By Jeff Dean
Fly fishing is our livelihood, so we put in a lot of time and energy looking for trout, and to be successful, you will have to do the same. People come into Watauga River Fly Shop everyday asking where to fish. There are so many options, but most people overlook the obvious when finding fishing spots and how to research them. Case in point: one of the main thoroughfares going into Boone is Highway 321. If you live here, or if you’ve visited the Boone area, you’ve probably driven from Boone to Blowing Rock on 321. If you notice, there’s a stream running alongside the road and in front of Mystery Hill and various other attractions between these two towns. That stream is the Middle Fork of the New River.
If you are looking for trout water, you are looking for good runs and riffles, deep pools, nice shade and access to the water. The Middle Fork has all of that. If you look closer, you’ve probably noticed the Hatchery Supported signs along the river. Here’s where a little research helps. Just looking at ncwildlife.org will show you that most of the Middle Fork, from the South Fork of the New River to the Lake Chetola Dam, is under Hatchery Supported regulations. Looking a little further shows that the state puts over 4100 trout in this seven-mile stretch. Now that you’ve seen what the water looks like, it should hold trout and the North Carolina Resources Commission has stocked the stream with over 4100 trout – that tells me there is trout in that water!
So, we’ve driven by the stream, we’ve seen the stream is stocked, now we want to find a nice stretch to fish. Driving by the stream at 50 mph may not have given you a great idea of what you are looking at. One easy way to research that stretch of water you have your eye on is to simply pull it up on Google Maps and look at the satellite view. This can give you a good idea of the layout of the water and what you might expect. Remember to follow all of the regulations of the mountain trout waters and just because there is a Hatchery Supported sign on a light post, it doesn’t necessarily mean the property owner allows access. If a property is posted with ‘No Trespassing’ signs, it’s time to find a new spot. If you have any questions, come by the shop and we’ll be glad to help you out. We are lucky enough to have trout waters and we often overlook the spots right under our noses. Besides, there’s only one way to find out if a stream has fish…go fish it!
Jeff Dean is the owner of Watauga River Fly Shop located at 5712 NC Highway 105 South, Vilas, NC. Visit their website at www.wrflyshop.com, email them at info@wrflyshop.com, or give them a call at (828) 963-5463.