Dog Days Fishing Report

Late Summer Fishing Report

Current Conditions

Well it’s Summer alright.  Warm days and afternoon storms are the norm right now.  If you’re fishing in the second half of the day I would definitely pack a rain jacket.  You might get lucky and only see a quick drizzle, or you’ll get caught in a storm like we had the other day here in Sylva hammering us with 3” of rain over the course of 2 hours.  Either way it’s good to be prepared.  At least these storms have done a good job recently of maintaining our river flows at nice fishable levels.  Water temperatures are warming up quite a bit as the day goes on but early in the morning it’s been just fine for the most part.

Fishing Report

Even in this warm and dynamic stretch of weather we are seeing some productive fishing.  Getting on the water first thing will get you in that prime fishing window, but if you’re a ways up in elevation you can still fish productively well into the day or get a nice evening session in.  Standard bugs like girdle bugs and pheasant tails will pickup fish nymphing as there isn’t too much going on hatchwise.  Using an attractor like a Duracell to get them moving if they’re sluggish is a good choice as well.  If you want to catch them on top I would consider increasing your use of terrestrials.  Ants in the smaller waters and beetles and chubbys in the bigger waters.

Tuckaseegee River Watershed

If you’re fishing the Tuck I hope you like Bass!  Definitely getting too warm out there to have a good day searching for trout.  Your best bet if you want to hit the bigger water is size up your rod, grab some clousers and crawfish, and start stripping!  However, if you are in search of trout and want to stay around the Tuck you’ll be better served fishing something like Scott’s Creek or the smaller tributaries upstream.  Scott’s will fish well for you if you focus on nymphing but those higher elevation tributaries are still full of fish eager to come up and hammer a yellow bodied dry fly.  We’re not seeing fish in these areas getting too picky but most stonefly patterns will continue to consistently produce.  Just be sure to focus your casts into the more aerated water for a more successful day.

GSMNP

Having trouble finding cold water?  Here’s your place.  The shaded high elevation originating streams of the park continue to fish productively in the mornings.  Both dries and nymphs will produce so unless you’re strictly running a tight line rig I would fish a dry dropper and have a little more fun seeing some fish eat on top.  For your dry flies, yellow and bright green are still productive colors and increasingly so are terrestrial patterns.  Subsurface the usual buggy stuff will work.  

Nantahala and West Fork of the Pigeon

The Delayed Harvest sections of these rivers aren’t going to hold a ton of trout, but the opportunity is there to catch a few wild fish if you head out to these beautiful streams.  If you do find your way out here I would focus on nymphing to give yourself the best chance.  Now the Lower Nantahala is a different story.  Lots of fish here.  Consistent bottom generated releases leave this river flowing with cold water throughout the summer.  But that cold water leads to consistent hatches and pickier fish.  This is the place you want to bring your box of midges to when you’re fishing it with the water off.  

There’s no shortage of opportunity to get out and catch a few trout even in the dead of Summer out here.  It may mean waking up a little earlier or putting in a little more effort to find colder water but it’s certainly worth it!