Cape Fear Flyfishers Meeting Minutes—February 21, 2018
At 5 p.m.., a large group of casters gathered pond-side for the Casting Clinic and the Meet-N-Greet.
President Ed Smith called the meeting to order and announced that DUES ARE NOW OVERDUE. Our Bylaws state that dues are payable in January but about one-quarter of our membership have unpaid dues. Please take care of your dues now—thanking you in advance!
Club officers in attendance gave a self-introduction with Environmental Officer Steve Moore reminding us of his YouTube channel Kayak Hacks. Check out his channel for many useful tips and tricks.
New members and guests included John Kauffmann, Dave Smith, Mike Hayes, Mark Hamer, Jim Grever, Dean Gayther, Sean Keating, Les Fraim, Tom Cosgrove, Jacob Wilson, Howard Mullendorf, and John Hussey.
Ed reported that we have $7,300 in the bank of which $1,500 goes to our parent organization, Flyfishers International. Again, please get your dues paid.
The fly drawing was won—AGAIN—by Harry Gobble. (Okay, okay! Harry’s extended winning streak does seem rather fishy [not sure who he might be paying off] but his “luck” can’t last forever—or can it?).
Our next meeting is March 21. Our program topic is, “Boats for Flyfishing” led by Captain Rob Thompson along with Jim Larson. Several members and guests will be bringing their boats to the meeting for inspection.
UPCOMING TRIPS
Last call for Bristol TN
The trip begins either April 22 or 23 and ends either the 26th or 27th—your call. This trip offers the potential for 100 fish per day with most fishing being on the Wautauga and South Holston rivers. Floating and wading is available although some of the wading opportunities are now filled. Contact Jim White if you are interested. (See January 2018 meeting minutes for details on this trip).
POND FISHING
Pond fishing for bass and bluegill at The Woodlands pond in St. James will begin on Wednesday, March 14 from 4 to 6 p.m. The pond fishing will be available each Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. through May or so. A gate pass will be arranged for non St. James residents who would like to participate.
EVENTS CALENDAR
- Our summer picnic is June 20 at the Waterway Park in St. James. This year the picnic will be a catered affair with management of the caterer being led by Diane Wyte. Word has it that Diane specifically will not be inviting the flies this year!
- Our annual banquet next winter will be December 15 at the Members Club in St. James.
- Boy Scouts Merit Badge—April 3 and 4. Dan Smith will lead this event and volunteers are needed to assist with casting, fly tying, and knot tying.
- Jim “Rev” White is presenting an “Intro to Flyfishing” as part of Jerry Dilsaver’s “Women Anglers in Training” (WAIT) program on April 28. While WAIT primarily covers spin fishing, one hour of the two day program is devoted to fly fishing. Volunteers are needed for this event to assist with casting.
OLD BUSINESS
Dan Smith held a very successful fly tying clinic with three CFF members: Dick Ishler, Dennis Hill, and Mike Comiskey on February 13. All reported that the clinic was very informative and Dennis even commented that he caught a fish with a fly he tied in the class.
In addition to over two hours of instruction, each student received their own fly tying tool kit. Watch for more upcoming tying classes with Dan.
AWARDS
Jim White presented the first annual Dan Neuschafer Award to Environmental Director Steve
Moore. Dan Neuschafer was a club member and avid fly fisherman who passed away about a year ago. In accepting the award, Steve confessed that he doesn’t much look like a fly fisherman but that “he smells like one.”
WHAT’S BITING?
Jim White reported that several folks fishing at the end of his street on OKI caught a few specs as did Matt Kraker.
Leon Hicks reported that he saw a group of fisherman at a local marina with a nice haul of sea bass caught somewhere “just within sight of land.”
One of our guests reported catching a couple of reds in very skinny water. Another guest, John Hussey, asked to be excused for being tardy to the meeting by explaining that, “the trout were hitting.”
