With air temperatures consistently in the 70s and water temps in the high 50s, spring has officially arrived in the mountains here in the Brevard area. Sorry it's been awhile since I've posted, but we've been slammed with both fly fishing and canoeing clients and the shop has been bustling. The few days off I managed to carve out were too beautiful to sit behind a computer, that's for sure! My best day of personal fishing recently was on the Davidson, where a buddy and I stumbled upon a cinnamon caddis hatch of mythical proportions. There were large trout flashing, splashing and leaping everywhere. After netting a half-dozen fish up to 15 inches, I finally managed to get a bruiser brown over 20 inches to eat a dry fly, and my buddy got the whole thing on video. He broke off at the end, but the surface take and subsequent acrobatics are very cool to watch and re-watch (don't let anyone tell you that browns don't jump.) I'll try to post it soon, if I can figure out how to upload video files.
Meanwhile, we've had a couple of good weeks of fishing, despite dropping water levels. On the 18th, I took Ashton S. and his son-in-law up to the North Fork for their inaugural visit (we've fished the East Fork before), and they had a blast -- except for late in the day when someone who shall go unnamed took a plunge and immersed his camera in the drink!It was in the middle of a chaotic fight with a giant rainbow, who we haven't hooked in quite some time because he usually sits in some very frothy, fast current. On this day, Ashton managed to hook him and he jetted off down a sluice and into the pool below him. I scrambled downstream and we eventually tired him out enough to net him. He was 22 inches long and very brightly colored along his flanks, with bold leopard spots and white-tipped fins. The digital camera was inoperable at this point, but none of us will forget the image of that fish. Fortunately, both boys landed some nice fish earlier that made it onto the photo card before it got dunked, and nobody got hurt, thankfully.
On the 19th, Jimmy G. returned to fish the North Fork along with his fishing buddy, Butch. The forecast was less than desirable, with a cold front bringing in rain and a 60% chance of thunderstorms. But they toughed it out and, as is often the case, the extreme weather stalled long enough for us to fish in relative comfort (just a drizzle) for the entire day. Jimmy landed a bunch of "fat ol' silver bellies," as he dubs them, as well as the biggest hornyhead I've ever seen! Butch caught a few bigger fish, as well, with lots of wild fish thrown in the mix. The action wasn't as fast-paced as the last time we fished, probably because of the cold front, but it was still an enjoyable day of fine conversation, good humour and beautiful surroundings. We saw a bunch of birds that day, including a young Cooper's hawk teaching her young how to hunt. She flew over us and lighted in a dead tree, where she dropped a dead squirrel in a crook, presumably for the young to pick up. Bluebirds were in the apple blossoms, thrashers were scratching in the laurel and phoebes perched on roof of the old cabin. A few swallows dipped down over the water to grab the few March Browns that came off in the afternoon, but they were too scant to really turn the fish on much.
On the 20th, we were pleased to host Larry S. and his two grown sons, Jeff and Brad, on their annual father-and-son fishing trip. Guide Mac Marett and I switched off with Jeff and Brad, so they could each spend time fishing with their dad. Jeff and Mac landed a brace of wild trout in the a.m. and capped off the morning by landed a beast of a rainbow in a deep pool below some rhododendron. Meanwhile, Larry and Brad got into a nice caddis hatch on the upper stretch, each landing a handful of trout, including a couple of bigger rainbows, on Morrish's Hotwire Caddis Pupas and DSPs. After a nice deli sandwich lunch, Jeff and Larry followed me upstream, where Dad latched onto a huge rainbow and an equally huge brown that went boring downstream and pulled out. Undeterred, Larry climbed into some slippery pocket water and proceeded to land three nice rainbows -- boom, boom, boom. I almost killed myself wading out below him to net them! Jeff got a large fish to slash at his streamer, but it missed, then he landed four nice rainbows in the afternoon and a wild brown to boot. Meanwhile, Mac got Brad into a giant rainbow that ate his fly as it swung up on the end of his drift. They landed it on 6X! It was a great way to end the day.
