Crowds descended on the Tuckasegee River (the Tuck) this past Saturday when leaf season reached its peak. Fishing-wise, low water levels persisted, leaving roughly a third of the anglers wading while the rest floated at 450 cubic feet per second (cfs). One member of our crew caught a couple of lovely rainbows measuring 12 to 13 inches.
The following day, we returned to the Tuck despite the low flow rate and landed two rainbows in the morning and more than a dozen after lunch. We stuck to nymphing with Girdle Bugs and olive Zebra Midges.
Early this week, we took a day off from work and hunted squirrels at the Tsali Trailhead in Nantahala National Forest. Joining us was 2020 Thunder, our reserve world champion Mountain Cur, who treed squirrels in five different areas covering a total of 5.2 miles; only one squirrel was treed at less than 100 yards! In the end, we bagged three, and as we left the forest, Thunder was the only one smiling. The rest of us were completely exhausted. One hunter summed up the mood: “I wish I had gone to work today.”
Looking ahead to the weekend, there’s a water release scheduled for October 28 at West Fork which might bring the Tuck’s water up a little. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is scheduled to stock the Dillsboro area of the Tuck on November 2 with Bryson City scheduled for November 3. We’ve got showers in the forecast, so bring along a rain jacket if you’re planning to hit the river or woods.
Have wonderful weekends!
