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All Season Angling in a Two-Story Lake
fishing Lake Moomaw VA

Nestled deep in the Aleghany Mountains of western Virginia, sits a deep, cool, clear,lake surrounded by rolling mountains and bluffs.  Few boats and people are evident most of the year, but there is access and camping at numerous spots. Best of all, it holds fish wall to wall, and they can be caught any time of year! Lake Moomaw is definitely on of the most scenic lakes I have ever visited, and has far more in common with northern Minnesota than the Mid-Atlantic.  It is very deep, averaging over 100 feet (31m), with some points near the dam at over 180 feet.  By the way, unlike most resevoirs, it is actually hard to find the dam from the water, as it is tucked away down one of the many narrow branches of the lake. The river that feeds this lake is the Jackson River, which hosts some excellent brown trout fishing both above and below the lake, which eventually forms the James River of colonial history.  As an Army Corps of Engineers impoundment, the land surrounding the lake is almost solid woods and meadows, with occasional boat ramps, swimming areas, and picnic areas. The lake has an excellent visitors center, and its staff will show where the 'good spots' are at and can give you exact figures on oxygen levels, water levels, clearity, and water temperatures. They also have free maps and helpful brochures.  For the shorebound angler, the lake is nearly totally surrounded by public property, with steep but fishable shoreline.  There are alo several wooden piers and docks located near the boat ramps and picnic areas. For the boat angler, I find a kayak or canoe will work as long as the wind is not blowing hard, since the overall lake boat traffic is low.  One can drop a bass boat in at the boat ramps at Bolar Flat, Fortney Branch, Coles Mountain, and McClintic Point.

Due to deep water, the lake's altitude, and to intensive stocking efforts, this lake holds both cool/cold water species and warm water species-making it a year-round fishery with a wide variety of species to persue.  The entire gambit of sunfihes inhabit this lake: Largemouth and Smallmouth Basses; Northern Rock Bass; White and Black Crappie; Redear, Bluegill, and Orangespotted sunfishes.  The lake also hosts Brown, Rainbow (McConehagh sub-species- a Steelhead strain borrowed from the Great Lakes), and Brook Trout.  Yellow perch provide some forage, as do alewives, gizzard shad, chubs, and shiners. Channel and Flathead catfish patrol lake, and Northern Pike and Redfin Pickeral round out the line-up.  Just about the only Virginia species notable absent from this resevoir are the Striped and White basses-and that is by design.  The big preditors of this lake, in the absence of the stripers, are the Flatheads, Pike, Rainbow Trout , Brown Trout, all of which reach over 10lbs here.  The Black basses reach into the 7 pound range, with a 5 pounder being the smallest that will get a glance.  Due to regular stocking, numerous baby browns and rainbows (this is where they go when they can't stock the rivers of the state) in the releasable sizes of 6"-15" inhabit the creek mouths and journey up the Jackson on a regular basis.  In the cooler months of October-March the cold water line-up lurks near the surface, while the warm water species go deep.  In the warmer months of April-October the water and the fish flip flop.  Fall and Spring, especially when the lake water is in 'turn over' are pandemonium-the angler is never sure what is exactly on the other end of the line.  One cast might pull in a bass, while the next might have a trout, and yet another a pike!  Normally in the summer or winter large lakes and resevoirs stratify-the top most layers are near the air temperature, while the deeper you go, the warmer the water gets (winter) or the cooler it gets (summer).  A plot of the temperature looks almost like a diagonal line with a few bumps (thermoclines).  During turn-over in spring or fall as the colder water and warmer water try to trade places, the cold and warm water mix, and so do the fish!  On most of my trips to these lakes in the fall and spring, especially on rainy, overcast days, I troll a 4" suspending plug in chartruese (clown) around drop-offs and edges of flats in turn-over areas. This will get hit by just about every kind of fish in the lake.  In the summer or winter, just findout at what depth the temperature for your favorite fish is at, and adjust accordingly.  Thanks to the folks in the visitor center, an angler need only ask one of the rangers what depth a temeprature is at.  The rangers will also tell you where turn-over is occuring, and where the fish are at.

