Fall Trout Is Here!! (Delayed Harvest Open and Ready)

Hey Y’all!!

            Three weeks into North Carolina’s Delayed Harvest Season and finally the fishing is red hot and upon us. All the invested hours of tying flies, prepping gear, and studying the water is paying off with overwhelming success. The stocked trout are a joy to catch and the released Rainbow, Brown, and Brook Trout that are in the waters right now are biting very well and offer a great day of fishing to even the most inexperienced of fly fisherman. While they do offer a mild challenge, it is a great time to take your not so “fish-wise” friend, child, or better half to the river to get a very enjoyable fly fishing experience without having to hire a guide. A common misconception though, is that the Delayed Harvest is only for novice fisherman and offers no challenge to the experienced angler. This could not be farther from the truth. In my opinion, the most significant and yet overlooked appeal of the Delayed Harvest is that it creates food scarcity on the rivers. When the rivers and streams are stocked to the gills with thousands of trout, wild trout are unable to find the readily available food sources that they have been gorging on all summer. This is a very important phenomenon, especially when it comes to the waters that are highly overfished. Even if the waters are “catch and release” year-round, you can just about count on the fact that a large trout in these areas as seen just about every fly imaginable. Many fisherman talk about the challenge of catching wild trout, but that challenge pales in comparison to the difficulty of trying to catch highly pressured trout. This is what you run into at places like the Davidson River. Matching the hatch is easy, putting a fly right in front of a fish is easy, but getting that fish to bite when he is scared is almost impossible. During the DH there is a time when this fish just can’t take the hunger anymore and when that time comes they will be looking for the first fly that matches what they are looked for. I wouldn’t call these fish desperate, but I would go as far to say that they resort back to their natural predator instincts.

            This weekend I was on Wilson Creek, my favorite Delayed Harvest stream in the entire state hands down. My lovely Fiancé and I went up to the stream and camped out for the weekend and we had great luck on the streams. I caught a great number of trout and she captured some great pictures. Most of the pictures were of my furry fishing buddy Coal but there were a few good shots of me with a rod in my hand. I enjoyed the company, especially when trout missed my dry flies. I was able to haul in many trout of all three species but the biggest fish of the trip was a 23” Rainbow on a #20 Blood Midge tied on 7x Tippet. It was a fantastic trip and I am really looking forward to getting back up there. So by now I hope you realize how good the fishing is at the moment, just to give you a heads up like always I am going to post my patterns used below:

Weather

Friday 10/18:  Mild Overcast 

  High 75 Degrees

                          Water Temp: 52 Degrees

                         No Wind

Saturday 10/19: Heavy Overcast w/ Short Patches of Sun

                              High 67 Low 42

                              Water Temp: 45

Sunday 10/20:   No Clouds w/ Full Sun

                             High 65 Low 35

                             Water Temp 47

FLIES USED (Listed in Order of Importance)

#20 Red Blood Midge

#22 Zebra Midge

#18 Beaded UV Quilled Buzzer/Midge

#18 Midge-decator Dry Fly

#14 Green Prince

#12 Carolina Adams

#12 Orange / Olive Stimulator

#12 Thunderhead Adams

#14 Red Copper John

#14 Green Bean

#16 Black Elk Hair Caddis

Flies Tied From This Month's Fly Tyer Magazine

This is a fly I found in Fly Tyer Magazine. I always enjoy picking up a copy of Fly Tyer and reading it while drinking some tea at the local Barnes & Noble. I enjoy reading this particular publication because often they exploit a certain category of flies that may often be overlooked and apply these techniques to more traditional patterns. I know I talk about this often but as a fly tier, I cannot stress enough the importance of altering flies to make them stand out, and some of the techniques in this magazine allow you to do just that. This fly is known as the Fan Winged Cow Dun. This is a variant that essentially uses the wide soft-hackle feathers to create a wing shadow on the water in an effort to imitate a mayfly's wings. Try it out, I know it will be in my fly box this season and more then anything I really want to create a pattern like this to imitate a sulfur dun.










