I'm tracking down any potential y2k problems associated with fly fishing in North Carolina.
All y2k fly fishing problem will be reported and solved on these pages. System to be tested
include but are not limited to:
SAGE, Orvis, Cortland, SA, Loomis, L.L. Bean, Simms, Climax.
I plan to do extensive and exhaustive testing to ensure that all y2k bug will be solved and fly
fishermen everywhere will not have to worry about their fly fishing system crashing in y2k.

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Gear Locker

Orvis


Loomis:
Sage:

L.L.Bean
S.A.
Ross
Simms
Dan Bailey

One Ounce 6.5' 2wt
CFO I reel
CFO III reel
GL3 - 8.5' 4wt
490RPL+ - 4 piece - 4wt
590SP - 3 piece - 5wt

Double LL 9' 6wt
System 2 67-L reel
San Miguel SM-3 (coming soon)
Gore-tex Guide Pant Waders
Bare Bones Waders

If you encounter any problem fly fishing report your bugs to: y2k@kbrcomm.com

BUG COUNT: 2
Shop The Orvis Catalog Button 1 - 121x70

34. December 31, Sunny, 65 degrees.

I manager to sneak another fishing day into the year. The water was crowded and running clear. My usually woolly bugger proved effective early in some deep runs. However Jim out fished me using eggs and nymph droppers. I was put off by "tourist" watching the water I was about to fish. Oh, well there is always next year!

33. December 27, Sunny, 48 degrees.

The sun was shining brightly on this cool winter day. After about two hours of wading in the frigid waters my aching toes begging for warmth. The fish were as frozen as my toes and I only managed to catch four, all rainbows 12, 14, and two 16 inch fish. Not bad for my last fishing trip of the year. I counted no less than 12 cars parked along this two mile stretch.

32. December 14, Sunny - Partly Cloudy, 55 degrees.

The front blew though with clearing skies, I called Jim to see if he wanted to head up to he Mitchell River. Yes was his hearty reply, but first he had to wait for the cable guy to hook up his new Internet connection. After a trip to the dump and K-mart, I called Jim to see if he was ready, they were just finishing up. He asked if I wanted to come over to watch his high speed connection, I replied I'd rather go fishing, he agreed ... reluctantly. I case you've never seen DSL or T1 Internet connection you too would be amazed and just might want to surf a little before heading to the stream.

The Mitchell was flooded out, running chocolate brown. We headed to Stone Mountain SP where the stream was running a little high but only slightly stained. I tied on a green woolly bugger and was quickly into a 10 inch rainbow. Several smaller trout quickly followed. As I moved upstream to a small waterfall made by a downed tree, a drawing from "The Curtis Creek Manifesto" flashed in my brain and I cast my woolly bugger above the fall, watching in flow over and plunged into the pool below, a 14 inch rainbow slashed at the fly, jumping and running in the small pool.

We moved on down to different sections of the river and the woolly bugger continued to attract good sized trout. Jim asked for a woolly bugger lesson, I gave him two bb's to pinch on and watched him cast into likely water, no luck, I followed. He said he was going to be really mad if I caught one where he had just been fishing. I made several cast and then cried out "Fish On" when I had snagged the bottom, Jim turned around to see my bent rod, and I let him wonder for a second before I released the line and cleared the snag.

Great day, headed back for Pack 909 meeting with the boys singing Christmas songs.

31. December 13, Rainy, 58 degrees.

I was planning an overnight trip to the South Mountains, I guess the weatherman didn't hear about my adventure. Rain was forecast for the night before, the day of with heavy rain the following night turning colder. Not perfect weather for trout fishing, so I told myself this could be practice for Steeheading! I reached the water by ten and the rain was a steady drizzle but not too cold. The pack was nearly deserted and I soon found the stream to be similarly void of fish. The ones I spotted were resting on the bottom on the deepest pools and after bouncing several nymphs, woolly buggers and muddler minnows off of their snouts, I came to the conclusion that there just weren't interested in feeding. Finally after several long long hours I managed to drift my offering under a rock at the bottom of a pool (down four feet) and took my first fish of the day, an eight inch brown. The fishing remained slow, I caught four more fish. I fished until dark and then decided not to spent the long dreary night by myself, I headed home to a soft warm bed.

