www.AppalachianFlyFishing.com

June Camping Trip

2010-06-11T19:43:00.002-04:00

I finally made it in on a backpack camping trip, deep in the Pisgah for some wild brown trout fishing. The weather was great( ie we were lucky) and the fishing was superb. We averaged about 25-30 a day for the weekend. The fish in this drainage also averaged larger than in years past. It was a grand time.

May Browns

2010-05-25T21:59:00.002-04:00

Hit a couple small streams this weekend and the water levels in the Pisgah are just perfect. With showers the last week, they probably will continue to be good. Lots of bugs coming off. Yellow Sally's, Large Gray Stones, Sulfurs in the size 12 range and lots more I didn't recognize.

April Wild Stream

2010-05-08T18:15:00.003-04:00

The fishing is starting to heat up in the wild streams. I had a great hatch of yellow sally's and the fish were feeding on top. The water levels remain good.

Alaska 2009

2009-09-02T22:05:00.001-04:00

We spent the first couple of days on Quartz creek. We fished at the campground and in the multiple pull offs on the Hwy1. The reds were spawning everywhere and the bead fishing was hot. I stopped counting at 50 fish about 1 o'clock the first day. The second evening we had an even better time above the campground catching rainbows and dollies with doubles and triples very common.

Next we spent a couple days on the Kenai, we floated the river twice with Kenai River Fly Fishing. The guide we floated with was great. He had us on pigs both days. This is a must do for anyone going to Alaska in my opinion. I got to say all the guys were outfished by my nephews girlfriend. She tore up the rainbows with 4 over 24 inches.

We the spent a few days on the Anchor, Ninilchik and Deep Creek fishing for Silvers. We caught just three fish as these rivers were high and muddy. This made seeing the silver pods difficult. We decided to head back to Quartz for more Dolly and Rainbow fishing.

Next, we headed for the Russian river to finish out our trip and founds lots of fish and lots of bears. I mean this place was eat up with bears. I had never seen a grizzly up close in my life. By the time I left the Russian river I had seen over twenty within 75 yards. It was funny, they would move up the river and the fishermen would move out of the holes. The bears would move in. When the bears left, the fishermen would move back in. It went on like that all evening.

This was our best trip yet, We hit the trout fishing at just the right time. The salmon fishing was not great, but we probably could have given the streams a couple days and headed back south after they cleared up. The trout fishing was just to good to take that chance.

Small Stream Browns

2009-07-27T21:15:00.002-04:00

I have fished a lot of small streams in the last couple of weeks. The water levels are starting to creep down but are still great for this time of year. If we can get a few thunderstorms a week for the next month or so we should be in great shape for the fall. Even in areas where the water levels are starting to drop, the water temps remain cool and the fishing bears it out. This has been the best stretch of summer small stream fishing I have seen in a 10 years. It is so good, I have not made it to the Tennessee tailwaters yet this entire summer.

Wild Streams on Fire

2009-06-19T21:33:00.002-04:00

Fished the upper and lower sections of a wild trout stream. Hiked up a tremendous waterfall for some brookies and then fished a lower section for some good rainbows. The weather was perfect and the water levels are the best I've seen in ten years for this time of the year. Also lots of hatches coming off. I saw dark caddis, yellow sally's and sulfurs

Brookies one more time.

2009-05-31T16:33:00.003-04:00

The last few weeks have seen some of the best wild brookie fishing I have seen in the last 5 years. It is on fire with plenty of water in the headwaters. The hatches have been prolific as well with yellow sally's and caddis coming off well.

I bushwacked a new trail to get below a long water fall I have wanted to fish for a couple weeks now. When I got done fishing I saw this in the road that parallels the creek.

Western NC Brown Trout

2009-05-25T18:25:00.004-04:00

I fished another local wild stream, this time for browns. It rained on and off the whole time but the fish did not seem to mind. I 'tore them up on an EHC size 12. I caught 25 before a downpour finally sent me to the truck.

2009-05-23T09:39:00.003-04:00

Hit a couple of brookie streams in WNC and landed plenty of fish. Looks like the upper sections of the wild streams here are fishing better than the lower sections.

Here is a shot of the dividing line between the brookies and the browns on this particular stream

Sucker Run Late

2009-04-21T16:23:00.001-04:00

The Sucker run seems to be late this year. I have checked all my usual spots and none are to be found.