This stonefly pattern originates from the Catskill region of Southern New York. This is another one of the flies that I plan on using this upcoming season. I rarely even use stonefly patterns when I am fishing in NC due to the fact that we don't have as many stonefly hatches in NC during trout season. We are in caddis country for the most part. Now if you fish the rivers on the TN/NC border it is a whole different story but for most of the rivers and steams in the Grandfather Mountain area then stonefly patterns aren't something you need to worry about. For the most part, stonefly patterns that you pick up in fly shops tend to be way to big. I have seen stoneflies as large as a size 6 in fly shops. I have seen people catch trout on them too, but the larger smart trout know that a large pattern like that isn't natural. This pattern that I am tying can act as a stonefly, or it can act as an attractor that can imitate many mayfly or small stonefly species. Give it a try and let me know what you think...












his is by far the weirdest nymph pattern I have ever tied.... I am just trying to mix things up a bit to be perfectly honest. I have a bunch of new fly tying books on the way and I am just hungry for some new patterns. These patterns are in Fly Tyer Magazine for a reason and that js the fact that the have caught fish somewhere, so why not tie them and see if they work on your local stream. What do you have to lose? a hook and a little bit of supplies? Who knows? There is always the possibility that it could cause trout to go nuts. Take it easy Tight Lines……..

Early Delayed Harvest Soft Hackles

Hey Y'all,

        Mike here, I don't know about the rest of you but I always find the first few weeks of the delayed harvest to be a bit slow. Trout get stressed from the stockings and its just not quite as cold as I needs to be. I also believe that it takes trout a week or two just to get into the swing of foraging for food because they aren't used to seeking out flies yet. These pellet fed river hogs need to relearn what it means to be a wild trout and until they do it may not be easy to get them to strike flies that accurately match the hatch. This is just my experience but it really varies year to year.  Regardless, I have always found that these trout are impervious to soft hackles. Wooly buggers work well too but they can also spook trout that are stressed. Often times I will trail soft hackles behind a wooly bugger using tippet material using the wooly bugger as more of an attractor. Whatever type of hackle you want to use, soft hackles just seem to have the perfect type of subtle movement that trout love. So what I wanted to do is just give you a few patterns that I have been tying recently to give you some ideas to get started. Check them out and let me know what you think.


Take it easy and Tight Lines,
Mike





This fly is the essence of simplicity and versatility. It doesn't get better then a three material fly that is known to bring up good fish. I really like these simple and traditional flies because they offer unlimited versatility when it comes to customization. Traditionally this fly is tied in orange but I have tied this fly in a number of different colors. You can mix up the hackle, add in a herl collar, you can even bulk this pattern up with lead to where it bounces along the bottom as it drifts. Mix it up some and give it a try...






This is my favorite caddis emerged pattern. Typically I use this fly as a last resort because sometimes trout can sip an emerger without you ever knowing he was there due to the fact that emerger patterns are designed to sink down just below the water film. Plus, I don't know about you but when I am in the middle of a large hatch I want some dry fly action! Every now and again though it is important to but wishful thinking aside and remember that the goal is to catch fish. Not wait to a lucky break....although, those are nice too!

New Flies!!!

Hey Everybody,

          Get out of your normal fly tying box and try out some new patterns. I picked out a few patterns I thought y'all would like and made a few videos on how to tie them. I have been in a fly tying frenzy with this colder weather we have had over the weekend. It almost made me feel like trout season is right around the corner!!!!

This is a new Attractor Dry Fly that I want to try out this upcoming fall season. Like I have talked about before, I really believe in mixing things up and looking around for out of the box flies to use, especially attractor patterns. Big trout don't get big by eating every fly that floats right over them. These big fish are used to seeing Parachute Adams, Hare's Ears, Pheasant Tails, and a lot of other flies that can be found at just about every fly shop in the country. Sometimes it just takes a different profile or pattern to set them off. All fish adapt, and this is why we can't use many of the old fishing methods used back in the day of Hemingway. Fish have adapted to basically avoid being caught. As a fly fisherman and fly tier, you have the ability to adapt your methods very quickly by varying the way you tie flies.

This is a wet fly I came across at a fly shop here in Charlotte. I thought it looked pretty interesting and so I decided to copy it. The only thing I do different to this fly that wasn't on the original is the ostrich herl under the hackle. I like the look and the ostrich helps puff out the soft hackle a little bit more when it gets wet. I use this fly both as an attractor nymph and a wet fly. Sometimes I will even trail this fly behind a heavier wet fly like a soft hackle wooly bugger or a big leech on about a foot and a half of tippet.

