I loved Glade Creek. We only had a half day to fish after holing up in Beckley for the night. Glade is a short distance out of town yet is a large enough stretch of water to allow folks to spread out.
After bumping over a rough road, we pulled into the parking lot at the confluence of the Pinch and Glade. The trail next to the creek is a broad, closed road – you can’t miss it. We followed the road until we got to the bridge that marks the boundary between catch and release and normal regulations and fished upstream in the normal regulation section back to the parking lot.
This part of the Glade is classic pocket water. There was plenty of water flow and the trout were surprisingly large for a small stream like this. Since trail was right next to the creek, you could skip around any rough climbs by hopping back on the road and then looking for a good point to clamber back down to the water. But, since there were some tough spots, you had the opportunity to hit water where only the fit survive.
We used various shades of Panther-Martin spinners with great success. The trees provide a significant amount of shade, so the brighter silver flashes ended up being more effective. Now that I am going to switch to fly fishing, I am looking forward to getting back to this spot and giving it a try with a new set of “weapons”.
The Glade offers the scenic experience that I look for in trout fishing with the added bonus of having larger fish than are typical in the brookie waters of the Shenandoah.
GLADETHD marks the parking area and GLADEBRG marks the spot where the bridge is. North of the Bridge is catch and release only.
Pressure: On the Sunday morning we were there, we only saw one other couple. There was another person inbound when we were changing at the truck – not a bad amount of pressure for such nice water so close to a major city.
Getting There: Take Exit 129 from I-64 going south towards Little Beaver State Park. Turn left on Rte 22. It’s a rough road, you might need a little more ground clearance to get down the road.
The WV DNR site also says you can get there by taking Glade Creek Road off of 41.
Bridge at the boundary of the C&R area
View of typical stretch
Plenty of shade to keep the water cold
A nice rainbow for such small water
There are deeper pools in spots
Water is crystal clear – you have to sneak up on these babies.
Unless stated otherwise, this article was authored by Steve Moore