I have been through many phases of fly fishing over time. First I was excited to catch just one fish on the fly when I went out. Whether it was a blue gill, bass, trout, who cares. Then I was after setting personal records for numbers of trout in a day. After that, I would avoid small trout and only hunt for the big boys. Then it was quality of fish, by only fishing for wild trout. Now, it has all come together and I really just have fun fly fishing anywhere stocked or wild. Tomorrow marks a dark day for me personally. Delayed harvest opens up on the North Carolina streams. What this means is that from the first Saturday in June until the first Saturday in October, you are able to keep the trout you catch. There are several sides positive and negative to this. Positives are that we have streams that we North Carolinians can go to year round. The major positive is that there are efforts to create a good fishing experience by putting in these fish in large numbers. The delayed harvest streams are easy to get to and fun to fish. The last couple of months I have caught as few as 20 and at most 50 in a single day. Though not quite as rewarding as wild trout, but catching that many fish has rewards of its own. The fish also could not necessarily survive in those numbers as well. The streams do not have enough resources for that many fish. The cons of delayed harvest are that on the first Saturday of June, you basically can not see the stream because of the crowds. Within two days, the fish are almost wiped out. Yes, there are still fish left but the record fishing days are gone for sure. If I’m going to fish for picky trout, I’m going into the backcountry for wilds. The heart break of Black Saturday is really environmental. The streams go through an amazing change. Over the course of a weekend, they will be littered with beer cans, bait cans, and other debris. It takes clean up crews a long time to get it nice again. Now, on to the fish tale. With black Saturday approaching, I decided to get one more day of fly fishing in. I headed up to Boone, NC where I went to college. I chose this stream as opposed to any others because it is where I learned to fly fish. 14 years ago, my now father in law introduced me to the sport. I woke up and hit the road at 4:30 am so I could get up there for first light. The trip didn’t disappoint. Fish after fish were brought to hand. They seemed to hit any fly that was presented well. They would hit any dry as long as there was no drag, chase buggers all over the place, sip midges, and grab dead drifted nymphs. It was a great last day of closed season. The best part was that there wasn’t a soul besides myself on the rivers. So even though I hate to think about a long summer without the ease of fishing delayed harvest, it gives me something to look forward to. This is when I start focusing on another area of fly fishing- salt water species. I love those tailing reds. So to all the stocked fish in North Carolina, “good by and thanks for the good time!”
matt – beautiful looking stream and brook trout … i would imagine that it is a blast fly fishing in the north carolina mountains and having those environments and fish “all to yourself” … and hungry for all sorts of flies … maybe, your set of circumstances is will force you to find some of new streams, harder to access sections etc..? sometimes, i have found that when fisheries that i once enjoyed gets too crowded for comfort .. it forces me to fish elsewhere … and find new sections of river or ocean and new rivers etc… i can think of several fisheries both salt and fresh that i used to fish alot both .. that, for one reason or another have become regularly too crowded for my liking … so, i just don’t go there anymore during times when the crowds are, for one reason or another, going to be a little much … also .. you seem to be young and fit and able and willing … so, take advantage of that .. most fly fisherman and all fishermen for that matter are fairly lazy and in many cases to out of shape to exert much more energy than standing in one spot … a “long walk” or “tough wade” for them might be nothing for you … scale cliffs, swim across rivers (no waders), bush wack .. go the distance, while you still can, most others can’t or won’t … and, someday .. you won’t be able to either .. but until then .. go the “extra mile” ….. maybe this will or won’t help your situation, just thought i would throw it out there as an option that sometimes works for me .. good luck.
Great tale Matt. Sharing the waters with fisherman that don’t have the same conservation ethics as yourself can be tough. I’m not completely against keeping fish. Especially in these hotter months when the chances are that the water is to warm and they will die from the fight anyhow. But there is definitely a difference between keeping what you need and gluttony. And I’ve seen my share of the later on local waters. It is fairly depressing how some individuals can throw certain things aside when it comes to the conservation of our fishing grounds. Beautiful looking stream and brookie by the way.
I have to admit I am a tad envious again when I see the beautifull streams of NC.
I would love to fish for picky fish there.
Crowds are also not my favourite thing to see on the water.
Most of the time though the real difficult spots which take long hikes keep the lazy guys out.
I have never fished in NC but I have flown along the barrier Islands while en route to Florida and always thought it would be a blast to fish those Islands for Bluefish, Stripers, Reds and whatever swims there.
I am looking forward to a story about your saltwater exploits pretty soon.
The truth of the matter is that most of the delayed harvest streams are too small for the large amount of fish that are put in. People need to fish them simply to keep the stream healthy. There certainly is a place for the put and take streams, it is the littering and disregard for the land that I hate. It really shows a basic human element as well- greed. This weekend, Flyfish77 and I are going to head up to one of NC’s most prized streams, the Davidson. We are going to strap on the old tent and sleeping bags and backpack to some really remote waters. There are some big boys that are unfamiliar to flies up there. Jeremy- I will be testing out my new Cybershot and should have some good movies after three full days of backpacking and fishing.
Great story Matt and fish. You sure get some awesome scenery hiking back in no mans land. I love fishing when everybody else is at home.
Ahhhh, NC….Believe it or not, I’m moving to Raleigh next week with my employer. It’s a big move for me, but the fly fishing, and the bass fishing, opportunities are endless – I’m so looking forward to a new chapter.
BBHOG- I lived in Raleigh for several years before moving to Greensboro with my career. NC is a great place to live and I’m sure you will enjoy it. Send me over a pm and we’ll talk.