30. December 10, Partly Cloudy, Scattered Showers, 58 degrees.

Jim and I decided that a trip to the Orvis Outlet Stores was in order, Jim is still searching for the perfect fit in a breathable wader. I had $100.00 in Orvis coupons to redeem. Our first stop was in Salem, we searched over clothing, fly rods, and reels, nick nacks, and flies. Jim picked out a new pair of waders and I got 4 dozen flies, a couple of videos, fly tying wax, a few toys for the kids, and a fleece vest for myself. After having lunch in Roanoke (homemade hamburgers at the international market, GOOOOD!!) we called on the Orvis Retail outlet where Jim had an exchange to make. After that we headed down to the Roanoke River to try some fishing, but the water looked to muddy to be enjoyable to fish. We headed on down and stopped to look a the James River, but after studying the water for quite some time we thought that we should try our luck elsewhere.

On down in NC we searched for the Mayo river, the whitewater section that I canoed in my youth, and finally found the road to "Redneck Riviera", the water looked great and the sun was setting so we suited up quickly and proceeded to trash the water with woolly buggers in hopes of finding a smallmouth or two. With the sun down below the tree tops the evening chill settled upon the water, shadows growing long, then merging with the current, white foam turning gray. The crescent moon, Jupiter and Saturn strung across the sky, quiet and peaceful among the roaring torrents. The only fish we saw was one darting from foot as I waded up the cascades in the fading day. It only lasted 30 minutes, but it was a most beautiful fishing experience.

Will have to come back when the water is warmer to catch those bronze backs!

29. December 5, Sunny, 70 degrees.

It's hard to believe that I was fishing in a T shirt in December, on the way to the park we even turned on the AC. However the fish in the stream were hard to find and reluctant to take our offerings. The section we picked appeared to have been pretty well hammered as we spied three fisherman when we put in and ran into several more upstream. While studying one pool, Christopher helps select a fly to match one he noticed on my vest. The little midge he picked out worked and the reluctant trout eagerly rose to the drifting. With our awkward rock hopping method of fishing we only managed to catch one other trout, although I tagged a couple more. The horse back riders were out in force and Christopher witnessed an eager mare galloping across the stream returning to the trailer.

28. November 28, Pt. Sunny, 65 degrees.

Jocob's Fork in South Mountains State Park was very crowed on this qawz Sunday. As I pulled into the Horse Trailer Parking Area, two pickup trunk hauling horses followed me in. Everbody wanted to enjoy this great weather. As I rigged my rod I spotted two anglers below me and one further up the stream. I split the distance and jumped in. I soon caught several nice brook trout on a stimulator. As I moved up stream several more anglers jumped in in front of me and the fishing action slowed down. Finally I leap frogged around and quickly caught severl rainbow trout. The upper reaches of the stream looked too crowed to mess with so I took the trail back to the parking lot. On the way I saw three guys with ultra light spinning gear releasing a four pound brown trout caught on a wiggle worm from pool that I had fished earlier without any success.

I moved on downstream to a sharp bend in the river and on my first cast hooked up with a jumping rainbow. Severl more came to hand in the next half hour. Great time, fantastic weather, long drive home on a busy holiday weekend.

27. November 25, Pt. Cloudy - Rain , 63 degrees.

Christopher woke me up this morning, "Come on Dad, you said we were going fishing. Get up!". I was sleeping peacefully not quit ready to get up and was hoping he would have forgotten about the fishing promise. It was cloudy and there was a good chance of rain. I got up and we were off to Stone Mountain Park. On the way up I though we might take a look at the Stone Mountain Cafe to see if I had left my hat there. As we came up the hill I was surprised to see that it had burnt to the ground, no hope of finding my hat there. As we headed up John P. Frank Parkway the rain came down harder. We decided not to fish in the rain and headed over to the Mitchell rive were it was dry. We caught a nice brook trout and then it was time to head to Grandma's for Turkey.

26. November 21, Sunny - Pt. Cloudy - Rain , 68 - 60 degrees.

I tried a different section of the delayed harvest water. A few trout were rising to a slight hatch and I was able to hook up with them using a CDC Elk Hair Pattern. Deeper sections with no visible rises yielded nice fish on woolly buggers. Overall this section was less productive than the upper reached of the regulated water. I moved back to more familiar runs and pockets and caught some nice sized fish on a muddler. Switch to a CSC emerger pattern and hooked up with a 20" + rainbow who was sipping insects from the surface film. One accurate cast and he was dancing. Great day for this late in the season. I have misplaced my old favorite fishing hat. I may have lost it. Feels like loosing an old friend. I'm breaking in a new one, not a replacement, nothing will be able to replace the memories that hat contains: five years of fly fishing...Maine....California.....Virginia.......Tenneesee......North Carolina...Virginia.