Take a trip to this lake-you won't be disapointed!
 
 

Driving Directions: From the East-Take I-64 to Exit 16 (Covington VA-you will see the sign), to hwy -220 N.  After passing WestVaCo and a car dealership, look for the Signs to Garthright Dam.  You will make a left onto State Hwy 687 toStae hwy 641 State Hwy 666 to Hwy 605 then follow the signs to the boat ramp or dam and visitor center.

From the West: Take I-64 to exit 10 (you will see the signs to Garthright Dam), take state Hwy 159 to State Hwy 661 to State Hwy 600, follow the signs to  Hwy 605, and follow the signs to the boat ramp or dam and visitor center.
 
 

See also: Large Lake Tactics and Lake/Pond Ecology-Cold Water Lake (just put the big browns where you see salmon and remove the burbot and muskelunge)

RULE #1: Go to the Visitor Center and ask the manager what the oxygen levels and water temperatures are.  They take this data almost daily and at several location and depths.  High oxygen and good water temperatures for your favorite species will dictate where the fish are on the lake, and how deep you will have to fish for them.  Asking it from the folks at the visitor center will save you HOURS of searching!

Heres the data on the fish:

• Smallmouth Bass-Prime months are April-June and September-November but they bite year round.  During the prime months they are shallow, while in the off months they seek 65 degree water (+/- 10 degrees) . Number one choice for prime-time is a 4" Clown Colored floating or suspending rapala (normal or shad-rap).  Slow trolling the shorelines is deadly, as is casting to structure near drop offs in the day time, or around rip-rap and rocks at night. In the off prime months a 1/2oz skirted black/blue or crayfish imitating jig will produce, as will carolina rigged lizards and worms, and 1/2oz to 1oz rattle traps and jigging spoons (especially on the suspended winter & summer fish).  A good bass is over 4lbs here. All the usual techniques work here in the prime seasons and they are plentiful!

• Brown Trout- Prime months are March-April and October-January. Available year round by fishing deep and at night in the summer, and around river and creek mouths the rest of the time. The small trout (under 24"-not keepers here) are easy pickings all winter (November-April) especially during rains preceeding a cold front near creek mouths. The big trout are another matter: trolling with 4-6" live chubs, smelt, or alewives on a downrigger in the summer about 50 feet-80 feet down (let a 56 degree temperature curve be your guide!), or near the surface in the winter and in the prime months at sunrise/sunset.  Lures include the aforementioned 4" rapalas (sinking or suspending) and 4" rattletraps.  Also, fishing live minnows or dead shad around creek mouths at night in the summer or at sunrise/sunset in the winter may also produce the beasts.  They get over 12lbs in this lake. An alternative to hunting for fish in the main lake is to fish immediately below the dam on the Jackson river (drive to the visitor center and then follow the signs for the 'down stream access').  Just about any lure fished on 2# test will be successful (3" sinking clown rapala or 1/8oz white crappie jig will do), as will chicken liver (yes, I said chicken liver for trout-they will eat it, trust me, but they also like to swallow the hook so be careful!), an any large black/red streamer, popper (in the summer) or wolly worm (#8-#4 hook). Note: the above techniques work for the shore bound angler as well, just focus your efforts around boat ramps near feeder creeks in the main lake-especially Scruggs Flat.

• Rainbow Trout- See Brown Trout above, since they often school together when small and feed like a brown when large.

