CLEAR December 2016

clear@lists.cheatlakeclear.org

1 participants
2 discussions

Charleston Gazette-Mail | Why wintertime brings prime walleye fishing to WV
by Duane via CLEAR 19 Dec '16

19 Dec '16

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/outdoors/20161218/why-wintertime-brings-prime-… Why wintertime brings prime walleye fishing to WV Article by John McCoy, Charleston Gazette Mail, December 18, 2016 As a fisheries biologist, Mark Scott often works with walleyes. He also likes to fish for them, and he says the winter months are an especially good time to catch large female walleyes as they get ready to spawn. West Virginia is trying to protect its native-strain walleyes by imposing special regulations on waters where native walleyes are known to live. There’s a good reason why the words “winter” and “walleye” both begin with a “W.” The two go together like — well, come up with your own pairing. Bacon and eggs. Barbie and Ken. Scooby and Shaggy. Winter is a great time to fish for walleyes. As soon as the weather turns cold, walleyes start moving toward their spawning grounds. Mark Scott, a fisheries biologist and avid walleye angler, said the spawning urge tends to concentrate the fish in specific areas. “In the New River, they congregate downstream from Sandstone Falls,” he said. “On the Kanawha, you can find them below Kanawha Falls or downstream from the navigation dams. At Summersville Lake, you’ll find them in the shoals just upstream from where the Gauley River flows in. “On the Greenbrier River, it’s the area downstream from Bacon Falls. On the Elk River, it’s the area downstream from Sutton Dam.” Scott said walleyes sometimes swim remarkable distances to reach good spawning habitat. A recent study showed that some individuals spent their summers in the New River just upstream from Hawks Nest Lake and their winters 44 miles upstream near Sandstone Falls. “When they’re moving, they’re more susceptible to angling,” Scott said. “They’re actively feeding, and when they get to their spawning zones you can find good numbers of them in a relatively small stretch of river.” Wintertime water temperatures slow down the activities of bass, catfish and other warm-water species. Walleyes like the cold. “They’re a ‘cool-water’ fish,” Scott explained. “They’re a lot like muskies in that regard. They remain active even when most of the other fish in the river aren’t.” Scott said live bait and artificial lures both work well for walleyes. “Some guys like to troll using deep-diving plugs that bang the bottom. Some people like jerk baits or swim baits. The key is fishing slow and on the bottom. Some of the biggest walleyes caught during the winter are hooked by muskie anglers throwing big muskie-sized baits,” he added. For bait anglers, large minnows or suckers are usually the ticket. “When you think about it, a 30-inch walleye is going to want a big bait,” Scott said. “The New River has lots of hogsuckers in it. They mass to spawn in the same areas the walleyes do. For the walleyes, it’s kind of like the buffet bar at Shoney’s.” Anglers who target winter walleyes should carefully read the Division of Natural Resources’ regulations pamphlet and update themselves on recent changes in walleye creel limits. In 2015, the DNR adopted a watershed-based system with specific regulations for specific lakes and rivers. “Those changes were made to protect our native-strain walleyes,” Scott explained. “Anywhere we had our native strain, we put regulations in place to restrict the take of large, spawning-age females.” In some parts of the state, the regulations are simple: a daily creel limit of eight with no length restrictions. The special regulations are more complicated. For example: n A 15-inch length minimum has been put into effect on the Cheat River, the Elk River upstream from Sutton Dam, the Monongahela River, the Tygart River, the West Fork River downstream from Stonewall Jackson Dam, and at Burnsville, Cheat, Stephens, Stonecoal and Tygart lakes. The creel limit on those waters is eight. n An 18-inch minimum size limit and a two-fish-per-day creel limit are in effect for the Ohio River and for the New River between the mouth of the Gauley River and Hawks Nest dam. n A slot limit is in effect for the Coal River, the Elk River downstream from Sutton Dam, the Greenbrier River, the Gauley River downstream from Summersville Dam, and the New River between the Virginia line and Hawks Nest Dam (except in the catch-and-release section detailed below). All walleye between 20 and 30 inches in length must be returned to the water at once. A two-fish daily creel limit is in effect, and only one of those fish can measure more than 30 inches. n A slot limit is in effect on the Gauley River upstream from Summersville Dam, including Summersville Reservoir. All walleye between 20 and 30 inches in length must be returned to the water at once. An eight-fish daily creel limit is in effect, and only one of those fish may measure more than 30 inches. n Catch-and-release regulations are in effect on Charles Fork and Dog Run lakes, and on the 5-mile stretch of the New River from Sandstone Falls downstream to the Meadow Creek public access site. All walleyes must be returned to the water at once. Scott said the catch-and-release regulations were put into place to protect the New River’s prime walleye spawning habitat and the two lakes where native-strain walleyes are kept to provide hatchery brood stock.

