Ok, I was able to finally make contact with the people who run the land. Unfortunately, there is no fish in the stream at this time and won't be until late spring early summer. Does anyone else have a place in mind. I was thinking about a stream in Damascus VA on the Virginia creeper trail. It would be national Forest so it is free to camp. No bathrooms, but could be right on the stream. I've always had great fishing there and restaurants close by. Just a thought.
Sounds interesting. Have been looking for an excuse to head down that way.Originally Posted by Familyman13
"Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates." -Mark Twain
I’m in. I love trout fishing and I love hammocks. Just say when!!
I was in Damascus yesterday fishing and looking for a spot to camp. Found a nice spot creekside in national Forest. I even made sure with land owners near by that it was permitted to camp there. Tried calling national Forest service, but government shutdown has them closed. Land owners said it was allowed. It is right on the VA creeper trail so those that like to hike or bike can do so. Who's in?
I am in depending on when
Same here.
"Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates." -Mark Twain
This is something I would be interested in. I live just over the mountain on the TN side. A couple of things though. Not sure exactly where you planned on staging the camp but keep this in mind:
This is from the Virginia Creaper Trail website.No camping is allowed on private property at any time. There is no camping between Abingdon and Damascus except in Alvarado Park where one night is permitted. Camping is allowed in the USFS section of the trail provided you remain 100′ from the trail (and the bank of any stream) and are not on private property.
Also, the creeper trail itself runs along the South Fork Holston River. I have never fished it but it isn't what I would hit for trout normally. I am certain there are large trout among bass and other species but you would be better off hitting the smaller creeks and streams in the area such as Laurel Creek flowing East out of Damascus and Beaverdam Creek flowing North towards TN. I am no master trout fisher but have been doing it for 20 or so years in this area. The big fish are definitely in the bigger waters like Holston but I prefer the smaller creeks and streams for smaller trout which are much more abundant. Especially when camping and such. Just my thoughts on that.
This is just food for thought as I would love to get down to Damascus and do some camping and fishing on waters that I normally don't hit. There are also plenty of nice spots 30 mins further North into TN. Laurel Fork Falls area in Hampton, TN provides some excellent small creek fishing and plenty of camping spots along the creek. A 5 minute or less drive into Hampton puts you on Doe River, again some excellent small water trout action. Another 10 minutes or so further into town and there is Elizabethton and the Watauga River which is a prime trout river for both smaller action and larger trout. Also some great Kayaking fun to be had although I wouldn't recommend that this time of year. Even during the heat of the summer, the water temps are only in the mid 50s.
Anyways just some thoughts I figured I would share. I am up for anywhere as long as I am able to make it.
LICENSE INFO These are for Non-Resident (If you are a resident then you probably already have or know the prices)
Virginia
Nonresident 5-Day Freshwater Fishing** (5 consecutive days) $21.00
Nonresident Trout Fishing (October 1-June 15). Required in addition to other nonresident licenses if fishing in stocked waters. $47.00
Tennessee
Three-Day Fishing - All Species $40.50
My son and I biked from Damascus to Abingdon and back to Damascus several years ago. What a blast that was!
Hey Tnvarmint,
Those are all good ideas and streams. The area I was looking at is in Taylor's valley at the end of the road. There is a large spot roughly 100 yards from the road end so car camping would be allowed. It is Creek side though which my be impacted by the rules. I was mainly looking at that area because of easy access to the stream through Taylor's valley, then Tennessee laural is at the mouth of Taylor's valley and white top is less than 5 min. Miles of streams with some in the stock program and the area about where I was looking at camping is single hook, barbless only. But, with that said the area you are talking about is fantastic fishing as well from what I've done. Was unaware of all the camping options. I would be just as happy going that way if it means less hassle and less cost for the ones who travel in. I have trout license in VA and TN so it matters not to me. As long as I can fish, I'm good. I prefer small streams like the ones in Damascus. The watauga has world class trout fishing, but to big for me. Just let me know what the group wants to do. Let's shoot for early March??
Early March is good for me. I am off 7th to the 11th, that would give me time to drive down and back home
I would definitely be game to go up Laurel Fork i March. My son and I were actually planning a little overnight camping/fishing trip in March anyways. Again, if folks would rather hit the Damascus area though, I am absolutely fine with that also.
Familyman, I by no means want to take this away from you because it was your idea. You tell us where you want to do this and I will be there hopefully.
