James River Guide by Bruce Ingram

Author:Bruce Ingram [Ingram, Bruce]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780990783329
Publisher: Secant Publishing
Published: 2014-11-26T16:00:00+00:00

The take-out on river right involves an overly long trek up a steep bank of over 50 yards. All in all, the charms of the Buchanan float are well worth the effort.

7: Arcadia to Alpine

TRIP: Arcadia to Alpine in Botetourt County

USGS QUADS: Buchanan and Arnold Valley

DISTANCE: Four miles

RAPIDS: A Class II and several Class I rapids

ACCESS: The put-in is below the Route 614 Bridge near Arcadia. (See the gray box section of previous chapter.) The river left take-out is a small gravel parking lot on Route 608/622. This is a non-trailerable site. The actual put-in, which is across the road from the lot, is a gravel walkway leading to the river’s edge.

Arcadia to Alpine makes for a sensational half-day float for the serious angler, especially the individual who likes the possibility of tangling with big bass. Canoeists should couple this trip with the preceding Buchanan to Arcadia float for a fun half-day excursion of about 10 miles.

This is also one of the most scenic sections of the James. Rocky Point, which is a majestic rock formation that juts out from the hillside above the river, occurs near the trip’s end and is a favorite subject for many shutterbugs. You’ll see remains of the Kanawha Canal, and everywhere, it seems, the wooded shoreline adds grace and beauty to this section. Bird watchers will find a wealth of species, from ospreys and red-tailed hawks to warblers and vireos. For those without a boat, wade fishing is possible both upstream and down from the Arcadia bridge. In fact, that area is a favorite for bank-bound fly-fishermen.

Richard Furman, a guide for Twin River Outfitters in Buchanan, loves the scenic nature of the Arcadia junket.“One of my favorite parts of the float is the island below Arcadia,” he said. “It’s a true island in terms of size on the headwaters part of the river, and it also has a Kanawha Canal lock and abutment. There are even some pieces of hand-hewn timber in the river left over from the canal era.”

For me, this section has special meaning because my initial visit to the river I love was here. A fellow teenager and I, both of us with our heads full of stories of the mighty James, came here many years ago. We seined hellgrammites from beneath the Arcadia bridge and spent an afternoon catching 10- to-13-inch smallmouths as well as rock bass and redbreast sunfish. That’s when I became a forever fan of the James.

Some tremendous smallmouth sport is possible as soon as your paddle dips into the water. A long outside bend, extending about a mile and a quarter on river left, announces the beginning of the trip. And what a bend it is! Rock piles, boulders, log jams, submerged sycamores, and shoreline brush all dot the water’s edge. Undercut banks and dropoffs are also a part of the shoreline, and at places the water is well over eight feet deep, which is considerable for the upper section of the James. The entire turn offers a wealth of fly and lure choices.

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