Keep an eye on Earl...

The first half of the season has been pretty quiet. Once mid August rolled around, it's like the light switch was turned on. Tropical waves have been rolling off of Africa one by one. Now, I know hurricanes have nothing to do with fly fishing, but it's better to spread the word about approaching Hurricane Earl than to be sorry.

If you live on the OBX of NC or have plans to visit the OBX this week, keep a watchful eye on Earl. Start thinking of what you need to do to be prepared for a possible landfall/scrape by big, bad Earl. Weather models (what meteorologists use to aid in forecasting) have been slowly inching Earl farther westward, putting NC under the gun. Albeit the map has the storm passing a good ways off shore, it's just an educated guess. Nonetheless, Earl is one nasty storm. One of the computer models is suggesting Earl will reach Cat 5 strength with winds of 163 mph and a very low pressure of 916 mb. Sounds eerily familiar to a certain storm that annihilated New Orleans back in '05. Just one model though. Not trying to scare anyone! Pass it along to anyone residing on the NC coast. Even if it strays away from us, it's well worth the precautions. Again, my apologizes for the irrelevant post. Just felt as if I should spread the word.

*The maps update automatically. Just noticed Earl is now a Cat 4 storm. Tropical Storm Fiona is now alive by the way. Danielle is pretty much as dead as a doornail.*

Top 5 western NC DH streams

It's almost time for Delayed Harvest season folks! For most folks, DH waters offer easier access, plenty of fish, and loads of fun. While the trout that are stocked into these waters aren't as colorful and vibrant as their wild counterparts, they make up for their absence by being easy to find, somewhat easy to catch (especially after recently being stocked), and found in great numbers. Some DH waters are better than others and some are poached to the max, giving anglers an average at best experience.

Without further ado, the Top 5 WNC DH Streams based on the amount/frequency of trout stocked, access, pressure, overall quality, and scenic areas.

5.) Mitchell River DH, Surry County

The Mitchell is a great DH stream. You have to hit it right though. At times the fishing is spectacular. Especially when a respectable hatch is occurring. Other times, it seems as if there's not a trout swimming beneath the Mitchell's many riffles, seams, and pools. Like all DH streams, the Mitchell is constantly stocked from October until June.

4.) Watauga River DH, Watauga County 

Access can be an issue, given the Posted: No Trespassing signs outnumber the NCWRC Public Trout Water signs 9:1. Don't fret though. You can still find a good deal of legally accessible water on the Tar Heel side of the 'Tauga. Sporadic pullouts can be found along the river. When you find one that is void of No Trespassing signs, have at it! The trout fishing is excellent. If you hit it right, you can get into some fantastic fishing.

3.) Stone Mountain DH waters, Alleghany/Wilkes County

Stone Mountain probably contains NC's most popular DH streams. There's a good reason behind it's high popularity. The East Prong Roaring River is the trout mecca within the park boundaries. The trout are everywhere, some have grown to be fairly large, and most of them will cooperate. It's easily accessible and after parking, you'll be fishing in no time.

2.) Nantahala River DH, Macon County

The Nantahala will blow you away. Whether you want to fish for large browns and bows in the tailwater section, or smaller, but plentiful fish on the DH waters, the "Nanty" has it all. The DH section winds it's way from Whiteoak Creek to the NP&L powerhouse discharge canal. It's well worth the drive over. Scenic and wild are words that describe the Nanty perfectly.

1.) Wilson Creek DH, Caldwell County

The one and only. Wilson Creek is the best DH stream I've ever come across. Period. Excellent management, little poaching, loads of trout, and the opportunity to catch very large fish make Wilson a "well worth your time" trout stream. If you've ever fished Wilson, you know how great the fishing is. If you haven't, it should be the first on your "List of DH streams to fish in the 2010-2011 season".

Have another excellent DH stream you love to fish? Tell us about it!

I'm a Speckoholic...

I can't get enough wild brook trout. I'm a speckoholic. I seem to always find a new favorite stream, thinking it can't get any better. Then I find another favorite. I'm not a big fish junky, or even a numbers junky for that matter. Call me crazy, but I would much rather chase wild 7" brook trout in the middle of nowhere than 25" browns on a river that's a stones throw from civilization. If you're suffering from Speck Fever you know what I'm talking about. The scenery and the things you come across on a wild brookie excursion simply cannot be seen on a tailwater or a popular DH stream.

I wasn't expecting to get the opportunity to fish before the expo in November. I had the mindset that the last trip was going to have to hold me over until November. School starts back up tomorrow, so I jumped on the opportunity to explore some new and unfamiliar brook trout water before the dreaded fishing lull sets in for me. Mount Mitchell was the destination of choice. Pulled into the parking area at 9:45, greeted by chilly temperatures rebounding from a night in the upper 40's to low 50's. Mt. Mitchell was deserted at 9:45 in the morning. Compared to a Saturday in mid July, NC's first state park wasn't busy at all. Passed only 4 hikers on the trail.

With my great grandad's old fiberglass 6'9" fly rod, I began the day. This particular creek, (name shall not be named!) usually produces fish. They're all brookies too. Today was an outlier from those fantastic days where you catch fish out of every pool. The fishing was OK at best. Low water is to blame. Fish are being forced to move to other pools. I did manage to hook several fish, but unfortunately they wiggled off before I was given the chance to take a picture. I threw in the towel once I got to one of the waterfalls. I hiked back out of the valley and hopped over to the next stream.

The next stream was the reciprocate of the last one. It was loaded with wild brookies. They were abundant in almost every pool and would rise to anything you offered them. The Extended Body Inchworm did it again yesterday. It enticed fish from every direction. Instead of that infamous one shot per fish rule, it was multiple tries per fish. they would rise to the EBI over and over again. It was truly incredible. I had a field day from the first pool I fished to the last. I lost count of the numbers. Missed literally 60 or 70 fish. This particular stream is my new favorite.

After about an hour of fishing, I came across a deep pool below a small waterfall. I was sure there was a fish that exceeded the average size of the fish in this stream. With high expectations, I made a short cast into the pool. At first there wasn't any action. Nonetheless, I decided to keep the fly in the water for a few more seconds. I'm glad I did. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a wake charging at my fly. A moment later that wake transformed into an splashy attack. It reminded me of Shark Week. You know, where the seal is annihilated by a breaching Great White. This fish took some line off of the reel.

So, what stream will beat the current favorite? Time and map studying will tell...

Saw plenty of these.

The Extended Body Inchworm does it again!

Decent male brookie. Spawning season is right around the corner. you can tell by the colors.

Up close view of the myriad of colors displayed by this Appalachian jewels.

Fish of the day. 9 inches. A trophy brook trout in these waters!

Tight quarters!

Recent wall hanger fresh off the vise...

Traditional salmonflies (not to be confused with the clumsy, bat-like, giant stoneflies) are fun, but somewhat daunting to tie. I created this one on one of those nights where you've tied just about everything in the book. A salmonfly was the only thing I haven't tackled in a long while. I grabbed the guinea feathers, ostrich, and pheasant skin and got to work. It's not the traditional salmonfly most tyers are used to tying. Not quite as captivating as other salmonflies. I always use generic materials. No orangutan fur, zebra hair, or giraffe mane incorporated into this one! Still, I'll hang it up on the wall with the others.