Ok to be honest I made a slight yet embarrassing error in this fly. While I did forget to use Golden Pheasant Tippets for the tail to make it a true Royal Coachman, I did purposely use the moose main fibers. I like the way this type of tail looks on attractor dry flies for the reason that it tends to splay out more. This gives the fly the more natural appearance of a mayfly. I was tying a bunch of these to stock the fly box and forgot to mention in the video that this was my own variant that I do different just to mix things up a bit.

Summer Heat Fly Tying...

All throughout the Tarheel State we are seeing temperatures peek in the 90's. Even the rivers and streams seem to be close to boiling which are driving all the trout down deep. This is the time of year where trout must fight to survive to the next year. Smart trout that end up as big carry-overs find a deep hole to hide out until they can get some cold water come fall. Trout that can't seem to find a spot to call home end up suffocating in the warm oxygen starved water. While the water isn't really near the boiling temp, it isn't nowhere near the colder temps that trout prefer and this causes trout to die off. Not to mention the large amount of rain that we have seen in the foothills this year. While a big storm every now and then is something that trout are built to withstand, 17 straight days of rain will test the will of any river dwelling fish. This year alone we have seen record deaths in the streams and rivers famous for lazy rafting. Some people do not understand the dangers of a flooding river. Even if it is not raining at that particular moment, storms in the upper mountains can cause flood buildups of debris that form a wall of water, logs, and mud that rush ahead of the storm and cause massive damage. So what do you do when all this is going on? Your starved of fishing.... You can't go outside without filling your waders with a gallon of sweat.... And on top of all that your wife wants you to cut the grass this weekend so you can't drive to Tennessee!!! I tell you what to do... Go ahead and stock your fly box with some new patterns for fall!!!! The delayed harvest and fall season is almost upon us. We are less then two months away from the DH opening and the cooler temperatures that follow. If your like me then you enjoy fishing in cold weather. Nothing makes you feel like apart of the river then having a mile long section of water to yourself with snow falling. So what I have for all yall today is a few of the fly patterns that I have been tying in preparation for what I have come to call Fly Fisherman's Christmas Season.. The Fall!!





This is my own variant on the Delaware Adams. I call it the Carolina Adams. In the NC Mountain Streams I can't even begin to count the amount of big trout I have caught using big whulff patterns as dry flies/ strike indicators on dropper style rigging. Trout just can't seem to resist a large fly in certain situations. On top of that it pays off to use patterns that large trout aren't used to seeing. In many rivers known to hold large fish, big trout may see a hare's ear or a parachute adams float by them many times. Displaying a different type of fly can pay off big time...






This is my own spin on a prince nymph. I created this fly to be an attractor pattern to use above a midge. A lot of times when the trout aren't biting like you thing they should, they will usually bite very detailed midges, but they aren't the easiest things for trout to see. I use colorful attractor nymphs to lure trout in closer. They will see the colorful nymph and most of the time it will bring them in just close enough to see the midge.





This is the Royal Humpy. What makes this fly a Royal Humpy rather then the traditional Humpy is the fact that it boasts a calf hair wing and a moose main or dark long elk hair tail. This is an easier version to tie verse the traditional humpy due to the fact that you do not have to tie the but ends of the elk at the base of the fly, fold the elk over the back to create the hump, then use the tips of the elk to create the wing. This method requires much more measuring then the way I tie the Royal Humpy. This variation of the Humpy also has more features of a mayfly then its attractor counterpart.






This is a traditional Copper John tied in red. Being that this fly is one of those traditional mayfly attractor patterns, it can really pay off to tie this fly in multiple colors. It is a great fly in both shape, size, and overall fishability. This is such a popular fly that some fish will have seen it multiple times in their life. Sometimes all it takes is a change of color to make it seem like something different to a fish. A big trout didn't get big because it was stupid. It has the ability to detect the simple imperfections or perfections in some cases that separate real insects from flies. Fly tiers tend to do all sorts of things to make their flies look different from the rest. Some fishermen will even go as far as to tie on very wacky uneven wings on flies such as an elk hair caddis. I watched one tier who refused to use a hair stacker for his hair wings. He just kept saying "I've never seen a caddis with a perfectly even wing". The point being is that it really helps to step outside the norm when it comes to tying your own flies. Take traditional patterns and make your own variant or do as I did in this video and just change the color. I know that you can pick up a Red Copper John in just about any fly shop. I just used red because I felt like it would be something that people would search, but feel free to tie this fly in any color you wish. Personally I have it stocked in my fly box from every color from brown to pink.

