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.

It's Okay to Have a Bad Day

Yesterday after getting out of class I decided that I was going to head out and fish the Tuck even though both forks are under a heavy generation schedule, wading was going to be hard and limited in most places. Jared headed down river while Clint and I went further up stream to a section that is not so deep. I started out fishing two tungsten bead nymphs to try and get down to where the fish were at. Clint hopped in and immediately started catching fish (as always). If you have ever had a desire to do a trip through a fly shop or do a float trip, I highly recommend booking either Clint or Jason through Hookers Fly Shop. Both are fantastic anglers with similar fishing styles and will definitely put you on the fish. The link to their website is displayed to the right on my page... Anyways... I however was slow to even get a strike, I missed two fish right from the start. I was having trouble getting flies down to where they really needed to be. I am currently in the process of revamping my fly boxes so I was lacking my anchor flies that I normally use to really get down deep with. I seemed to be in some sort of bad luck streak, It seemed as if everything was not going my way! When I did get strikes, the fish would somehow spit the hook. I was getting beat by the fish so I went back to what I know! I tied on a big bunny strip streamer and to my surprise I finally hooked up on one and landed it. I was way behind both Clint and Jared. I caught a few more and then the phone started ringing, It was Clint who was down river and he told me that he had the fish of the day on and that I needed to get there quick! I ran down river and he had hooked into big sassy! It was probably around 21" or better and was definitely a beautiful brown! Clint called it quits after that one and I continued fishing with my bad luck still hanging around. Although I was having a bad day, I was just glad to be out there! Sometimes its not all about catching fish and I try and tell myself this from time to time. Instead of focusing on catching fish I decided I would shift my focus to working on different casting methods, drift methods, angles, and all sorts of things. I figured if I couldn't really get into the fish I would at least use the time to try and improve my skills. I continued to work on things the rest of the day and just so happened to end up getting into a few numbers as well. Overall Clint and Jared had most of the luck catching around 60 fish combined while I ended up with 13. Moral of the story is that it's okay to have a bad day, slow down, keep your head up, and use the time wisely to work on techniques and skills! Don't think for a second that you're the only one who ever has bad days because I can guarantee you that everyone has bad days!

Back in Action

After being home on break for nearly three weeks I finally have made it back into my temporary (maybe future) home of Cullowhee NC. For the past three weeks all I have thought about was making it back into the rivers and feeling the tug that all of us crazed fisherman desire. The plan was to stop at the Davidson on the way back to school and fish for half of the day and then truck it to Cullowhee to fish the Tuck with Jared. However, the rain decided that it wanted to hover over the Brevard area so I decided to drive on past the exit and make it a full day on the Tuck. I pulled my truck into the first pull-off I saw. I didn't care that it wasn't the best hole on the river...I just wanted to FISH. Leader, indicator Line, tippet, dropper, and flies, all went on probably faster than they ever have before. I walked down the river a little ways, hopped in, made a cast into a run and BAM! First cast was a hook-up with a small rainbow and it sure felt good to be back doing one of the things that I love the most. I made my way up stream hitting every run and pocket of water pulling fish out left and right. Not long after I had hit the water I heard Jared let out a little rebel yell, I looked up and noticed that he was hooked up with what appeared to be a really nice fish. While Jared was fighting his beast, I happened to hook into one of my own. I felt the pop, saw the indicator line jump, set the hook, BAM! Fish takes off and the lovely sound of that Lamson drag began to click click click away. Both of us now had nice sized on and were running all over the river trying to keep up with the fish. We just so happened to land the fish around the same time. Jared's fish took the length win while mine took the girth win, I'll take that I guess. I began to make my way up stream while Jared stayed further down. I caught many more fish including a few beautiful brown trout and more rainbows than what I could keep count of. I was walking back down the road when I noticed something funny. I saw Jared, slack line, no fish on, running through the river as fast as he could back and forth... I thought to myself, "what in the world could he possibly be doing." When I got down to where he was at... he told me the story. He was fighting a fish when the line snapped (One of his famous knots of course) and the fish was swimming around with two flies and Jareds strike indicator. While Jared was telling me this story I just so happened to look down and see this little orange strike indicator moving through the water. Here comes Jared running through the water, makes a long reach and somehow he did it! Jared caught his broken off fish by hand. At this point were running a show on the river, even cars had pulled over to watch and see what Jared was doing (Poor Jared). Overall, fishing was excellent and between the two of us we managed to land 100+ fish. Another blessed day of fishing where the good Lord was looking out for us! 

