Fishing in Boone

I guess I never will learn from past experiences. What I have learned recently is when I think something is not a good idea it probably isn't. An example, I had a reel that has a broken crank on it. I've been just using my palm or finger to reel in line. I decided to finally remedy this. I wanted to switch the line from one reel to another, so I started stripping it off, I got impatient and started just bundling the line all over the back of my car. While doing this I thought "this isn't a good idea", but kept doing it. Then after wards I looked at the birds nest of fly line and forgot about it. This weekend in Boone I wanted to go fishing but needed to put that line on my other reel. The ball of tangled fishing line was intimidating but I started to work at it. It was HORRIBLE! The whole time I fought with it I thought, how did I let the line get like this? and I should just cut the line here and start over. I spent an hour untangling and stripping one peice trough the mess of tangles. I would slowly get a few feet of line as a reward each time I removed a tangle. I did this for about an hour. I got all my gear together and made my way to the Watauga River. The river was stocked the week before and I was sure it had been poached plenty but had to have a few trout left.

When I got to the river and started to put on my gear I noticed my boot didn't look right. The front of the sole seemed to be coming off. These were my Korkers,less than a year old. The bottom front was coming off, this kept the felt sole from staying attached. This irritated me but I still figured I could walk with one felt sole and the rubber on the other boot. When I stepped in the water and slipped a little on the rubber sole side, I thought "this is a bad idea." I made my way carefully upstream, tap dancing here and there. I made a few casts untangled my leader which was way too long. I wanted to make sure I had plenty of tippet so I tied on about 10ft of it. I felt like such an idiot. Fishing with a 18ft leader. Talk about hard to cast with a dropper, it was ridiculous. I went with a caddis and a black stonefly as a dropper. The leader was so long I snagged the stonefly on the bottom every third cast. Combine this with me slipping and my REEL FALLING OFF, I was not a happy camper. Why does my reel always fall off? I used to make so much of a fuss about people paying a lot on equipment. Now I realize there is something to that. You might have spent a lot for a reel but I bet it doesn't FALL OFF while fishing. It's so annoying to do two false casts hear a PLOP! Then see your reel go down stream. While walking up to unsnag my stonefly I slipped and did something I haven't done in my illustrious fishing career. At least not since I've labeled myself as an adult. I started to slip and I was like this isn't good. Of course I slipped on the rubber sole side, I knew I was hitting the water but didn't know how this was gonna go. The water was about 3ft deep and half of my body went under. My head actually almost went in as well. This was the worst I have ever fallen while wading. The cold water shocked me and I cut my hand stopping myself on the sharp rocks. The whole ordeal made me want to just call it a day and pack up.

No way I was doing that though. I'm in Boone, I drove to far to just pack up after 10min of fishing. Plus I knew this is my normal scenario of learning things the hard way. I need to slow down take my time and be more careful. I worked my way fishing up stream going here and there. Eventually I came to a fast section where I caught a trout. It's the one in the picture at the top of the post. I've decided I'm not going to post pictures anymore of fish I catch. The reason being it is such a pain to get everything together. Unless I use a different camera it takes about 2min from fight to picture. I feel bad for the fish and this one I'm sure got away fine. It was just annoying to hold him and stress him longer than was needed. I kept fishing moving further upstream, that fish would be my only trout for the day.

The Watuaga is a strange river. I guess all rivers are similar, I'm just not used to fishing them. What's strange is how the fish species will change drastically with the seasons. In the spring, fall and winter months, the water is mostly trout water. You see suckers occasionally but you never see a large or small mouth bass, or blue gill and rock bass. In the summer every slack water pool seems to have rock bass in it. Where are these fish in the colder months? Do they migrate? I'm not really sure but it's fun to catch different fish. I caught a couple rock bass then came to a slow slack water section full of sediment and slow deep water. Definitely not trout water but perfect for gills and bass. I cast toward some foliage near the bank with a popper. Made a twitch and WHAM, fish on! The fish was large but I could tell it wasn't a trout by it's flash beneath the surface. As it came closer I saw a shimmer of the golden under belly, it was a beautiful sunfish. I'm not sure if it was a sunfish or some of the gill species that only inhabit the Appalachian. Either way it was one of the prettiest bluegill I have ever caught. I wanted to take a picture but after the last fiasco I decided to just let it loose. I think the fish was appreciative. It was a great day even with the disturbing beginning.