Tarpon Fly Pattern

In my fishing adventures I have had mild experience with Tarpon. These prehistoric beasts with a resemblance of the jurassic era, boast a skin made of armor and a mouth that would test of hardness of granite. There is a reason they call these fish Silver Kings. On a fishing trip to the Southern Keys of Florida, I had the opurtunity to catch a few Tarpon in their home waters. I wouldn't say that these fish are hard to hook. They do not require near the amount of searching as species such as bass. A good sized mullet with a large circle hook will test the will of any Tarpon's appetite. In my opinion it is the fight these fish pose that makes them the gamefish that they are. Their granite mouth, power, and ability to leap out of the water with stunning aerobatics tests the skill of any true angler. With all this in mind I wanted to come up with a fly pattern that incorporated two iconic traits of classic Tarpon Patterns as well as the durability to stand up to multiple fish. Chances are you will lose more Tarpon then you land and this poses a problem to any fly tier. My idea was to use the rabbit zonker strip tail of the Tarpon bunny with the thick and webby hackle collar of the Classic Tarpon Fly. I increased the durability of this fly and gave it a thicker collar by doubling the amount of hackle feathers on the collar and using them to form a dubbing brush. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept of a dubbing brush, let me explain how they work. Using a rotary vise with a secured hook, you are able to lay hackle feathers, dubbing materials, or furs between to pieces of heavier gauge wire. When the vise is rotated a few dozen times while holding the two pieces of wire the materials are twisted together within the wire to essentially form a wire reenforced dubbing loop that resembles a small pipe cleaner. This method, which was brought to America by fly fisherman from Czech Republic, allows you as tier to pack on more material when you need it most. Try it out and see if you can come up with some patterns that could benefit. You may even discover that this method is a replacement for chinnel.

Tying The Redfish Bug

This is a redfish fly that I have copied off a bass pattern. It is based on a deciever fly made of deer belly hair and saddle hackle feathers. The colors are based on those which I had success with in the Florida Pan Handle fishing for redfish and speckled trout. Let me know what you think.

Those Random Fishing Thoughts.....

Greetings From Mexico!!!,


           It is almost the middle of June and yet I am already feeling the withdrawals that come in the heat of summer when fisherman such as myself now have to accept the fact that the majestic creatures we strive to catch will go into hiding. Some may even die after years of growing and preparing to be stocked in a river that is unlikely to hold trout year-round. Currently I am on a vacation with my future wife. I wonderful nurse from the outer-banks of North Carolina. A woman who by luck happens to be from the salt-water fishing capital of North Carolina. Two days ago she became an official nurse but in my mind she was capable of healing long before that. What I have come to realize is that a true fisherman... and I mean true at heart... is someone who is at a life long battle with the impossible. A true fisherman will keep a line in the water as long as there is a fish to catch without thought of giving up. While one method may fail he is sure another will surely work. Fishing is a lifelong pursuit of a bigger and stronger fish. Some of us target trout, some of us target bass, and some of us target whatever is biting that day. What it always boils down to thought is nature and the will to survive. The understanding that we have to catch a bigger fish or another fish is in our very existence, from our ancestors who needed these fish to survive all the way to ourselves who just want to catch a fish big enough to prove that we can. What I have realized more then anything is that fishing has values, moral, and life lessons that should be past down from generation to generation. A fish is not just a creature, it is a life goal that must be pursued. It is the impossible and while we all are in search of different species, we must realize that to give up will only leave us to wonder what we could have accomplished.


Random Food for Thought and Tight Lines,
Mike

In Search of Reds On The Fly....

