During the daylight hours, many of the hybrid stripers from Beech Fork are taken by trolling. Brown recommended some of the open-water zones, places the fish use to feed on shad, which are a pelagic (open-water) baitfish.

"The more open areas down near the dam seem to hold the most hybrids," Brown said. "In the Millers Fork Arm before you get to the no-wake zone, that would be a decent place. There are some steeper points, definitely some open-water areas that you can troll."

Another place worth targeting is the tailwaters of the dam. Fish congregate in the tailwaters from sources both above and below the lake.

"Some fish pass through the dam, but you can also have movement up from the Ohio River," Brown explained. "Folks do report a decent spring fishery below the dam as fish move up in a mock spawning run."

To reach Beech Fork Lake from Interstate 64 near Huntington, take Exit 8, which puts you on state Route 152. Go south toward Wayne. After approximately seven miles, turn left on Beech Fork Road (near Lavalette) and go approximately three miles to the dam site.

Motors on Beech Fork Lake are limited to 10 horsepower. Motors larger than 10 horsepower must have the propellers removed.

Additional information on Beech Fork Lake can be obtained by calling the project office at (304) 525-4831.

EAST LYNN LAKE
(1,000 Acres In Wayne County)
"East Lynn is a much steeper lake," Brown said. "It has a larger deep area near the dam. There are a lot of rocky points. Some shoreline areas have laydowns where trees have fallen into the water. The water is a little less productive than on R.D. Bailey, and it has fewer nutrients, so typically the water is clearer. But during the springtime, that is dependent on the amount of precipitation."

Brown noted that like Beech Fork, some quality-sized hybrids are found in East Lynn. He pointed to this lake, however, in terms of better numbers of fish.

"We have done some recent gill- netting on East Lynn, as well as fall electrofishing," he noted. "As I recall, we did see some very nice fish during the fall electrofishing. Hybrids are probably a little more abundant in East Lynn than in Beech Fork. Since it does not have the white bass component, it is a little higher on my priority list as far as getting stockings."

Though the tailrace fishery is not noted in particular for hybrid stripers, it is worth the attention of anglers, particularly those limited to fishing from shore.

"People do fish the outflow," Brown said. "It is stocked with trout during the spring. I haven't heard too much about hybrids in the tailrace, but a small fishery there wouldn't surprise me. There may be a couple of significant migration barriers between the outflow and the Ohio River, low-head dams and such, that limit fish from coming upstream."

Three boat ramps are located on East Lynn Lake. There is no horsepower restriction.

Additional information on the lake can be obtained by calling the resource manager's office at (304) 849-2355. To reach the lake, from Huntington take SR 152 south to Wayne.