, 2016 you can launch a boat as long as its by hand, and not backing a trailer down into the water. actually i believe the reservoir road side has an actual boat launch, but its not accessible for trailers or vehicles, as in its blocked off and you cant get a vehicle/trailer to it...also from my understanding, that side of the reservoir is closed and you can only access it from mt hope road at the moment... Quote
georgeyew Posted May 10, 2016 Posted May 10, 2016 Sounds like the fee is only for launching a small boat. If you are bank fishing it doesn't sound like you would need to pay. 1 Quote
shimmy Posted May 17, 2016 Posted May 17, 2016 Drives me nuts that such a small group of people can decide for the masses. Now, they may shut the fishing down, but don't be so surprised when they allow all the young high school kids to keep rowing there since apparently that does not cause any problems to public safety but fishing does. I loved that reservoir. Wished i still lived there to fish that place again. 1 Quote
Red Bear Posted May 17, 2016 Posted May 17, 2016 13 hours ago, shimmy said: Drives me nuts that such a small group of people can decide for the masses. Now, they may shut the fishing down, but don't be so surprised when they allow all the young high school kids to keep rowing there since apparently that does not cause any problems to public safety but fishing does. I loved that reservoir. Wished i still lived there to fish that place again. i believe theyre still going to allow fishing, you can fish now as well. any shut down is so they may repair the dam and such. apparently it will close for a couple years 2017-2018, but is supposed to be open again in 2019. im just hoping this leads to improvements for bank fishing and around the shorelines, maybe a few fishing docks, more parking, etc. Now that the reservoir is actually owned by loudoun and not just in loudoun it seems theyre willing to spend money to make improvements. we shall see the final results, but i dont think theyre going to suspend fishing altogether, just for a couple years, would suck if they didnt reopen it to fishing. i would hate to see it go the way of goose creek reservoir and the spillway there, aside from 9/11 security concerns the biggest problem there was mexicans swimming when swimming isnt allowed, and the partying. i have a friend who has personally saved someones life there, others have drowned... Quote
hoodedmonkey Posted June 10, 2016 Posted June 10, 2016 On Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at 2:56 PM, Red Bear said: ...i would hate to see it go the way of goose creek reservoir and the spillway there, aside from 9/11 security concerns the biggest problem there was mexicans swimming when swimming isnt allowed, and the partying. i have a friend who has personally saved someones life there, others have drowned... Is fishing not allowed there? I did a paddling trip through loudoun, and that place was beautiful! I've looked for info about it online, but can't really find anything. I'm assuming access is closed, but if you have solid info about it, I'd love to hear it. I didn't even know it was there until I came upon it (I didn't plan the trip, the person who did was aware we would have to portage for a bit.) Can't believe that people would swim there though, seems awful dangerous, the caution signs in the water were enough to freak me out! Quote
Red Bear Posted June 10, 2016 Posted June 10, 2016 2 hours ago, hoodedmonkey said: Is fishing not allowed there? I did a paddling trip through loudoun, and that place was beautiful! I've looked for info about it online, but can't really find anything. I'm assuming access is closed, but if you have solid info about it, I'd love to hear it. I didn't even know it was there until I came upon it (I didn't plan the trip, the person who did was aware we would have to portage for a bit.) Can't believe that people would swim there though, seems awful dangerous, the caution signs in the water were enough to freak me out! well, i know you cant access it anymore by turning in at the water treatment plant there. you used to could pull right in there and fish the reservoir or walk down below the spillway and fish goose creek itself. if you can paddle in there without accessing it via the water plant you can probably fish it, im not really sure on that though. People didnt respect the place and its no swimming rules, and it always seemed trashy, cant blame them for shutting it down for one reason or the other... and yeah it was dangerous to swim there. my moms husband says people used to also jump their four wheelers off the spillway and fly down into the creek back in the day...guess the water was low or something, not really sure how deep it was/is to begin with... 1 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.