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.