Reminicing-Old Adventures (2005)

June 20
Elk Fork and Buck Creek
I decided to check these creeks out because I figured they would not be fished much. I arrived at Elk Fork about 1:30pm. I was pretty excited because the stream is pretty secluded and overgrown with bushes and trees. I got into the creek by a construction site. I noticed bugs all around. This gave me an even better feeling of how the fishing conditions would be. On my first cast I was instantly introduced to the bushes on the side of Buck.You can see how they make casting more of a theory instead of a reality. I managed to get some decent casts into some nice pools. No luck though. Not even a hit. I walked the stream looking for fish and noticing really pretty damsel flies.I’ve never seen such neon damsel flies. The stream never widened.This was about as wide as it ever got. There didn’t seem to be any fish at all. I’m sure there were some fish in some of the holes but they were not interested in anything. I did have some minnows try to viciously kill my fly several times. I ended up catching one. It was amusing for the time being, but I wanted to catch some trout. The rest of the stream yielded no trout. I tried a different section, still nothing. The water was really shallow and murky. I still feel I should have caught something. I decided to give up and try a different stream.
Buck Creek
Buck creek is not on the trout maps but it’s on the NC Delorme. I decided to check it out and had high hopes since it wasn’t a designated trout stream. As I approached the creek I saw there were plenty of places for fish to lie. Also, there was hatchery supported signs all over. I now thought I was definitely going to catch a fish. I drove to the headwaters of Buck Creek hoping maybe people wouldn’t drive that far. I came to a pool that seemed impossible not to have fish in it.Again I realized how fast a stream can be fished out. When I walked up to this hole, I noticed a chair next to it. Sitting on this chair was a empty carton of Night Crawlers. That didn’t give me a warm fuzzy feeling. I proceeded to fish the hole. I had a nice hit and had a trout on a for a few seconds but he got off. I don’t think he was very big. I fished downstream trying various holes. The creek seemed as barren as Buck. Not fun. I ended up giving up on the day. I went home and checked the stock reports for the streams. I couldn’t find any on Buck Creek. I found that Buck is stocked with 125 fish a month. That really isn’t much if you figure 20 people in a month take their limit all over those fish are gone. That would explain the lack of fish population in the creek. I’m glad I checked these streams out. It gives me a idea of what to look for before I go to a creek. It was still a fun day being in such pretty scenery. I don’t know if I’ll visit these streams again.

Sept 2005
Knife River
I drove to the Knife River not expecting much. This is a heavily fished portion of Boone. It is hit often, probably everyday. I decided to check out a portion that I haven't fished before. First thing, I have to admit, it was really beautiful.I didn't see much fish activity and there was a constant breeze, causing small leaves and things to fall from the trees. The rays of light shining through
would bounce off of them and create a awesome atmosphere. It was like being
in a postcard. Unfortunately the fishing wasn't that great. I decided to move
up stream. I came to a pool I know had to hold fish. We recently had rain from
hurricane Katrina which has caused the water to rise a considerable amount.
I figured the big fish would congregate in this pool.You can see how the fast water moves into this slow calm pool. There had to be fish here. I started fishing from the back of the pool and moved forward. I was using a elk hair caddis. I caught a fish somehow letting the fly drop under the current...
This fish must have been really hungry, you can see the fly in the middle of
it's mouth. I got him in the tongue. This is the second fish I've caught like
this recently. I figure the trout are really hungry or it's just a coincidence.
I tried to get a better picture of this guy but this is all I came up with.
He was about 11-12 inches, not a monster but a fun fish none the less. Plus he was the first fish of the day. I fished the pool some more and it was a lot deeper then I thought. I didn't feel safe moving further up the stream. I decided to try a section I've always wanted to fish but haven't had a chance to yet.This is another beautiful section. It's right up stream from the pool shown in the other pic. I could see fish jumping up at some branches on the side of the stream and the splashes seemed to be big. I figured this was a good chance to catch a nice size fish. I tried a hopper or what I had that looked like a hopper. No hits or anything. I figured I spooked the fish because I didn't seem them jump up at the branches after I started casting. I continued to fish the surrounding area, there's definitely fish here and good opportunities for nice size fish. I think it was just the wrong time of day to get them. It was around 1pm and the the sun was not in my favor. My shadows were right over the water. I decided to call it a day. At least I caught one fish. It was fun just being out in such great weather.

Oct 2005
DH River
I heard about a friend catching a 22inch fish down here so I decided to check it out. I didn’t catch one that big but I did manage to catch this guy.Not a monster but still a nice fish. The day was great. Beautiful, fish, weather and water.

