By Stephen Smoot
For the second year, Katie Korthals patrolled her beat. Complete with fishing lure earrings, for West Virginia Trout Fest 2026, she stood watch on the Dickenson Mountain Road bridge spanning the South Branch River about a half a mile upstream from town.
“My nephews are big fishermen,” Korthals shared, adding that they “got the whole family into it.”
With potentially lucrative prizes swimming north through Franklin towards Upper Tract and points beyond, stream marshals serve as the second most vital part of the trout rodeo outside of the fish themselves. A number of stream marshals in high visibility vests patrol different sections of the river, available for any who catch a prize fish to officially record the accomplishment.
“The music is great, but this is the focus of the whole event,” said Lauren Simmons, stream marshal and Pendleton County Chamber of Commerce board member. Also in her second year of service, she admitted “I don’t fish.” That said, she explained that volunteering as a stream marshal allows her to be a part of the action.
She and Korthals both related that they enjoy the excitement when anglers do reel in a fish, then check if it has a prize tag attached.
Bob Grimm is one of the doughty few original stream marshals. “I was on the county commission when it started,” he shared. Officials with Trout Unlimited “thought it would be a nice river event to have and we did it from Harman’s Farm to Dr. Eye’s bridge” downstream from town.
“It ran from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. That was way too long,” he stated.
In most years, the trout rodeo ran from 8 a.m. to noon, but stream marshals noticed fishermen coming much earlier and extended the event backwards to accommodate that. Rodeo participants also find themselves fishing alongside others who are not fishing for the rodeo and had no idea it was happening.
From her post at about 8 o’ clock, Korthals shared of the estimated 15 to 20 folks visible to her that “only a couple are actually here with the rodeo.” The rest just enjoy fishing in the South Branch River in and around Franklin. Grimm noted that “since it’s a state-stocked river, you can’t stop people from fishing” if they are not competing in the rodeo.
Grimm said of his fellow marshals that “a lot of them like to fish, but volunteer to help to make sure that others have a great time.” He then added, “It’s when they do catch them that it’s really exciting, but the best part is the kids.”
Grimm said he wanted to make sure and give special appreciation to Tom and Teresa Calhoon. They donate use of the land for the children’s fishing area and also volunteer as stream marshals.
Mary Frances Wadsworth also is a several year veteran stream marshal. “I’ve been working the festival for I don’t know how many years,” she said. Then Wadsworth laughed and admitted, “I used to do registration. When I found out they feed stream marshals and give them T-shirts, I changed jobs!”
Almost as if on cue, Jared VanMeter, Pendleton County Chamber of Commerce director, sped up in a side by side, hands full of freshly cooked breakfasts for the hard-working stream marshals monitoring the east side of the Franklin low water bridge.
During the years, organizers have gradually added events, food, and other fun and continue to attract larger crowds annually.
That said, the trout rodeo remains the central focus and could not happen without the time spent by stream marshals on the bridges and banks, being available to note a tag or answer a question.
“It’s a way to support the community,” noted Korthals.