I also tried out my new "Dan Bailey: Bare Bones Waders" that I won at our TU banquet. They work well and were quite comfortable. I was casting a Sage 590 SP with a CFO III reel WF4. (Still waiting for my San Miguel)

25. November 7, Sunny, 75 degrees.

The delayed harvest waters received another load of rubber fish for us weekend anglers to catch. The water was chock full of them and the stupidly took just about anything that was hurled at them. But it sure is a load of fun to catch fish after fish on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Most were 12 - 14 inches long, a few a little less and one or two that were 18 - 20 inches long. Hefty rainbows and brookies. These hatchery fish tend to dull my skills as it takes little effort to fool them into taking my artificials.

24. October 31, Sunny, 74 degrees.

My son and I headed up to Stone Mountain to catch a few nymphs, larvae and mayflies from the roaring river. Of course we would also try to catch a few trout. We found stoneflies, caddis, mayfly, cranefly and many other unidentified nymphs. We enjoyed turning over the rocks and grabbing the fleeing insects. We managed to catch a few trout in the crowded stream.

We went into the woods to relieve ourselves and in doing so noticed a pile of human feces and toilet paper not 20 feet from the river. What were they thinking! Listen people, bury your waste and do it at least 100 feet from the water. Period. My five year old son can tell you how to do it. Not only is this unsightly it is also a health hazard!. For those of you how don't know the proper way to s*** in the woods here are the basics.

Pick an out of the way spot at least 100 feet from any stream. Dig a "cat" hole four to eight inches deep (don't go below the layer of organic material). Do your business, wipe with leaves (TP takes a long time to decompose) the stir the feces with a stick mixing in organic material to aid decomposition. Cover you "cat " hole. Read a book about like: Wild Country Companion:  The Ultimate Guide to No-trace Outdoor Recreation and Wilderness Safety

Some people should just stay at home!

23. October 20, Rain, 54 degrees.

I finished up a show and took the afternoon of for some more great delayed harvest action. I guess its because it is so darn close. Less than 50 miles from work! Easy stream access and plenty of fish on a nice stream with plenty of water. It was raining steadily as I left town, but by the time I arrived it has almost stopped and for the next two and a half hours it didn't rain much. I though about taking the cell phone and calling Jim (who backed out at the last minute) from the stream while landing my first of a dozen brown, brook and rainbow. I was headed back to town for the TU meeting when I ran into my lawyer, I hardly recognized him in a camo vest and hat, rigging up a light spinning rod.

22. October 17, Partly Cloudy, 65 degrees.

We were planning to go to the State Fair but with Hurricane Irene moving up the coast we decided to head for the mountains instead. I took the whole family up to the delayed harvest sections of several streams. The kids got to land some hefty trout and I got to wade the stream a little. I hooked a 18" rainbow and was trying to get back to the kids with it when, in an explosive thrash, it threw the hook. The kids had a blast throwing sticks and rocks. The sky was filled with tumultuous clouds and the forest was showing plenty of fall color

21. October 12 Partly Cloudy, 65 degrees.

All of those fish and the fine weather were playing on my mind and I decided to take the afternoon off and catch a few more. This time I found the stream uncrowded and the fish were almost too cooperative. I talked to an old spin fisherman who told me that he hadn't had much luck, he thought that poachers had gotten all of them. That was disheartening to hear as I was putting my waders on. I slipped into the water and promptly took several good sized rainbows. Working my way upstream for the next hour I caught about a dozen healthy brook, rainbow and a few brown trout. I moved on down to another section a took fish after fish on a green woolly bugger, they crashed it as it struck the surface, I almost didn't have time to set the hook. I could have caught over a hundred fish in three hours, I stopped counting at 60.

