If you are headed to the river this time of year make it a 6 to 9 kind of day. Nymph fishing is very productive in the first hour or two with mayfly and caddis patterns both producing well. A Pheasant Tail Nymph in a size 16, with an 18 or 20 Hare’s Ear Soft Hackle as a dropper, are producing well.
Read MoreAnts make up a very large portion of the diet of a trout during the summer months along with other terrestrials such as beetles and inchworms. A random caddis may find its way into the maul of a big brown as well but by and large the bulk of the biomass available to summer trout is in the form of an ant. Trout seem to have a strong affinity for these little formic acid filled sour treats. Ive been told they like the acidic taste, but Im more inclined to believe its the availability and helplessness of the food form that lends to such a sustained sight picture in the mind of summer trout.
Read MoreMay came in with more rain, a sudden drop in temperature and a rise in wind speed. Early May was akin to late March with 30 degree nights, snow at high elevations, high winds, and mid day hatches. Our Sulphurs came off strong at the end of April and with the high water produced some great under water and top water action. They have now begun to fade into Cahills which will soon leave the river and hand it over to the Little Yellow Stoneflies known as Sallies. Rumors of Drakes and Cicadas are showing up on social media and in riverside conversations and should be here strong by the end of the month.
Read MoreNow that the Hendricksons have passed; their close cousins, the larger of the Sulphurs, have arrived. These are not the tiny dorthea Sulphurs that will arrive later in the spring but the larger invaria. These bugs are about a size 16-14 with watery dun colored wings and a dirty yellow body sporting hot peachy orange segments about the abdomen.
Read MoreIts been a more typical spring here in Pisgah Forest. It looks like the drought may be past us as we have been getting very regular rains and thunder storms. The Davidson and other area streams are running high and clear after this week's rains, but should be dropping into normal flows by the weekend.
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