Photo by Ron Sinfelt

Jane had long blond hair, wore bright red lipstick and dressed in short skirts, except when she wore hot pants, and during the nine months that we dated in 1970 and 1971, I was the envy of all my male friends. She was a glamorous Virginia Tech sophomore from Ohio and liked parties and dancing, and I was a middle-class sophomore from Salem and attending Roanoke College, and I favored fishing and the forest. So even then at the tender age of 19, I knew deep down that we had no future together.

Still, a fellow can dream, especially about convincing his girlfriend about the joys of fishing. My plan was to drive to Tech, pick Jane up and then take her on a picnic to the Cascades Waterfall on Little Stony Creek in Giles County. After a suitable time spent eating and conversing, I would mention to her that I happened to have a couple of rods in my '58 Ford and wouldn't she like to try for some trout in Little Stony.

The eating and conversing part of the game plan went just fine, but Jane frowned when the subject of angling was broached. And she positively whined when we went walking along the picturesque rhododendron-covered banks of Little Stony. I was enamored with the beauty and tranquility of Little Stony; Jane was horrified at the fact that she was in the "wilderness," that cobwebs existed and that spiders and bugs dwelled along the creek. I cut the fishing trip short and not long afterwards Jane cut me loose for a guy named Malcolm.

Looking back, Jane did me a favor by dumping me, for our relationship had already severely curtailed my fishing expeditions in the early 1970s. Today, Little Stony remains a marvelous destination for trout addicts, and this Giles County creek is just one of the many lesser-known special regulations streams that Old Dominion fishermen may want to sample this spring.

LITTLE STONY CREEK IN GILES COUNTY
As I discovered in 1971, Giles County's Little Stony Creek is a wonderful getaway for those living in the Roanoke/Salem/Blacksburg corridor, as well as for those sportsmen residing in southwest Virginia. Most of the special regulation section is below the Cascades where plenty of fair size rainbows between 7 and 12 inches swim.

Above the waterfall, anglers can attempt to fool the stream's native brook trout contingent. To me, this is the most scenic part of the stream and it is also the part that receives the least fishing pressure. The lower reaches below the waterfall is a popular destination on weekends for Virginia Tech and Radford hikers and picnickers, so I would recommend visiting Little Stony on weekdays. The worst possible scenario would be to travel to the Cascades on the first warm Saturday of the spring, when hordes of college students will likely be awaiting you.

The portion of the stream within the Jefferson National Forest is under special regulations. A 9-inch minimum size limit is in effect, and only single hook artificial lures may be used.

One other possibility merits mention. Anglers might want to spend the early morning hours jousting with Little Stony's trout and then travel to the nearby New River for an afternoon of fishing for smallmouths. Little Stony lies near Pembroke, and many fine floats exist upstream and downstream from the community.