20. October 9 Cloudy, 68 degrees.

Jim, Marcus and I headed up to some new delayed harvest water. The 55 mile drive went by quickly and we were headed for the stream when we realized we we in the wrong drainage. The first store we came up sported two confederate flags - the sign read "Closed" we turned around and went past a shanty with three young fellows sitting on the front porch with the "Stars and Bars" tacked on the wall behind them. Finally we reached a road we were familiar with and were shortly headed down the stream side road. The stream is a meadow like stream with steep banks and shrub or tree cover on the banks. A good flow was coming down the 20 foot wide stream. I started fishing a deep run upstream from a low water bridge. I missed the first strike as my stimulator floated down the current. After tagging this fish again I moved up stream and took a Brook, a Brown and a Rainbow. A North Carolina Grand Slam!

I let Jim have a go at this productive run and tried some other spots on the now crowded river. In the lower section I also caught a smallmouth bass, now that really is a NC Grand Slam! We fished for three or four hours and each of us caught and released several dozen healthy hatchery fish.

19. October 3 Sunny, 75 degrees.

Well as you can tell I haven't been fishing in quite a while. New job (they expect me to be there M-F, bummer), the kids are getting older and we've been backpacking and camping with the Boy Scouts. Went to an old favorite stream, crowded, actually had four or five people come "look" at my pool while I was stringing up my rod. Got two nice fish to rise to a dry, but missed both. Later hooked a nice brown, several launchers, a couple of big browns and the last fish I foul hooked and fought for a while, couldn't get him to net, finally broke off. I'm going to try hard to catch up on my fishing. Not many days left this year.

18. July 25 Sunny, 90 degrees.

Sunday afternoon on a delightful trout stream offered a little relief from the piedmont heat. The water was clear and running low, wet wading felt great. The trout were skittish and I alerted many to my presence during my approach. I fished mostly with hopper patterns and did quite well, catching and releasing a good number of brow trout 8 - 12 inches in length. I the sky darkened signaling the coming night I switched to a green woolly bugger and caught several large brown trout who fought with vigor. I carefully revived them before setting them free. Once while approaching a pool my foot slipped and I pulled the #6 woolly bugger deeply into my index finger. The barb was mashed down, but not completely and it took a little work to remove the hook. That was the first problem of the day.

1 y2k problems surfaced in this test.

17. July 15 Sunny, 80 degrees.

I left work and headed north to Virginia. In about two hours I was standing in a wild trout stream. The hills long shadows darkened the rushing waters. Small yellow stones and a smaller mayfly were hatching. The fish would not rise to my dry flies, so I finally switched to a woolly bugger and landed a fat 14-inch brown that fought hard and jumped twice before I netted and released him. That was the best fish of the evening, I caught several smaller ones and missed a few big ones. As the light faded the trees turned from green to gray to black, the rhododendron blossoms gathered the remaining light and shone brightly in the dark forest. The birds were singing their evening song and the river seemed to flow quietly. As I hiked out in the coming darkness the petals floated to the ground like shooting stars and the fallen flowers litter the ground creating a starfield, the birds song replace by the incessant chirping of crickets.

No y2k problems surfaced in this test.

16. June 26 Partly Cloudy - Rain, 75 degrees.

Christopher and I went back up to Stone Mountain to try and catch a few trout for dinner. After waiting out a shower we fished the roaring river . Finally caught a 12 inch brown and took it home for dinner.

No y2k problems surfaced in this test.

15. June 19 Sunny, 70 degrees.

A family day at the park. It was too cool for swimming, and wet wading was a little cold. The water was low and clear. I managed to get several rises, but didn't hook any fish. Later we went back to a promising run where a brown had struck three times at my green woolly bugger before seeking cover. This time a Secret Weapon was chosen and the fish rose to the fly and ran off downstream, I handed the rod to Christopher who reeled him in. He is still learning about playing fish and I though for sure it would break off and CW muscled him in.

No y2k problems surfaced in this test.

14. June 18 Sunny, 70 degrees.

It just take one fish to make the day, it can be imagined or real. The promise of a wild brown trout on a small stream it why we fish. Regardless of the number and size of our catch we always believe that a bigger fish is lurking somewhere in the stream. One more pool, that undercut bank, the pocket water all could hold that fish. As I walked up the trail to the stream I noticed a spent stonefly on the grass. I tied on a #6 western style stimulator and cast to the head of the first pool. Anticipation...I cast a little further up. Nothing. I cast up into the run where I hooked a 14 incher the other day. Nothing. Next cast is over a downed tree to the head of the run up against the bank where the current is fast. The fly bobbed up and down on the fast water, then with a splash and a firm tug it disappeared down into the fast water. I had to move quickly to keep the leader from getting caught under the tree. A nine-foot rod has an advantage in situations like this. The fish headed for the deep water of the pool and the line zinged through the surface. It felt big; I couldn't bring the fish to the surface for several minutes as it fought desperately to be free. With great joy and excitement I finally brought it to net and measured its fat body to be 17" long, a great fish for this tiny stream. I thought to myself", I could go home now" being fully satisfied. The rest of the day was nice, several more good fish caught and many missed, but that first fish still danced for me.