NEW GEAR AND GADGETS
Steve Moore showed a 7/8 wt. rod which cost $42. The rod is available at www.goo.gl/ izczDX. The website also lists lighter weight rods and other equipment. Steve also showed and demonstrated his Tenkara style rod which cost $8 and another Tenkara style carbon fiber rod which cost $10 on Amazon. Tenkara style rods are useful on small streams or at any place where a back cast is hard to do. Tenkara casting uses the wrist instead of the arm.
Mike Freeman showed his 12′ mini spey rod. Mike says this rod is used for river casting and
allows casters to get out more line during the cast. These rods can be had up to 15′ long and are used for big water salmon fishing, etc.
FEATURED PROGRAM
Patrick Brady and Forrest Marshall of Hunter Banks/Asheville presented our featured program on “Fishing in the southern Appalachians.”
Patrick Brady is the Coordinator of Guide Services, Education, and Program Development in Asheville. Patrick has been guiding for 17 years and has been fishing the area full-time for 23 years.
Forrest Marshall is the Head Guide of Hunter Banks and has been a full-time guide for 16 years.
Hunter Banks (HB) Fly Shop opened in 1985 in Charlotte NC and quickly moved west to Asheville. HB is a one-stop shop offering a vast array of gear and guide services.
Patrick said that Western NC has a wide variety of fishing opportunities available, including 5,000 miles of viable trout waters with 4,000 miles of that being public water. The terrain includes anything from destination tailwaters, to high country creeks with native brook trout, to float trips and lots in between. Three species of trout are available and include rainbow, brown, and brook trout. Smallmouth water is available too along with a healthy population of lake-run striped bass on several creeks.
Tailwater is any water that is passing out of a dam–typically from the bottom portion of the dam–and produces a river with consistently cold temperatures, less sedimentation, and an abundance of food.
Two world-class tailwater rivers, the South Holston and the Wautauga, are available just over the mountain from HB in east TN. Both of these rivers are limestone bedrock which is an anomaly for the southern Appalachians as most rivers have granite bedrock which is not particularly fertile. On the other hand, limestone is basic and filters acid from the water which results in a great benefit to aquatic life, especially the bugs that are consumed by fish. The Wautauga and the South Holston both stay very cold, even in the summer, and they stay warmer in winter than other mountain streams. Caddis, mayflies, midges, and scuds (a freshwater shrimp) are found in both of these rivers and rivers with scuds tend to grow large fish.
Water temperatures hover at 48º with very little fluctuation. The 15 mile South Holston and the 22-25 mile Wautauga both warm up during summer in their lower miles, but not usually over 60º. Trout tend to be happiest at 52 to 55 degrees. Both rivers can be waded when the dams are turned off, but wading is not possible when the dams are on. Floating tends to be the best choice when the dams are on since you can access more spots than by wading. Both rivers have limited public access.
The upper halves of both rivers carry about 6,000 to 7,000 fish per mile. As you go downriver, these numbers tend to decrease but the average size of the fish will increase. So generally you will catch more but smaller fish up river and fewer but larger fish down river.
The Seasons
Winter (December, January, February) tends to be the slower season for the shop. It can be very cold but the average winter day is around 50-52 degrees. With less fishing pressure, the shop has more flexibility for short notice trips. The upside of winter fishing is that the area has good blue wing olive and midge hatches which can result in great fishing to rising fish, especially in January. Most winter fishing is sub-surface nymph fishing but dry fishing opportunities do exist.
Spring (March, April,
May, June) March can have very volatile weather with a wide range of
temperatures but the fishing is great. The first warm days are good fishing
with blue wing olives remaining the go to fly. Dry fly fishing can be spotty
but nymph fishing tends to be great. April and May are prime time, especially
on the Wautauga (Forrest only fishes the Holston during April and May if he is
forced there because of water flows). The last three weeks of April are usually
a Caddis hatch which is size 10 and 12 and also lots of 12 and 14 sizes. For
three to four hours a day, the bugs come in big numbers and the big fish
follow. The bigger fish are usually tighter in on the banks. Seeing a 24″
brown trout rise to a dry fly is not uncommon. This is about the only time of
year to observe this behavior with the large fish. Sixteen to eighteen inch
fish are common, but during this hatch is the only time to see the larger fish
rise. The colors vary, with some years being successful with black, but dark
olive or brown are more common until you can actually catch a bug to see the
color. Caddis pupas are green and the adults are almost never a bright color.
