Time travel possible? It feels like it on one local stream

BROOKNEAL, Va. (WFXR) — There are no more undiscovered places in Virginia.

Humans have been here for thousands of years. They have been down every trail, climbed every mountain, cruised every lake, waded every stream.

But, there are places people rarely go; places that are overlooked or discounted for whatever reason; places that may as well be undiscovered because people have forgotten just how special they are.

The Staunton River is one of those places.

The Staunton stretches from below Leesville Lake to Buggs Island Reservoir. We recently paddled and fished it with a media and education team from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (VDWR), and found out that you can catch a lot of fish on the Staunton.

And, we mean a lot.

Diversity is the name of the game on the Staunton. Just ask VDWR Aquatic Education Coordinator Alex McCrickard: “We caught striped bass today, white bass, Kentucky spotted bass, smallmouth bass, and walleye. You know, there’s a variety of other species out here in addition to saugeye, rock bass, red breast sunfish, channel catfish; the Staunton is the place to go if you want to catch a diversity of species.”

The stream is an easy float with enough current and structure to hold fish, but not enough to make it impossible to navigate. It’s good for fishing from a raft or canoe, and it is also great for beaching a boat and wading. And the style of fishing is not that complicated.

“Swimbaits are a great way to target all of those species,” McCrickard said pointing to the soft plastic bait on jig head. “Cast and work it back, twitch it.”

Live bait presentations, as well as crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and fly-fishing presentations will also produce fish.

A little known fact about the Staunton, it is one of the top walleye streams in the state. The walleye numbers are so good that the VDWR nets fish to collect their eggs and sperm to create broodstock to stock in other Virginia lakes and streams.

The Staunton River also provides solitude. The day we were on it, we paddled for miles and did not see another boat or another person. It has a remote feel, almost like it is undiscovered. That is hard to believe since it sits within a two hour drive of four metropolitan areas.