No y2k problems surfaced in this test.

13.. June 11 Cloudy, 60-75 degrees.

The water was stained from the nights thunderstorms. I hoped this would be to may advantage as the trout are usually skittish on this small stream. I had heard of a large stonefly hatch and proceeded to fish with a huge stimulator. I had several strikes from some large fish but failed to hook them. They seemed to be very interested in my fly. As I worked my way upstream I caught and released several 14 inch brown trout and a number of smaller ones eight to twelve inches. They were hitting on large and small stimulators, elk hair caddis, and adams. A new beaver dam blocked the river, I wonder if this will add much thermal pollution to this stretch of water?

No y2k problems surfaced in this test.

12. May 21 Sunny, 80 degrees.

With spring almost over and no relief from work in sight, I jumped at Jim's invitation to fish some streams that I had not fished before. We were on the water in about two hours after leaving Winston. The bright sunlight and clear water presented problems, but it wasn't too long before Jim hooked the first fish. In the several hours that we fished this pleasant roadside stream we managed to catch and release nine trout. Jim had a NC grand slam, a brook, brown, and rainbow trout. I asked what three rainbow, two brown and a chub made? "Nothing", was Jim's reply.

No y2k problems surfaced in this test.

11. April 18 Partly Cloudy, 58 degrees.

I headed up to to do a little fishing, not wanting to face the crowds I parked at a small, make that tiny headwater creek that I always wanted to fish. It is so small that I left the waders and boot behind. After hiking in open wood for several hundred yards I came to a tangle of brush as the terrain got steeper. I fished some of the larger pools where I could manage to drop a fly. Mayflies were hatching and I was hoping to catch a brookie. After a couple of hours of crawling on my hands and knees, and not catching a fish I returned to the car. I'm not sure if I'll return to this stream...perhaps if I went just a little further!

No y2k problems surfaced in this test.

10. April 11 Rain - Clouds - Sun, 60 - 80 degrees.

I wanted to spend the day on a wild trout stream, one where I could find solitude and beauty that is found on remote streams. On a Sunday, I knew this might be hard to find. As I drove in to the trailhead I saw the clouds of dust left be another vehicle speeding to the same destination. Three fly fishermen walked along the road searching for some easy water. At the parking area a father and grown son were suiting up for the hike. Asked where the were planning to fish, they replied "up a mile or two". I joined them on the walk up the trail, "Where does the gorge start?", asked the son. I pointed to the river several hundred feet below, "Is that enough gorge for you?" I left them after twenty-five minutes and headed on up the trail.

The last time I fished this creek I looked for a way out, other than backtracking, but couldn't see the trail. Was it 200, 400, or 600 feet up the gorge wall? Or was it on top of the ridge? I didn't think it was worth scrambling up not knowing if there was a trail. So this time I decided to hike the trail first and then fish. It started out as a slight incline, then got steeper as the trail left the river and ascended to the ridge. What a view, but with the water 1000 ft below, a guy with a fly rod must have looked very out of place. Not wanting to go any further I head back to the last easy slide down the scree to the creek. Hot, tired and thirsty, I sat down and looked at the promising water and ate an apple. My first cast with a "Secret Weapon" brought a strike, but my reflexes were not quick enough. Over to the next run and after several cast into the current seam an eight inch wild rainbow was hooked!. I worked my way up to the impassable falls, catching and releasing several dozen rainbows. On several deep runs and pools I failed to attract a strike on a dry fly so I switched to a muddler minnow and used a lead head to get it down. My efforts were rewarded, as on the first cast with this new set up I landed a beautiful richly colored twelve inch rainbow its red streak brilliant in the sunlight.

As there was plenty of time left in the day I headed back downstream below where I came in. I walked through a wash and when I came back to the water I spied the father and son fishing together. They had had a successful day, but quickly asked, "How do you get out of this place?" Luck or providence, was with them, for if they hadn't run into me the would have had to backtrack downstream. On the way out I ran into a wildlife officer who checked my license.

