Wintertime Fishing Tips

Well, we officially jump into winter tomorrow, but it's felt like winter here on the river since late November. We had very chilly conditions for our traditional Thanksgiving week rush, but the trips we ran on public and private water went very well, considering the highs only reached into the 40s! Then, earlier this month, the North Fork froze over from bank to bank - even the little riffle off the front porch was sheer ice. First time anyone here can remember seeing that! But before we could dig out our ice augers and rig some tip-ups, the icebergs retreated downriver and we were back in the trout-catching business.

With small wild streams in their winter doldrums, the two best options for those of us in search of a tug or two are the Davidson and any Delayed Harvest stream. The big 'D' has been fishing fair to middlin' thus far this winter - the recent snowmelt has dropped water temps into the mid-3os, which makes trout pretty lethargic. The hatchery stretch offers the most consistent fishing, though they're not as spread out, particularly above the bridge. With temperatures so frigid, the state isn't dumping pellets very often, which makes success less about pellet flies and more about picking the right midges and getting good drifts. Like the good ol' days, in other words. And don't neglect the other 99% of the Davidson. We had several decent days fishing between Coontree and Looking Glass this week, but the water is painfully clear and on our last trip, we were dodging mini-glaciers floating downstream and regularly cleaning ice out of our guides. Iced-up guides are a constant problem this time of year, with no easy remedy. We've tried smearing on Loon Outdoors' "Stanley's Ice-Off Paste," spraying Pam on our guides, treating flylines with Mucilin, etc. The only thing that consistently does the trick is dipping your rod in the river to loosen things up and then manually breaking off what remains.

The East Fork is holding fish -- and water -- better this year than any season in recent memory. As you would expect, the fish are not holding in the faster, shallower riffles as much as in deeper runs and pools (although they will move into the shallows when BWOs and little black stones are coming off.) Several folks have come in the shop complaining that they can see lots of fish glued to the bottom, but can't get them to eat. Here's what we're telling them - (1) make sure they're not suckers, which have been podded up in the back of slower moving pools; (2) make sure you're actually getting down to them and bumping them on the nose with your fly. Trout will not move as far for flies in winter and in gin-clear water, depth is harder to gauge. Try extra split shot, lengthening your leader, dropping down to 6X tippet, which cuts through current easier, and/or tying on a small tungsten-beaded fly like a #18-#20 Mercer's MicroMay or our Soft-Hackle BWO. Mend, mend, and mend some more. If that fails, change flies and repeat.

Winter is a great time to fish locally - the crowds of summer are gone and the sight-fishing opportunities are unparalleled because the water is so clear. Don't bother getting on the water at the crack of dawn - the best time is between 1 and 3 p.m., when the sun has had time to warm things up a little. If you're looking to book a guide trip this time of year, the key is picking a sunny day with predicted highs in the 50s. Bottom line is, we'd rather guide on a 55 degree day in January than a 90 degree one in August. Bundle up, fill up that coffee thermos and stop by for some hot flies and advice. We're open 10-6, 7 days a week, all winter long.

Tight lines,

Than

Autumnal Awesomeness

What a difference a couple of weeks can make! Seems like yesterday we were bemoaning how hot and dry it was (and how low and clear our streams were) - then, BAM, we woke up to three inches of rain and nighttime lows in the 50s! Even during the past three years of drought, October always has turned the fishing around and this coming month looks like it will be no exception. For one, we got some heavy rain this past week and our stream levels are back up. Second, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has gotten their act together at the hatchery and will be stocking better-sized fish this year in our Delayed Harvest waters. And finally, experts are calling for this to be the best fall foliage season we've had in several years. It's time to get up to the mountains and catch some trout!

