The Cranberry

[mems]

Aloha, I just found out that I was awarded a Presidential Scholar Scholarship and will be in Philly and Gettysburg and DC for three weeks in July. My sister lives in Roanoke and I have fished that area before. What I would like to do this time is go to West Virginia and hit the Cranberry and maybe Cherry creek and fish there for a couple of days. It looks like a neat place where you acess the stream by mountain bike. I was just wondering if anyone has any experience there they could share. Thanks for the help, Mems.

[john]

Mems,

I'm a native WVian and have fished both streams for years. Cranberry is a neat place. There is a 17 mile section accessible by foot, mt bike, or horseback. Gravel road follows the stream. Easy riding. Fishing can be fantastic. Water quality has improved over the years due to "liming" of the stream. Stream is heavily stocked through the end of May. Browns, rainbows, brookies, and the golden rainbow (aka banana fish). 7 miles upstream from the lower gate is the confluence of Cranberry and Dogway fork. Dogway is fly-fishing only, catch and release. Contains a healthy population of native brookies and occasional brown or rainbow up from the main Cranberry. Main Cranberry above Dogway up to the confluence of the North and South forks is catch and release (artificials only). You can ride a bike up from the lower gate or down from the upper gate (near Cranberry Glades). I prefer riding in from the lower end, thus giving an easy mostly flat/downhill ride at the end of the day. Riding in from below there is one hill to cross (about 4-5 miles from the gate) but it's not bad. July should provide good fishing if the water level is not too low. The downside to Cranberry is that you will not find solitude. During stocking season we joke that you need to take your own rock to stand on. July should find thinner crowds, but expect to see a few folks even deep in the backcountry section.
North fork of Cherry river runs right beside rt. 39/55 out of Richwood. Just upstream from Richwood is a catch and release area of about 1 mile. Above this area is general regulations water all the way up the mountain. Water can get low but it stays cool. Entire stream is stocked, but there is a decent population of native brookies and fingerling stocked browns. Easy access. Attractor dries and generic nymphs should serve well. For the most part 8-9 ft rod should be ok. Dogway fork is a small brookie stream. Shorter 7 ft or under rod would be better. I usually fish a 6'6" 3 wt on all sections of both streams. Limits my nymphing on the bigger water, but I prefer dries anyhow. Let me know if you need more info. Enjoy WV.
John