West Virginia Travel Guide 2009 - (Page 51) wild & wonderful IF YOU GO: For more information on the state’s hunting and fishing opportunities, visit www.wvdnr.gov. Fishing in the Potomac River f. will customize the exact experience you are looking for. It’s the ideal way to tackle that sport you want to try, and maybe show off to your friends, take a getaway with the guys or introduce the kids to the great outdoors. Your options extend beyond The West Virginia Experience (there are countless outfitters statewide), but your best bet is to go with a pro. So spend a day, the weekend or even a week with a good ol’ West Virginia boy – or girl. There is a certain something that you get from a truly authentic local guide that can’t be duplicated anywhere. One fish, two fish bass, trout and rockfish. We are catching one after another. In just my first hour on the river, I catch more fish than I have my entire life. And then behind me I hear a splash and a shout. Nibert laughs as we realize “the big one” got away today. But the excitement that he exudes over missing this one catch is infectious, and the trip no longer feels like a guide taking a writer out on the water. We are now a couple of guys joking, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. By the end of the float, I am spoiled by enough big catches to not even want to bother with the little guys. Although it was little bother to me anyway, since Nibert unhooks and releases all the caught fish. I didn’t touch one all day. I step out of the raft with a newfound appreciation for the joy of “pampered” fishing. As the New River is one of 11 rivers throughout the area that The West Virginia Experience takes visitors on, I have plenty of other options for a return trip. I wouldn’t be alone. “A lot of my clients are repeat or referral customers. I would have to say that the majority, probably 70 percent or more, are from urban areas. Some are corporate trips, but most are blue-collar men and women.” As popular as the fishing expeditions are, customers also book the hunting trips he offers. Whether it’s hunting small game with a .22, or bear and deer with shotguns and muzzleloaders, Nibert www.WVTOURISM.com 51 http://www.wvdnr.gov http://www.WVTOURISM.com
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