Nampyeong kyo(bridge) :

The river flows wide enough for providing some good spots to lure fishers. You can probably hook the trouts if you cast on the spillway of Nampyeong trout farm on the opposite side to the road.

Within the spots, there are lots of trouts born wild from the escaped parents. Fly fishing yields wonderful thrill.

As soon as you pass over the cross where the road crosses below the railroad, located within about 1 km before Nampyeong kyo, take the right ramp to the river. And, you will find a water barrier that is the best spot for trouts. Going up to upper section more, almost all kinds of species come up, especially well on flies. Mainly trouts , Galkyeoni are hooked on flies.
Dropping down to lower section on the unpaved road, you will find several water barriers until you reach Mungok elementary school. You would hit the rainbow trouts and Keokji if you cast the flies on the pool of the barriers.

Naeban railroad ~ Jeongseon 2nd bridge :

It is one of the best fishing spots on Joyang gang. The highlight of spots is from Wolcheon maeul (village), that is to be reached on the unpaved road soon from Jeongseon railroad station, to Naeban railroad. The recommendable spots are around the shore of Jeongseon station side, lower part of Naeban railroad and the opposite side, gathering lots of lure and fly fishers in summer. You could probably pick up the wild trouts.

The best spot for trouts is the deep big pool, under Naeban railrod, that has the bottom covered with rocks and sand, supplying surely the ambushes for trouts and Sogari, and Keokji with many other species. This spot can be reached to the opposite shore, via Seok kyo ri. Considering that the shore of Jeongseon station side are covered with sand, you'd better enter toward the opposite rocky shore for lure and fly fishing. (PHOTO : Rapids at upper part of Gwang ha kyo - spot of Keokji)

Haksaeng yayeong jang (Students' camping yard) :

it is rocky area that supplies good spots for Keokji and Sogari. You will find a signal board of students' camping yard at the entrance of Seok kyo ri (village). The road is too rough but you can reach the camping yard by car anyway. Some Sogari would be nearly hooked on lure castings to the opposite rocky area.

Byeoktan kyo(bridge) ~ Nomi(village) :

Within this area, the bottom is completely covered with rocks, supplying the good ambushes for Sogari, Keokji. You can see lots of big rocks of fantastic shape on the water, too. The road condition is not so good but it is a spot worth of an intentional quest. Adding to the fishing, the landscape that the cliffy mountains, clear snake streams and the grotesque big rocks on the water harmonize is really magnificient and absolute.

In front of Guneon maeul (village) :

To reach Guneon maeul (village), it is hard to drop down the river from Nomi because the road departs from the river and goes over a mountain quite high.

In case of coming from Pyeong chang to Jeongseon, you can reach the village turining to the left before Gwang ha kyo(bridge).

Just upward from Gwang ha kyo, you have rapids, a nice spot for Keokji (as you see on the second photo). Going further along the cemented road you will see the scene of the first photo, in front of the Guneon village, that is also a nice spot of Keokji. (PHOTO : pools on the river in front of the Guneon village)

The trouts escaped from Guneon fishery located near upper part usually take the first rest on this spot and are often hooked on lure and flies. When you cast the flies on this spot in the morning, you will be busy in hooking and releasing lots of Galkyeoni that continuously hit . Castings toward the opposite bluff are productive. Koekji are biting small spinners on lure rods speedily. There is a wide old pine forest on the shore that is nice for camping, crowded in summer of course.

it is one of my favorite fishing spots. When I fish there in spring or in fall, avoiding the crowded summer, under the warm sun rays in the morning, surrounded by the partially cliffy mountains, on the clear water with rocky bottom, hooking lots of Keokji and Galkyeoni on lure or fly rod, I am grateful to God for my happy fishing in such surroundings.

At upper part of the pine forest, there is a torrent. Around the torrent, there are fast rapids providing good spots, toward upper and lower part, for Keokji, Keuri, Galkyeoni on both lure and fly castings. About four years ago, the river flowing by Guneon maeul was almost cristal but today it became muddy significantly.

Such pollution is caused probably by the life sewage of Jeongseon and the waste water of livestock in Guneon maeul being poured directly into the river. Is there nobody to prohibit it ? A national campaign to protect and conserve the rivers should be started and persuade the habitants near the rivers to understand that protecting the river will be beneficial for them finally. Anglerstown will start such a movement as one of its projects.

Gwang ha ri (village) :

Getting out from Guneon maeul and crossing over Gwang ha kyo, you will find a cemented road declining a little along the river, at the skirt of a cliffy mountain. The road are ruined and seems to be abandonned long time but it is the only road to go down to Dong gang, along the river.

The road, dropping down the river, passes by Kyul am maeul (village) soon and continues downward to Gasu ri where Dong nam cheon gets together with Joyang gang. Becoming much rougher, the road winding beside the river stretches out through Beonpyeong and finally finishes its pulse at Wunchi ri.

