Fly Fishing on the Nantahala was really good today. Fish were rising to dries regularly along with your typical assortment of subsurface bugs. We were throwing San Juan worms, Egg patterns and pheasant tails. Wooly Buggers were working well too!
The key to success on this day, was getting the nymphs down deep and bouncing them off the bottom. If you were not getting your flies down, the fish were not interested.
After 2-3 hours of fishing the DH water of the Nantahala River we decided to fish some wild trout water in Western North Carolina.
It was an entirely different story. The dry fly action was phenomenal with fish leaping completely out of the water after dry flies. What worked well here was a dry dropper rig with a size 16 quill imitation with size 16 bead head dropper. When they weren't taking the dry, they were taking the nymph.
After about 20-30 fish within a little over an hour, the surface bite tapered off. Everything after that was subsurface, with a tight line tandem nymph rig.
What a great day on the river... Book your trip today. 724-986-2652
Now is the time to be fly-fishing in Western North Carolina
Tight Lines,
Gordon Vanderpool, Owner/Guide
Location: Nantahala DH and Small Wild Trout Stream