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Fishing Report for February 23, 2008Date:
February 23, 2007
Location: Watauga Trophy Section
Conditions: High 53 Low 40, Cloudy with Sporadic Light Rain
Guide: Justin Shroyer
Today was day two of filming for the upcoming Barrett
Productions Trout Unlimited “On the Rise” fly fishing show.
The show is planned on being aired around late June. I was
lucky enough to guide show host Frank Smethurst down the
Trophy Section of the Watauga River for a half day of
fishing. The forecast called for cloudy skies with a chance
of rain throughout afternoon.
We began fishing around 11am as a midge hatch
was nearing its end. We rigged a deep heavy nymph rig as we
planned to fish a deep fast riffle with numerous rock
gardens throughout. The bead head midge and micro soft
hackles produced some nice fish, with many more bites. Don’t
be afraid to fish the deepest fastest water you can find on
the Watauga, as this is the water most often looked over by
anglers. The fish will hold in front of and behind piles of
rocks on the bottom. The trick is to get your fly in their
face, without hanging up, all the while detecting the
strike. Keeping constant contact with your fly by high
sticking your rod on a short drift, with heavy weight, is a
proven technique. We used a BB coupled with a size 1 split
shot to really bounce the bottom.
We continued to use this same technique in
selected deep fast runs and riffles, targeting big rainbow
trout. As the day wore on the bite shifted to blue wing
patterns as the water rose slowly from the rains upstream.
We landed two nice rainbows, 16 and 18 inches, both on
mayfly nymphs in fast water. As the light began to fade, we
tied on the reliable red ass (red thread, peacock, soft
hackle) and landed another chunky 15 inch rainbow trout as
our day closed.
I would personally like to thank everyone
from Barrett Productions, including the host Frank Smethurst,
Nate, Brian, and Jake of the film crew, and Squeak Smith of
TU for two great days of filming on my favorite trout
waters.
Reported By: Justin Shroyer |