Wild Stream Fishing Starting to Warm Up

2009-04-16T19:33:00.002-04:00

Fished a local wild brown trout stream and started to pick up enthusiastic trout as the water warmed up after lunch. I started off catching trout in the tail end of the pools on nymphs. I moved to a streamer next and caught a couple pushing 12 inches. As the afternoon sun warmed the water I was finally able to switch to a caddis dry and catch a couple before the sun went down.

Soho

2009-02-22T16:58:00.002-05:00

Spent the weekend fishing the South Holston and Watauga Rivers. The Soho fished the best, but only right at the grates. Very little bug activity except tiny midges. Even the black fly hatches were sporadic. We did explore quite a bit on the Watauga and found a few more places to access. We even caught a few rainbows right in town. I am looking forward to some warmer temperatures to increase the bug activity.

SoHo Browns

2008-11-21T11:15:00.005-05:00

A buddy of mine and I fished the Watuaga and the South Holston three times in November and the fishing was slow on the Watauga but on fire at the South Holston. We caught some of our best browns yet and witnessed some true monsters getting hooked up. Most of our success came on tiny black fly immitations with a few split case nymphs thrown in the mix. Watch out for any redds and don't wade blindly. Also remember a large portion of the spawning habitat is closed this time of year.

On a side note if you are in the area and hungry you should really stop by Webb's Country Store for a home cooked meal. Their spagetti on Saturday is my favorite.

More Small Stream Browns

2008-10-12T09:00:00.003-04:00

Fished another small stream filled with browns. The fishing was fantastic, especially when the sun reached the water from about 11-4. I caught 20+ , mostly on an EHC with no dropper. It just was not necessary as they were keyed in to the dry today. I fished my first EHC til it fell apart from being mangled by the fish. The leaves are starting to turn and drop in earnest at the higher elevations so wading on leaf covered rocks is beginning to get interesting. It makes for some great scenery though.

Wild Fall Browns

2008-10-05T18:06:00.002-04:00

I fished solo today on a local wild stream full of browns. The day started off slow and chilly but as the sun hit the water about 11:30 the fishing caught fire. I ended the the day with 15 fish for about 3 hours of fishing. I also hiked around and found a few more blue lines that may hold some promise.

TN Tailwaters

2008-09-21T19:46:00.002-04:00

We hit the South Holston with an all day assault on Sat and it did not disappoint. Started out at the weir for some stocker action and hooked up with 20+ rainbows before lunch. After lunch we hit the grates for a few hours and I finally hooked up with a couple of really good browns over 20". My fishing buddy caught a good brown as well as a number of rainbows. We both agreed on one thing, you had better be on your A game with those fish. They have seen it all and man they are picky about fly selection and presentation.

As the generation hit we decided to head down river and finish out the day. We only caught two more fish but they were both nice browns in the 16 to 18 inch range. The fish downstream were more consistently keying on sulfurs which were sporadically coming off all evening. The fish on the upper stretch were keying more on midges and black flies.

Small Streams back on par.

2008-09-01T16:15:00.002-04:00

With the rains from Fay, the small streams are full to the brim and the fishing today was outstanding. I caught 16 rainbows from 4-9 inches, all on a yellow Sally. I don't know how long the water levels will hold but it is great while it lasts. Hopefully Hannah will shed her good graces in about two weeks and see us through to the fall.

Warm Water Fix

2008-08-31T16:06:00.000-04:00

My son and I decided to beat the heat with a little warm water fishing in a local stream. We also mixed in a lot of swimming and splashing as well. We caught mostly sunfish and an occasional red eye. There is nothing better than a six year old, a three weight, and willing blue gill!

Small Stream Browns

2008-08-30T19:29:00.000-04:00

With my brother in from Montana, we just had to hit one of my favorite small streams. With the recent rains the water levels were close to normal and we caught a couple of nice browns. The go to flies were an elk haired caddis and cricket imitation.

TN Tailwaters

2008-08-21T21:27:00.002-04:00

My brother was in from Montana so we hit the Watauga and South Holston rivers in TN. We got on the water about 8:30 at the Watauga. We fished for two hours with nothing to show for our efforts. No fish rising and nothing on nymphs. Being a weekday, we did have the river to ourselves. After some exploring we headed off to the South Holston.
We arrived at the Weir parking area with only a few picknickers and 1 other fisherman in the stretch we wanted to fish. We rigged up with sulfur comparaduns (16) and picked up fish almost immediately. The fish were feeding aggressively and we brought rainbow after rainbow to hand. It seems the good folks at the TWRC had paid a visit with the stocking truck. We did manage to pick up a few wild browns but none of significant size. The rainbows ranged from 10-16 inches. We stopped when the generation started at 1 PM. We lost count but figure at least 30 fish apiece.

