By David Hulsey
Summertime in the Southeastern Mountains can be a hot steamy affair, to say the least! Daytime temperatures can reach the 90’s in the valley floors forcing cool water loving trout to migrate up the smaller, cooler tributaries to summer over. The higher you go, the cooler it gets and the more active the fish will be. Early morning and late evening will almost always be more productive too, with midday being a better time to hit a local brewery or two. Take a thermometer and test the creek before fishing. The last thing you want to do is kill a bunch of fish because the water temperature is too warm. Temperatures in the mid 60’s or less seem to be the safest and most productive. A handful of terrestrials is about all you’ll need barring you don’t get hit by a stray thunderstorm that jacks up the water level. Beetles, crickets, hoppers and ants are deadly right now. There’s lots of protein in a big old hopper compared to a Blue Winged Olive and the fish know that. It’s not uncommon for a trout to move several feet to eat one. A 7 1/2 foot leader of 4x or 5x should be about right in the smaller tributary streams. Rods of seven to eight feet in length and about 3 or 4 weight should suffice also.
Casting up under overhanging brush and bushes will yield more fish. A few flies will certainly meet their doom also. If you aren’t getting hung up every now and then, you aren’t getting your fly close enough to structure. Being ready at the moment the fly hits the water can’t be stressed enough. Trout become tuned in to the plop of a fat bug hitting the water and will hit within a second sometimes. Remember to land them and release them fast and keep the trout as wet as possible. Don’t forget about our warm water fisheries too. Those fish, such as bass, bluegill and carp, like the warm water and will be very active at this time of year. Your trout rod will be fine for all but the largest of these battlers and it is fun sight fishing to these guys. I’ll see you guys on the creek and get out and enjoy some hot summertime fishsizzle!
Give David Hulsey a call at (770) 639-4001 to book a class or a guided trout trip. See his website at www.hulseyflyfishing.com.