Nov 2005
Glitter Creek
I fished the Glitter today after a tip that it was stocked recently. I've never seen so many fish. I was almost stepping on them at times. It was ridiculous. I caught a few here and there but I missed about 20. I caught this guy in a little riffle.The water and weather was really nice. I was pretty much fishing by myself. I decided to try a upstream section I haven't fished before. I saw tons of fish and I came to a section where there was a tree that had fallen in the water. The branches were bare. On the far side of the tree where the bank was there was a rock over hanging the water. As I walked up closer I could see something swimming in between 2 of the branches. I could tell it was a big fish. I decided to tease it with a nymph it wasn't interested. I switched up to a wooly bugger, it hit, then turned, from the flash and the movement it made I could tell this fish was a monster. I switched up again with a black wooly bugger. This time the fish wanted it bad. He hammered it. I think he was surprised to be hooked because he didn't fight hard at first. Then when he realized something had him he went crazy causing a 2foot splash to appear. He used all the tricks in the book, trying to get tangled around the branches of the tree and going downstream. I had to remind myself I was wearing waders, I instantly jumped further into the water and spun my rod around the branches to make sure I didn't get tangled. It took a good 5min to finally land the fish. Then there was the exciting part of trying to get the picture.He still had a lot of fight left in him. He didn't want to stay still and wouldn't you know it, my battery was seconds from dying. I felt killing this beautiful fish wouldn't be worth getting a great picture so I took one more,and let him loose. I decided to end it on that note. I couldn't see the day getting any better. What was unbelievable is I saw bigger fish then this one in the creek. I want to think this fish was 20inches or over, but now that I'm really studying the pictures I think he may be just under that. Still a great fish and easily close to 3lbs. I was ecstatic. It's pretty funny that the 2 big fish I've caught this year have been brooks. I truly believe the record brook trout is in the area. Maybe not the Glitter but probably some stream within 100miles.

Fishing last weekend

We started fishing this small creek in Ashe County. The weather cooperated and it threatened to rain but never did start. The water was pretty low. It averaged between 1 and 2ft and was super clear. This made it good for trout but hard for fisherman. It was difficult to sneak up on the fish because of how narrow the creek was. Casting was a challenge. My friend Tommy was with me and it was his first time trout fishing. He figured out right away that you have to look before you cast. Within minutes he had his first tree fish.

Unfortunately, he didn't have any boots either. I had suggested for him to invest in some felt soul boots. He found some felt souled pool shoes that were $15. After a few steps in the creek his face had a grimace of pain and he said "I can feel every rock, it feels like I'm barefoot." I knew he was in for a long day. He spent his day painfully moving from rock to rock while trying to find a sandy bottom to rest. I luckily had felt souled boots, so I could move along at a quicker pace. I worked pools and small runs. The fish were there but really hard to catch. I caught one fish right away but it was a hour or so before I caught this next one. I decided to see how my new Brodin net worked out.
The net worked great but I can still see that I'm going to have the same problem I've had with other cloth material type nets. When you catch a trout they never calmly slide into the net. They're usually thrashing around. Your fly is in the corner of their mouth and the hook is usually some what exposed. This can cause the fly to tangle in the net. So you spend more time releasing the fish. Smashing down the barb on the hook helps but it can still get tangled. I only managed two fish all day.

I heard about some small mouth bass that can be caught on the New River so we decided to try our luck. It only took about 10min to get to the New. Fishing spots were scarce. We finally found a place to throw our line in by a church. It was a pretty section but there was no sign of life in the water.We fished this spot for about 20min then decided to look for another spot. We didn't find any decent access spots on our way back to Boone. I decided to try our luck at Valley Crucis Park.
We pulled in and the parking lot was pretty empty. I read a report that the river was just stocked a few days ago. I was surprised it wasn't more crowded. We made our way down to the creek and I saw a few people fishing. I found a big pool that had a bunch of fish in it. I threw a white bugger I had tied and saw about 5 fish hit it, then one finally was hooked. Cast after cast I watched fish swirl around my fly or take little samples of it. None of the fish were super aggressive. Tommy didn't have much luck. He decided to try the pond in the park and was having some success with some bream. After a couple hours we decided to call it a day.

Sunday we woke up to a storm and some rain. It gave us a chance to get some breakfast. I decided it would be a good idea to fish the park again since the fish were obviously there and it's a good place for beginners. The sun was higher in the sky and you could see even better into the water. The rain had stopped and the weather was perfect. I went to the same pool I had fished the day before. This time there was other fisherman there. You could also see about 50 fish stacked near a rock in the middle of the pool. I threw a bugger in there and instantly had a fish on. It came off pretty quickly. I saw the same behavior I observed the day before with fish circling and tasting the fly but not swallowing it. I figured they had seen so much thrown at them and were so stressed they were not that aggressive. People with spinning gear were catching fish pretty regularly but even they had the issue of fish just playing with their bait. I caught a few fish and Tommy painfully waded from pool to pool. He was learning how to spot the fish in the water. He started to realize that you needed to drift the fly into the fish. I forgot he had no experience trout fishing. The behavior of trout, presentation and fly selection were clueless to him. I spent the day losing more than I caught. I hooked plenty but my fly would either break off or the fish would spit the hook. Tommy managed to hook a few. The water in the park was disappointing. The fish were concentrated in these herds in only about a foot ball field distance of stream. They didn't seem to spread out. They would stay compacted together. It was fun but got old really quick. It was like fish in a barrel. You didn't have to work for the fish and it was a matter of casting until one either hit out of frustration or you found the trout that was so hungry it decided to hit. I'd rather hike and fish than stand in one spot throwing into a pool of scared and stressed trout. It was a fun day regardless of the fishing conditions. I think Tommy had a good time too.