by Karl Ekberg
The cooler autumn air has now reached us here in the mountains of South Carolina. The leaves are changing to their fall splendid colors, the rivers are in great shape and the water temperatures are now into the low 50’s. It must be November, with much excitement about Delayed Harvest starting here on the South Carolina rivers on the first, continuing through May 14, next spring.
The helicopter has flown many trips up and down the rivers, and the many thousands of fish are now abundant in the rivers. We want to thank the Walhalla Fish Hatchery, the Georgia Fisheries and all of the folks who participated in the stocking program. This is a great time to get out there and be rewarded with catching some of these very large brook, brown and rainbow trout which these fine folks have stocked. Fishing in the Delayed Harvest sections of the rivers will be an absolute delight with the amount of fish which are concentrated in the Delayed Harvest areas from the helicopter stocking. A wide variety of flies which we carry here at the Fly Shop can be used to catch these large fish. The Delayed Harvest areas for “catch and release” on the rivers are marked with bright yellow signs. These areas are single hook, artificial only areas, with the restrictions of no live bait or scented artificial baits. Multiple fly rigs may be used as long as each fly has only one hook.
Leader and tippet selection is quite simple. Just after these fish have been put into the waters, heavier is better. These fish are not shy about heavier leader and tippet size. Only after some time in the water do you have to downsize. If you are not sure what size or length to use, we can help you out with your selection.
We hope to see everyone out on the rivers. We are open Tuesday thru Saturday 7am-5pm, and on Sundays 7am-2pm. We have a large assortment of Christmas ideas including gift certificates for guided trips or the fly shop, preset flies in fly boxes, fly tying materials, rods, reels, waders and boots, local artisans works, and we can ship all items daily. Let us know how we can help you with a guided trip, holiday gift ideas or information, and be sure to enjoy a great day at the river.