The Time is Now....

One of the favorite things for me all year long is what sometimes gets most trout bums "bummed" out, that is the onset of blistering hot sunny days and scorching temps. Gone are the good flows of water of spring, hatches of big mayflies, and easier to catch trout....no its gotten low and clear and you are left wondering if our trout will make it through another drought period like last year. As disturbing as it might seem, our trout fared pretty well last year, suprisingly so, and only isolated areas had a significant problem. Our neighbors to the west in Tennessee weren't so fortunate, as some areas of the Smokies lost a great deal of their rainbow trout populations.

When its really hot, I do one of three things when it comes to guiding or fishing on my days off....I put on the hiking shoes and fish some high elevation waters where water temps are more favorable. Second, I love tailwater fishing anyway, and some of my "home water" is the Smith River tailwater, just 40 minutes from my doorstep. The first several miles of it remain "chilly" even in summer.....chilly you say? Yes, try 46-48F even in the worst of summer heat. And the terrestrial fishing is superb and perhaps my very favorite anyway, so I take the summer heat in stride. And then there's the South Holston and Watauga.....like the Smith some great fishing is still possible even in the summer heat.....and the Holston even gets a mega Sulphur hatch in midsummer right during full generation. But lastly, a fishing very dear to me is fly fishing for smallies, aka, "black bass", or "bronzebacks", or "a leopard with fins", whatever you call them they are like hooking into a ready to explode stick of dynamite. Often clients wonder why I get so torn up over them........that is until they find themselves hooked up to one. After one, the deal is sealed.......and they are from then on a smallie convert.

We are fortunate to have some of the best smallmouth fishing in the world.....yes , I said world, and its right at our back door. The New and James Rivers are smallie heaven, and we frequently catch smallies up to 4 -5 pounds on flies, and best of all, most of the really big fish are on topwater bugs! Also, for a great summer experience where you won't usually ever see another angler you might try any one of hundreds of small NC and VA streams that have smallmouth. Our state, North Carolina, has numerous great waters such as the Mitchell (one of the top 5 outstanding resource waters in the entire state), the French Broad, the New, the Little River, the Uwharrie River, the Mayo River, the Roaring River, Yadkin River, Watauga River, the Johns River, lower Wilson Creek, and the list goes on and on. That barely scratches the surface. Basically, the Wildlife Commission will tell you that ALL of our trout waters contain smallmouth on the lower end - - - that is the marginal areas that are hatchery supported- - -well those become smallie havens in the summer.

Don't let the hot weather bum you out, a break from the hot weather will come soon enough. In the meantime grab a rod and a few streamers and poppers and find some smallmouth water. You won't be sorry you did, and you might find that they are as worth a gamefish as any trout that ever swam.