Category: Rivers of Virginia

Running through Part of Wise County Virginia, and through Dickenson County Virginia, The Pound River is a 33.9 miles (54.6 km) tributary of the Russell Fork in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. Via the Russell Fork, the Levisa Fork, the Big Sandy River

Big Sandy River (Ohio River)

The Big Sandy River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in western West Virginia and northeastern Kentucky in the United States. The river forms part of the boundary between the two states along its entire course...

, and the Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

, it is part of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 watershed. The Pound River is noted for its trout fishery.

Fishing

The Pound River below John W. Flanagan Dam and Reservoir

John W. Flanagan Dam and Reservoir

John W. Flannagan Dam and reservoir is located in the Cumberland Mountains of Dickenson County, Virginia.-History:Authorized by Congress in the Flood Control Act of 1938, and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1961, John W. Flannagan Dam and Reservoir is a part of the Big Sandy...

 in Dickenson County, Virginia is the largest tail-water trout fishery in southwest Virginia

Southwest Virginia

Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all Virginia counties on the Appalachian Plateau, all Virginia counties west of the Eastern Continental Divide, or...

. The cold-water release from the dam provides a unique habitat that is suitable for trout in this 1.6 miles (2.6 km) stretch of the Pound River, before it empties into the Russell Fork. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, or VDGIF, regulates fish and wildlife in Virginia. It is managed by the Director of Game and Inland Fisheries and overseen by the Virginia Board of Game and Inland Fisheries.-Mission:...

manages this unique resource to provide both stocked trout and special regulation trout fishing opportunities. The first 0.4 mile (0.643736 km) directly below the dam is a stocked trout area and is managed as part of the Virginia catchable trout program. This section is a category "A" stocked trout water and is stocked with legal size trout (7 inches (17.8 cm) or larger) eight times from October through May. The remaining 1.2 miles (1.9 km) below the stocked area begins at a sign posted on the riverbank that marks the start of the special regulation section.