The Davidson River

The semester came to an end last Friday and Christmas break is finally here. After a weekend with family and my brother graduating, I finally found time to hit the water. Monday, on my way home from Cullowhee, I was able to make time to stop at what is my favorite fishery in North Carolina, the Davidson River. With its undercut banks, deep pockets, swift runs, great hatches, beautiful water clarity, and majestic browns, the Davidson is like no other fishery. I could go on and on about its attributes, for days probably. The Davidson is a lot of things, especially tough at times. When I arrived at the river the temperature was still in the mid 20's with the water temps hanging out in the mid to high 40's. I knew the fish would most likely be lethargic and that it was going to be tough to get them to eat anything. After stopping at the fly shop and satisfying a few needs and wants, I headed on up the road full of both confidence and uncertainty. I had spent the day before my trip hanging with good friend Clint Holcomb, an excellent guide and fisherman from Hookers Fly Shop of Sylva NC, trying to soak up any knowledge that I could. We had spent time talking flies, leaders, presentation methods, and anything else that two fishing bums might talk about. Needless to say, after a few short hours of talking, my confidence level was at a high. I had already made my mind up before arriving at the river that I was going to deploy the nymphing tactics that I had learned from Clint the day before. I put on my waders, my boots, my pack, and rigged up my rod with what was easily the longest leader and connection knot combo that I had ever fished with.. I started out fishing with two hares ear nymphs, one olive, one black, with a soft hackle collar. I worked my way up stream, hit run after run, pool after pool, and nothing was happening. The fish were way more sluggish than what I had expected them to be, stuck to the bottom and very slow with their movements, if they even moved at all. All of my excitement about fishing quickly turned to frustration and determination. I made my mind up that I was not going to leave until I caught a fish! The temperature was rising quickly which left me with the hope that at some point that day the fish would become a little more active. After fishing the lower section of the catch and release and coming up empty handed, I decided that it was time to move further up stream. I parked at the hatchery and slid down the bank into the river. The temperature was now hanging around the upper 40's and things started to look up. First cast into a deep pocket of water and BAM! I hooked up with a decent sized rainbow but after a quick run, the hook slipped out and I was still at a big whopping zero for the day. The next cast I got hung on a submerged log. I made my way over to the log to free my flies and I noticed it looked as if the log was moving. I broke off a small limb during the process of freeing my flies and realized it was covered in caddis larvae, the breakthrough I needed! I quickly switched my flies to two peaking caddis variations and BAM, it was on! First cast with the caddis flies and I caught a beautiful brown. The rest of the way up stream I was catching wild rainbows here and there. Overall, I ended up fishing for about 4 hours, caught and released one brown trout and seven wild rainbows, yet another successful Davidson River fishing trip.

The images below are just some pictures from Monday's trip, and previous trips to the Davidson.

Streamers, Streamers, Streamers

Its day 2, going on 3, of blown out rivers and streams due to the rain that is currently making my life miserable.  I'M READY TO FISH AND BE ABLE TO TELL YOU ABOUT IT...It is easy for me to say that of all the different types of fishing out there, streamer fishing is by far my favorite. I could always go out and tie on a dry-dropper or a double nymph rig, fish the main runs, and pull out the numbers that most people desire or dream of, but that's not me. Don't get me wrong, I love to go out and catch the numbers, but what I'm after is the one trout that the "numbers" fear. I want the fish that others are afraid to be around! Yes, its capable to catch that fish on nymphs, but to me it is no where near as fun or exciting. Streamers imitate the bait, and like that bait, they get chased down and munched on! One of my favorite things about streamers is that you can pick apart the water with your casts. You can fish the banks, the main runs, you can fish them anywhere and at whatever distance it is you desire. When these big fish chase, sometimes just a follow-up or a second glance is all that is needed to get my blood pumping. When these big fish chase and take, there is no other feeling like it! It is an action from the fish that is sudden and violent. It feels as if the rod is going to be jerked out of your hand and is often followed by the sound of the drag while line is ripping off of your reel. My favorite fish to sling streamers at is definitely the Brown Trout. Browns to me are among the top athletes in the rivers of WNC, they are quick, agile, and violent. They are the ultimate ambush predator that will eat almost anything! What I love so much about these fish is that one second they will be peeling line off of your reel and the next they're out of the water thrashing around...ANYWAYS...It's the follow up, the violent action of the fish, and the reaction in the rod that will forever make streamer fishing my favorite!

