Nicolay's Mid May Fishing Report

Well it’s mid May and this past week or so has been a wet one in the mountains.  The month started off with some great weather and fantastic dry fly action.  It seemed like every watershed I was in had yellow Sally’s coming off, especially in the Smokies.  While this week’s rainy weather put a damper on my preferred way to fish, the bite has still been good sub surface.  Our DH waters saw another round of stocking at the beginning of the month and the hatchery supported streams are being stocked this week and next.  So for fly selections in stocked areas I would still focus on things like eggs girdle bugs and mops.  Running one of those as a dropper under a chubby can be productive to entice some dry fly eats while still having a visible and buoyant indicator to detect subsurface strikes.  If those fish get a little picky adding a smaller nymph or soft hackle can be the ticket to turning your luck around.  In the wild waters I would be fishing a variety of yellow dry flies for the foreseeable future, weather dependent of course.  Subsurface wise just keep it natural; hares ear nymphs, Caddis larva, along with unweighted soft hackles fished in the film are good choices.  As always your approach and presentation of the fly will dictate your success in these waters!

One topic that has come up a lot in the shop this past week has been fishing in rainy and high water conditions, and that’s something I would like to touch on here.  We all would prefer the ideal weather to get out and fish.  Especially if you’ve spent money to hire a guide or are on a self guided fishing trip.  Unfortunately Mother Nature has a mind of her own!  So what are the options?  Well if everything’s totally blown out just grab a beer at one of the breweries and tie some flies!  But generally you have several options here in the mountains.  Because of our topography, rainfall can vary greatly from county to county.  Often heading within an hour in any direction to a different watershed will lead you to lower and clearer water.  Additionally, climbing up in elevation can find you fishable water as those headwater streams and tributary’s of larger streams will clear out quicker.  To be successful in these high or stained water scenarios you also may have to mix up your tactics a bit.  An easy way to increase your odds at catching fish would be to add weight in the form split shot or overweighted flies.  This will help drop your rig deeper through the column in swifter water.  I will also place more of my focus on fishing the banks.  The swifter current will push fish towards the softer water there.  And lastly, higher or stained water is a great time to throw a streamer.  In my opinion as long as I’ve got my feet in the creek casting a fly rod its better than not doing that no matter the conditions.  So get out and fish!