The next day, April 21, I took Mike D. from Florida up to the North Fork for his first trip on the private waters. After fishing over them for three days, I wondered whether the trout would have lockjaw, but a fantastic March Brown hatch and lots of blue-winged olives kept the trout happy and active. Mike said it was the best day of trout fishing he'd ever had, and he has fished for big browns in Michigan, salmon in the Pacific Northwest and is a regular visitor to the Tennessee tailwaters. It helped that Mike is a good mender who sets the hook quickly, but not too hard, and he knows how to play big fish on light tippet. It was a memorable day, topped off by a big 19-inch rainbow at the end of the afternoon. I can't wait to fish with Mike again.
On the 24th, Mac, guide Sam Aiken and I got to host another annual fishing excursion, this one hosted by Watt G. and his wife Nancy, from Little Rock, Arkansas. Watt and Nancy and two other couples were staying in Black Mountain, so we met them on Hwy. 280 and headed over to fish the North Mills River. We started in the campground section, which was crowded for a Thursday and didn't fish well at all. We hooked into a few, but they weren't big. So after a tasty lunch and some red wine (for the clients, not us guides), all nine of us hiked in from the Trace Ridge Trailhead and began fishing three separate sections of the upper river. The upper river fished better than the campground, but wasn't exactly on fire. The water was low and the fish were spooky, even in the broken water. Everybody landed some fish, however, and there was no lack of visual stimulation: star chickweed, trillium, bloodroot, hooded warblers and a baby northern water snake that Nancy was brave enough to fish near! The hike out was arduous, but this was a tough group that has fished in Alaska, Montana and all over. Watt even smoked a cigar on the way out -- how cool is that?
Friday, April 25, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Wildflowers and Trout Galore!
Any savvy angler who has spent enough time in the woods knows that blooming wildflowers are a great indicator of trout fishing (and hatches.) This goes for all areas of the country. In Michigan, for instance, when the wild irises are in bloom, you can bet good money that the Brown Drakes are hatching. Here in the southern Appalachians, three of my favorite indicator species for good fishing are the trout lily, yellow mandarin, and trillium. I fished up the West Fork of the French Broad the other day with a good buddy of mine and all three herbs were on full display, along with star chickweed, wild strawberry, and foamflower. The fishing wasn't super hot, but we caught some nice trout over the course of the afternoon, ranging from some cookie-cutter 10" rainbows to a beautiful wild brown of 15 inches. We didn't see any rises at all, so everything was caught fishing nymphs deep, with lots of split shot. Saw my first yellow sallie of the year, but most of the bugs were black caddis and Quill Gordons.
We've had some fun on guide trips over the last week or so. On April 9, guide Woody Platt took Bill and Mary P. from West Virginia up to our private waters for a day of fly fishing. It was a gorgeous day in the 60s and the fish were really on. Most of the fish caught were 12"-15" rainbows, but Woody also netted a 5-pound brown for the lucky anglers. From the smiles on their faces at the end of the day, I think we'll see them again. The next day, I took John M. from Virginia up to the private waters for an all-day trip. John and I have fished together for years and he is always a pleasure to spend the day with. The morning was kind of slow, with just a fish here or there, and I was a little mystified. I just figured they were sore-mouthed from Woody's trip the previous morning, which didn't make a whole lot of sense. Then John and I walked up on a wet sandy spot where there were lots of fresh five-toed tracks and two long, brown turds with fish scales in them. River otters! No wonder the fish were so freaked out. We've had a pair of otters on the river for a year or so, but they've come and gone with little damage to the fishery. Indeed, by afternoon, the otter rampage was a distant memory and the trout started eating well again. We landed several nice ones, but as always happens when the water is up, broke off or lost some of the larger rainbows when they went airborne or wrenched the hook out in fast current.