I will add a little more info for the Laurel Fork area. The trail head and parking area in Hampton is located off of HWY 321 near Watauga Lake at approximately 36°17'8.59"N 82° 9'7.87"W. Parking is at a minimal but worse case there is other parking nearby and we can always shuttle folks. Hampton is a great little trail town, used to hikers in the area so I am sure with permission we could even park some vehicles in business parking lots as needed. From there it is a fairly easy hike for about 1.25-1.5 miles to the area that has the campgrounds. There are campground located all along the creek prior to this that are suitable for hammocks and tents alike but this distance puts you into the better area. Its been a few years sense I was last up through there but from what I can remember, there are at least 1 or 2 areas closer to the 1.5 mile mark that could hold 8 or 10 hammocks. Depending on the number of campers we got, this area might require separated the hang sites out a bit and just having a central staging area for campfire and such. At most we would be spread out over a quarter mile so not that big of a deal. Again, from memory, the last camp site is a fairly large one that is right at the base of the hill climb up onto the ridge and heading away from the creek for a while. There are lots of fishing spots down stream towards Hampton and some farther up stream towards the falls. The falls are roughly another mile further in from this point. The trail goes from easy to moderate at this point due to a little more climbing of hills and some points that you have to climb over or around large rocks on the trail along the creek.
The weather during this time is normally not too bad. Historical highs are in the low 50s and lows in the low 30s but that may not always be the case. I have been to the falls in March when they were totally frozen over. Even if the weather is decent the trail can get slippery when icy. Again, I have been through there when the two bridges that need to be crossed over were almost solid ice. Made for some exciting crossing. Although I wouldn't expect it, but be prepared for the possibility of cold and snow even in March. Always bring your cold gear this time of year into the mountains even if the forecast is predicting decent weather.
As I mentioned before, this area is located near Watauga Lake and the Watauga Lake shelter which is further down the trail and around the lake towards Wilbur Dam. This area has been closed for several years now due to high bear activity. We are still within a couple miles (as the crow flies) of the area so be on the lookout for bears at all times. Bring what ever extra "gear" you feel is needed here. THIS is a link pertaining to that other possible "gear" for those out of state.
On to fishing. Laurel Fork Creek is a great small creek for wild rainbow and brown trout. There are even some native brook to be had here. The creek is on average 6-10 foot across and in most places can be easily waded so be prepared to pack in some waders if you are so inclined. There are deeper pockets scattered along the creek that offer fantastic fishing also. I prefer an ultra light 4-5 foot rod with 3 or so pound mono. You can easily fly fish this also but I would recommend a rod under 7 foot and a 3 weight. It can obviously be done with larger setups but this is my preferred. There is great fishing along the first mile and half section that would be hiked in to reach the camp sites but depending on how many came, this could be easily over fished quite quickly. There is additional fishing further up the trail towards the falls and even past them to the trail head in Dennis Cove. From there the creek follows the road and can be easily accessed for a mile or so. About half a mile from the Dennis Cove trail head is Black Bear Resort which is a nice little camp ground for through hikers of the AT and others. I have talked to the owners several times and they have no problem with fishermen using their property to access the creek. Just ask first and be respectful. About half a mile past Black Bear Resort is a pull off and a small bridge located right before the Dennis Cove campground (normally closed this time of year). There is a section of water that cuts off to the right and follows another trail that has some great fishing in it also. This is single hook waters if I remember correctly and there is a sign at the trail head with the regulations. This trail goes quite a ways up through there and offers some additional camping areas and another waterfall. I will caution you though, there were two sections of the water that had to be crossed using an overhead wire stretched across the water and was well over waist deep when I went through there 6 or so years ago. Aside from these two areas, the trail is fairly easy going.
For those not interested in making the hike up past the designated camping areas on Laurel Fork towards the falls, it is an easy 10 or so minute drive up Dennis Cove road to the same area. It is a very curvy road but paved and easily accessible to small cars. The road doesn't turn to gravel until you get past Dennis Cove campground. As I mentioned in my previous post, excursions down to Doe River or even Watauga River can be set up for those interested in that. Hampton and Elizabethton are just minutes away and offer plenty of places to stock up on supplies like food and tackle. There is even Watauga Lake for those interested in some lake fishing. Moderate bass fishing with average walleye and lake trout fishing, although much of this is best from a boat.
Last thing about fishing. For those a bit more adventurous, there is an area further up Dennis Cove road that can easily be reached by a larger car or preferably 4x4 called Frog Level. This is another area of Laurel Fork Creek but will almost definitely require some waders. Although it is a very short hike (several hundred yards or so), the area is normally pretty wet and the trails often very boggy with water, especially during the wet months. This would be about a 30 minutes drive up the mountain from the Hampton trail head.
Ok so this post ran a lot longer than I expected lol. Again, I have no problems with hitting the Damascus area but after looking at all of the information and really thinking about it, I believe the Laurel Fork area would be amazing for something like this. As I said, I will leave it up to you, Familyman, to decide on where to go. I am just looking forward to something like this. If anyone has any other questions about the area or added information, please free to add it here. I might try and get out and check the area this weekend. Was planning on getting out with my oldest son anyways.
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