Well this story begins when the Bent Rod crew landed in the small thriving metropolis of Monterville, Wv., population “10”. But the many nightclubs, strip clubs, and biker bars were not why we were there. Nope, we were there to pay homage to the legendary Elk River. 
For those of you who are not familiar with the “Elk” aka “The Lady”, it is a Limestone spring fed stream that supports a healthy population of brown and rainbow trout. Hatches are prolific, most notably the sulphur in May, and June every year. It is located in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere between BFE and East Bummble f??k.
Our weekend started Friday, September 12th. We arrived with high expectations, only to be shutdown by the rain and selective trout. It is not uncommon to see people fishing 2wt rods throwing size 32 midges tied to 9 and 10x tippet. The water was very low and clear, which is common for this time of year, so every trout in the river was visible. They would inspect your meager offering before throwing there nose up at it. Now that shit will wear on you after a while. So, after countless denials by the bi-polar trout that inhabit the Elk, success was found. I turned the head of a nice looking female bow and it was on. I was drifting a size 24 olive bh nymph on a current that eventually ended up under a log jam, the beaut came out and wrecked my fly. I actually wrote it off as a snag. After a battle to keep her out of the logs, I got her to hand. 
After landing only two fish that evening I was ready for some beer and vodka. I was joined by me amigos Murphy and Mitch, both of which shared the same meager success that day. We later settled at the cabin to eat steak, make fun of Mitch and watch Semi Pro. We were staying at Elk Springs Resort. Elk Springs is made up of several cabins, full service fly shop, bar, grill, and one of the only highly productive spring creeks in the East(outside of PA). The Spring creek on the property is one of the tribs that form the Elk. It is extremely fertile, and loaded with selective trout.
Saturday was a new day, we woke with a new game plan. Now if you are a purist, cover your ears, because this involves unconventional methods. We decided to try egg patterns and sunk beetles. Our game plan paid off. We would flop a beetle on the water aided buy some split shot. If the trout didn’t take it then, we would let it sink and sit on the bottom. After a minute or so on the bottom, we would begin a series of twitches to imitate a crab like movement. What ever we were doing, it worked. The trout took our flies as if they owed them money. We fished the eggs the same way. We slammed the fish all day. Sight fishing was the preferred method. Later that day I decided to fish the Spring creek trib, upon arrival I noticed a fatt *** female brown cruising the water cress in search of a meal. I immediately dropped my weighted egg into her path and twitched it through the cress. It was like I had threw a twinky in front of a fat chick. She nearly broke her neck to eat my fly. The fight was on! After about 10 minutes of tug-a-war, 
Mitch and I brought the SS Lardo to the bank. I estimate her in the 28 inch plus range, and at least 8lbs or more. 
I was a mess after landing her.
Now after Murphy, Mitch, and myself rapped and pilfered the area for hours, it was time to party. We are Bent Rod Media and we like to party. We headed to the fly shop and grill to eat dinner and drink Randolph County Dry. It started with steak, trout, shrimp, and beer. We were joined by a few regulars, other visitors, Mitch’s dad, the Elk Springs Proprietors John and Amanda. After gorging at dinner Mitch picked up the guitar and the fun began. We wrote the Elk River Blues, drank some Jose, Shine, and many beers. I don’t remember much after that, but I do remember eating a BBQ sandwich at like three in the morning. Anyway it was a helluva night. John and Amanda are great hosts and are highly recommended. Elk Springs is a Orvis endorsed outfitter for those Orvis fans.
So, after all the fun I could stand, it was back to reality. And here I sit muttering away on my laptop. We have alot of video to go through and pictures to extract. We will be updating the post at some time with a short video and more pictures. Thanks again to EVERYONE at the ELKSPRINGS RESORT for an awesome time.
Watch the Big Brown Video here at YouTube View pictures of the Trip here http://tristatesportsmen.com/smf/index.php?topic=598.0
Ryan
Bent Rod Media
http://www.elkspringsresort.com/
http://www.theoutdoorjunction.com/
BentRodMedia 
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