On April 11th, I hosted two of my favorite repeat clients, Stan R. and Tommy G. from Alabama, on the private waters; the fishing and the company were both fantastic. Despite a weather forecast calling for severe thunderstorms in the afternoon, the rain held off until we were done fishing, which was a blessing. We hooked a ton of fish, but lots of them pulled out just at the last minute. Stan even asked, jokingly, if there wasn't a hinge on our hooks, it happened so much (with water temps in the mid-50s, the fish's metabolisms are really amped up right now.) In the afternoon, a bunch of cinnamon caddis started coming off and the fish went wild. I tied on a caddis pupa dropper to both men's rigs and they started hooking one trout after another. Landing them was another story! About 2-out-of-3 fish got within inches of my net and then pulled out, with the flies shooting up into a rhododendron. I went through a whole spool of Frog Hair re-rigging them, but it's hard to complain when the action is that hot. Fortunately, both guys landed a fat rainbow to cap off the day.
On April 12, I picked up John M. at his Adventure Village cabin and we headed over to the East Fork for some public water fishing. Just as pulled up to the Delayed Harvest section, there was the game warden on the side of the road with three guys with spinning rods and worm containers. Busted! But that just goes to show how severe the poaching problems has become over there, with people bait fishing on a Saturday morning right next to the road. Despite the poaching, John and I had an awesome time on the water, landing about 30 fish over the course of the day on a variety of nymphs and streamers. Brook trout are definitely king on the East Fork after the last stocking -- 70% of what we landed was a brookie, including two monsters of 18 inches. That night, we ate dinner together at the Squared Root and laughed ourselves silly -- it was a great way to end a week of great fishing.
We've had some fun on guide trips over the last week or so. On April 9, guide Woody Platt took Bill and Mary P. from West Virginia up to our private waters for a day of fly fishing. It was a gorgeous day in the 60s and the fish were really on. Most of the fish caught were 12"-15" rainbows, but Woody also netted a 5-pound brown for the lucky anglers. From the smiles on their faces at the end of the day, I think we'll see them again. The next day, I took John M. from Virginia up to the private waters for an all-day trip. John and I have fished together for years and he is always a pleasure to spend the day with. The morning was kind of slow, with just a fish here or there, and I was a little mystified. I just figured they were sore-mouthed from Woody's trip the previous morning, which didn't make a whole lot of sense. Then John and I walked up on a wet sandy spot where there were lots of fresh five-toed tracks and two long, brown turds with fish scales in them. River otters! No wonder the fish were so freaked out. We've had a pair of otters on the river for a year or so, but they've come and gone with little damage to the fishery. Indeed, by afternoon, the otter rampage was a distant memory and the trout started eating well again. We landed several nice ones, but as always happens when the water is up, broke off or lost some of the larger rainbows when they went airborne or wrenched the hook out in fast current.
On April 11th, I hosted two of my favorite repeat clients, Stan R. and Tommy G. from Alabama, on the private waters; the fishing and the company were both fantastic. Despite a weather forecast calling for severe thunderstorms in the afternoon, the rain held off until we were done fishing, which was a blessing. We hooked a ton of fish, but lots of them pulled out just at the last minute. Stan even asked, jokingly, if there wasn't a hinge on our hooks, it happened so much (with water temps in the mid-50s, the fish's metabolisms are really amped up right now.) In the afternoon, a bunch of cinnamon caddis started coming off and the fish went wild. I tied on a caddis pupa dropper to both men's rigs and they started hooking one trout after another. Landing them was another story! About 2-out-of-3 fish got within inches of my net and then pulled out, with the flies shooting up into a rhododendron. I went through a whole spool of Frog Hair re-rigging them, but it's hard to complain when the action is that hot. Fortunately, both guys landed a fat rainbow to cap off the day.