Rainbows in the Heat

2008-07-19T20:14:00.000-04:00

Fished another small stream at lower altitudes today. The rainbows were extremely aggressive and we caught 25+ in about 3 hours. The go to fly today was a size 14 yellow sally. The water levels here in western NC are getting low again since the last rains more than a week ago. The water temps are also edging up, but for now the fishing is still pretty good for this time of year.

Appalachian Wild Brown Trout

2008-07-12T20:17:00.001-04:00

We hit another local wild trout stream full of browns today. They were much more sensitive to movement than the brookies we have been targeting recently. They were however about twice as big as most of the brookies we catch. They also shunned the usual calf-tailed offerings and most were caught on an elk haired caddis.

BTW.. Is it just me or is that second image the gateway to Small Stream Heaven?

More NC Wild Trout

2008-07-05T13:51:00.000-04:00

Fished another tributary of a local wild trout stream with my son and the fish did not disappoint. We caught 11 in 2 hours. The water temperatures are starting to edge up to about 65 degrees at this altitude. The recent showers are really helping with water levels this year. So far so good (not great though).

Brookies in a Downpour.

2008-06-28T10:48:00.002-04:00

Fished the high elevations of a local trout stream yesterday and got caught in a downpour. The good thing was the fish didn't seem to mind at least until it washed us off the stream. It was all good news as this stream is just recovering from an extreme drought last year. It was not looking good for this year either until the last couple of days. Keep the rain coming, we can take it.

Small Stream Fishing .. As Good as it Gets!

2008-05-25T22:12:00.002-04:00

I went back small stream fishing with my son today and had a grand time. We caught about 15 fish in a couple of hours. We also caught bugs, threw rocks, and had a water fight. Can't just do that with most of my fishing buddies. The water temps are just right and the fish are very active. The only down side is that the water levels are starting to drop and get low. Hope the spring rains pick up in the higher elevations.

Small Stream Fly Fishing ON FIRE (5-14-2008)

2008-05-14T20:24:00.003-04:00

After making a few trips the past couple of weeks with less than optimum weather conditions, I hit the streams today with partly sunny skies and no wind. The water temps were in the high 50's and the fishing was tremendous. The final body count was 27 for 2.5 hours of fishing. Most were in the 3-6 inch range with a couple topping 8". I also broke a larger fish (12"... okay maybe 10") off when I set the hook a little too aggressively. This stream was a local wild trout stream that had suffered badly in last years drought. Great to see a few larger fish still out there.

Back to Basics

2008-05-03T18:46:00.002-04:00

I finally left the sucker fishing for some spring small stream fishing. We were looking for some brookies in the higher reaches of a blue line. Not much in the way of fish but the scenery wasn't half bad.

Sucker Run Starting to Taper. (4-30-2008)

2008-04-30T18:50:00.000-04:00

Drove by and had a look at my number 1 sucker spot and I am not sure if it is the cooler weather the last week or what but the numbers seemed to be down. I did not have time to fish today but plan on hitting them hard one more time tomorrow. I have a new fly pattern to try and if it works out I'll post it up.

I just can't resist

2008-04-22T20:54:00.000-04:00

Fished the suckers again on Tuesday. I thought by now the run would be starting to run down. I was wrong. The fish were stacked up in the riffles more today than in the weeks past. I drifted a weighted bugger down and had one on just about every cast. The fish were also more aggressive as the water temp has increased about 7 degrees in the past couple of weeks. I stopped fishing after 40 landed. The biggest was a 24 inch buck that took me downstream into a large pool. I was fishing by myself and landing the fish was a chore even on 3x and a 6wt rod.

On the downside, there were a couple of bait fisherman that observed me slaying the suckers and I fear this spawning hole may be out of the closet. Oh well, they at least have to have waders to get to where I was... so maybe I can stretch one more week out of this particular run. I have others in reserve if this one is over-run. That is the great thing about the sucker run... low pressure.

Sucker Run Part II

2008-04-20T09:26:00.001-04:00

Hit the sucker run again today and the fish did not disappoint. We caught about 10 in thirty minutes or so. I took a friend with me today and all he had was a three weight as we had started the day fishing small streams. It was a trip to see him try to cast a weighted bugger with that thing.. and then land suckers that almost bent the little rod double. Man some good fun was had.