Hey Everyone,

Really quick before I begin I just want to thank everybody for the support. I really want to thank Phillis and Leita for your more then generous donation to the website. I promise I put the funds to good use and more fish will find a hook because of it! These past few weeks have been a journey. First off trout season in North Carolina is over... If you want I catch good trout you better take some days off from work and head to Tennessee STAT!! Sorry for the medical terms, my fiancé is a nurse. To be honest though the hot summers of North Carolina bring the withdraws of fly fishing. Trout slow down from the heat or die off in hatchery water and fly fishing for bass is tough unless you know of a holy untouched pond full of lunkers. Once you have experienced the sensation of tying a fly and landing a fish via your own creation, their isn't much that can fulfill that kind of need. Two weeks ago this time I was in Florida just south of Tallahassee fishing for red fish on spinning gear. My goal was to land a Red  Drum on the fly even if it wasn't a fly that I tied. I just wanted to know the feeling of catching a Bull Red on a 9 foot 8wt. When I got to the dock I was all but impressed with fly outfit and section of the worst clouser minnow flies I have ever seen. Don't get me wrong!!!! The guide I was with made an effort. He was able to put that boat right on the oyster bars. But with the line that I had and he rod which was a 24 year old sage limited my casting ability. It was all borrowed gear and I was ok with that. The suppliers for my families company had paid for the trip and a fly fishing guide with quality gear and excellent hand tied flies costs top dollar, more then most are willing to pay. After almost throwing my shoulder out trying to drop a fly in front of a bull red I switched to spinning gear and was able to land many smaller reds. We filled the boat with our limit of sea bass and speckled trout. It was also very interesting to see bull sharks, hammerheads, and manatees in their natural habitat. Something about the natural understanding of insects and the role the food chain that comes with fly fishing just causes me to appreciate how these animals survive. I returned to the Tar Heel State with a new goal in mind. I want to tie saltwater flies and land a Big Ol' Bull Red with my own intuition, understanding, and technique. In my life I have targeted a number of species such as largemouth, trout, and striped bass. I am a trout bum by heart and I know that veering off the path of a trout seeker is tough but I honestly believe that learning how to saltwater fly fish will make me a better river guide. So here is what I have done so far. First off I purchased a new vise. I wanted to start tying saltwater fly patterns. So I switched to a Nor Vise. For those who are not familiar with a Nor Vise please go to www.nor-vise.come and check it out. Basically the Nor Vise spins the hook so that the tier doesn't have to constantly wrap the thread like trout flies. I also went to orvis and made the hefty investment is some salt water fly materials. These materials are very hard to come by in the piedmont and mountain regions. I have tired a few dozen flies thus far on the vise and I can say that it does take quite longer to tie a saltwater pattern then it does a trout fly. I have been working on my technique in spinning deer hair and using z-Lon and I am getter better. Also I have been using clear cure, the UV epoxy quite a bit and I am very impressed with how easy it is to get a smooth fly head with no bubbles. Lastly I have to mention that my fiancé is from Morehead City, NC. For those of you who don't know, Morehead is ground zero for summer Marlin tournaments and is the southern capital for trophy redfish. The kicker to this story is that my future father is law just purchased a flat bottom hybrid from Carolina Skiff. I am one 9wt outfit away from my goal. A bull drum in excess of 35lbs is my goal for the year. Morehead is also know for beach fishing along the eddies for reds as well. I am really looking forward to this summer. Please let me know if you have any questions or tips. I will soon be posting pics of flies that I have been tying and once I get the hang of tying salt water patterns I really want to post a few more videos. I will be posting pics from the last trip soon. 

Thank You and Tight Lines,

Mike

New Fly Tying Videos

Hey Yall,
          So I figured out how to do something that i have been wanting to do for a long time and that is posting fly tying videos. Even before the launch of this site I wanted to start a youtube channel on fly tying, but in the wake of this blog I have now decided to incorporate fly tying videos in it. Before buying the new camera I had always had trouble getting the focus right in the shots because the shots needed to be zoomed in really close and the camera had to be very close to the vise. I figured it out though and now you, my loyal readers, can view my fly tying. Some of the patterns that I will be posting will be traditional patterns such as the Thunderhead and the olive stimulator, but alot will be patterns that I have created and fish very very often. Sometimes it is the new patterns that work the best because fish aren't used to seeing them. Give them a try or your money back.

Thanks and Enjoy the Videos!!!


As always... TIGHT LINES,

Mike

Hey Everybody!!

Mike here.... So this weekend was the opening of Turkey Season in NC so I went out with my cousin to film a turkey hunt. Next weekend I'll be back up on Badin Lake seeking out spawning large mouths. I have always heard the old legend that when the Dogwoods start blooming the Bass start spawning. I have lived by this since I first started bass fishing as a young boy and in NC I haven't found a better indicator. Yeah water temp is a better indicator but temps on the lake can fluctuate so much this time of year. A heavy rain can drop the temp heavily this time of year where the days are warm but rains off a cold front can be quite cold. Thats just my little bass fishing knowledge for the day.

