By David Hulsey
The month of April is just about as good a time as any, to fly fish here in the Southeast. The water temperatures are starting to rise and, on special mornings, one can feel that warm breeze making it’s way down the river. The wildflowers are in full bloom and there’s not a more beautiful landscape to be found anywhere. The trout in our local rivers and streams are starting to rise to a variety of insects instead of feeding only on flies plowing a furrow in the bottom. As one famous fly fishing scribe has once said, it is truly the “sweet of the year”.
The answer to the question of where to fly fish in April is, just about anywhere. The real question is how do you want to fish, and that response will answer the first perfectly. Do you want to hike in a few miles and toss Adams dries to small colorful wild fish? Then the Smoky Mountain Backcountry or Georgia’s Cohutta wilderness may be your answer. Deep Creek, or if you’re feeling real squirrely Hazel Creek across Fontana Lake in the Smoky Mountains National Park really wake up in April. The Jacks or the Conasauga River in The Cohutta Wilderness in Northwest Georgia will be running strong and the trout will be looking up by now. If you don’t mind crowds, the Delayed Harvest streams inGeorgia and North Carolina can’t be beat for numbers and size of dry fly eating trout. Georgia’s upper Toccoa River and Smith Creek delayed harvest sections in Unicoi State Park both will be nicely stocked and will be good producers. North Carolina’s Nantahala River and Fires Creek delayed harvest streams are sure to blow your mind with huge numbers and large fish. If you are interested in learning more about fly-fishing for trout be sure to visit one of these delayed harvest streams this spring. The sheer numbers of fish will increase the amount of interaction with the trout and are sure to help you hone your skills.
The opportunities to float in a drift boat and fish are also more realistic with the lakes starting to fill and the flow rates on the tailwaters getting a little more agreeable. The Toccoa River in Blue Ridge, Georgia and the Tuckaseegee River in Sylva, North Carolina both are great this time of year and we stay busy floating for half or full days on these two great trout waters. Private water fishing on trophy water is very good now and Noontootla Creek Farms produces some real monsters in the springtime. If you might be thinking about learning to fly fish for the first time check out our full day Hulsey Fly Fishing School at Noontootla Creek Farms. We teach a relaxed but structured class that is sure to get you up and running in this fantastic sport! Check it out on our website at www.ncfga.com.
For a guided romp through the river give me a call David Hulsey at Southern Highroads Outfitters fly shop at 706-781-1414 in beautiful Blairsville, Ga.
