Mountain Water Adventures: Greenbrier County fishing company thrives in drought

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (WVNS) — With all 55 counties in West Virginia dealing with drought , several at severe or exceptional levels, it’s been a rough year for anglers looking to catch that big trout.

Creeks drying up, natural brook trout waters gone, and algae-plagued ponds really put a damper on this summer’s fishing trips, except for properties managed by Mountain Water Adventures .

James Crews, owner and fishing guide with Mountain Water Adventures invited StormTracker 59 Meteorologist Bradley Wells out to his property in Crimson Spring of Monroe County to see firsthand how conservation and land management can go a long way to protecting native brook trout while raising trophy rainbow and brown trout.

On this property, a 4,000-gallon-per-minute spring feeds several ponds that Crews and his crew carved out. This provides his fish with 56-degree, crystal-clear waters all year round! Years in the making, the property boasts four ponds, several waterfalls, and landscaping with fish health and angler comfort in mind.

Crews, with the help of financial backers in Texas, are preserving natural habitats across southern West Virginia. He says the waters are so perfect for his fish that they are able to safely fish them even when drought and warm summer temps have stripped away so many other areas for anglers.

His fish aren’t only healthy, but thriving. Large and beautiful rainbow trout dot the 15-18 foot deep ponds to make even the most veteran trout angler marvel at.

It’s not just the engineering that went into these ponds that is impressive, but the knowledge Crews brings with him as a 30-year fishing guide. Crews spent most of that time as a guide with the Greenbrier Resort but as of 2018, after retirement, he set off on his own to bring his knowledge to first-time fly-fishing patrons.

“We teach from beginner to advanced, so it’s, you know, you can have never fly fished before and you’ll catch fish. We teach as we go. It’s kind of like on the job training,” Crews said.

He certainly backed up that confidence by suggesting what fly lures to use, where to cast, all while taking in the skill level of the anglers with him.

Even Bradley, who has been fishing since he was 8, struggled at first to land the 5-8 pound trout. But with careful guidance and several techniques later, stood by and watch Bradley reel in the biggest trout he’d ever caught.

“Well, it’s the excitement of when they hook that first fish and generally they’ll hook that fish and it jumps and breaks their line immediately because they haven’t learned how to play that fish just yet,” Crews said. “But it’s the excitement and just people sometimes they just, they just get so excited, they shake saying, ‘I don’t think I would catch anything.’ And I thought, ‘Well, yeah, we’re going to catch fish.'”

Crews is something of a hidden gem for southern West Virginia when it comes to fishing guides by not only bringing his experience on how to catch fish, but applying that love to preserving the waters on his properties for generations to come.

“We restore these waters. It’s always better below [stream] than it is above us. It took nine months to get all the permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and the DEP in West Virginia,” Crews said. “We follow all the regulations. We’ve actually got letters from the EPA that we’ve done our projects better, [saying how] amazing how far we go.”

While catching the big fish was an unforgettable experience, experiencing firsthand the love and care that went into the land made the fishing expedition truly worth it—especially, the careful planning that has allowed Mountain Water Adventure to thrive, even in the harshest drought.

For more information on Crews, his conservation efforts, or how to book your own guided fishing trip to one of his properties, visit Mountain Water Adventures’ website .

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