The last couple of months have been a whirlwind. We took six anglers on a killer destination trip to British Columbia in August, catching gobs of 17-plus-inch Westslope cutthroats on dry flies and floating through some of the prettiest country in the northern Rockies. Upon returning from B.C., we spent the latter half of August and September guiding on a variety of streams, including our North Fork private waters, the Davidson, the West Fork and a host of backcountry brook trout streams. The fishing ranged from stellar to just okay - every day was different. The Davidson got so low that it was like fishing in a wet parking lot, so we gave it a rest throughout most of August and early September. It's still not its ol' self, but we've had customer pull some beautiful browns out of the big 'D' in the last week and a half. Midge patterns such as a #24 Don King UV midge, a #22 black Pulsating Emerger and Barr's dun Micro Emerger in #20 have been our best producers, dropped off an olive Crawling Caddis or other dark-colored caddis larva. On the lower river, we've seen a bunch of winged ant swarms during the day, so always have a #18 Delektable Flying Ant handy, in black and cinnamon.

Our private waters continue to produce the best fishing we've experienced locally. The low water has podded up the fish in the deeper holes, which means you don't have to move as much for the same number of strikes. While our water is still dominated by rainbows, we've stocked some bigger browns and more wild browns have shown up of late, since the spawn is almost upon us. We had one 15" brown come to net the other day that looked like a leopard, he was so spotted up. Drink some caffeine the morning of your trip, because the strikes are lightning fast when the water is moving slower, so you've got to be quick on the draw to hook these guys!

Our wild streams, including the South Mills and the West Fork French Broad, are fishing well and will likely get even better as the leaf fall colors up the water with tannic acid. October caddis are hatching in good numbers at night, so make sure and try an orange Stimulator or pumpkin-colored Elk Hair in the mornings, when the stragglers are around. A #12-#16 tan Fox's Caddis Poopah or Translucent Caddis Pupa is a great dropper during the afternoon hours - try swinging it or lifting slowly at the end of your drift if fish aren't eating it on the dead drift. Isonychia are also hatching in decent numbers, so give a #12 Parachute Adams a shot. We're still catching lots of fish on hoppers, especially our Headwaters Letort, though the inchworm bite seems to be over for the most part.

All our local Delayed Harvest streams will be stocked by the end of the first week of October and our guiding calendar is filling up quickly. Give us a call if you're coming to the area and want to experience a crisp, cool day on the water with one of our veteran guides.

Tight lines,
Than

Fishing the Dog Days

The heat arrived a tad early this year, with daytime temps jumping up into the mid-80s to low 90s in late June. Since then, temperatures have moderated, thanks to some damp, cooler days interspersed with hot, sunny ones. The rivers started to drop from lack of rain in early July, but afternoon thundershowers have since recharged water levels and we're looking pretty good going into August (though the Davidson is still pretty bony.)

With the change in Delayed Harvest waters from C&R to catch-and-keep, our fishing options have shrunk some. The best trout fishing right now is on our North Fork private waters, which has been producing lots of rainbows and a few nicer browns on all but the brightest days. We've been breaking off a lot of big fish, even on 5X, but a few have found their way to the net even on the slowest days. We still have some availability mid-week through the end of July, but the weekends are pretty full. Call 877-3106 to book your own little piece of fishing paradise.

On public water, there are plenty of wild trout options, but the fishing at mid-day has slowed considerably as water temps climb into the mid- to high 60s. If you're headed to Looking Glass, Avery, Courthouse, Cathey's, the Big East Fork or any of our smaller wild trout streams, prepare to get lots of dry fly refusals during the heat of the day. Early and late in the day or on a rainy, overcast day is better. Thunderheads, lime or black Humpies, Stimies and foam ant patterns in sizes 12-16 are your best bets, and don't forget to tie on an inchworm or epoxy ant dropper. We've been running some backcountry southern Appalachian brook trout trips and they've all gone great - lots of strikes in all the places they should be, with a few fish topping 10 inches (yes, that's a trophy in the S.A. brookie world.) If catching a mess of pretty natives on a 2-weight sounds like fun, give Than or Mac a shout at the fly shop. But be prepared to hike 3-5 miles over the course of the day, in sometimes steep terrain.

