Happy Happy Happy

Over these past couple of years in the mountains I have come to the realization that it is in this place where I truly am happy. Peaking hills, cold streams, and small towns is just what seems to click for me. I have realized that not only is it this place that makes me happy, but it is the passion that so many others in this area just like me are chasing. Not fishing to put a smile on our own faces, but fishing to put a smile on the faces of others. Teaching new techniques and showing just an acre of a whole other world to someone who doesn't know anything about it. The outdoors have always been a therapeutic escape for me, and now I am getting to share that with others. It is no longer the joy I receive from catching a big fish or having a high number fish day that does it for me, it's taking someone who has no idea, teaching them a few basic skills, and watching their face light up with every fish they catch. Although this lifestyle unfortunately may not last forever, it is what truly makes me happy and what I feel I would be happy doing forever. At times it can be stressful, aggravating, or just plain tiring, but the joy of others quickly outweighs all of those things. Some may look at it as a job, I look at it as a sharing of knowledge, a continuance of education, and another person who was led to the joy of what the outdoors has to offer. The smiles you see when someone lands their first trout, has their first strike, or just simply learns something new, is like no other. I spend these hours behind my vise, fishing new places, and researching, not only for my own satisfaction but for the satisfaction that others may have from the work I put into these preparations. Some may laugh and say "that's not really work" but I can assure you that myself and others just like me work hard to ensure that people have the best time possible on the water. It is this satisfaction of others that drives me to stay up an extra hour to prepare for trips, tie new flies, or maybe research a little more about certain streams. It is these smiles that have led me to find a true satisfaction in my own life. The truth is that the mountains is where I long to be. Even though I may have to leave this place soon, I will always be satisfied knowing that even though it may have been for a short period of time, I was able to share the beauty and the knowledge of such a wonderful place, and the wildlife that swims through it, with others.

The Spring Swing

It has been a while since I have written one of these. I told myself I was going to stick with it but truth is in between papers for class and studying for the end of the semester, writing for heck of it just hasn't seemed to logical, Anyways...

Spring weather is finally upon us here in Western North Carolina and fishing is picking up tremendously all across the region. The wild streams are starting to produce really good fish as well as most of the stocked streams. A lot has happened since I have last made a post. I have guided several trips and taken many days to myself on some local streams and lakes. The bass on cedar cliff and bear lake are also starting to move up towards the beds and a few fish are already laying on the beds. Some hot patterns that have been producing really well... Girdle Bugs, Frenchies, Iron Lotus (early in the morning especially), Pheasant tails (Many Variations), and hares ears have been my go to's lately. I'm gonna make this short but I will continue to post frequently as I fish and as things change. Good luck and tight lines!