Just a little treat for you guys, I wanted to post a video with the new camera I just got. I have been wanting to invest in a new camera for a while now and I finally dropped the cash for it. I can share a lot more fishing wisdom through videos and that is what I plan on doing. So for the first How-To video I want to share something that I am positive can make, break, change, or save a fishing or hunting trip. Just about every outdoorsman has been trying to cut something and had a dull knife that couldn't cut its way out of a wet paper bag. So this is what I did......This video is about how I sharpen my knives. I have tried many ways and many tools to get the best results for different blade types. I have tried Lansky and Smith kits with the guide rods that hold the stone at an angle. I have tried electric machines with carbide blades and I have tried the things you suction cup to your kitchen counter that you drag your knife across to the point where it should slice through a tomato. None of those items works as good as the machine I show you in video #2 or the diamond whetstones from DMT that I use in video #1. So check it out and tell me what you think.

Tight Lines Everybody,
Mike

NEW VIDEO!!!!

             Well it is the last week of the DH (Delayed Harvest). Fly Fisherman everywhere have honed their skills on the DH waters and are warmed up for any adventures to wild streams that may come this summer. For me I am going to spend a little more time on the Watauga River this summer. Might even venture up into the trophy sections out in Tennessee. I am also going to find some time this summer to do the cross country trip that I have been planning on doing for a while time. Hopefully I can put everything together in time to leave in the beginning of June. That should be the perfect time to fish for steelhead up in Ohio and then make it to Wyoming just after the snow melt. As for the fly fishing in NC you better hurry up and make your last run up to the river before its too hot. Also this month is the start of spring bass fever. Whip out your 7 weights and bass rods because the bass should start getting up on their beds in the shallows in a week or two.

            As for Wilson Creek this week, there was about as many fish as their were parking spots. I have seen crowded rivers and streams before but this was ridiculous. Now don't get me wrong, keep the sport alive by all means. I don't mind some competition on the river but I found it hard to get settled into a spot without somebody wading in ten feet beside you and begin flipping over egg flies and #6 stones with a bunch of split shot right next to your #20 dry fly. They wonder why they aren't catching as many fish...... But I don't mind a slightly crowded river. I enjoy the moment when you as a fisherman glance over at each other as you catch fish as to acknowledge that your kind of keeping score as to be in a tournament with a complete stranger.
            It was a good weekend though. Beautiful weather all day and on top of that there were a few good sized fish swimming around. Most of the trout action for me was again at the surface. Tiny green, yellow, and white dry flies where what caught the eye of most of the trout I caught. Their was a little bit of a sulpher hatch but they were small. I would say they were #18-22 sized. I was using yellow and green midge patterns that I tied over the course of last week. Also I was using my little red blood midge fly in a size #20. Midges turn bright red before they hatch and I created a midge pattern that imitates this perfectly by using a #20 grub hook with a black bead, midge sized red stretch tubing and a peacock herl collar. I'll post a picture of it in the process of being tied when I get a chance. If you want some advice on where to go on the river I would go as far up the river as possible. The areas that I found worth fishing where up past the bridge on Edgemont Rd after you make the left and Betsey's Ole Country Store. Go up past the bridge about 200 yards easy and start their working your way up. The harder the spot is to get to the better. That's my policy at least.

Anyway, check back soon for some fly fishing updates. I will be up on Badin Lake next weekend. If you see a guy with a black dog on a red bass-boat fishing on Badin stop by and say hey.

As Always.... TIGHT LINES

Mike

Cold Rainy Weekend

Hey Y'all,

So the weather for this weekend is cold, wet, and windy all throughout the state. I have checked just about every forecast my iPhone can pick up and it just doesn't look too good. I usually check every app I can until I find one that shows the best weather possible then I somehow convince myself that it's more creditable then the rest, but this weekend just looks grim. On the upside I have found that trout fishing in the rain can be very productive. One the one side rarely do trout ever bite dry flies in the rain so your best bet is nymphing. Also the water from the rain tends to warm up the rivers and streams as the rain water warms as it runs off into the streams. This slightly warmer water wakes the fish up in my experience and makes nymph fishing great. Trout will often feed off the midges that fail to hatch during the rain.