Smallmouth season is here in force and our driftboat guides have been having some banner days on the French Broad, when afternoon thundershowers don't muddy things up for us. Guide Michael Sprouse reports that even on off-color days, once he finds the fish, it's not hard to catch 20 or more on chartreuse-and-white Clousers or other streamers. Michael's drift boat trips are fun, but if you don't have a full day to devote to smallie fishing, try a half-day wade trip (normally near Asheville) for $150 (one angler) or $235 (two.) Most of these will be late in the day, when the chance for top-water action is greatest.

Tight lines,

Than

Epic Fishing Everywhere!

O.k., so you know how fishing writers (and fly shop stream reports) tend towards hyperbole. "The river is on fire!" (Really? Is it the Cuyahoga?) "We're having 60-fish days without even trying!" (If that includes suckers and warpaint shiners...) And my all-time favorite, "The fishing has been epic!" (Which means they've been catching some fish, or they have a guide named Homer.)

Well, the fishing hasn't been exactly epic, but it's been so good that I might get a little gushy writing about it. April started out with some great hatches, and they've gotten better and better, but also spottier and spottier during mid-day. Now, the best dry fly fishing has shifted to a summer-like pattern, with Cahills, yellow sallies, and sulphurs coming off best towards dusk. There are some gray-winged yellow quills popping during the day, along with the odd March Brown, lots of cream midges, giant craneflies, cinnamon caddis and yellow sallies here and there. We got into a little burst of March Brown activity around the Caddis Riffle on the North Fork the other day and it was a blast, with 10-12" browns pounding MB dries that even Mr. Magoo could see. But the Davidson has offered the most consistent dry fly fishing of late, so stake out a spot early and prepare for some company. Parachute Cahills in #16, #14-#18 Sulphur Comparaduns, and Lowe's Little Yellow Sallies have been the best producers at the witching hour.

There's not a small stream we've fished in the last month that isn't producing well right now: Looking Glass, Avery, Courthouse, the Big East Fork, the upper West Fork of the Pigeon, they're all "on fire!" Lime Humpies, yellow Turk's Tarantulas in #14 & #16 and Puterbaugh's Foam Caddises all will produce on top, while a #16-#18 tungsten Prince or SHPT is all you need down below. If you don't own a 3-weight for this blueline fishing, we've got a sweet Thomas & Thomas on sale for $368.

This is the first time in about three years that our Delayed Harvest waters held so many fish late into March and April. Whether that's due to more rain/water or better enforcement by Wildlife Resources, I don't know, but it's working to our benefit. Mac and I both ran trips on the East Fork this week and it fished great despite a lot of angling pressure. Medium-sized brook trout still dominate, with the occasional brood stock beast and even some better-sized browns this month. The Little River can't compete as far as numbers are concerned, but it got stocked with a few 20-inch browns, which have definitely gotten harder to catch as the month has worn on. We took a couple over to the West Fork of the Pigeon, across the divide, last week and the area around the Iron Bridge was brimming with stockers, so its poaching problem must have abated, too.

Our North Fork private waters have been stupendous recently, so great in fact that we're having trouble getting fish to the net some trips. They're going ballistic, streaking off like a steelhead, going airborne, thrashing around on the surface. Mac endured a torrential downpour up there last Saturday with a father-daughter pair, but the subsequent bump in water just turned the fish on even more. I've guided up there a bunch this month and people are always awed by the scenery, the quiet and the great fishing. We haven't seen conditions this good on "The Farm" since we first leased it three years ago. BTW, a gift card for a private waters trip makes a fantastic birthday/anniversary/graduation gift.

And if trout aren't your thing, the smallie and muskie fishing are heating up as well. Michael Sprouse says he's been catching some quality bass in the French Broad despite stained water. He landed 15 or 20 in a couple of hours yesterday and one went 3 pounds. Float with Michael in his Hog Island drift boat soon if you want to get in on the action. And if you've crossed permit off your life list and want the ultimate challenge of catching a muskie on the fly, Mac has a new johnboat/motor that's custom-made for the "Muskie Mile" special regulations waters. He stuck a 35-incher two weeks ago that flared its gills so hard it could probably be seen on Google Earth. EPIC!

