I took an afternoon to find a public access point that would allow me to see the Laurel Fork watershed. Since the stream originates "off-trail" on Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve, I knew I wouldn't be able to gain access there. I looked on-line and found this website called "Fly Bum Outdoors": https://flyfishingswva.wordpress.com/2018/04/29/laurel-fork/
The site gives you information about the area, stream, stocked fish, fly to use and technique for fly fishing and at the bottom includes a dropped pin that will lead you to a spot where you can park. I used information from this site to map my route. I did find that the directions I got from this site were slightly incorrect- or I was tracking to a slightly different part of the stream than this post discussed. It caused me to miss my turn off the main road (221 N in Willis, VA) so I had to double-back and turn onto Route 786 instead of Route 758 which the website referenced. I pulled up my map and drove until I found the first crossing of a small bridge over the stream and found parking along the road past the bridge on a gravel pull-off in front of some pastureland with horses. I doubled back on foot and came to the branch of Laurel Fork I was looking for!
I put together a slideshow of some of the unique characteristics of this particular water shed. Check it out here: Laurel Fork Watershed Characteristics and Features
Thankfully, it was a beautiful, sunny day and there were no other folks around. I took a few photographs to capture what I saw that day.
Photo by Chris Tysor
The stream was slow moving, likely due to the fact we have not had much rain in the past 2 months.
Photo by Chris Tysor
The water was very clear and you could see the bottom as well as small fish swimming with the current.
Photo by Chris Tysor
There were large pastures along both sides of the creek, but the creek also had a lot of trees and foliage that overhung the stream so it made access to the water slightly difficult.
Photo by Chris Tysor
The waters are stocked with trout by the Department of Wildlife and Recreation, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fishery, They stock the waters 5 times between October 1st and March 1st. You are able to catch and take what you catch within the allowable legal numbers from the website.
I am working on obtaining some water quality testing kits to test for E.Coli and Ammonia levels due tot he close proximity of pastures and farmland.
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