On April 12, I picked up John M. at his Adventure Village cabin and we headed over to the East Fork for some public water fishing. Just as pulled up to the Delayed Harvest section, there was the game warden on the side of the road with three guys with spinning rods and worm containers. Busted! But that just goes to show how severe the poaching problems has become over there, with people bait fishing on a Saturday morning right next to the road. Despite the poaching, John and I had an awesome time on the water, landing about 30 fish over the course of the day on a variety of nymphs and streamers. Brook trout are definitely king on the East Fork after the last stocking -- 70% of what we landed was a brookie, including two monsters of 18 inches. That night, we ate dinner together at the Squared Root and laughed ourselves silly -- it was a great way to end a week of great fishing.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
March/April Guide Trips
Our water levels are hovering right where they should be for this time of year, a further sign that the worst of the drought is behind us. All the rainfall of late has been good for fishing, both on public streams such as the Davidson and on our private leased water. Quill Gordons, Blue Quills, BWOs, black caddis and midges are all hatching in good numbers, though I haven't experienced a "blanket hatch" of any species in the last two weeks, perhaps because of the record flooding we had on March 19. We had to postpone a bunch of trips thanks to the high water, which reached 1,000 cfs on the French Broad in Rosman!
Once the water had receded enough to fish it, I took Jimmy L. from Panama City FL up to the private waters for a full-day trip on March 27. Jimmy, who was one of the first people I ever floated down the Tuckasegee years ago, put more fish in the net than just about anyone thus far this season. I won't brag on him too much, but Jimmy didn't go more than 20 minutes without a fish on, including several large rainbows. I think he's spoiled now! We even got four fish to come up and eat a Quill Gordon dry after lunch. But most of the fish fell to nymphs, everything from Caddis Poopahs to a #18 Killer Mayfly Nymph, either dropped off a Thunderhead or fished under an indicator. Jimmy just back from an awesome trip to Chile, so he's had quite a month of fishing.
On March 28, we hosted a father-son getaway for Justin C. and Mark S. and their two sons, Parker and Chandler. I took the dads up to our private waters for a full-day of fishing, while guide Sam Aiken coached the two boys during a 3-Hour School of Trout. Parker and Chandler learned to cast like a couple of pros, and even got a chance to tie their own stonefly nymphs under Sam's tutelage. Then they took their newfound skills over to a pond, where they caught some trout for dinner. Meanwhile, their dads learned how to nymph, Southern Appalachian style, and caught about 15 fish apiece over the course of the day. We lost a few bruisers, but everyone landed a trout over 17 inches. The next day, Justin and Mark took the boys on a canoe trip down to Hannah Ford. I'm sure the whole adventure will provide fond memories for the parents and kids for years to come.
April arrived with still more rain, but that wasn't about to stop Tom L. from Tallahassee from going fishing on the 3rd. I took Tom over to the East Fork, where we did some casting instruction and flipped a bunch of rocks while we discussed "matching the hatch." We found some pretty cool bugs, including a giant Pteronarcys stonefly nymph that was as long as my ring finger! Tom hooked and landed three trout on his first five casts, so I had a feeling it was going to be a good day. It turned out better than just good - it was sheer trout-catching anarchy. In one pool, Tom landed 10 brook trout on 10 drifts. We tried it all -- dead-drifting, swinging flies, stripping streamers -- and it all worked. The dry fly fishing wasn't great, because the constant rain kept knocking our flies underwater, but the nymph fishing was sensational. I'm not a fish counter, but suffice it to say that if the regulations weren't catch-and-release, Tom could have fed a small Third World family with what he landed.
On April 4, I had the pleasure of taking out two of my favorite repeat clients, William M. and Art D. from Birmingham, AL to the private waters. These fellas are hilarious and had me in stitches the whole trip! Things started off promising, with both guys landing a handful of 12-15" rainbows on a variety of nymphs and attractor patterns. There were Quill Gordons coming off (they were #16s, which is pretty small for that species) and a few Blue Quills; the fish were definitely looking for them. When we moved upstream, where the current was rushing through narrow sluices and runs, the fishing got increasingly difficult. Both men landed some nice trout, but it took lots of good drifts to get strikes. We lunched on the porch of the old cabin, safe from the pelting rain, and talked about Alabama politics, golf, fishing gear and former bosses. When we returned to the river, it was definitely running higher and slightly dirtier. We landed another 4 or 5 fish apiece, had quite a few fish come unbuttoned, and ended the day after the rushing flow became too difficult to fish. Besides, it was time for everyone to dry out and have a cold beer.
