By Ronnie Parris
Hey folks, as I write this I’m longing for colder temperatures. This heat is not for the faint of heart. Through it all, fishing has been good this year. I’ve had the luxury of jumping from lake to lake according to the bite, and creek to river, trying to set up for the best success.
The two fish in the pictures are truly amazing walleye. The one for which we had a tape to measure was over 28 inches. Both were pigs; both were really old fish and both were caught on artificial lures on a section of the Tuckaseegee River, which will really surprise a lot of people. I always get asked when we see a big walleye in the river if it came up from the lake and my answer is no.
I think there’s a hand full of walleye that are raising in the river and never leave. I think they search for the better pools, with oxygen and depth, and spend their life there searching for crayfish and small suckers for their table fare. A good friend of mine, Clint Hurley, used to tell me about catching them on creek chubs he had caught in a trap and fished just the bigger pools for the walleye. Not only would he catch giant walleye, but also huge brown and rainbow trout.
My friend Wally caught the first one pictured when we did a float, right as a hard rain came through. I think this helped us because, as the water got a little stained, some really big trout, as well as this giant walleye, began to feed. With the expertise of both Mark and Wally we were able to trick several well above average fish that day. The second walleye pictured was caught by my good friend Mark.
On this trip the water had just a touch of color, which really sparked a good feeding frenzy, with us putting several nice rainbow and brown trout in the boat, as well as two nice walleye. I won’t name the lure we were using, but I think the key to success is learning what action the fish want on a particular trip, whether it be a fast or slow retrieve, or jigging it as it works the current.
Knowing where to cast is just as important. Fish are going to hide and ambush prey in certain areas of a pool, so just casting at the same spot will not produce. Mark’s fish was actually spotted before he caught it, as we observed a decent sized trout try to escape it by jumping out of the water. A couple casts later and the rest is history.
Folks, I know it’s hot and can really get uncomfortable, but hit the water early, or right as the cold rains start, and go monster hunting. And as always, take a kid fishing!
Ronnie Parris is owner and head guide of Smoky Mountain Outdoors Unlimited-Fontana Lake Fishing Guides, headquartered in Bryson City, NC, 488-9711.