The Epic Battle: One Man, One Rod, One Monster Fish

Yesterday on Sunday, February 16th, one of the highlights of my life occurred. I headed up to Cherokee to help out on a guided trip and learn some new water. I was accompanying Jason Cole, lead guide for Hookers Fly Shop. We arrived at the Ravens Fork a little after 9am and started fishing. One of the clients immediately hooked up on a very nice rainbow but was unable to land the fish. After a few aerial stunts the fish spit the hook and swam off in the deep. We made our way down stream until we arrived to what looked like an awesome section. This section had a deep undercut bank that seemed to never end. Many casts were made but few opportunities were presented. One client had 3 encounters with monster fish but all seemed to magically spit the hook. As the day went by I think we totaled up around 5 fish that managed to spit the hook. This river is not known to present many chances at fish. However, when you do get the chance it seems like it is often a PIG!! Time flew by and the we ended up putting a beautiful 18 inch rainbow in the net to end the trip. The trip ended around 2pm leaving Jason and I plenty of time to hit the water and get in some fishing time for ourselves. We went back to the car and got the rods and headed straight back to the section with the deep undercut bank. I started out with a streamer and almost immediately had a Palamino chase it out from under the bank, but never would commit. Jason was fishing a stonefly pattern and a caddis pattern I believe and quickly hooked up and landed a beautiful 16-18 inch rainbow that had a set of shoulders like a NFL linebacker. Somehow while casting my streamer the tippet snapped sending my streamer flying through the woods which I took as a sign to switch over to nymphs. I rigged up and tied on a neat little stonefly pattern I had tied the night before and dropped it with a hares ear nymph. About 5 or 10 minutes went by when I hooked up on what seemed to be a nice fish. Like the others that day, he spit the hook and went on his merry little way. Jason decided he was going to head way up stream to another deep pool he knew about and I decided to stay put. I walked down stream probably thirty yards or so to where I had seen a fish rising to little black stoneflies. I made a short cast and nothing happened. On my second cast in the hole I knew it was going to be an awesome drift. The flies sank quickly allowing me to feel every rock and pebble they drifted over and then nothing, the flies went weightless, the indicator line made a slight pop in the upstream direction, and there was only one thing left for me to do, set the hook. I set the hook like it was going to be my last, no more hook spits or lost fish is what was going through my mind. I had no idea what I had just hooked into! The water boiled, followed by a flash of a long bright red stripe and it was on! Line began peeling off of the reel and I remember thinking to myself, "I'm alone, I'm hooked into what is probably the biggest trout that I have ever seen in person, I have a little net, how in the world am I going to land this fish." In the midst of line peeling off the reel, me cursing the fish telling it to just please give up, and the excitement, fear, and whatever else I was feeling at the time, I was able to get Jason on the phone and all I said was this, "Monster fish, need help, need a bigger net, get here now!" I continued to yell at the fish hoping he would just stay hooked a little longer and that this one wouldn't be referred to as "The one that got away." Minutes later I saw Jason walking down the trail which soon turned into a sprint after he saw how big the fish actually was. I had the fish pretty worn out at this time, or so I thought. Jason stepped in and I began winching the fish over towards the net but the fish simply wasn't having it. The fish took off every time Jason got close with the net. Eventually the fish turned towards Jason and in a crazy manner, Jason managed to swoop down and net the fish head first. I immediately felt both relief and excitement and was still cursing the fish for some reason. I looked down in the net and realized what had just happened, I just caught the biggest trout that I have ever seen with my own eyes. It will probably be a long time before I ever top this one, especially in North Carolina. This fish will forever be a time of excitement and pure joy in my life. I hope that one day soon someone else can enjoy the same fight with the same fish and that it will leave them with the same experience and emotion that it left me with. Tight lines, God bless, and have fun!

 

 

 

The fish measured in at 28 inches and was a guesstimated 8 or 9 pounds!

Thanks,
Jalen Morton

Dreaming of Warmer Weather

As I was sitting in class this morning, I was thinking about fishing as always. I was thinking about how ready I am for winter to leave us and for the Smallmouth to move up in the rivers and be hungry. Smallmouth are the super-athletes of the rivers here in Western North Carolina. Smallies will eat almost anything and will do almost anything to get rid of the hook, THEY ARE AWESOME. The Little Tennessee is my go to spot to catch Smallies. The Little Tennessee doesn't offer many sizable fish but it offers the numbers which always makes it fun... I figured I would rant a little, not that it is going to make winter leave us any faster...off to the river i go for an afternoon of fishing. I will be sure to update on how bad/good it was.

Have a great day,

Jalen Morton

BOOK A TRIP!!!!!

Fishing over the past couple of days was phenomenal! The past 3 days have been exceptionally warm compared to what we have been dealing with earlier last week, the temperatures rose to around 60 degrees and the generators were off leaving us with low water, FINALLY! Many great fish were landed, days averaged around 40 fish which is darn good for the time of the year. Patterns used were stone flies, Walt's worms, and variable Caddis nymphs, size 8-12 as the point fly, and small pheasant tails and soft hackles as the droppers, size 16-18.

After much hard work and dedication my dream is slowly but surely beginning to come true. When I think about future careers, I have no idea. My parents claim I change my mind at least 100 times a day on what I would like to do after college, which is true to some extent. However, I do know that fly fishing is something I will always keep close to home no matter where I end up in the job field. I have taken many people fly fishing and put them on countless numbers of fish from the big stocked trout streams, wild trout streams, to rivers packed with smallmouth bass. Teaching people and giving people an insight to what mother nature has to offer has become a great passion of mine. While taking people fishing it never really dawned on me that guiding might be a great path to follow for a few years and see where it ends up. Well I have decided to take that route and I have landed a guiding position with Hookers Fly Shop of Sylva NC. Many potential customers may get iffy when they hear someone is a new guide but don't let that scare you. Just because someone is new to guiding doesn't mean they don't have what it takes. I can tell you that fly shops do not just hire someone who walks in and claim to know how to fish. You are tried out, looked over, and trained before you are ever considered. Fly shops make money off giving people a great experience and they have to be careful in who they hire. Yes, some guides may be more experienced than others but just having the title of guide says something about that person. It says that they know what they are doing, they are capable of putting you on fish. So please, don't be cautious or wary when you hear someone is new to the guiding world, they can still get the job done just as any other guide out there can. If you are thinking about booking a trip, whether you are new, experienced, whatever, book a trip through Hookers Fly Shop of Sylva NC, they have an excellent guiding staff (Including Myself). WWW.HOOKERSFLYSHOP.COM ... They are always running great deals and specials so be sure to check out the website, facebook page, instagram, look at the guides, pick one (If it's me that would be great) and I can assure you that no matter who you pick you will have the TIME OF YOUR LIFE!!!!!