Forrest says he doesn’t like hackle on a Caddis fly so he has to work real hard
to keep them floating but the fish eat them really well (he uses both Frog’s
Fanny Double-Duty Fly Treatment and Dry Magic Fly Floatant to keep the flies
floating). Elk hairs usually catch lots of fish the first few weeks of
the hatch but once the fish know those flies you have to use something more like a CDC (Cul-de-Canard) fly with nothing on the bottom side of the fly; it must be flush on the top of the water. In other words, use a down wing CDC with nothing on the bottom of the hook.
At some point during the Caddis hatch on the Wautauga, the Sulphurs begin. Caddis can hatch for four or so hours in the morning and towards evening you may see Sulphurs. On the Holston, there is no Caddis hatch per se—not enough to make a large impact. The very lower end of the South Holston tends to be later than the Wautauga with Sulphurs usually appearing about the first week of May—this can result in great fishing. Forrest tends to stay on the Wautauga during April and May.
April trips books early so plan ahead if you want to fish this time of year.
Summer (last part of June, July, August, first part of September) The upper five miles of the South Holston (the first five miles down from the dam) usually has a daily Sulphur hatch, typically around the second to third week of June. Sulphurs are a yellow Mayfly, typically sizes 14, 16, or 18. They like the sun so you probably won’t see a large hatch on an overcast or rainy day. This hatch gets very consistent and peaks around July 4. They will continue every day through August with blankets of bugs on some days.
Both the Wautauga and the South Holston have good summer terrestrial fishing with Japanese beetles. Drop these flies from the banks for best results.
Summer is also good for large Chernobyl patterns which really don’t represent anything in particular. Using an indicator with these is a good idea.
Stripers come out of the lake in the summer and set up in packs in certain areas in the deep creek holes. Striped bass fishing tends to be a side attraction to a trout trip with stripers in the 12 – 30 lb. range being common. A 9 wt. rod with sink tip line is required with large shad flies being the best. Limited live bait fishing using caught trout is also available.
Summer is a very busy time at the shop so arranging a trip well in advance is advised. July and August are very hot so come prepared with proper gear for sun protection etc.
Fall is time for brown trout. Browns migrate during late September and early October to their spawning grounds in the upper river. This is a good time to catch these fish while they are in shallower water. Brown trout on the Wautauga typically spawn during the last three weeks in November. On the Holston, the fish are later and spawn in December.
Fall usually doesn’t have much dry fly fishing as it is mostly nymph fishing. Rainbows tend to want to eat eggs during the brown spawning so this is a good time for sight fishing.
Smallmouth
There are several good smallmouth rivers close to Asheville; included are the Pigeon in NC (spring season is very good), the Pigeon in TN below Walters Dam where a great tailwater fishery is available most of the time, and The French Broad flowing through Asheville, offering a more urban environment but good fishing. April through October tends to be the season for smallmouth. Smallmouth rivers are lower elevation rivers and tend to have more sediment and are more susceptible to rain, etc. so they also are less reliable than the trout waters. For these reasons, flexibility is in order when booking a smallmouth trip with HB.
Wading Opportunities
NC has different water regulations:
- Delayed harvest water
- Wild water (creek fishing)
Wading can be very tricky so mobility is important. Use of a wading staff is a good idea.
Lower Nantahala is a tailwater fishery in Jackson County, about 45 minutes west of Asheville. This river stays frigid year round which is a great benefit of the tailwater rivers. In contrast, the freestone streams and creeks can become quite warm during the summer, especially during dry years when water levels are low. During peak season on the Lower Nantahala, water from the dam usually comes down around 9:30 a.m. each day. Unlike the South Holston and the Wautauga, wading is still possible on the Lower Nantahala after the dam releases water. The Lower Nantahala features about nine miles of fishable water year round and receives less fishing pressure than the Wautauga and the South Holston, but it does have lots of raft traffic during the summer. Dry fishing and nymphing are both good on the Lower Nantahala and there is also a great blue wing olive hatch. All three rives have Sculpin populations so streamer opportunities exist as well.
