WHITMER, W.Va. — When Spruce Knob Lake opened in 1953 it was quite the event. The 23 acre impoundment became a new fishing hole for a lot of folks in the West Virginia’s mountain counties.
During the early days, when the Division of Natural Resources adhered to a “trout season,” there were some crowded days around the lake. Over time, the system of stocking changed and evolved into its present form of a stocking schedule. Spruce Knob Lake receives weekly trout stockings from March through May. The lake is also stocked once in January and once in February when weather allows, and receives trout during the two week fall stocking.
Today the banks are a little less congested than they were in those early years. Still, it serves as one of the state’s most unique fisheries.
“It’s one of those places where if you enjoy ice fishing, ice does form there every year thick enough to do ice fishing,” said Jim Hedrick, Hatchery Systems Manager for the Division of Natural Resources. “The ice remains longer than any of the other impoundments we stock. It’s usually the last of our impoundments to be clear of ice.”
The ice fishing is definitely not for everybody. Sometimes, just getting to the lake in those conditions can be a chore. The lake is the highest body of water in the state and one of the highest in the eastern U.S. The U.S. Forest Services maintains the access roads, but weather conditions, even in the spring months, can be a tricky proposition. The road is actually paved once you crest the top of the mountain, but the access from the bottom to there is a gravel road and snow there is generally measured in feet in the winter months.
Once the trout stocking ends in June, most of the fishing pressure disappears. There isn’t a great degree of carry over of trout through the summer months. The lake does contain smallmouth bass and sunfish which account for most of the fishing at other times of the year. The lake was built to accommodate a depth of almost 19 feet of water, but at normal levels the deepest point is 7 to 8 feet. The water is generally clear year round, but blooms of plankton and organic material give the water a brown, coffee color during certain times of the year.
Spring brings a new atmosphere to the high country and many will camp out in the nearby campground and take several days trying to lift their limit of trout. Boats with electric motors only are allowed on the lake and campers are allowed to moor their boats at the ramp.
“The whole Spruce Knob area is very unique,” said Hedrick. “The plants and the environment up there is very similar to what you would see on a tundra.”