• Crappie: Spring, Fall are prime, but they are also pretty good in the summer and winter.  Deep Dropoffs w/structure. My big trick (since I don't have a depth finder)- poke with a bank sinker until I feel the structure, since there are several downed trees and numerous planted fish attractors like concrete slabs and old tires, until I feel the spot- ususally in 10-20 feet of water in summer and 30 feet in winter.  Then I drop a 1/8-1/16oz chartruese or white roadrunner onto the structure and work it back to the surface with a steady,slow jigging motion.  The boat ramps on the east side of the lake (the one near the swimming area is a good example) have many of these manmade fish attractors at the right depth when the water is high in the spring.  Look also for channel markers and 'no wake' bouys, since they are anchored with concrete hunks and often have structure around them, and are eay to cast to from the shoreline.  All the standard crappie trolling techniques will work if you focus on the rocky dropoffs with a 30 degree-60 degree slope (slow troll using my Uncle 'Big' John's favorite crappie rig)  The bottom of some of the bluffs my be productive but I haven't tested this one yet. In the late spring overhanging bushes and trees over deep water (especially with sack worms in the tree or bush) can payoff for someone willing to use a 5wgt flyrod to toss a #10 yellow/black wolly worm on a 2lb tippet under the bush- the shore angler is best suited for this one.  A sack worm on a #12 hook with no weight or bobber and on 2lb test will also work.

• Yellow Perch: Fall, Summer, Spring- On-comming cold fronts (the calm, foggy, overcast rainy days) of the fall and spring during water 'turn over' are killer for the big Yellow perch.  When the water is in the high 50's-low 60's on shallow flat, rocky, areas they school and assault nearly any 3" sized minnow imitating lure on light line (exactly how the one pictured up top was caught).  They will also hit mealworms, red worms (the little earthworms), and small live minnows fished freelined in fallen trees on light line (4# or less) with #8-#10 hooks(yes-you will lose a couple hooks this way but it will pay off).   Many of the crappie techniques above and most bluegill and sunfish techniques will also payoff for these fish.
• Northern Pike and Redfin Pickeral: Spring/Fall-Most my catches on these guys (stocked to control the trout) have been incidental to chasing the trout or bass.  They like bad weather and structure, and they will follow the schools of small trout and yellow perch into shallow creek mouths, flats, and bays.  They can also be seen smacking the surface in these shallow areas-making them an easy target for a floating lipped plug in the 4"-6" range retrieved with alot of motion (jirk and pull).  Make the plug look like an injured Yellow perch (the reason why the clown colored rapalas are so effective here) or trout floundering near the surface and they will wack it hard.  They are also found in the same areas that the largemouth hang out below. P.S. mono leaders will catch far more fish that steel leaders - but be prepared to lose an occasional plug.
• Largemouth Bass: Summer/early fall are  best here-Shallow bays with dead trees, especially with nearby deep water, are regular payoff spots for these guys in the early morning or early evening.  They are well outnumbered in this lake by smallmouth bass, but do grow very big if they can get big enough to eat the little trout.  4" clown rapala among numerous other lures (creyfish imitating jigs, floating worms, bass assasins, rattle traps, spinner baits, etc.) will get numbers of fish.  I have yet to get one of the big boy bass out of this lake, but as soon as I locate a 8" plug in rainbow trout pattern I will put the little trout theory to the test.
• Catfish: Summer is best- all the standard channel cat techniques payoff, though this is by far a best game played at night on the surface with bobbers near structure.  The cool water in this lake puts the cats near the surface at night in the summer, and deep in the winter. Dead shad, live minnows will work here, and may payoff with a trout or pike if you are lucky.

• Brook Trout- Three locales but they are very difficult to target here: Creek mouths (spring/fall), rocky drop-offs (fall/winter).  Smaller suspending and sinking plugs and 2" rattle traps will put you in their range, but most likely you will pick off just about every other species before you get one of these.

Parking is $5.00 during the prime season (1 May-1 October), free at other times.  Boat rental is available near the north end of the lake (near where the river comes into the lake) and can range from $40 to $140/day for a variety of boats and jet skis. A basic Virginia fishing license is a must have (you WILL be checked here).  Click here for current prices.  If you fish above the lake or below the dam on the Jackson River, you will also need a trout tag (except in mid summer) and you will also need a Permission Slip in the area from .5 mile below the dam to Covington, which you must write to the Virginia DGIF to obtain.  There is currenly negotions in work to remove the requirement for the Permission Slip (my two cents- if you are not touching the shoreline in a navigable  river, stocked with state owned trout, you should only have to be licensed by the state).

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