By Ryan Wilson
After wrapping up what has been my busiest guiding season to date, I find myself in the unfamiliar circumstance of having unaccounted for dates on my calendar. Between running the Shop, summer format trips, shifts at the Fire Dept. and the same personal obligations we all have, it isn’t a lot of days, but it looks like I should be able to cut out a day every week or two to actually go fishing. So where to go?
During the Fall, Winter & Spring months, you know that any Delayed Harvest should present a reasonable chance of productive fishing. Summer fly fishing can be outrageously good, but it requires a little more skill and creativity. Research and planning can help you prepare, but one of the biggest assets in your summer tackle box is a willingness to fail. Eventually you’ll have to get in your car and commit gas and a day to fishing unfamiliar water.
North Carolina has a virtually limitless amount of wild trout fishing opportunities. Much of the access can be challenging and some of the streams are barely more than a trickle, but there are some gems out there for those willing to seek them out.
The best place to start is at the state wildlife website’s interactive fishing map (ncwildlife.org/fishing/where-to-fish). This extremely helpful map shows all of the designated trout water in the state and allows you to filter down between different management classifications. This resource is a great way to get pointed in the right direction. However, just because a piece of water is classified as a trout stream, does not necessarily mean that there is quality fishing or readily available public access. There are also some great streams that do not fall under those management regulations and won’t show up on the map.
You’ll have to use other resources to help you narrow it down. The computer mapping is helpful in preparation, but I highly recommend a Delorme Atlas. You might show up to your stream to find a gate closed, or your “stream” nearly bone dry. Many areas will not have cell phone service, so if you need to jump to a backup plan, a paper map book can be an absolute trip saver.
Upon arrival to a new piece of wild water, get ready to go for a walk. My personal strategy is to hike in to a point where any normal person would quit fishing and start there. If you have a good trail with no obstacles, you want to hike in 30-45 minutes before wetting a line. Get to where the people aren’t. The gear isn’t complicated. 7-8ft 3wt. 6x Tippet on a single dry fly. Parachute Adams, Elk Hair Caddis, Terrestrial – doesn’t really matter, it’s all about getting the fly to the fish without spooking it. Within 4 casts on any particular spot, you’ll have either hooked the fish, spooked the fish, or proven that he wasn’t ever there. Keep moving and cast to any spot that looks like it could hold a fish.
The trick to new water is to cover a lot of it and not to get bogged down in any one spot. You won’t know what is around the next bend, so go see! Keep safety in mind. Make sure you have water, a first aid kit, and a wading staff. Remember that every step in will require a step out, so don’t lose track of daylight. And be ok with the fact that not every trip will pan out. You might end up on a beautiful stretch of water with very few fish. That’s ok, it’s part of the adventure and is what will make the next bite that much more meaningful. If you learn to enjoy the inherent beauty of wild and natural places, you’ll realize the number of fish you put in the net is something less than secondary.
Ryan Wilson is the Owner and Operator of Madison River Fly Fishing Outfitters in Cornelius, NC. If you’d like to learn more about local fly fishing tactics, please contact him at madisonriverflyfishing@gmail.com or call at (704) 896-3676. Check us out on Facebook: Madison River Fly Fishing Outfitters or on the Web: www.carolinaflyfishing.com