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.