The Ice Man Cometh

Until today, we've needed to lace up our ice skates to go fishing in the upper French Broad River valley. Thanks to record lows at night, most first-order streams are still completely iced over (except on south-facing slopes) and the Davidson, East Fork, North Fork and West Fork are all rimmed by mini-iceburgs and slush. Tread carefully, if you plan on fishing the lower 'D' or East Fork this weekend (bring studded boots if you have them.) The good news is the weather forecast for the next 10 days could not be better: highs in the 60s are predicted, with lows only in the 40s some nights, along with the promise of some badly-needed rain, too.

Water levels remain well below where they should be, thanks to our ongoing drought. NOAA still ranks our area as under "severe drought." The agency's latest Seasonal Drought Outlook predicts that Transylvania County will experience "ongoing drought with some improvement" from now through April, with rainfall "barely reaching above normal." The Davidson looks really sad right now, although there have been some good hatches of BWOs, midges, micro-stones and black flies in recent weeks. The East Fork, for some reason, has held water better, but fish populations are really thin compared to last fall. Poaching? Tons of people mishandling fish (throwing them up on the dirt or gravel for a digital creeling)? Natural predation? Probably all of the above, but there are still some fish to catch. You just can't stand around in one hole for very long, unless you've got risers to work. Please use good catch-and-release practices, which means not removing fish from the water if possible.

Our private waters on the North Fork are holding their own, despite lower-than-usual water levels and a fair amount of natural predation from kingfishers, otters, etc. Fishing on "The Farm" has been fair some days, great on others. Not unlike the heart of summer, except there has been less pressure from anglers, so the fish aren't as particular about fly selection or drifts. If you book it for a sunny day in late February when the first Paraleps are popping, you'll probably slay them if your casting skills haven't deteriorated too much over the winter. We had a killer BWO hatch up there on Wednesday, where the duns were drifting up against the lip of the ice flows and POOF! disappearing into the maw of a big rainbow hiding beneath. Pretty cool.

Probably the two best public streams, in terms of water levels and fish numbers, are the Tuck and the Chattooga Delayed Harvest sections. The Tuck was on fire in January until the mercury starting plunging, but it should be back to its old self this week. Nantahala Power is not supposed to be generating on either the East or West Fork this weekend, which means wade fishing will be ideal. On your way to the river, stop by and stock up on #16-#18 Purple Sparkle Princes, #16 Bloom's Olive Soft Hackles, #22 Copper Johns in black and green, and #18 Tungsten Bead Rainbow Warriors. If you see rising fish, try a Henryville Special with a small Griffith's Gnat or Midge Winker dropped off it.

Tight lines,
Than