MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. -- Virginia no longer closes trout fishing, but the fishing season will unofficially open on April 6, after the second trout stocking of the year.
Heritage Day, as the event is called, harkens back to the time when the state used to close trout fishing to stock lakes and streams during February and March and then reopen the season to crowds and fanfare, said Tim Stamps, Quantico’s head of Fish, Wildlife and Agronomy. “Some people just like fishing elbow to elbow as a social experience.”
Aboard Quantico, areas stocked will be the Secon Pool, off Blackrock Road, and the stretch of Chopawamsic Creek between Breckenridge Dam and Gray’s Reservoir. Secon Pool fishing is reserved for children 12 and under.
“It’s a great chance for the little ones to catch a fish,” Stamps said.
The same waters were stocked March 22 and will be stocked again once or twice before the end of May. One of those occasions will be the day before a wounded warrior fishing event scheduled for April 20, when Secon Pool will be reserved for wounded warriors and their families from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
This is the second year the base has hosted a wounded warrior fishing day. Thirty to 40 people showed up for the event last year, Stamps said. “It was a really nice event last year. There were plenty of fish, and I think everyone had a good time.”
The Quantico Injured Military Sportsmen Association will provide the afternoon’s lunch.
Parking for the trout fishing events is available at Gray’s Reservoir and along Blackrock Road near the Secon Pool. Those interested in attending the wounded warrior event at Secon Pool can contact Stamps at 703-432-0308 for more information.
Trout waters will be closed the day before each event to allow for stocking.
Fishing in the designated trout waters requires a trout fishing license, in addition to the state and base fishing licenses. Base fishing licenses cost $10 and are currently available at the Marine Corps Exchange. On April 5 and 6, and then from April 12 until the end of turkey season, the Quantico Game Check Station will be open and selling base fishing licenses as well.
State fishing licenses run anywhere between $16 and $40, with discounts for senior citizens and the disabled, depending on the scope of the license, and a trout fishing license costs $23. Both can be purchased through the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ customer service center.
The trout are provided by the DGIF, which deposits about 1,000 of the fish at a time, three or four times a year, in Chopawamsic Creek and Secon Pool, Stamps said. Statewide, trout license sales cover the cost of running the trout hatcheries.
Trout licenses are not needed for fishing in other areas of the base, such as the Potomac River, the tidal waters of Chopawamsic Creek, Smith Lake and Breckenridge Reservoir.
Lunga Reservoir and Lunga Park remain closed for munitions inspections.
The lower Chopawamsic can be fished from canoe or kayak, and from the wildlife viewing area or Officer Candidates School. The Joe Foxx Fishing Area next to the Marine Corps Air Facility provides wheelchair-accessible fishing for anyone with a Department of Defense identification card. Electric motors are allowed on Smith Lake and Breckenridge Reservoir, but gasoline engines are prohibited.
— Writer: mdicicco@quanticosentryonline.com