By far this year my most productive fly has been a beadhead softhackle. I've tied the body of mine using dubbing from Singlebarbed.biz. It gives the fly a more beefy look. I'm not sure if that's what is making the difference or if it's the extended hackle on the flies. The flies have worked each time I have gone out. The other color combo that is working is a red body. The flies work so well I haven't had a chance to experiment much with other color combinations.
Yesterday I used these flies almost exclusively. I also worked on nymphing without using an indicator. This was difficult for me to try at first. I love indicators especially the thingamabobber style ones. Without an indicator you do have more control over the depth of your flies. If you have a high visible color line the takes are somewhat obvious. The main thing is having no slack line in the water. After missing a few hook sets I started to dial in what I was doing. It didn't take long before I had a trout slam.
If you've never heard of this term it is when you catch a brown, brookie and rainbow all on the same river the same day. It doesn't happen as often as you'd think even on multiple fish days.
The brookie had striking colors compared to the other fish. I'm guessing this was a male.
When I'm fishing softhackles I usually look for the same kind of water. Ideal water is a fast run that turns into a riffle then settles down into a deep pool. I find most of my fish are where the riffle and deep pool meet. I caught the majority of my fish in a section like this and the highlight was hooking a really nice brookie.
The picture doesn't do the fish justice but if you compare it to the brookie above which was around 14"-15" you can get an idea of the size of this fish. I couldn't put my hands around it to release it. I did a really klutzy release. I'm sure the fish was fine it was just a little embarrassing.
This time of year if you're fishing a delayed harvest stream you're mostly fishing for hold overs. Fish that have survived an onslaught of fishing pressure. Many of the fish have been caught at least once and they've seen plenty of flies. They get to where they only feed when there is a natural hatch going on or they just can't stand it anymore and have to eat. The weather conditions and pressure cause the fish to move around the river finding different lies. The fishing is harder and the fish aren't as easy to spot. They learn to hide in the faster current and blend in with the bottom. Over the years I have learned tips for fishing these conditions.
Skip the shallow water and sandy bottoms. Fish have learned most of the food comes from rocky bottoms and sandy shallow water does not provide much cover. Pools usually 2-3ft deep right after large rocks are prime spots. Fish usually hide right under the main run of water that falls into the pool.
When the water is really cold. High 30's, Low 40's. Fish won't move much. They want the fly right in front of their face and near the bottom. Good luck getting a fish to move much or come up near the surface unless there's a bunch of stuff hatching.
A snag is a fish. Because the fish aren't moving much their hits are subtle. The only sign a fish is hooked is a silver flash in the water or a throbbing bend in the rod. Fish won't fight long. A minute max. I think the fish know there isn't a ton of food to make up for the lost energy. They give up quick.
I have probably tied 30-40 flies recently. All of them nymphs. They are in various colors, natural, pink, red, black and green. I tried quite a few today and the only one that worked was a fly I bought. It was a bead head pheasant tail gold ribbed hares ear. I'm wondering if fish only hit other colors when the water is warm. In the 55 degree and above range. It seems anything colder than 50 degrees makes the fish prefer more natural colors. Brown and black. This theory would be good if the fish didn't hit Y2K's. Which are basically pink and yellow egg patterns. I tried some egg patterns today. I got fish to turn and even swipe at my fly but nothing would eat it. I'll need to experiment more. It was nice to get out and enjoy the day. I got my first fish of the year. A purdy bow.
I made a commitment to myself to start a new style of fishing reports this year. I'm going to try to hide the exact location to where I recently fished. The reason for this is I've noticed great fishing water is over populated as it is. The internet already provides all the information most people need to find most of the decent fishing locations. Even though I've made this decision in this next report I'm revealing everything. Mainly because these places are no secret.
Stone Mountain
My friend Bill and I took a week day off to head up to Stone Mountain and try our luck. This was my first time fishing there. From what Bill informed me on weekends you can rarely find a good spot to fish. This place is the closest trout water to most of mainly populated cities in North Carolina. On the way to the DH section we got our first glimpse of the creek. It looked like most of the trout streams I've fished. When we reached a parking area there was one other vehicle and we could see some people in the water.
I set up my line with something I've only used one other time. It was an indicator that pretty much resembles and works like a bobber. I scrambled into the water and tried to find the best sections to fish.
Basically every section looks like it can hold fish. The creek is full of runs and pools that probably after a good stocking hold a fish. I stepped in at a run where I figured there had to be at least one fish.It only took a few casts to land my first little rainbow. It didn't seem to want to leave me just yet after releasing it. It stayed by my wading boots for a few minutes.
