Fishing Virginia: Lake Moomaw

At a glance: Lake Moomaw offers brown and rainbow trout, bass, yellow perch, sunfish, pickerel and catfish.

Directions: From Covington (about 50 miles north of Roanoke), take U.S. Highway 220 north to Highway 687. Follow the signs to the dam site.

Description: Moomaw is the second-largest impounded lake in western Virginia, at about 2,500 acres. More than 150 feet deep, it supports both warmwater and coldwater fisheries. No trout stamp or USDA Forest Service permit is required.

The fishing: Yellow perch, introduced to the lake by accident, is doing well. The state record (2 pounds, 7 ounces) was taken here. Rainbow and brown trout are stocked yearly. Two different strains of rainbow are found in Moomaw.

Smallmouth and largemouth bass are in the lake. The smallies occupy the rocky area around McClintic and Coles Points. Bucket mouths are found on the shallow flats near the islands, Greenwood Point and the swimming beach.

Panfish: Crappie and bluegills are other Moomaw success stories. A stocking of stunted specks yielded 2-pound fish in just a few years. Large bluegills and redears also are taken. Yellow bullheads and channel catfish are plentiful. The channels run more than 20 pounds, and 10- to 15-pounders are common. Chain pickerel of 4 and 5 pounds are taken every year.

The best baits to use are spinner baits, jigs, plastics, spoons, spinners and surface lures, crank baits, night crawlers and live minnows.

Access: Two boat ramps are at the south end of the lake. To get to the first, follow Route 600 north from Callaghan. The ramp is at the end of the road. Reach the second by turning east on Route 666 from Route 600. Follow it north on Route 605 across Gathright Dam, then follow signs to the ramp. At the north end of the lake, a ramp is at Bolar Flats. From Bacova, follow Route 687 south to Route 603 south. This road goes by the access to the ramp.

Camping: The Forest Service runs three campgrounds. Call 877-444–6777 for reservations.

For more information: Contact Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce (540-962-2178, www.alleghanyhighlands.com), Bath County Chamber of Commerce, (540-839-5409, www.bathcountyva.org) or Warm Springs Ranger District (540-839-2521, www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/warmsprings.

Reprinted with permission from Fishing Virginia, written by Martin Freed and Ruta Vaskys and published by The Globe Pequot Press. Fishing Virginia will be released in spring 2007. For more information, e-mail editorial@globepequot.com.