By Ken Kastorff
Late summer is here and with it begins some of the best dry fly fishing the Nantahala River has to offer. While spring and early to midsummer is awesome for all day nymphing, late summer and fall, with decreasing sunlight, gives the fly angler a combination of both nymph and dry fly action. Mornings are still great for nymphing, while afternoons and early evenings can fire up some awesome dry fly fishing. This is exciting and challenging fishing with light leader and tippet on big fast water. Even a 10 inch rainbow on 6x tippet can get your attention in the Nantahala tail race. Hook into a 15-20 inch brown and it is game on!
I like to use an 8.5 to 9 foot 4-5 weight rod with a nine foot leader. Most times, a 5x tapered leader will work fine. Tie a number 16 high visible fly directly on to it, and then come off of the high visible fly hook with two feet of 6x for your primary Fly. Usually, a size 18 fly will be small enough, although sometimes I will drop down to size 20. I will almost always use two dry flys, tied in tandem with a larger, more visible fly, in front of my primary fly. This works really well when fishing low light, late afternoon conditions. The larger fly will help you focus in on the smaller primary fly. The water in the Nantahala is usually crystal clear and I have seen big fish come tearing out of their hiding place along shore to sprint ten to fifteen feet or more, to inhale a dry fly. If this doesn’t get your heart racing, nothing will.
Fly selection for the fall can present a variety of possibilities. Light Cahills, Pale Evening Dunns, Sulfurs, BWO’s and Adams patterns all seem to work fine for the lead fly. Usually, I will use Cream Midges, Grey Midges or BWOs for the primary Fly. Another great pattern that works well for both the lead and primary fly is a Bivisible. These are just a few options. Everyone has his favorite combination and, to be honest, presentation and drag free drift is far more important to consider.
The Nantahala River is a tailrace river with high flows during power generation releases. That being said, it is a challenge to fish with the water on and fly anglers need to careful if they are wade fishing. One slip wearing waders with water on can turn into a bad situation in a hurry. We offer float trips on the Nantahala, which makes for a much better platform for fishing with the water on. Wade fishing is much better late in the afternoon or early evening after the power generation releases subside.
Ken Kastorff is the Owner and Guide at Endless River Adventures located in Bryson City, North Carolina.