My family was in Boone this weekend and I was able to get away for a couple hours to fish. I've hit this stream a few times and the fishing has always been decent. There was a good rain the night before and the water was a tea color and about 6 inches above normal. It made wading very interesting. Certain times I cringed as I stepped in between some good size rocks and just hoped the spot in between wasn't that deep. You couldn't see the bottom in many places.There was plenty of insect activity and I decided to try my luck with my go to trout fly, a soft hackle. Then the fun part came of trying to angle your cast and not snag the vegetation that surrounded you. The wet weather had made everything lush and leafy. I was able to get my cast where I wanted and a silver flash glimmered beneath the water. I lifted the rod and a small trout was airborne. It spit the hook instantly. I tried the same run a few more times with no luck. Up stream there was a bridge that has always provided at least one fish. It didn't take long and my indicator slashed back with serious resistance indicating a fish was on. The fish jumped a few times ran every possible direction in the pool then came to hand.I'm sure these fish have always been this colorful. For some reason they seemed more so on this day. The pink stripe along their side was very vibrant and striking. The pink on their gill flap had a iridescent glow to it. The fish matched the scenery every turn there was emerald green as far as you could see.I saw some huge mayflies and stone flies but I couldn't catch them to take pictures. I was reminded in this small pool that small water doesn't mean small fish.I tossed the fly along the run and let the water flowing around the rocks control the drift. The indicator stopped abruptly but didn't bob or drop below the surface. I lifted slowly and the rod just bent down. I thought I was snagged at first but the resistance was varied and I saw the flash of a hooked fish. The fish jumped a couple times and navigated the 2ft space it had to work with to get every bit of a fight it could before coming to hand. It was the prettiest bow I have landed out of this stream. It was a good size fish for this water. The day went on with me catching fish here and there. It was kind of Indiana Jones fishing, hopping rocks, ducking trees and scrambling up and down suspect loose rip rap. It was a really fun day and I look forward to a return trip.
My family was in Boone this weekend and I was able to get away for a couple hours to fish. I've hit this stream a few times and the fishing has always been decent. There was a good rain the night before and the water was a tea color and about 6 inches above normal. It made wading very interesting. Certain times I cringed as I stepped in between some good size rocks and just hoped the spot in between wasn't that deep. You couldn't see the bottom in many places.
There was plenty of insect activity and I decided to try my luck with my go to trout fly, a soft hackle. Then the fun part came of trying to angle your cast and not snag the vegetation that surrounded you. The wet weather had made everything lush and leafy. I was able to get my cast where I wanted and a silver flash glimmered beneath the water. I lifted the rod and a small trout was airborne. It spit the hook instantly. I tried the same run a few more times with no luck. Up stream there was a bridge that has always provided at least one fish. It didn't take long and my indicator slashed back with serious resistance indicating a fish was on. The fish jumped a few times ran every possible direction in the pool then came to hand.
I'm sure these fish have always been this colorful. For some reason they seemed more so on this day. The pink stripe along their side was very vibrant and striking. The pink on their gill flap had a iridescent glow to it. The fish matched the scenery every turn there was emerald green as far as you could see.
I saw some huge mayflies and stone flies but I couldn't catch them to take pictures. I was reminded in this small pool that small water doesn't mean small fish.
I tossed the fly along the run and let the water flowing around the rocks control the drift. The indicator stopped abruptly but didn't bob or drop below the surface. I lifted slowly and the rod just bent down. I thought I was snagged at first but the resistance was varied and I saw the flash of a hooked fish. The fish jumped a couple times and navigated the 2ft space it had to work with to get every bit of a fight it could before coming to hand. It was the prettiest bow I have landed out of this stream. It was a good size fish for this water. The day went on with me catching fish here and there. It was kind of Indiana Jones fishing, hopping rocks, ducking trees and scrambling up and down suspect loose rip rap. It was a really fun day and I look forward to a return trip.
Got to love the wild ones. I'll take one of them over three stockers. Nice pictures.
ReplyDeleteKen
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteAwesome post and awesome fish pictures! It's wonderful to fish remote areas and catch fish too.
Sam