Clinch River Recreation Opportunities Subject of Community Workshop

Residents of Russell, Scott, Tazewell and Wise Counties are invited to participate in a community workshop that will help guide the strategies for outdoor recreation opportunities in the Clinch River Valley.  Workshop planners are hoping residents will share information, personal stories and old or new photos of the Clinch River that highlight recreation, community spirit, natural beauty or history.

The community workshop will be held Tuesday, October 4th from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Oxbow Center, 16620 E. Riverside Drive, St. Paul, Va. 24283. Dinner will be provided at 5:30 p.m. with the workshop running from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Reservations are requested by September 30th. Reservations can be made online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/PX9VZ25; via email at ksteika@vt.edu or by phone at 540.231.5644.

“The Clinch River Valley is an incredible place,” said workshop organizer Kim Steika. “This community workshop will help ensure it remains that way for generations to come.”

Claiborne Woodall, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, said, “The biodiversity of the Clinch River is of global significance. The Clinch River watershed supports more rare species of freshwater mussels and fish than any river system in North America. Promoting land conservation and recreational opportunities on the Clinch will help preserve that biodiversity and will enhance the quality of life for communities along the Clinch and throughout southwest Virginia.”

The Community Design Assistance Center at Virginia Tech and the Institute for Environmental Negotiation at U.Va. have partnered with a number of organizations (The Nature Conservancy, the Virginia Department of Forestry, Scott County, the Policy Consensus Initiative, the Andrus Family Fund and the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority) to host this important program.

Steika said, “The community workshop is in direct response to a suggestion offered during a focus group discussing the potential Clinch River Linear Park. We want to use this workshop to capture stories about the Clinch River; highlight outdoor recreation needs and opportunities, and raise awareness of the significance of the Clinch River. Only through the input of residents of Russell, Scott, Tazewell and Wise counties can this be accomplished.”

Additional information is available at http://www.clinchriverva.wordpress.com/

First Father and Son Wade Trip

Yesterday was a day I had been waiting on for a long time. At dinner my son as if we could go fishing this evening, but he didn’t want to go down to local public lake. I asked him if he was ready to for a wade trip with me to catch some smallies. This would be a huge step for him as he as some fear of the water and not the best swimmer around. So after a little coaching he was ready to give it a shot. We headed off to one of my favorite spots not far from the house, only to find it packed with cars. Lucky for us all of them where up the river swimming.

After getting set up and showing him how we were going to catch them the fish decided to make me look like I knew what I was doing in front of my son. On the first cast I have a smallie pecking on my jig. I got a good hook set in him and tell Jacob to take my pole while I try to get his unstuck. After a good fight he has his first SM of the trip…

Doesn’t take to long for him to settle in and start working his tube bait

The next cast out another peck is on the line. This time we pull a rock bass out of the same hole. With two fish in two cast I really hope we are on to something. We seemed to have hit the river at just the right time as the afternoon showers had put some good color to the water, which a couple days earlier had been gin clear. On the 4^th cast out there is another peck on the line and this time a little bigger smallie…

Now he is ready to catch on his tube bait…

As we get read y to finish up the day he want to change lures out and give a jerk bait a try. First cast he is in business…

It was a great day on the river. We ended up with 7 or 8 fish in less that 2 hours and I know there could have been more if I wasn’t untangling line or or getting lures unstuck, but I wouldn’t have traded any of those extra fish for the smile on his face and the “I had a great time today, Dad” at the end.

Stickapalooza on the Clinch

I decided to hit the water early this morning and try to beat the heat and still have the afternoon to spend with the family. It was a great sight walk down the river bank and see fish jumping every where as soon as the sun a came up. Since the big bass have been few and far between this Summer it was time to break out the UL and have some fun with the little fellas.

My flash didn’t make a dent in the darkness…



This year I have set it as a goal to learn a few new tricks. I’ve been a jig and tube fisherman since I can remember and at times I can get stuck in my way, so this morning was going to be all stick baits. I had made a run the weekend before to BPS and also traded a few with a buddy at work to give me a good sample to test out. On this day I had a bag of Yum Dingers, Yamamoto Senko, and BPS brand knock offs. It did not take to land my first smallie on a stick bait as this one took off running with it just at sun up

I ended up the day with 6 smallies and had 2 early catch and release fish. I must say the fish seemed to be a huge fan of the Yamamoto as every fish I caught was on it, but man are they soft and either wear out fast or get thrown when you land one. It was a great morning on the Clinch and great to get some confidence in a bait I’ve never used before.