By Jeff Dean
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.” – Henry David Thoreau. If you live in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina, it doesn’t take long to realize how true this statement is. I own Watauga River Fly Shop, just outside of Boone, NC, and I am blessed to have such great trout waters in my ‘backyard’ and to have such scenic surroundings to explore. If you have never fished in the area, we have hundreds of miles of fishable water, full of wild rainbows, browns, smallmouth, and our beloved Southern Appalachian Brook Trout. Of course, the state also stocks hundreds of miles of streams with trout as well. Trout thrive in cold, clean water and our cool summer temps and high elevation streams are a prime habitat for trout. Now, let’s talk about how to catch them!
We get people in the shop everyday telling us that they aren’t having any success fishing for trout. There are many different ways to catch a fish, but we feel you will be the most successful and can cover a lot more water fly fishing these streams. Trout can be very particular but if you can trigger in on what they are eating and present your fly to them well, you can catch a lot of fish. Trout spend their lives watching food come downstream to them, so presentation is key. You will be most successful positioning yourself downstream from where you want to fish and ‘dead drifting’ your flies down to the waiting trout. This means you want to watch the leaves, bubbles, or current and make sure your flies are drifting downstream just like everything else on the water. Not going faster, slower or across the stream. Trout can detect if your flies are not moving ‘naturally’ and that can keep them from eating your perfectly tied, Parachute Adams. If you’ve ever heard the term, ‘match the hatch,’ in a nutshell it means that you want to try to mimic whatever bugs you see while on the water. Trout will trigger in on these bugs and you will have greater success if you can fish a fly that has similar size, shape and color to what you are seeing hatching. There are many different ways to fish different flies, but a ‘dead drift’ is the most common and can be the most successful. Fly fishing isn’t rocket science and trout aren’t brain surgeons. It’s not as difficult as you’ve made it out to be.
Of course, if you need any help, come by, give us a call or book one of our experienced guides to teach you how to be a successful trout angler. I feel this is one of the best areas on the East Coast to fish for trout. When you go fishing here, you can easily find yourself lost in the beauty of the surroundings, listening to sounds of nature, and forget why you are even out here.
Jeff Dean is the owner of Watauga River Fly Shop.
