Question for NewRiver....

[Cup]

Hey NewRiver, have you ever fished the Greenbrier River? I'm headed down there in May for the second time. Last year we caught alot of smallies but only a couple in the 16"-18" range. We had to delay our trip last year til the end of July due to some hard rains in May. I was told that July was not the best time to hit the Greenbrier.  Do you have any suggestions or advice for the Greenbrier? I mainly used Rebel Crawdads and mistertwister grubs.

[sunrise]

I've had some decent luck this week on the lower half of the Greenbrier this week.  Caught 4 in the 18" range, been using tubes and jerk baits.

I have fished all of the Greenbrier river canoeing from Marlington to Willowood Golf course approximately 6 miles above Hinton.

May and early June is the best for float fishing cause she can get really low and you could have some epic long spells of shallow water on  certain sections (Anthony bridge to Caldwell).

Power grubs chartreuse with green tails work really good and sometimes topwater will work all day I like the Heddon torpedo's in a orange color.

Need any info I would be more than glade to help if i can.

[Pitchinkid]

If you get a chance, try floating the New in May. From the Bluestone dam down to the take out before Brooks falls is some awesome fishing. Flukes, senkos and tubes are fantastic at this time. 4 gates open on the dam is ideal for this time of year. but anything from 1.5 up to 6 gates can be safely navigated. Anything over is one hell of a ride. Greenbrier is fun. A ton of fish, but have  caught better quality on the New. Awesome baitshop up on the Greenbrier in Talcot. Its called Lowells Market i think. His back room looks like somebody threw a grenade in Bass Pro. Pretty well priced too.

[Cup]

Thanks for the replies, I can use all the help you guys can give. We are planning to float from Ronceverte to Alderson split up into two days. This depends on how the water levels are at the time. We are thinking we might have to start out a little farther than Ronceverte, because water levels will surely be higher and swifter than July. As for the New River, we drove down to Bluestone Dam and Sandstone Falls on our way home. The fishing at both places looked like it would be awesome, but we weren't sure our pontoon boats would be strong enough. I think they are class 2 or 3 rated. Like I said if anyone has any suggestions please feel free to post them, I'm still really new at this .

[sunrise]

If you are doing a overnight trip I recommend putting in at the Caldwell public access and camping below the mouth of Second Creek on the right side at the top end of a big hole of water above the RR trestle.  On the other side of the river from this camping site is Windy Mouth cave thought I'd tell you bought the cave in case ya might won't to do some spelunking.

Not sure if the land is posted but I don't think it is.

[Cup]

We already have campsites reserved at a campround on the river. Last year we considered just putting in and floating most of the day and just setting up camp where ever we were, but we weren't sure  about how landowners would feel about people camping. So we found this campground that split our two float trips in half and it worked great, although the second day trip; Ronceverte to the campground was a little short. Thats why we might look to put in a little farther up. Is the cave you were mentioning below Ronceverte or above? I know some of the guys going might be interested.

[sunrise]

The cave is below Ronceverte.  It is approximately 60' above the river at the top end of the long deep pool of water with the RR trestle at the bottom.  about 1 mile above Fort Springs.

Starting at Caldwell will add 6 miles to the trip.  Are you staying at Greenbrier Camp Grounds I believe is the name.

Talcot to Willowwood bridge is a good float around 11 miles and it is a short shuttle trip about 3 or 4 miles.

[Cup]

Yep, thats the campground we are staying at. We like it there because we can start our float on one day and the next we can take out there. Its really convenient, not as much shuttling.

[Pitchinkid]

Thanks for the replies, I can use all the help you guys can give. We are planning to float from Ronceverte to Alderson split up into two days. This depends on how the water levels are at the time. We are thinking we might have to start out a little farther than Ronceverte, because water levels will surely be higher and swifter than July. As for the New River, we drove down to Bluestone Dam and Sandstone Falls on our way home. The fishing at both places looked like it would be awesome, but we weren't sure our pontoon boats would be strong enough. I think they are class 2 or 3 rated. Like I said if anyone has any suggestions please feel free to post them, I'm still really new at this .

My personal pontoon is from the CreekCompany. I think its class 2 or 3 qualified. Boat has no problem at all navigating from Bluestone dam to take out before Brooks falls.  Brooks is about a mile or so before Sandstone. Just be sure to take out before Brooks. The take out is on the left  about 1/2 mile or less before the falls. I think you cant actually go over on the far left, but i havent build up enough courage yet to try it. Anywhere near the right is about a 10-15 foot drop so STAY LEFT. I think im going to go this weekend but havent made a decision yet. But like i said your pontoon shouldnt have no trouble at all.