1 0

Congratulations to Friends of the Cheat, County Parks and Recreation Commission, Town of Bruceton Mills | Opinion | theet.com
by Jonathan Rosenbaum via CLEAR 07 Dec '16

07 Dec '16

Subject: Congratulations to Friends of the Cheat, County Parks and Recreation Commission, Town of Bruceton Mills | Opinion | theet.com From: Duane Nichols http://www.theet.com/content/tncms/live/ Congratulations to Friends of the Cheat, County Parks and Recreation Commission, Town of Bruceton Mills Yes, Preston County, there indeed is a Santa Claus. Three area organizations — Friends of the Cheat, the Preston County Parks and Recreation Commission and the Town of Bruceton Mills — were awarded separate federal and state transportation and recreational grants on Tuesday, Nov. 29, in Charleston by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. Tomblin invited representatives from each entity, including dozens of other award winners from across the state, to present each group with the grant certificate and congratulations. The Friends of the Cheat was awarded $150,000 for the first phase of its Cheat River Rail Trail Design and Construction Phase I. The Preston County Parks and Recreation Commission received $71,600 in federal grant funds to be used for its ongoing WV Northern Rail Trail project. The third local recipient was the Town of the Bruceton Mills. Mayor Cathy Smith attended the announcement event, representing her community. Her town was one out of 40 in the state to receive a portion of $5,917,737 in Transportation Alternatives Grants. Bruceton received $135,200 for design and engineering work for its ambitious sidewalk project. Gov. Tomblin handed out grants for a total of 54 community and infrastructure projects across the state. The Transportation Alternatives and Recreational Trails Grant programs will provide more than $7 million for a variety of improvements. The funding is provided by the Federal Highway Administration, while the state Division of Highways administers the programs. During the event, Gov. Tomblin told those in attendance, including nine representatives from Preston County, that the grant funding will help build and repair infrastructure across the state, ultimately making communities better places to live and work. Certainly this is great news for all of us who hope to see our beloved rural community become even more beautiful. The relentless positive efforts by the Friends of the Cheat, the Parks and Recreation Commission and now the wonderful Town of Bruceton Mills are clearly paying dividends. The Cheat River Rail Trail Design and Construction Phase I represents a single phase of a multi-year, multi-grant endeavor: Construction of one of the region’s most picturesque and recreationally important trails — the Cheat River Rail-Trail. Phase I will result in approximately 1.5 miles of paved trail. The Preston County Parks and Recreation Commission’s grant will help fund a small part of a larger project to restore and resurface 10 miles of the WV Northern Rail Trail that goes from Kingwood to Tunnelton and to create a WV Northern Trailhead Park. The current grant will fund the design of the next four miles of the WV Northern Rail trail. The Bruceton Mills award is the largest the northern Preston County community has ever received. According to town council member Laura Dulaney, the sidewalk project has been on the town’s wish list for the last 10 years. The grant will give the much talked about project the kick-start it’s needed for a long time. We cannot say enough great things about all three local entities. The men and women who make up the Friends of the Cheat, Parks and Recreation Commission and, of course, the Town of Bruceton Mills have shown a remarkable vision and determined community spirit that all of Preston County should recognize. See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net <http://www.FrackCheckWV.net>

1 0

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

CLEAR December 2016