Tight lines,
Than

Streamer Mornings, Dry Fly Afternoons

As part of our School of Trout all-day class, we use a kick net to sein up bugs off the bottom of the river. I've done three classes this past week alone, and the samples we're taking tell an interesting story. Dump the sein contents into a white tray filled 1/8" deep with water, and what first catches your eye are all the Baetis nymphs, which undulate through the water by pumping their abdomens up and down. Next you notice all the clinger mayflies, which have flattened heads and thick biceps (not unlike Arnold Swarzenegger.) Some are Quill Gordons, which are coming off right now, and some are March Browns, which - despite their name - start emerging in April. Lots of stoneflies crawl through the debris, too, especially little brown ones.

All of these bugs are active right now, and the dry fly fishing is starting to get really, really good with each 60-degree day that passes. Fortunately, we've had a bunch of those recently and we are catching lots of fish on top. We fished the Davidson day before yesterday and there were fish rising steadily all day long, from the upper river above the spillway dam all the way down to the C&R boundary. A #16 black Elk Hair Caddis was the best producer, but at times when the Quill Gordons were flying, a #12 Quill Gordon dry was unbeatable. You had to get the drift absolutely perfect, though. Any drag was rejected and with so much water pushing through, a 10-foot leader was key in many places. On the East Fork, we caught numerous wild fish on 3/9 and 3/12 that were eating Blue Winged Olives on top. A #18-#20 Brooks Sprout Baetis did the trick.

Still, streamer fishing has been our bread-and-butter of late. Michael Sprouse, Freddie Raines and I all floated the Tuckaseegee River on Sunday, the 14th, our first major trip of the season down there. Despite temps in the mid-40s and a constant rain, we boated more than 60 fish and 95% of them ate a streamer. We fished Clousers, Woolly Boogers, Beldar Buggers and J.J. Specials, and all of them produced for us. Some really fine looking browns ended up in the net below Webster Bridge - they almost looked like wild fish, they were so colored up. If you want to fish from the comfort of a drift boat, anytime between now and late May is the time to book. Bring some band-aids for your stripping fingers!

Speaking of fishing streamers, our very own Michael Sprouse made it to the fishing finals of the Pisgah Fly Masters, a tournament to benefit the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education. He came in fourth out of 17 or 18 professionals that competed in the casting competition, which meant he made it to the "Big Show," fishing against nine other anglers on Sunday. Fishing a top-secret streamer, he hooked and fought a 25"-plus fish for several minutes before the hook pulled out. Even his competition acknowledged it was the biggest fish hooked all morning. That's just the way it goes with fishing, competitive or not. You land some, you lose some. He'll get 'em next year! Meanwhile, he'll be oaring people down the French Broad and putting them on a bevy of smallies. Bass season is almost here and June and July weekends are already filling up.

If trout are more your thing, get up here quick. Late March/early April offer the most fishable hatches of the year. And unlike the past three years, we've got plenty of water to float a fly in!

Tight lines,
Than

Winter Fishing Advice

Fly fishing in winter is what separates the casual fly dunker from the stalwarts, the fair-weather fisherman from the hard-core trout bum. And yes, it often distinguishes the crazy from the sane. Let's face it, it takes a certain amount of mental instability to crack through ice, wade into 40-degree water and break ice out of your guides all day long. But there are distinct advantages to such craziness.