Southern Salmon Run (Suckers)

2008-04-13T21:00:00.000-04:00

The suckers have been running the last week in good numbers on a local warm water stream. I noticed them arriving last Thursday and caught a few. I had not expected them and to tell you the truth this is the first time I have targeted them. What a blast they are. Most of the fish I caught were 18-24" and fight great on a 5wt or 6wt. Tried them again Saturday and they were swarming the shallows. I caught about 30 before I broke off my tippet section and noticed I did not have anything on me bigger than 7x to use on my furled leader. Oh well.

So this morning I hit them about 11am with a full spool of 3x and a six pack of freshly tied large heavy olive buggers. This seems to be the best fly I have tried. The first day I was using small clouser type baitfish flies trying for white bass. I then switched to some large nymphs but the most effective seems to be plain ol' buggers drifted right in their face.

TN Tailwaters

2008-03-30T16:44:00.000-04:00

I fished the Watauga river on Sat. March 29th and only managed a couple of fish. The hatch (or lack thereof) was a real disappointment. I caught all fish on a black fly larvae pattern size 22. I saw just a couple BWO's coming off but the hatch never really took off. After 2:00 I was invaded by a group of bait fishermen and abandoned my spot for the South Holston.

I parked at the Weir grates and immediately started picking up small browns in the riffles using a WD40 BWO emerger size 24. About 3:30 the duns started hatching in earnest and I switched to a BWO parachute size 18 and managed about 4 on top, but not before I had to add about 4 feet of 7x tippet. The better fish were rising in the still water and were hard to fool. Down and across seemed to be the only way to get a good look from a fish.

WNC Small Streams

2008-03-22T20:27:00.000-04:00

Fished a couple of small wild streams off the Parkway on Saturday. We had high expectations with the warming temps of the last week. The first stream we hit had water temps still in the 40's but by 1pm we started picking up fish on dries. This pattern seemed to be the ticket in the fast moving waters. The recent rains had the water at levels I had not seen since last spring. We picked up mostly rainbows in the lower sections of the streams but moved up into wild brookies after lunch.

We managed about 6 fish but had hoped for a lot more. The water temps were still just a little too cold but looks promising with a week or two of temps in the 60s.

Snow on the SoHo

2008-03-16T21:54:00.000-04:00

FRIGID !
That was the word on the TN Tailwaters this weekend. A fishing buddy and I awoke at 7:30 in Elizabethton to 45 degree temps and misting rain. By 9 am it was a full blown snow storm with temps in the teens and howling winds. Oh well, you drive the distance.. you gotta fish. We found the river mostly deserted with only a few hardy souls on the lower end. We tried several spots and finally about 11 the BWOs started popping off.
You literally had to time your cast when the wind subsided for a split second to keep the size 18 parachute out of your ear. We managed about a dozen browns like the one pictured. We may have had more but the temps, wind and an increasing dose of the Hypo drove us to the truck after about three hours.

Appalachian Fly Fishing Safari

2007-08-20T21:33:00.000-04:00

Two buddies and I piled our gear into a Suburban this past friday and started on a good ol fly fishing safari. We started out visiting small back country streams in NC but water levels we too low to fish. We did hike the creek and look at the fish that were crowded in the pools that were left. We had planned on hiking in and camping but decided to head for the tailwaters of TN where low water would not be a problem.

We pulled into Elizabethton, TN around 9:30 pm and found a hotel for the night. Bright and early the next morning we headed out to River Ridge campground to fish the trophy section of the Watauga. The fishing was slower than what I have experienced the last couple of times I have been there. We managed 8 fish in 3 hours with the biggest being about 13 inches.

Next we headed for the South Holston and fished a couple of pull offs and managed a couple of rainbows in the mid day sun. We had hoped to fish right below the dam but the generation schedule prevented that. After cooking supper on the side of the river, we headed back to western nc.

Along the way we found a small stream that still had enough water to fish and in the last light of the evening we managed 6 more trout. All in all we fished a lot of great water and had a great time. In these times of drought.. thank God for the tailwaters.

Drought is Critical in Western NC

2007-08-20T21:26:00.000-04:00

It has been 20 days without rain here in western NC and the streams are reaching critical levels. Three of us ventured into trout streams this past weekend and they were all at the lowest levels I have ever seen them. I am afraid that the level of damage already done will take 2-3 years to recover from. I never thought I would say this but I am hoping for a hurricane to spin up out of the gulf and bust this drought.

Welcome

2007-06-09T14:23:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my blog. This blog will go hand in hand with my website located at www.appalachianflyfishing.com. We will discuss various fly fishing issues in the days that come.