N. Carolina

[tbrillinger223]

I will be heading to north carolina this friday for 2 weeks. looking forward to some good trout fishing with a fly rod. if any one has any tips on aiding the capture of trout please let me know. looking forward to your input.

[Frank Whiton]

Hi tbrillinger223,

I assume this is going to be small stream fishing. Best tip is to be stealthy. When you approach a pool keep low and study it from a distance. Try to figure out where the trout are laying and what they are feeding on. In some cases you will just have the leader on the water. This works best with a long rod. Find a fly shop some where in the area and get all the information you can. If they have fishing maps, buy a map and try to get them to point out a good spot. If they are reluctant to give you a place to fish then ask them to point out access points. Buy some of their flies.

If you really want to get a great start hire a guide for one day. That will be money well spent. If you are a hiker this will get you to water that is not fished as much. Some guides will hike in with you. If you are visiting friends find out if they or their friends fish. Local fisherman can be a tremendous help. If you could hook up with a local fisherman that would be your best bet. If you are close to East Tennessee there are some good trout waters there. They are hard to fish without a boat.

[tbrillinger223]

Originally Posted by Frank Whiton

Hi tbrillinger223,

I assume this is going to be small stream fishing. Best tip is to be stealthy. When you approach a pool keep low and study it from a distance. Try to figure out where the trout are laying and what they are feeding on. In some cases you will just have the leader on the water. This works best with a long rod. Find a fly shop some where in the area and get all the information you can. If they have fishing maps, buy a map and try to get them to point out a good spot. If they are reluctant to give you a place to fish then ask them to point out access points. Buy some of their flies.

If you really want to get a great start hire a guide for one day. That will be money well spent. If you are a hiker this will get you to water that is not fished as much. Some guides will hike in with you. If you are visiting friends find out if they or their friends fish. Local fisherman can be a tremendous help. If you could hook up with a local fisherman that would be your best bet. If you are close to East Tennessee there are some good trout waters there. They are hard to fish without a boat.

Frank,

You are a wealth of knowledge and your assumption is correct. I have fished this area for a few years now, but not on fly. I have access to a few farm ponds and a couple of artificial only rivers/streams within minutes of where we are staying. There is a little gas station down the street that I get my liscenses from. Its run by an older gentleman that seems to have been vaccinated with a phonograph needle, so getting information out of him is as easy as saying hello. A few years ago I found that some of the places on the reservation offer maps of reservation waters and which ones are natural only, natural/artificial, and artificial only. I just hope they got rain. we will be going to G.S.M.N.P. for a few days, I know the park service offers maps as well. East Tennessee is a definite, I have an uncle that lives in sevierville, who happens to have a really nice boat. Thanks again for your post. hopefully it is going to be a good trip and I get some good pictures(and fish???).

[jdgrubbjr]

tbrillinger223,

Frank's advice on stealth is a must. Bright colored hats and clothing are also out. If you have to wade, do so at a snail's pace to lessen the noise that wading generates, particularly on "wild streams". The less wading that you have to do, the better off you will be. Lots of roll casting and sidearm casting will be necessary in the smaller streams. Here are a few fly shops in the general area that may prove useful:

Asheville, N.C.- Hunter Banks Company (800) 227-6732
Fly Fishing in Asheville - Hunter Banks is Asheville's Fly Shop

Cherokee, N.C.- Smoky Mountain Fly Fishing (828) 497-1555
Smoky Mountain Fly Fishing - Cherokee, North Carolina

Gatlinburg, Tn.- The Smoky Mountain Angler (865) 436-8746

Sevierville, Tn.- Orvis (865) 774-4162
www.orvis.com/intro.asp?subject=1510

Townsend, Tn.- Little River Outfitters (877) 448-3474
Little River Outfitters - Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains


We are still in a drought situation, so be prepared for low stream conditions. Be safe, and let us know how your trip went.

[tbrillinger223]

jd,

I have a water truck following me up (j/k). What patterns have been working up there lately?

[jdgrubbjr]

Dries: Little Yellow & Little Green Stoneflies, size 14,16,18.
Stimulator & Elk Hair Caddis patterns will work fine.
Yellow Humpy & Green Humpy for swifter water, size 12 & 14.

Nymphs: Tellico (size 10 & 12), Coffey's Stonefly Nymph, a local pattern (size 10 & 12).

Terrestrials: Crickets, Hoppers, Yellow Jackets.

Stop by one of the local fly shops and pick their brains. Most of them are pretty cooperative. Best of luck!

[tbrillinger223]

thanks jd. i will be in your neighborhood tomorrow before noon. god willing and the creek dont rise. actualy hope the creek does rise, it makes fishing alot easier.

[tbrillinger223]

Hello all,

I went out this morning to a freinds house to fish his farm pond to get warmed up for some trout later this afternoon. let me know what you think.

[Frank Whiton]

Hi tbrillinger223,

I was wondering how your fishing was going in NC. Thanks for the pictures, nice Bass. How are the water levels in the streams?

[tbrillinger223]

Hi Frank,

you have to dig a hole to get your ancles wet, on some streams. the Hiawase (10 min away) was very silty when we got here at 8:00 am on saturday. It rained for a few hours on friday. I hope that the river clears up today or tomorrow. I am actually thinking about heading back to our freinds house this evening to grab some more bass/bluegill. I will post some pics of the LITTLE pond that I was fishing in.