When I tie streamers, all of the rules go out the window! My streamers are often times unique, definitely far from text-book fly patterns! They usually start out with a little bit of this and that and end up with a whole lot of this and that. I tie my streamers with many different materials, many of which that would never be thought of being put together in the same fly. I like to catch fish with a little shoulder on them so why shouldn't I add a little shoulder to my flies! I'm here to tell you that its okay to throw the rules out the window every once in while, you never know what your going to end up with!

I've Never Had a Bad Day of Fishing

Priorities priorities priorities...Exactly what I hear on a daily basis from my parents... They often ask me whether they are paying for me to get an education or paying for me to fish all the time, I just laugh and say that the education is just an added bonus. I was talking to my roommate the other day and we both agreed that we have never had a bad day of fishing when we were supposed to be in class....Mom, Dad, if your reading this, try not to have a heart-attack. It's true, I have skipped class on many occasions to go fishing when I couldn't imagine sitting through yet another minute of boring lectures on things that I will never use in my life. Fishing just seems much more rewarding and is definitely a whole lot more fun. It would usually start by my roommate sending me a text message saying, "Wanna Fish?" and it always ended by packing up our things and trying to quietly get up and slide out the door without being noticed or causing too much distraction. In fact, some of the best days I can remember on the river were when we were supposed to be in class, high number catches, big fish catches, I have never been disappointed!

Anyways!!

The river conditions for today, and probably for the next few days, are going to be fairly poor. The rain has moved in and made some of the smaller rivers turn that chocolatey milk color that all fisherman just love! Hope you can feel the sarcasm. The Tuck is now under a heavy generation schedule for the next few days meaning the river will be high and hard to wade. If that's not enough to deter you,  the water is starting to turn a little murky from the rain as well. I have retired my afternoon to my humble abode to sit and tie some flies for when the water is back to normal! Have a great day everyone and God bless. I wish you the best of luck on your next fishing adventure!

Where the Passion Begins

As a kid I can remember running down to my dad's building in the back yard where all of the fishing rods were stored along with the tackle boxes. I was not worried about all of those rods hanging on the wall, I was worried about mine, a blue fishing rod with a push button reel with a simple bobber and hook rig ready to catch whatever was willing to bite....Yep, Dad was taking me and the big brother fishing!!!! I can remember piling in the truck with my older brother scrunching in the middle not being able to sit still the whole way to the lake being so excited that I was going fishing. This was not the first time I had ever gone fishing, just one of the first times that I can remember! To make a long story short, I blame my Dad for starting something that has continuously grown into what it is now, AN ADDICTION!!

I have fished many different places in my life and caught many different species. Little fish, medium sized fish, big fish, huge fish, I have caught them all. ANYWAYS, The year was 2011 and I was about to accomplish what I hold as some of the biggest accomplishments in my life, get accepted to college and graduate high school! I was accepted to Western Carolina University and Appalachian State University, both full of wilderness, new people, and new experiences. I made the decision to go to Western Carolina University to study Criminal Justice and Parks and Recreation Management. On my way to Western for move in day I of course made sure that I had plenty of room for my fishing rods. I was now in the land of trout, trout, and more trout. Driving by the rivers around school I noticed people fly fishing, their line dancing back and forth and stretching out across the water in almost art-like form. Fly fishing was something that I had only done once before in my life at the lake with one of my cousins to catch bream. Being the avid fisherman that I was, I immediately went back to my dorm room and began reading whatever I could find on the internet that had to deal with fly fishing. Just a few short weeks later, while fishing with my brother, I hooked into and landed my first trout on the fly. It was a rainbow trout, nothing sizable, but I was ecstatic. It was this little event that would change not only my fishing experience, but my life forever. ITS TIME TO FAST-FORWARD...

 Here I am now, just 2 short years later. My love for fly fishing has grown into an addiction, a passion, a way of life. I have read the books, read the articles, listened to the experts, but I have found that nothing is as good as experience...I taught myself how to fly fish through self experience, I just went fishing...A LOT...every day really. My cast is not expert, but it is mine and it fits. My flies that I tie are not textbook, but they are by-products and creations of my own imagination, interpretations, and imitations that come to life in my mind when I see the real thing on the river. I have never taken a casting class or a tying class, I am where I am now through trial and error...believe me there has been plenty of error. I could go on and on but what I am really trying to say is that there are some things that you just can't learn from a book or an instructor...YOU JUST HAVE TO GET OUT THERE AND FISH FISH FISH!!!!