This month should continue to provide good-to-excellent fishing, as the water temperatures are hovering in the mid-50s, which is the ideal feeding range for trout. Moreover, some of our best hatches, including the March Browns and Hendricksons, are about to start. If you're interested in a guided trip, either on our private waters or one of the fantastic public streams in our area, give us a call at 828-877-3106.
Once the water had receded enough to fish it, I took Jimmy L. from Panama City FL up to the private waters for a full-day trip on March 27. Jimmy, who was one of the first people I ever floated down the Tuckasegee years ago, put more fish in the net than just about anyone thus far this season. I won't brag on him too much, but Jimmy didn't go more than 20 minutes without a fish on, including several large rainbows. I think he's spoiled now! We even got four fish to come up and eat a Quill Gordon dry after lunch. But most of the fish fell to nymphs, everything from Caddis Poopahs to a #18 Killer Mayfly Nymph, either dropped off a Thunderhead or fished under an indicator. Jimmy just back from an awesome trip to Chile, so he's had quite a month of fishing.
On March 28, we hosted a father-son getaway for Justin C. and Mark S. and their two sons, Parker and Chandler. I took the dads up to our private waters for a full-day of fishing, while guide Sam Aiken coached the two boys during a 3-Hour School of Trout. Parker and Chandler learned to cast like a couple of pros, and even got a chance to tie their own stonefly nymphs under Sam's tutelage. Then they took their newfound skills over to a pond, where they caught some trout for dinner. Meanwhile, their dads learned how to nymph, Southern Appalachian style, and caught about 15 fish apiece over the course of the day. We lost a few bruisers, but everyone landed a trout over 17 inches. The next day, Justin and Mark took the boys on a canoe trip down to Hannah Ford. I'm sure the whole adventure will provide fond memories for the parents and kids for years to come.
April arrived with still more rain, but that wasn't about to stop Tom L. from Tallahassee from going fishing on the 3rd. I took Tom over to the East Fork, where we did some casting instruction and flipped a bunch of rocks while we discussed "matching the hatch." We found some pretty cool bugs, including a giant Pteronarcys stonefly nymph that was as long as my ring finger! Tom hooked and landed three trout on his first five casts, so I had a feeling it was going to be a good day. It turned out better than just good - it was sheer trout-catching anarchy. In one pool, Tom landed 10 brook trout on 10 drifts. We tried it all -- dead-drifting, swinging flies, stripping streamers -- and it all worked. The dry fly fishing wasn't great, because the constant rain kept knocking our flies underwater, but the nymph fishing was sensational. I'm not a fish counter, but suffice it to say that if the regulations weren't catch-and-release, Tom could have fed a small Third World family with what he landed.
On April 4, I had the pleasure of taking out two of my favorite repeat clients, William M. and Art D. from Birmingham, AL to the private waters. These fellas are hilarious and had me in stitches the whole trip! Things started off promising, with both guys landing a handful of 12-15" rainbows on a variety of nymphs and attractor patterns. There were Quill Gordons coming off (they were #16s, which is pretty small for that species) and a few Blue Quills; the fish were definitely looking for them. When we moved upstream, where the current was rushing through narrow sluices and runs, the fishing got increasingly difficult. Both men landed some nice trout, but it took lots of good drifts to get strikes. We lunched on the porch of the old cabin, safe from the pelting rain, and talked about Alabama politics, golf, fishing gear and former bosses. When we returned to the river, it was definitely running higher and slightly dirtier. We landed another 4 or 5 fish apiece, had quite a few fish come unbuttoned, and ended the day after the rushing flow became too difficult to fish. Besides, it was time for everyone to dry out and have a cold beer.
This month should continue to provide good-to-excellent fishing, as the water temperatures are hovering in the mid-50s, which is the ideal feeding range for trout. Moreover, some of our best hatches, including the March Browns and Hendricksons, are about to start. If you're interested in a guided trip, either on our private waters or one of the fantastic public streams in our area, give us a call at 828-877-3106.
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Mikey likes it!
Even photographers occasionally get to fish, as Michael Justus proved with this scrappy rainbow