Summer is prime time for camping/fishing trips
July 2010
Summer is an ideal time to plan a fishing/camping trip to the mountains.The weather is ideal, with warm days and cool evenings, making sleeping out a true pleasure. Trout fishing, too, is good. The water is cool enough in most mountain streams to keep trout feisty, yet warm enough to wade without bulky, hot waders. Evening hatches are prime, especially golden stones, yellow mayflies and light cahills. Terrestrials such as inchworms, beetles and ants are very productive.
No trout dinner, but a wonderful day
June 2010
Hunkered under the wide limbs of a huge spruce, I waited out an early summer rainstorm, a hard, pounding, gully-washer kind of rain. The big tree was trying its best to provide shelter, but the rain quickly found me. Water dripped down my face and down my collar. Might as well have stayed in the open. My rain jacket was in my car, a good two miles away.
Dam removal expected to enhance fishing on Tuckasegee River
May 2010
The historic Dillsboro Dam in Jackson County has been demolished, creating approximately 32 miles of free-flowing water on the Tuckasegee River from Cullowhee to Fontana Reservoir.
Trout: Please, release me, then let me go
April 2010
I believe in the merits of catch-and-release, but I’m not a hard-core purist like many Trout Unlimited members. I like the taste of trout, and once in a great while, I will keep a wild trout, especially if I’m camping in wild-trout territory.
Mayflies big blessing for springtime fishing
March 2010
Spring is truly the time of the trout fisher. The weather is perfect for fishing, wildflowers are in bloom, and, best of all, mayfly hatches are emerging.
Cold-weather fishing can pay off
February 2010
Winter in the mountains is a time of stark beauty, a time when the dominant colors are blue, gray, brown and black, a time when streams run full and clear and icy cold, a time when a warm, sunny day is an event and a blessing for a trout fisher.
Streamers: best choice on full streams
January 2010
Heavy rainfall kept rivers and creeks full this summer and fall, and it appears the trend is continuing into the winter. Good for the fish, bad for the fishers.
Popularity of fly-fishing giving boost to economies in western North Carolina counties
December 2009
Every year, more and more people, young and old, male and female, take up the fine sport of fly-fishing. As a result, more fly-fishing opportunities have opened to fly fishers, including high-dollar fishing tournaments and new fly-fishing-only streams.
Don’t neglect cold-weather fishing; trout will bite if you adjust your tactics
November 2009
Although spring is undoubtedly the ideal trout time for trout fishing, winter also has its merits. What most winter trout fishers discover is that they catch fewer but larger fish. The downside of winter fishing, particularly during the bitterly cold months of January and February, is that fishing can test an angler’s mettle and patience.
Fall is prime time for browns, brookies
October 2009
In September, autumn eases into the mountains in muted colors: dull reds and yellows of sourwood, dogwood, and sumac.
Passing on the thrill: the rewards are endless
September 2009
She asked me to take her fishing, out of the blue. So I took her to the local Wal-Mart and let her pick out a fishing rod. She chose a pink, Zebco Barbie model, more a toy than a fishing rod.
Presentation is a key for hot-weather trout
August 2009
One hard lesson I’ve learned fishing mountain trout streams in the hottest months of summer is this: how you present a fly is far more important than the type of fly you use. If the fly is sufficiently “buggy” and floats naturally, chances are good that a trout will hit it.
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