Fun Day on the Eno

I couldn't get anyone to fish with me today. The weather was so beautiful I decided it was too good to pass up and just went by myself. Today was the day to hit the Eno. After viewing maps and figuring out where exactly I wanted to go, I figured the Cole Mill section would be the easiest to get too. After a quick 40min drive I was at the Cole Mill parking lot and putting on my waders. I asked someone how far the water was, they said it was about a stones throw. I eagerly grabbed all of my gear and walked down the trail. The guy wasn't joking the river was literally 100ft from the parking lot. It wasn't moving too fast and I could tell from the view between the trees that it wasn't deep.

I saw a few hikers and while I made my way to the water I came upon this guy





I forgot this time of year the question is not whether or not you're going to see a snake, it's how many are you going to see. I stepped into the water and scared the snake away, I watched for it out of the corner of my eye while looking for water that looked like it could hold fish. I found lots of pockets but nothing really deep. I went with a emerger pattern and drifted it threw a few runs, instantly a little fish tagged it and came off before I could bring him in. There was a lot of grass on the bottom but only in certain sections. The water was clear but had a tint too it. It reminded me of beer.

I spotted a decent pool that had to hold fish in it. After a few casts I caught a little sunfish. Then noticed that on almost every cast some fish would look at my fly, minnow, sunfish, little bass. The bass seemed to pick at the fly but would never take it. I caught a few more sunfish then moved to deeper water. It was here that I caught a decent sized one.


The Eno has a nice path and there were plenty of hikers enjoying the day as well. There were so many that if you needed to relieve yourself it would be hard to find a private place to do it. The path is well worn and gives a good view of the river the whole time. I spotted some decent large mouth bass and sunfish. I fished a few more sections and lost some decent fish. The key to catching anything seemed to be placement of the fly. I don't think it really mattered what you were using or presentation. It seemed to be the cast that was the most important. The sunfish seemed to key in on the fly after it was falling in the water.

I'll definitely be back to this river. It's too close and good a fishery to pass up.

Blog Neglection

This blog has really been getting neglected. Good news, I went fishing over the weekend and the bluegill ponds by my house are heating up. Bad news, I've only taken the kayak out once on the lakes around here and I haven't fished a big river in awhile. I might have to go to Boone this weekend and get my trout fix. Either that or hit the Eno. I've never been there but heard great things about it. Its been hard to make time for school, rock climbing, hanging out with friends, the wife and then fishing. The days are getting longer, but the plant growth is getting worse. The trails that were easy to navigate are now over grown and the paths are unrecognizable. You still know where they are but now they are lined with poison ivy, briar bushes and who knows whatelse. I will just have to man up and brave it one of these days. It's easy right now to go to my local pond and nab some little gills. The Eno is enticing to me and it's only a matter of time before I get there.

Mayfly Video

Don't feel so bad for mayflies

Still no Shad

Fished on Saturday, still did not catch any shad. That was my last ditch effort. I'm going to be focussing more on trying to get with someone for a striper trip. I want to look into a river I was informed about at the latest TU meeting. It's called the Eno. I've heard it pretty good from others, a lot of warm water species. I haven't had very good luck on the Neuse, I'll have to give the Eno a try. Possibly this weekend.

Falls Lake Part 2

Went out with Kristin today to show her the lake where I went yesterday. It was a nice day, the carp weren't as active. I didn't fish but I did take some pictures of the dead forest.

First time fishing at Falls Lake

Sorry still no shad. The weather was great and I was dying to try a kayak my wife and I just purchased.

I went fishing with a buddy at Falls Lake, it was the first time fishing from a kayak for the both of us. Of course I forgot my fly rod, luckily he brought a fly and spinning rod. We paddled out to a section out by beaver dam. The water was pretty murky and there was no fish activity. We came to a section that looked very promising. A dead tree forest with limbs sticking out of the water. Navigating these trees was interesting. We didn't catch anything in between them but in the distance I saw a splash that looked like a alligator attacking something. We stopped paddling and just watched, then it happened again only farther away, then again in another section, then a huge splash right in front of us! It looked like a 3ft long carp. My buddy said maybe the section we're on was flooded from all the rain and the carp are going crazy on bugs and stuff. Whatever it was, it was amazing. Carp slashing threw water half way breaching themselves causing huge wakes and splashes that would last up to 8-10 seconds at times. It looked like those movies of killer whales attacking seals. There would be an explosion of water around a tree stump then you'd see the flash of a carps back and tail, then it would make a wake and just thrash threw water causing a huge disturbance, it was awesome. I even saw a few jump!!!? They were fully out of the water about 6-8 inches. I've never seen anything like it. The wind picked up and the fish activity died down. We fished for them but it was difficult with the wind and having to watch where the boat was drifting at the same time. We kind of did a bone fishing technique where I'd move us along pushing off the bottom and we'd look for a splash then cast to it. I wish I had my camera. If the weather holds, I'll be going back tomorrow, WITH A CAMERA.

Casting for Recovery

You can now buy fishing gear and help Breast Cancer Research at the same time, you'll need to scroll down a little to the middle of the page from this link.
http://www.jimteeny.com/indexMain.html?content=catalog&page=jtCatalog/catalog/catIntro.html

I'm going to try to get on the Neuse today. I've heard reports that the only place people are still catching shad is the Roanoke. We've had some rain in Raleigh. Hopefully that's allowed some of the fish to make it up here.