Southwest Virginia Trout Trip

The one that didn't get away

My Dad and brother with a nice rainbow trout

As many of you know I have been running myself ragged over the last few months,however I can now see the light.I'm in the process of buying a house and even though I went into it knowing some of the complications I would encounter,it's starting to wear on me.I did manage to find a few days to escape the phone calls,inspections and packing to head to the mountains of Southwest Virginia.I made this trip a few times last year to a small town my parents have decided to retire to.Last year I spent quite a bit of time fishing one stretch of the creek that runs through the property with decent success.The way I looked at it was if you are catching fish why try something new.This year I headed up on a Thursday to give myself a little extra time to explore the creek and the surrounding hillsides.I found a few holes that held some fish and I managed to catch and land a few smallmouth bass.The trout were very interested in my yellow rooster tail spinner but proved to be a bit tricky to land.I lost three within a matter of hours.I was lucky enough to land the biggest rainbow trout I have ever caught on the last day of fishing with my brother and father.I won't get into any details but the entire trip was awesome.Everything from spending time with my Mom to wading this creek my father has worked his entire life to make his home on.The best was the initial bet,it went a little something like this.

Fisherman and hunters are always trying to one up the competition,whether it's friends,family or actual competition.I usually go with the biggest fish caught wins five bucks from everyone involved in the trip.This year I went with first one to fall down in the creek loses five bucks to the other two dry individuals.Unexpectedly my father and brother agreed and within five minutes my brother was drenched and ten dollars poorer.My father took a small dip later in the morning and I had quite a few close calls but managed to stay dry until late Saturday evening.My brother was in the process of landing a nice trout and let's just say the line snapped at the last minute for "unknown reasons".I'm not sure why but I jumped on the fish like it was an alligator and tried to wrestle the slimy fish the remaining few feet to shore.I lost the match lets say and gained a few gallons of water in my waders.I'm going to try my hardest to get back in September.I just hope this house buying experience is over by then.