I was able to catch more fish through out the day. They made me work for them but with the right cast and a good drift most of the time you'd catch a fish.
In a few hours the creek went from a private place of solitude to a competition of who can get to the best fishing hole the quickest. When I lived in Boone I never noticed how crowded DH streams were. Living in Raleigh only really allows me to fish on weekends so I get a taste of how the DH normally is. I'll just be blunt, weekend fishing DH streams sucks. I guess DH streams are the first choice for trout fisherman looking for a quick fix. The result is combat fishing.
Watauga DH
Over the weekend I fished the Watuaga DH. This picture shows about the farthest distance I was from another fisherman. When I first got to the stream I was the only one in the water. Within 20 minutes looking both ways up and downstream there were other fisherman. I really don't understand why there are so many. Around Boone there is like 100 miles of trout water. March is off limits for fisherman to fish hatchery supported trout waters. This makes Delayed Harvest streams fished even harder.
Some friends invited me to go fishing with them on Wilson Creek yesterday. I have heard a lot about this creek but never had a chance to fish it. It was going to be new to all of us. There was high expectations as our group received detailed instructions of specific fishing spots and flies. The weather had warmed up some from how its been recently. There was still reminants of snow on the sides of the road. We drove past the hatchery supported section and decided to try our luck on the delayed harvest water. As we were gearing up it started to rain. The clouds didn't show any signs of it lightening up. We made the best of it and got ready to head down to the creek. For the amount of rain that was coming down the water was really clear. Usually it becomes murky from run off. The rain made it difficult to see the bottom but when it stopped you could make out ever rock and feature. I couldn't see any fish at first. As I walked around and got my fish vision back I started to see more. There was a lot of fish in this creek. They didn't act dumb like stocked fish, even though they were. I tried different wooly buggers and only got a few follows on a olive one. I worked different areas for awhile then went over to talk to a buddy who was doing pretty well. He showed me the rig he was using and gave me a different kind of indicator. The flies he was using was an egg pattern with a sz16 pheasant tail as a dropper. That set up made all the difference. Literally, five minutes after I set up my line I caught 2 fish. I continued to miss some fish and hook a few here and there. The suprise of the day was hooking up with a big brook. I was pretty far out in the stream and I think he thought I was a rock because he swam towards me a few times while trying to run. I knew if I fought him much longer he might break off so during one of his swim by's I tried to net him. I missed the first time and he took off behind a rock, I was anticipating a snap of the line. Luckily he came back around the rock and swam at me again. I was able to net him up this time. It was a really nice fish, probaly 18inches and near 3lbs. The fish did some barrel rolls in my net which made it really hard to get out. Its mouth was entangled in the net with the flies. I almost thought of just cutting the line. I eventually got him loose and he was released unharmed. I got a pic before letting him go. That made my day and I was feeling great until.........
When fishing you never really worry about things until something unexpected happens, about 5min after catching the brook, I slipped on a rock and took a swim. I din't go all the way under water but I pretty much did a dog paddle and kept my head above the water. When I got my feet back under me, water had gone in my jacket and down my waders. It was in the mid 40's outside and raining. No place really to dry off except back at the car. I've read many stories of hypothermia and I didn't want to be in one of them. I got my friends keys and went back to the car and assessed the situation. I knew my day of fishing might be over. When I got to the car and stripped off my soaked jacked I realized my chest waders had protected most of my core. The water that got in came in through the neck of my jacket. My left arm was pretty wet too. I had decided to wear two shells that day. I think that really helped. I wasn't freezing or really cold. I hung out at the car for awhile then realized I was gonna live. Put my freezing wet jacket back on and soaked gloves. with in 30min I was feeling totally fine and warm.
The fishing slowed down but the rain picked up. It was kind of miserable at times. You couldn't get comfortable. The rain would slow down you'd start to feel warm then it would start pouring. It didn't matter what you were wearing you were gonna get soaked. Even with the gray and rain the river had some awesome scenery.
The rain finally chased us off but not after a good day of fishing. I had a great time with the guys I went with. On the way home we were planning our next trip. I look forward to many other trips and shared stories. Hopefully with less swimming on my part.
This trip was a chance to try my new Olympus WP550 waterproof camera. I was really impressed with how it filmed underwater. The bad part is in the rain you can't clean off the lens properly. Everything I had was soaked so there was nothing to use to wipe away the water drops on the lens. It still took decent pictures and I'm happy with the camera. Below is a movie I took of releasing a little rainbow.
If you've never heard of this term it is when you catch a brown, brookie and rainbow all on the same river the same day. It doesn't happen as often as you'd think even on multiple fish days.