[retiredbosn]

The trip from Caldwell is a great float, after you pass the first trussle in the small set of ripples pay attention to the back side of the islands, there are several islands that are visible and many more that are not.  Most people stay to the left of the islands (heading down river) go in behind them and work them over with a 1/2 ounce jig and craw trailer.  I typically catch at least one three pounder off of the islands per float.  Some friend had a phenomenal day last year and caught four over four pounds all off of the islands.  Also if the jig and trailer are not working try a four inch finesse robo worm on a drop shot (green) the jig and trailer can either be black blue or watermelon green with a green/chartreuse trailer.  The float between Caldwell and Ronceverte has been improving with the slot limit placed on that stretch of river.   When you get close to Ronceverte, north of the plant and water plant there are several submerged islands on the right side of the river and they will normally always produce the biggest bass of the day.  From Ronceverte to Alderson there are several places there that are phenomenal, but I don't float that way often enough to give any advice.    The reason I didn't suggest grubs is due to the fact that on the stretch from Caldwell to Ronceverte the fish are heavily pressured and as a result you hardly catch a decent bass off of a grub.  1/4 ounce Rattl Traps work good, jerk baits, inline spinners 1/4 ounce or bigger, spinner baits, etc.  FWIW the main forage for these fish are creek chubs and crayfish, especially as the fish start getting some size on them.  Good luck and have a great float.

[sunrise]

It's been at least 9, ten years since i've done the Caldwell to Ronceverte trip and I believe my initial post that it would add 6 miles to the trip is incorrect.  More like 2 miles not sure though but the fish and game booklet says 6 miles but I don't believe that is correct.

retiredbosn question for ya, those islands are they man made, they just don't seem natural to me.

[retiredbosn]

those islands are completely man made, they are from the days when they floated logs down from Cass to the saw mill in Ronceverte.

[Cup]

Does anyone know the best place to put in to fish these islands?

[retiredbosn]

Cup,

Depends on how you want to fish, you can put in at the pump house in Ronceverte and use your trolling motor to go upstream, there are actually submerged islands right in front of the pump house.  The pump house is not an official put in spot, but isn't hard to find, but you will have to carry your boat over the bank to put in.  Or you can put in at the Caldwell bridge and start floating down, hit the few holes on the way down and start getting into the islands about half way down, and take out in Ronceverte.  The first few islands on the way down are all visible so you will not miss them.  

[Cup]

Is it possible to float from caldwell to the Greenbrier Campground in one day, or float from Caldweel to Ft.Springs. I think we put in last year at a small park used by the campgound, I think it was in Ft.Springs. Where we put in there was quite a large calm pool. Our float from what I think was Ft.Springs was a little short, we were able to take out at the campgounds and take about an 1 hour break and then paddle back up and fish about 2 more hours. I hope you can understand what I wrote because I know its confusing me because I dont know the area very well..lol.

[retiredbosn]

You could float that in a long, long day.  It takes me about 12 hours to float from Ronceverte to Ft Springs, then I stop a fish every likely area for a while.  It can take me 8 or so hours to float from Caldwell to Ronceverte, but if you put in and just float and don't stop you should make it to Ft. Springs in 12.  If it were me I would put in at Caldwell float to Ronceverte, take my time, pull out in Ronceverte, then drive the 8 miles to the campground.  I think the fishing is much better between Caldwell to Ronceverte than from Ronceverte to Ft. Springs.  If you decide to float from Caldwell to Ft. Springs start early, spend a little time around the islands, and then float down to where Spring Creek dumps into the river (can't miss it between Ronc and Ft Springs) spend a little time there, and then float to the camp, should be able to do it in about 12 or so hours. It is 14.5 miles from Caldwell to Ft. Springs, 8.5 from Ronceverte.  Good luck, if you need help ferrying between put in and take out let me know, be glad to help, can't do any float trips anymore so I wouldn't want to tag along, but if you need a ride from put in to take out or whatever just drop me a pm.

[sunrise]

Roncervette to your camp site should take maybe 6 to 8 hours if you don't beat around the bush.   Alderson to Talcott is a good float but it would take longer.

[Cup]

Can anyone give me an update on how the Greenbrier is doing since all the big rains this week? We are planning on hitting the River next week and we are hoping that we won't have to reschedule agian this year.

[retiredbosn]

High muddy and fast right now at Caldwell, I'll be by the river probably every day this week will update conditions for ya later this week

[New River]

Someone looking for me???  

Hey... let's go smallie fishing!  

[New River]

NOTE:

Always looking for guys to fish with on the New River... mainly in VA, but will do NC and WV trips too.

I have a nice two-man cataraft with an empty seat at times.

The best fishing day for me is a Tuesday when the crowds are at work, but I can do weekend trip's sometimes too.

If anyone wants a FREE float trip on the New River... send me a message.

Will you catch fish?  I've never been skunked on the mighty New River.

Good fishing

[retiredbosn]

Cup,

I hate to tell you but I would say your float is in serious danger of being cancelled.  The river is higher today than yesterday, the ramp at Caldwell is underwater, and we have rain in the forecast everyday until Sunday.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news.  Also you can use google earth to check the river conditions.

[Cup]

Thanks for the updates. I really appreciate it. I hate to say it, but I think your right about cancalling the trip. If you forsee any changes please let me know. Thanks again.

[retiredbosn]

Was in Ronceverte today, if you are familiar with the ramp there beside the ampitheatre, then you will have an idea how high the water is.  The stage of the ampitheatre is underwater, in fact the water is above the first row of seats, that means that the ramp in Ronceverte is under about 4 feet of water.

[Cup]

Sorry to say, but we have decided to postpone our trip. Looks like due to scheduling conflicts we will not be able to make it down till August. Thanks for all the updates.