For one, you can fish in virtual solitude, even on notoriously crowded rivers like the Davidson. I fished the 'D' three times in the past two weeks without seeing another soul, much less another angler. My secret? I avoided the hatchery stretch. About 95% of the Davidson is abandoned during the winter and the fishing can be great. I caught several fish over 17" above Looking Glass last week, all on midge pupa and tiny Baetis nymphs. Never saw another angler. Most of my fish were in slow-moving pools or the outside seams of languid runs. Some ate BWO dries on top (a #20 Lawson's Thorax Baetis worked great), but most ate a #22 Cardinal Midge or a #24 Gnatty Bumpo on the bottom. Use enough shot that you're ticking occasionally and set on any little thing that looks odd. The takes in such cold water are very, very subtle. Another tip - there are a bunch of spring holes on the Davidson, where the incoming water is significantly warmer than the prevailing current. Where you find springs, you'll generally find willing takers even on bitterly cold days. How do you find these spring holes? Wet wade the river in the summer and you'll find spots that are distinctly cooler than surrounding areas. Such areas are treasure troves in the winter.

We've been hearing a lot about Delayed Harvest streams like the East Fork and Little River being "poached out" lately. This happens every winter, it seems. People go over there, use the same flies and techniques that worked for them last spring or fall, catch little to nothing and then chock it up to poaching. There's no doubt that poaching (and mishandling by law-abiding anglers) have thinned out the populations some, but our guides haven't had any trouble putting rank amateurs onto fish on the E. Fork, Little River or the Tuck this winter. We haven't fished the N. Mills, but get away from the campground and I'll bet there are fish to be had. The key is changing from a "freshly stocked" mindset to a "holdover" mindset. Forget woolly buggers and other streamers stripped upstream. That will produce the odd suicidal brook trout, but most DH fish have become too educated for such shenanigans. Likewise, leave the #12 Princes and #14 Red Fox Squirrels at home and tie up some #18 A.P. Nymphs and #20 TB black or green Copper Johns. Not only are these more likely to be taken by holdovers jaded by the old standbys, they more accurately represent the size, color and silhouette of naturals found this time of year, which are primarily small and dark. Check out our winter hatch chart for more insight. If you're still not hooking up, try trading out that giant red Thingamabobber or yellow yarn pom-pom for a small white football indicator. DH fish can and will become indicator-shy. With the water so clear, 6X tippet helps, too, though 5X usually is fine if you're getting good drifts.

We still have two spots open for our British Columbia destination trip, scheduled for Aug. 15-22. With our partners at Home Waters Guide Service in Fernie, Headwaters Outfitters is offering a special package rate: 6 nights of lodging in a luxury condo, with private baths and river views, and 5 days of guided fishing for cutties, rainbows and bulltrout, plus three squares a day and transportation from the airport in Kalispell, MT -- all for $1,800 per person (based on double occupancy, excluding taxes, tips and licenses.) If you've ever wanted to catch 30+ cutthroats in a day on dry flies, or tossing hoppers to 20-inch rainbows on a private ranch in Alberta sounds like fun, you need to get in on this trip. We have a great group of anglers signed up, so the company should be as fine as the fishing. Call Than for details at (828) 877-3106.

We have a bunch of special events coming up, most of which are totally free! On Feb. 12, we're sponsoring a special showing of "Red Gold," a documentary film by Felt Soul Media that follows Alaskan fishermen as they fight an open-pit copper and gold mine proposed for the headwaters of two Bristol Bay trout and salmon rivers. It starts at 7 p.m. and the film (in Surround Sound!), popcorn and candy are all free. Great footage of grizzlies, salmon runs and big rainbows being caught on the fly. Our free fly casting clinics are totally full now, even though we just added 12 more spots/2 more dates last week. But we still have room in our free "Guide Flies" fly tying classes. On Feb. 13, smallmouth guide Michael Sprouse will demonstrate how to tie his own "Mike's Hellgrammite," as well as the trusty Clouser minnow. All the materials necessary to tie the flies will be available for sale in handy pre-proportioned packets, but you don't have to tie along with Mike - just come and watch. There's still room in Mac's muskie fly class on March 113, too. You need a rotary vise for that one. Call to reserve a spot either day - (828) 877-3106.

Tight lines,
Than