By Richard Hines
I immediately noticed the handles of their fishing rods were placed through the large hand forged metal rings. Anywhere else these foraged iron rings would be a collector’s item or hanging on the wall of someone’s man cave.
The iron rings originally used to tie off steamboats on the lock walls had been embedded in the concrete wall in 1897. Over a century ago I doubt the men who set those rings would never have imagined that steamboats pushing coal barges would no longer be locking through Lock and Dam #3 on the Big Sandy River.
What had been constructed to increase exportation of coal and other products out of the mountains is now only described in history after the project was abandoned in 1925.
The story of Lock and Dam #3 at Fort Gay is the story of hundreds of old dams along the nation’s smaller rivers. The use of barges fell by the wayside as railroads expanded moving more material faster than barges. Today, only the larger rivers have retained their locks and dams.
Although no longer important for river traffic, the old Corps of Engineers Lock and Dam #3 at Fort Gay, West Virginia is now a destination for anglers fishing its turbulent water.
Hydrologic terms such as shear stress, used to describe the force of the rushing water on the bottom of the river are meaningless to anglers fishing below the dam, but this hydrologic force affects which fish are below dams. CFS or cubic feet per second describes the amount of water flowing over the dam. Again, this amount can affect numbers of fish on any given day.
Regardless, the best way to find out is to go and over time through trial and error you quickly begin seeing patterns of which fish are biting best not just at Dam #3 but any smaller dam.
Anyone that fishes just looks at the water and fully understands there must be fish under the dam. All the churning water with endless amounts of wounded fish and other food continually washing through, means fish are just there for the taking.
Lock and Dam #3 is not alone, there are an estimated 84,000 dams across the United States ranging from the massive Hoover Dam on the Colorado River to small mill dams only a few feet high.
While visiting Lock and Dam #3 with Fort Gay, West Virginia Mayor Joetta Hatfield, we met several fishermen either going to the dam or coming back from a morning of fishing. One gentleman we talked to had caught a nice string of fish including bluegill, crappie, catfish and a sauger. Talking to another angler, Josh, who is one of the local anglers at the dam, told us, “I’m here every Friday trying my luck…we use big rods for casting into the rough water.”
Fishing below dams means heavy sinkers with a minimum of 2-3 ounces are essential for holding bait in turbulent water.
Josh said, “We also keep some smaller rods for throwing small jigs, especially white which is our best color for white bass, smallmouth bass and bluegill.”
They cast these smaller rods in the calmer water to the side of the dam while the larger rods are set in swift water for larger fish. Some of the bluegill they catch are also used for catfish bait. Consider circle hooks, cut bait, or live shad as an enticement for catfish and larger fish.
On any given day, thousands of anglers are fishing at as many dams and while many have lost their usefulness for commercial navigation, many have become perfect destinations for people wanting to spend a few hours fishing the river.
These dams all have somewhat turbulent water and this turbulence is an attractant to fish which to them, means food from smaller fish that just washed over the dam.
Although Lock and Dam #3 is among thousands found across the United States, Fort Gay Mayer Joetta Hatfield hopes to make it stand out. “We want to have the entire site placed on the Historical Register which will later help us obtain grants to continue improving the site which include the dam, lock, and abandoned Lock Masters House.”
Mayor Hatfield said, “We will be able to use the old Lock Masters house as a museum and educational center telling people about Fort Gay.”
The overall goal of the City of Fort Gay is that this historical site will someday be a major attraction for not only the hundreds of anglers already using the area, but visitors interested in the early history of the river and Fort Gay.
Right now, most of the trail work, maintenance and oversight is taken care of by Mayor Hatfield and Fort Gay city workers who take time to routinely inspect the property and maintain trails leading to the dam.
Fishing at Dam #3 is like many dams across the U.S. in that any fish you can think of, at some point, will be moving upstream. It’s a natural process until they reach the dam. At this point, they are blocked from moving further upstream and it’s a perfect time to take advantage of fish that are attracted to the spillage flows over the dam.
If you are fishing around dams you need to understand how each dam functions. Larger dams typically have a lock chamber on the side of the dam that barges, and other boats move through.
If you are fishing on the riverbank adjacent to the dams or locks, numbers of fish will vary as locks are opened and closed. Take advantage of this as boats move by as it can stimulate fish activity for a short period of time.
The more frequent the locks are opened and closed the greater the number of larger fish will be moving into that section of the river below the dam.
If you have not tried fishing around a dam, it’s a good summer destination. Just upscale the size of your equipment for the turbulent water and always use caution when fishing along the banks and walls of dams. If you are interested why not go by Fort Gay, West Virginia and try fishing at a historical dam!