If Jim Cantore from The Weather Channel opened up a theme park, he would model the rides based on our recent weather trends, and most of the rides would be roller coasters. Over the last 3 weeks, we’ve seen high’s ranging from the 30’s to the 70’s. It’s been bone dry to having near flood conditions. We’ve had calm days with zero wind and plenty of days that we wondered how the roof was still attached. For now, it looks like Winter has decided to stay for a while.
When the weather forecast is all over the place, the fishing can be tough. The fish don’t know whether to make margaritas or snowmen. This season has been different. I don’t remember when the fishing was this consistent in the midst of a change in seasons. Granted, much of our fishing has been on the Tuckasegee River tailwater, which usually provides for more stable conditions than many of the freestone streams in the area. However, even the freestones such as the Davidson have been on fire. We did have a couple of decent snow events that created some high-water conditions with runoff, primarily in the streams of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Though days when the water is high or muddy can be aggravating, we really need that extra water.
Regarding flies, we have been continuing to do well on the Tuck with the usuals that I’ll list below. We’re still seeing some small black Caddis around size 18-20, and Little Black Stones around size 16-18 hatching, but the surface action has slowed a lot compared to what it was before Christmas.
Dry Flies
#18-20- Peacock Caddis
#16-18- Goddard Caddis (Black)
#16-20- Griffith’s Gnat
Wet Flies-
#8-12- Pat’s Rubber Legs (coffee/black or coffee/tan)
#14-18- Pink, Orange, or Yellow Hot Spot Egg
#14-18- CDC Frenchie (Shrimp Pink)
#20-24- Top Secret Midge
#10-14 Tan Mop
#14-18- France Fly
#12-16- Squirmy Worm (red or pink)
#12-18- Hot Bead Flashback Pheasant Tail
#!14-18- Sexy Walt’s Worm (tan or natural gray)
#20-24- Jujubee Midge (olive)
Streamers-
#8-10- Sculpzilla (white or black)
#4-8- Game Changer (white or black)
#4-10- Drunk & Disorderly (white or black)
#4-8- Dungeon (white or black)
Thank you for being here with us,
Josh Whorton
