Troutfisher

What a wonderous day!

Congratulations!

What a monster smallie! I am certain that's a true fish photo, especially after seeing the other photos and the coloration difference given by Fish Chris.

Beggars can't be choosers...or fix Italian food ;D

Ouch...hope everything goes well for you.

I'll be your fishing partner Muddy ;D

Congratulations!

Thanks! Hope you do well fishing Stonewall. I've only been there once, and although I didn't get to do much in the way of fishing, I will compliment on the nice lodge they built.

Sounds like someone's all packed....

VERY nice job!

Thanks, I appreciate it.

Thanks for the comments, guys. Yep, I went out again this evening with some light gear and hit up some more of those sunnies and 'gills. The bass weren't doing much, but I did catch a few more panfish. I plan on going out tomorrow, when it's supposed to be 75 degs.

Nice to meet you.

I once caught a car mat while fishing for trout in a lake. ;D

Welcome guys!

Two words: Doug Hannon!

Thanks! Yeah, I really like the backwater area. Not only does it hold several fish, but there is virtually no fishing pressure. The only people who fish there is me and my friend, and occasionally a few other guys.

I headed out to the backwater of a dredged lake below my house today. The weather has been fairly warm, and today was one of the warmest this year, in the upper 60s. It is supposed to be 60s again tomorrow as well as 70s on Tuesday. I hooked up with a dink bass and about 9 bluegill and sunfish. The dink bass. A small bluegill. A good sized sunfish. Some 'gills me and my friend caught. Overall, it was a good trip. A man across on the other side hooked up with a good 2 lb bass on a small 3 inch senko. Hopefully I'll have some more fish come tomorrow or Tuesday. Thanks for looking!

I'm there under "kiddbrothers"

I didn't know you were a West Virginia fisherman, welcome abord! I'm a WV fisherman myself. We should talk via PM about some honey holes in the mountain state.

Thanks for the advice, guys. I do plan on contacting some press members about the issue, and possibly trying to raise some money as well. I have e-mailed the DNR about it, and I am going to email the State Senators as well like you said. I will keep everyone posted.

I just sent an email to the DNR, and it said the following. "To Whom It May Concern, My name is Aaron Kidd. I am a 15 year old resident of Hurricane, WV. I am an avid outdoorsman, I love fishing, camping, hunting, and other outdoor activities. I currently fish the backwater of Lake Wasington, located in Hurricane. As you may or may not recall, Lake Washington was once a thriving lake which boasted a great warmwater fishery, as well as outstanding scenery. About 7-8 years ago, a 5 foot section of the dam collapsed, causing the lake levels to drastically drop. The city of Hurricane was faced with a decision to repair the dam, or to not fix it and let it dry up. They did the latter, and now, what was once a beautiful lake is now just a small backwater area. I have been studying this matter, and I am interested in trying to restore this lake back to what it once was. I was going to get your opinion on this. Would it cost a lot of money to restore? I know that the area where the lake once was is now dried up and there are small trees and brush growing on it, so of course that would need to be dug out, but would the dam also needed repairing? I assume it would. Lastly, would the DNR be willing to offer some money/help to help restore this area? Thanks for your input, Aaron Kidd" I also left some contact information as well.

Thanks for the helpful input, guys. I think my first step is going to be contacting the DNR via e-mail and going from there.

Hey guys, A long while ago, there was a good sized lake down below my house, in the city of Hurricane. This lake was about 7 acres, and a boasted a great warmwater fishery with a dam at the back, scenic wooded area all around, and a playground for children off to the side. One night, after a heavy rain, a 5 ft section of the dam collapsed and broke off, causing the lake level to fall drastically. The officials of the city of Hurricane were faced with a decision: pay the money to fix the dam, or do nothing and forget about it. Unfortunately, the officials of Hurricane decided to let the lake go, and eventually, the main part of the lake filled in. That was about 8 years ago. Although I still fish the backwater areas of this lake, I would love to see the lake restored. Therefore, I was wondering, how do I go about proposing a plan to the mayor of Hurricane and city officials to restore the lake? I am pretty sure contacting my local DNR officer would help, as well as gathering some background information on the lake. I am not sure how they would restore the lake, whether it be reparing the dam, digging out the main area where the lake once was (it is currently filled with small trees and brush), or what. Thanks for your input, it's good to have members who care about such things as much as I do. -Aaron "Troutfisher"

That looks a bit bigger than 5.2 lbs, maybe 6? Very nice job!