To reach Wunchi ri, there are two other ways; one is to come from the south like Yeongwol via Sindong eup and another is to come from the north like Nam myeon of Jeongseon. Both are very long detours.

(PHOTO : Torrent at lower part of Gwang ha kyo. Fantastic resource of Keokji, trouts, Sogari.and Eoreumchi. )

When you see the river, crossing over Gwang ha kyo, on the cemented road, you will find the bottom is fully covered with rocks in an interval about 300 m long (as you see on the foresaid photo). It is the fantastic ambushes of Keokji. You would find a variety of species at torrent area a little downward (on the photo), like Keokji, Sogari, trouts, Galkyeoni, Eoreumchi, and so on..

After the torrent area, the river declining visibly flows as the wide and long rapids for about 200 meters and makes a curve to the left with the deep and slow riffles  in front of the bluff of a mountain. The shore is completely covered with big grotesque rocks. There is a farm house on the hillside of the left mountain faced to the road, viewing the crook at a distance of about 100 meters. I would like to live there, fishing...  The opposite shore is the paddy.

If the trout farms on the flow of Joyang gang like Guneon fishery, Nampyeong ri fishery would be flooded by the monsoon, within two or three days after the rain, people will be mad on 'picking up trouts' around Railroad bridge at Nam pyeong ri and Guneon maeul. There will be crowded with lure and fly fishers.

After about a week's disturbance, almost all the trouts around the fisheries will be caught by any means. And the surface of water around there will regain calm.

Even after 10 more days, the survivors of trouts are found at the pool of Gwang ha ri. In spite of being late in "picking up trouts', if I come directly to the pool of Gwang ha ri, instead of approaching to the fisheries crowded with the people, I can enjoy the thrilling reaction of trouts sufficiently, monopolizing all the trouts in the pool. (PHOTO : Rainbow trout exceeding 40 cm hooked on spoon lure on the rapids just upward from the pool at Gwang ha ri.)

For the first several days after escape, the trouts bite anything without strict choice like, spoon lures, spinners, dry flies, nymphs. What a easy fishing ! (click on photo for larger one )  

The photo was taken in 1993 but such an event happens often..

Maybe the result of such a repetition or not, there are some wild trouts inhabit in the pool at Gwang ha ri. Sometimes when I cast the lures or flies on the pool side, some trouts come out from the deep pool around me, rambling around scroning probably, and fade out.  I like this spot very much.

Passing by the pool at Gwang ha ri, the river curves to the right and flows through the rocky bottom area for about 200 m or so. Another big haunt of Keokji group. You would hook lunker(?) Keokji on this spot.  Dropping down the river toward Gasu ri, the river winds so much and the road becomes much rougher to make your car groan but, the surroundings of the river becomes extremely picturesque.

Gasu ri :

The rugged road, passing by Kyulhwa(village) and Ha kyulhwa (village), becomes much rougher approaching to Gasu ri. The road condition changes after every rainy days. You'd better ask the news to habitants for your safe travel. The road is hard for both car and passengers. Nevertheless, the travel is worthy.

When you explore this road in summer, you will wash yourself with sweat but the river always accompanied, changing its color into cobalt and sometimes into turkish blue according to the angle of sun rays, reflecting the sun beam from its surface like the fish scale, singing and laughing like children, coming in and out to the shades of the pine forests, always refresh you to reach your destination. Every crooks of the river has the good fishing spots and, you will become an element of an exotic oriental painting where you cast the flies on the river with scenic surroundings. Almost each cast hooks a fish. The itinerary of anglers delayed more and more.

If you like both lure and fly fishing, you will be happy on all the irvers in Korea. On the spots that lure fishers skip over due to the shallow bottom, I am happy enough with my fly rods, enjoying with fish biting the flies, in scenic surroundings.

Before reaching Gasu ri, you will find lots of gravel shores or sandy beaches and cozy forests. Scenic camping sites are really plenty. Many pools and rapids where any kind of fishing are available are spread around Gasu ri. Night fishing is also popular. Megui (far eastern catfish) and carps come up often. It was a secluded paradise of camping and fishing.

Now, Gasu ri is no more tranquil. After the governmental withdrawal of Dong gang dam and the cancellation of the ban of construction within this area, everybody are mad for developping this area, in any means.  The previous environment and natural resources are faced against total destruction and contamination. We hope that government would intervene for harmonized development mutually beneficail to human being and natural resources.

Joyang gang is the name of the beautiful hermit river that flows from Jeongseon to Gasu ri. Afterward, it changes the name as Dong gang., another precious natural treasury.

How to get there :

One way is to get out from Yeong dong express way at Jang pyeong intersection and proceed to Gwang ha kyo(bridge) via Pyeong chang(town) and Mitan(village).  Another way is to go further on Yeong dong express way getting out from Jinbu intersection and drop down Odaecheon (stream) to the south, entering into North of Jeongseon . ...//