Wild creek and wild water fishing
These waters are home to small wild rainbow and native brook trout. If you spend the time to get there, you can be casting to fish who have never seen a fly before. This fishing usually involves hiking to these areas but the fish are not influenced by stocking, etc. Native brook trout are not true trout—they are a type of salmon called Char. Mobility and hiking ability on these trips are both very important.
April to November is the best time of year for wild water fishing because the high elevation streams tend to freeze during the winter.
The wild rivers will not be 50 fish days but the quality of the fish is outstanding. The wild fish have vibrant colors, etc. that you won’t see on stocked fish, but they tend to be smaller fish. An eleven to thirteen inch native brook trout would be a gigantic fish. The wild fish tend to be very aggressive and will eat a wide variety of bugs. Two to four wt. rods are best on the wild creeks as are Tenkara rods.
Delayed harvest and hatchery supported water
Pay attention to signs posted on the trees. Delayed harvest (DH) can be single-hook, artificial fly only and means no live bait. Delayed harvest begins the first Saturday in June and runs to October 1—fish can be kept during DH. A dropper rig can be used during this time so long as there is a minimum of 12″ between the hooks. Stocking on DH water occurs five months out of the year—March, April, May, October, and November.
Hatchery supported (HS) water contains a reproducing population of fish. It is stocked intermittently throughout the year instead of on a rigid schedule. Stocking is done to introduce new bloodlines into the population. NC Department of Natural Resources is a good source for seeing the stocking times, etc. Hatchery water is closed from March 1 until the first Saturday in April with no fishing allowed.
DH and HS waters are very accessible and tend to parallel roads. DH water is a great place for teaching and learning the basics.
Tuckaseegee River
You can wade or float on this river depending on water release, but floating tends to give more access to fishing spots.
The following are rivers that Hunter Banks will guide on, but keep in mind the guide will make the call on what river to fish based on the conditions at the time of your trip.
Tailwater Rivers near Asheville
- Wautauga
- South Holston
- Nantahala
Delayed Harvest rivers most often visited by HB
- North Mills
- West Fork of the Pigeon
- Tuckaseegee
- East Fork of the French Broad
- Big Laurel
Wild Water Rivers
- Cataloochee Valley
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Nantahala National Forest
- Shining Rock Wilderness
- Pisgah National Forest
How to get the most from your guided trip
- Trust your guide—they know the area better than you do
- Stay flexible—HB doesn’t want to take you where you won’t catch fish
- Be honest about your abilities—physical and otherwise
- Preparation—read the confirmation email from the shop which tells you what to bring on the trip such as a rain jacket, sunglasses, sunscreen, etc.
- Dress in layers during winter
Rates
Float trips
- Full day float $450/boat
- Half day float $350/boat
Wade trips
- Full day wade 1 person $300
- Full day wade 2 people $375
- Full day wade 3 people $450
- Half day wade 1 person $200
- Half day wade 2 people $275
- Half day wade 3 people $350
*Party size can dictate trip cost.
**Half day is four hours of fishing/Full day is eight hours of fishing. Travel time to water is usually between 45 minutes to one hour.
***Rates include all gear, shuttles to and from water, and lunch on full-day trips.
Other Hunter Banks services
- Custom fly tying
- Fly fishing classes
- Introduction to fly fishing
- European nymphing
- Wild water
- Beat management
- Smallmouth on the fly
- Streamer fishing
- Western/traditional style
- Fly tying—last Wednesday of every month is “pot luck” tying with a guest tyer at a local Asheville brewery
HB has an online store. Their website is HUNTERBANKS.COM
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Fuller
Secretary