NEW VIDEO!!!!

             Well it is the last week of the DH (Delayed Harvest). Fly Fisherman everywhere have honed their skills on the DH waters and are warmed up for any adventures to wild streams that may come this summer. For me I am going to spend a little more time on the Watauga River this summer. Might even venture up into the trophy sections out in Tennessee. I am also going to find some time this summer to do the cross country trip that I have been planning on doing for a while time. Hopefully I can put everything together in time to leave in the beginning of June. That should be the perfect time to fish for steelhead up in Ohio and then make it to Wyoming just after the snow melt. As for the fly fishing in NC you better hurry up and make your last run up to the river before its too hot. Also this month is the start of spring bass fever. Whip out your 7 weights and bass rods because the bass should start getting up on their beds in the shallows in a week or two.

            As for Wilson Creek this week, there was about as many fish as their were parking spots. I have seen crowded rivers and streams before but this was ridiculous. Now don't get me wrong, keep the sport alive by all means. I don't mind some competition on the river but I found it hard to get settled into a spot without somebody wading in ten feet beside you and begin flipping over egg flies and #6 stones with a bunch of split shot right next to your #20 dry fly. They wonder why they aren't catching as many fish...... But I don't mind a slightly crowded river. I enjoy the moment when you as a fisherman glance over at each other as you catch fish as to acknowledge that your kind of keeping score as to be in a tournament with a complete stranger.
            It was a good weekend though. Beautiful weather all day and on top of that there were a few good sized fish swimming around. Most of the trout action for me was again at the surface. Tiny green, yellow, and white dry flies where what caught the eye of most of the trout I caught. Their was a little bit of a sulpher hatch but they were small. I would say they were #18-22 sized. I was using yellow and green midge patterns that I tied over the course of last week. Also I was using my little red blood midge fly in a size #20. Midges turn bright red before they hatch and I created a midge pattern that imitates this perfectly by using a #20 grub hook with a black bead, midge sized red stretch tubing and a peacock herl collar. I'll post a picture of it in the process of being tied when I get a chance. If you want some advice on where to go on the river I would go as far up the river as possible. The areas that I found worth fishing where up past the bridge on Edgemont Rd after you make the left and Betsey's Ole Country Store. Go up past the bridge about 200 yards easy and start their working your way up. The harder the spot is to get to the better. That's my policy at least.

Anyway, check back soon for some fly fishing updates. I will be up on Badin Lake next weekend. If you see a guy with a black dog on a red bass-boat fishing on Badin stop by and say hey.

As Always.... TIGHT LINES

Mike

Cold Rainy Weekend

Hey Y'all,

So the weather for this weekend is cold, wet, and windy all throughout the state. I have checked just about every forecast my iPhone can pick up and it just doesn't look too good. I usually check every app I can until I find one that shows the best weather possible then I somehow convince myself that it's more creditable then the rest, but this weekend just looks grim. On the upside I have found that trout fishing in the rain can be very productive. One the one side rarely do trout ever bite dry flies in the rain so your best bet is nymphing. Also the water from the rain tends to warm up the rivers and streams as the rain water warms as it runs off into the streams. This slightly warmer water wakes the fish up in my experience and makes nymph fishing great. Trout will often feed off the midges that fail to hatch during the rain.

As for me, I am keeping inside this weekend. Camping in the rain is something that I do when something has gone terribly wrong in my weekend planing. I usually only fish in the rain if the weather is calling for above 45-50 at the low. Right now I am up at my lake house with a bucket full of minnows, loaded boat, my fiancé, and my dog coal hoping and praying for a clear morning to do some crappie fishing. The freezer is getting low and crappie are the filet mignon of the lake. I like to troll on the lake for crappie in my Tracker 175 when I take a weekend off from the stream, which is quite rare.

Well to everyone good luck on the trout streams or wherever your line may lay. For me, I will have to wait until next weekend to strap on the waders and get in the water. If your heading up to Wilson Creek don't forget to check out Betsey's Old Country Store and also look up Pieroway Rod Company up in Canada. Those things are built all by hand and are the only rods I fly fish with. You can't beat them!!


Take it Easy and Tight Lines,

Mike Daniels

Wilson Creek Dry Fly Time

Hey Everybody!!


Mike Daniels (aka RedRoverMike) here after a long cold weekend up in the hills on Wilson Creek. The fishing friday was horrible as i only managed to catch two fish in two hours. I was cold, it was late in the day, and on top of that I was starving. I went back, got some food at the campsite, and thought about why the fish were so held up for that evening. Everyone i talked to this weekend was only catching two or three in a day and most everybody was using eggs or those overly large stonefly imitations. Saturday I awoke early and was on the stream when the fog was just lifting off the water. Baffled from the day before, I decided to set out trying just about everything I could think of in my flybox. I started off fishing midges from large stimulators and caught one fish in an hour. Around 10:00 am it was like someone flipped a switch on the fish and although I wasn't catching them right away they began hitting small tiny sulphurs everywhere on the water. I switched to a size 20 sulphur spinner with just a little bit of floatant power and began casting in a way that caused it to almost smacked the water. As soon as it hit the water the brook trout would come up and sip it in. I caught 24 fish Saturday and 31 Sunday, all but two caught on dry flies. All the fish I caught were brook and brown trout. Although I saw a ton of rainbows I just think the water was too cold for them. During the middle of the day the water temp was at 45 degrees. The flooding from the snow melt as all but ended and the water levels are about normal. If you have fished Wilson Creek before be ready to find yourself a few new spots because the topography of the river has changed drastically since the post winter floods.

Just a few tips, when fishing these tiny dry flies often times it is imposible to look at the flies in the hatch and figure out what exactly they are. I used tiny sulphurs because in the light they looked like tiny yellow mayflies, but in all reality just about any small tiny mayfly dryfly pattern would have worked. Trout do not have the selective eyes that some people claim them to have. When a fly is moving past a trout they typically judge it on size and shape first and foremost. In my personal opinion color only has a major role in slow water or underwater. Between fast water and light refracting off the surface dry fly color isnt important. There were several fish I cought this weekend on size 22 black and white mayflies. The point I am trying to make is to just have a good time and don't worry too much about matching the hatch exactly. 

Anyway yall, tight lines, good luck, and let me know if you have any questions. I am always happy to help out. Don't forget to check out Peiroway Rod Company up in Canada. They make some great stuff and they are the only rods I use. Build to last and can handl just about anything you can dish out. Basically they are the Yeti Cooler of fly rods. (THEY AREN'T BEAR PROOF THOUGH") Also don't forget to check out Betsey's Ol Country Store up in the DH on Wilson Creek. Right on the river, great place to camp and Bruce sells just about anything you could need for a camping trip. He also has an awesome HOTDOG STAND. Nathen's Hotdogs, chili, onions, coleslaw, and mustard... Very Good $3 each and if your in the mood for something old school he has every soda in a glass bottle that I can think of. Check it out on Facebook!!! Just google Betsey's Ol Country Store only 2 and a half hours from Charlotte. 

Take it easy and Tight Lines!!