Our Best Summer In Years

Good news for anglers considering a fly fishing trip in the mountains of Western North Carolina: the state this month officially lifted our three-year drought advisory, thanks to over 15 inches of rain we've received this spring. It appears we're now back into our typical summertime pattern of afternoon thundershowers, which will keep flows and dissolved oxygen levels high enough for good fishing all summer. Our guides have muddled through three straight summers of brutally low flows and high water temperatures, so needless to say, we are all stoked for a summer of normal stream conditions. Pack your raingear and head up here to Appalachian's temperate rainforest - the fishing should be great!

We've had a busy -- and somewhat strange -- spring that started out with kickin' hatches of Quill Gordons, Hendricksons, Blue Quills and March Browns. But then the hatches during the day seemed to peter out when the mercury shot up into the mid to upper 70s, which is unseasonably warm for April. We're currently seeing good sulphur hatches, particularly on the Davidson, and modest yellow sally and golden stone hatches on the North and West Forks of the French Broad. Some Light Cahills are hatching at dusk and there have been some Yellow and Green Drakes emergences and spinnerfalls on some of our siltier stretches, but nothing like years past. It may be the last three years of low water and higher water temperatures hurt the bug populations somewhat. But it appears like the worst drought in NC history had at least one positive impact: we have more young-of-the-year and advanced fingerling trout in our rivers than I can ever recall. All of which means our next three years of fishing should be fantastic as these youngster grow to catchable size; plus, in the meantime, it means lots of prey for the larger trout. We've been streamer fishing with white Zonkers, small white bunny leeches and baby rainbow Clousers with great results.

Other good patterns to try right now are Yellow Lab Trout Retrievers, purple and yellow Sparkle Princes, and when the water's up and murky, a #8-#10 Bitch Creek or Red-Bellied Yuk Bug with a Y2K dropper is the way to go. Make sure to hit the slower moving outer seams and along the banks when the water is up.

Despite some poaching, our local Delayed Harvest waters are holding their own as we reach the end of the catch-and-release period. The May stocking included more rainbows and browns than we've previously seen, and a good portion of them are bigger than the 10" brookies that got stocked all spring. The Little River is fishing better than we've ever seen it, but we've gotten several reports that the North Mills is being heavily poached. We still have a week of catch-and-release regulations remaining on DH waters (they open up to general harvest on June 6), after which your best bets will be the Davidson, small wild streams, or booking a day on our private stretch of the North Fork. Our private water is fishing well, with lots of wild fish being caught and at least a few big boys making it to the net every trip. With water levels up where they are, all signs point to a banner June, July and August.

Tight lines,
Than