God Bless, Have a Great day, Keep fishing, Keep Reading
Jalen Morton

When you Forget the Most Important Tool

Good buddy and fishing guide Clint Holcomb offered us another chance to go on another float down the river this past Monday. We had the day off of class due to the holiday, and I was all for going fishing instead of going to class. We woke up Monday morning late and dragging behind, as usual. We dropped the boat in the water right around 11 and planned to fish until dark. The temps were going to be a little higher than the past few days so we hoped for some active fish that would cooperate. We began our journey down river and fished a shady section of the river which was much cooler than the rest of the river and as we expected it to be, fishing was slow. We picked up and did some skipping around until we hit a the section where the sun had already been beating down for a few hours and BAM! the fish were on. There was a light black stone hatch going off and also a very light caddis hatch as well which made fly selection very easy. We used some heavy black stones to get down followed up by some smaller flies with hot spots to gain the attention of the fish. As it always tends to do, my phone was ringing off the hook from people back home telling me about the ducks they got that morning or how bad their hunt was, so I handed my rod to Clint for the time being and on his first cast he gets a double, two very hungry and aggressive rainbows I guess! Clint and Jared continued to pull fish after fish out and I was content just watching, something that I enjoy often. I enjoy watching because I am a big believer in the saying, "Watch and Learn." We made our way a little further down river where Jason, owner of Hookers Fly Shop and fantastic guide, was just finishing up a half day wade trip. We had forgot a net when we left the access area. Out of all pieces of equipment and tools to forget, I would say that a net falls among the top 3 when fishing from a boat. Thankfully Jason still had his in his car from the day before and was kind enough to let us borrow it. The place where we stopped was a long run with a swift drop off that made it very deep in one spot. We pulled a few fish out on the nymph rods and then as things slowed down on the nymphs I grabbed the streamer rod and began swinging... On my third cast, I was stripping the streamers through the deep section of the run and from behind a big rock there he came! Mr. Brown decided that it was lunch time and got every bit of it! The Fight was on! It's a good thing that we got a net because without it I have no idea what would have happened! The Brown was absolutely beautiful and put up an awesome fight! That folks is why I love, and always will love streamer fishing more so than any other kind. The Brown pushed in between the 21 and 22 inch mark and had a set of shoulders like an NFL linebacker, truly an amazing fish! We fished the rest of the day and caught many more fish and had a great time! The good Lord definitely blessed me with an amazing fish and it's days like this that I will always remember!

Living the High Life

Today was a day that I will never forget, I got to float the river for the first time. Clint was generous enough to invite my roommate Jared and I for a half day of just hanging out and fishing on his float boat. I have to say that wade fishing will never be the same again, floating can definitely spoil you. The weather was against us for the most part with freezing cold temperatures and winds that seemed to blow straight in our face no matter which direction we turned. However, fishing sounded a lot better than laying around on the couch all day. We put the boat in the water around 11 a.m. and we were off! We were all fishing nymphs under indicators since that's what most of boat fishing is, and I started off with a Walts Worm and a fire orange Frenchie. We realized quickly that the fish were going to be slow to take anything and were very sluggish. The water was extremely cold for a tail water and the fish were definitely feeling it, strikes were subtle and fishing started out very slow. We worked our way down river and came to a deep run where I was then throwing a streamer just to see if we could get any follows at all. Mr.Brown decided that it was lunch time and slipped out from behind a rock and slammed it...FISH ON!!! We floated our way on down river and got to a couple spots where the trees didn't shade the river so much and were able to get into some numbers. Probably the second or third fish we caught one big enough where Clint was able to pump its stomach which revealed a few small stoneflys. We switched over and tied on a few stoneflys and that is when the numbers game took off. We went from hole to hole catching them here and there which overall added up to 30+ fish, not bad for a cold winter day. I was even able to get on the paddles and row a little bit which turned out to be a lot harder than what I thought it would be. Overall it was an awesome day and a great experience. If you have always wanted to do a float trip I highly recommend booking a trip with either Clint or Jason through Hookers Fly Shop.