The Jug, Same Put-in & Take-out

The Jug is an anomaly and derived from the geographic feature where the creek forms one large loop that looks like a jug. The unique element of this site is that boaters can launch a canoe or kayak and take it out less than 100 feet from where they put-in. This makes the Jug one special place, where a shuttle is not necessary. This allows the 1 hour and 15 minutes drive from Wheeling more palatable for a day excursion.

The Middle Island Creek is West Virginia’s longest creek. The old rule of thumb for rivers to be be classified as a “river” a waterway has to be 100 miles in length. I have never seen any scientific evidence but it makes sense because there are some narrow and dry rivers out there. This lengthy creek has multiple factors that makes it a true WV gem. This waterway is a world class muskie fishery. The muskellunge, “muskie,” is the largest member of the pike family with the capabilities of ingesting prey up to two-thirds of their body length. These mighty fish are the wolves of the warm water fishery. Old timers call them the 1,000 cast fish with the legend stating that it takes the average fishermen one thousand casts to land one of these tenacious predators. Another unique element of the Jug is that it is a WVDNR Wildlife Management Area. The Jug Wildlife Management Area is 2,848 acres of public land that is surrounded by farms and rolling hills. Depending on the hunting season recreationists can hunt game from a kayak or canoe while casting a line. A personal bucket list item for me.

The Jug topography was altered in the early 1900s to capture and harness the water power for a grist mill. The old mill excavated the sliver of land that separated the waterway from where it comes back on itself. If nature would have carved the path of least resistance it would have created an oxbow. Annual and flash floods in WV were hard on the early mills and eventually became too costly to repair leading to their eventual demise.