As for me, I am keeping inside this weekend. Camping in the rain is something that I do when something has gone terribly wrong in my weekend planing. I usually only fish in the rain if the weather is calling for above 45-50 at the low. Right now I am up at my lake house with a bucket full of minnows, loaded boat, my fiancé, and my dog coal hoping and praying for a clear morning to do some crappie fishing. The freezer is getting low and crappie are the filet mignon of the lake. I like to troll on the lake for crappie in my Tracker 175 when I take a weekend off from the stream, which is quite rare.

Well to everyone good luck on the trout streams or wherever your line may lay. For me, I will have to wait until next weekend to strap on the waders and get in the water. If your heading up to Wilson Creek don't forget to check out Betsey's Old Country Store and also look up Pieroway Rod Company up in Canada. Those things are built all by hand and are the only rods I fly fish with. You can't beat them!!


Take it Easy and Tight Lines,

Mike Daniels

Wilson Creek Dry Fly Time

Hey Everybody!!


Mike Daniels (aka RedRoverMike) here after a long cold weekend up in the hills on Wilson Creek. The fishing friday was horrible as i only managed to catch two fish in two hours. I was cold, it was late in the day, and on top of that I was starving. I went back, got some food at the campsite, and thought about why the fish were so held up for that evening. Everyone i talked to this weekend was only catching two or three in a day and most everybody was using eggs or those overly large stonefly imitations. Saturday I awoke early and was on the stream when the fog was just lifting off the water. Baffled from the day before, I decided to set out trying just about everything I could think of in my flybox. I started off fishing midges from large stimulators and caught one fish in an hour. Around 10:00 am it was like someone flipped a switch on the fish and although I wasn't catching them right away they began hitting small tiny sulphurs everywhere on the water. I switched to a size 20 sulphur spinner with just a little bit of floatant power and began casting in a way that caused it to almost smacked the water. As soon as it hit the water the brook trout would come up and sip it in. I caught 24 fish Saturday and 31 Sunday, all but two caught on dry flies. All the fish I caught were brook and brown trout. Although I saw a ton of rainbows I just think the water was too cold for them. During the middle of the day the water temp was at 45 degrees. The flooding from the snow melt as all but ended and the water levels are about normal. If you have fished Wilson Creek before be ready to find yourself a few new spots because the topography of the river has changed drastically since the post winter floods.

Just a few tips, when fishing these tiny dry flies often times it is imposible to look at the flies in the hatch and figure out what exactly they are. I used tiny sulphurs because in the light they looked like tiny yellow mayflies, but in all reality just about any small tiny mayfly dryfly pattern would have worked. Trout do not have the selective eyes that some people claim them to have. When a fly is moving past a trout they typically judge it on size and shape first and foremost. In my personal opinion color only has a major role in slow water or underwater. Between fast water and light refracting off the surface dry fly color isnt important. There were several fish I cought this weekend on size 22 black and white mayflies. The point I am trying to make is to just have a good time and don't worry too much about matching the hatch exactly. 

Anyway yall, tight lines, good luck, and let me know if you have any questions. I am always happy to help out. Don't forget to check out Peiroway Rod Company up in Canada. They make some great stuff and they are the only rods I use. Build to last and can handl just about anything you can dish out. Basically they are the Yeti Cooler of fly rods. (THEY AREN'T BEAR PROOF THOUGH") Also don't forget to check out Betsey's Ol Country Store up in the DH on Wilson Creek. Right on the river, great place to camp and Bruce sells just about anything you could need for a camping trip. He also has an awesome HOTDOG STAND. Nathen's Hotdogs, chili, onions, coleslaw, and mustard... Very Good $3 each and if your in the mood for something old school he has every soda in a glass bottle that I can think of. Check it out on Facebook!!! Just google Betsey's Ol Country Store only 2 and a half hours from Charlotte. 

Take it easy and Tight Lines!!

Welcome!

Hey Guys,

Welcome to FlyFishNorthCarolina!!! My name is Mike Daniels (Aka RedRoverMike). I am an avid fly fisherman based out of Matthews NC. I have had the opportunity to fish all over the state. While I specialize in catching fish on the fly this site will be about all my fishing experiences from here on out. Although I fish trout streams most of the year I can be found fishing just about anywhere depending on the time of the year. My goal with this site is to educate people about fishing through my own experiences. I will be posting everything from gear reviews to places to stay when you go fishing. If there is ever anything that you want me to dedicate a weekend to please let me know. I am always looking for new spots to try out and new places to go.

Take it Easy and Tight Lines,

Mike