No y2k problems surfaced in this test.

9. March 27 Sunny Gusty Winds 55 degrees.

The Smith River outing was quite successful, ten Blue Ridge and three Nat Green fisherman turned out to explore the Special Regulation Section of the river. The fishing was frustrating and only one or two fish were caught before 2:00 many chose this slow period to collect stream side litter which consisted of Bait Containers, Empty Corn Cans, Beer cans, and soft drink bottles, most of which seamed to be Mountain Dew. The presence of poachers and their litter is quite distressing. The regulations must be enforced and through the actions of Blue Ridge, Nat Green and the Newly Reformed Smith River Chapters of Trout Unlimited we can call attention to the problems that this river faces. Your attendance at the May 8th meeting in Martinsville will show the State of Virginian that there are many concerned fisherman who want the rules to be strictly enforce.


left to right: Mark, Marcus Seitz, Sam Stitcher, Bill Larmaor, Len Noyse, Keith Kolischak
Allie Hucthison, Bill Lacy, Jimmy Williams, Jim Hatchell

Around two o'clock a Caddis Hatch started and the fish were picking them off. This was even more frustrating as our small, but not quite small enough imitations were ignored. A few more fish were brought to net before we had to leave the stream at three. (Final Four Games) It was hard to leave the river just as it was turning on. Later I received an email from Ed Gallop who reported the hatch increased later and he landed seven in about an hour.

No y2k problems surfaced in this test.

8. March 19 Sunny 60 degrees.

I took my two year old daughter up to some delayed harvest water for a little trout fishing. We had our lunch up by a waterfall, then she wanted to throw rocks. Then she wanted to throw more rocks. I asked if she wanted to go fishing. "I not ready t'go" she replied. After an hour of tossing stones and looking at nymphs (stonefly, caddis, mayfly) she finally agreed to ride in the backpack and go fishing. That lasted about 30 minutes and then she demanded to be put down so she could resume her mission of rock throwing. Fish caught: 0 Rocks Tossed: 1,000,000

No y2k problems surfaced in this test.

7. March 17 Sunny 74 degrees.

With the weather turning fantastic I had to get away and fish some delayed harvest water. I rigged up with a green woolly bugger but didn't have any luck in the first couple of pools. Some flies were hatching so I switched to an Adams parachute with a GRHE dropper. The fish struck the dry and after catching a few I clipped the nymph. They were looking up and I caught six or seven in a short run. Later I switched back to the woolly bugger and landed several fish that measured 14 - 16 inches. There were several other fly fishermen on the water but it wasn't crowded.

No y2k problems surfaced in this test.

6. March 13 Cloudy - Snow - Rain 34 degrees.

This was the scheduled day for stream sampling in NC. Teams from several TU chapters headed up to the mountains to take water samples, measure pH and collect macroinvertebrats. On our way back to the van, after finishing our first site sample, it began to snow. The large flakes soon blanketed the ground. We headed up the road to our next site, blazing our way in the unexpected spring snow. As we climbed up to 3000 ft the snow fell harder and was now about an inch deep. After studying the topo map we hiked up and over to our second site. It was close to noon when, disappointingly, the snow changed to rain. The stream looked magnificent, with the snow covering the rocks and trees limbs. Having completed the second sample we hiked back to the van and lunch

It was still raining so we decided to fish only until four thirty before heading home. We spread out along the freestone stream. The water temperature was a chilly 35 degrees, but a small rainbow nailed my woolly bugger on my first cast of the day! I climbed up from one small pool to the next, catching rainbows along the. I fished back up to where the van was parked and called it a day. Drank a beer and put on a pot of coffee. My companions arrived shortly after. We did fairly well considering the temperature. I caught a dozen, Bill five, and Allie had one on the line.

No y2k problems surfaced in this test.

5. February 27 Partly Cloudy - Rain 60 degrees.

We headed up to Bevard to take part in the 1999 NC Acidification Study stream sampling class. The USFS, NC Wildlife Resource Commission, Dr. Mark Brenner of Warren Wilson College, and TU have gotten together to sample water quality and macroinvertebrate community status. This is an ongoing project and will involve many NC TU Chapter volunteers. The BRTU team was assigned two streams to sample on March 13th. The short class in proper sampling and collection techniques was very interesting and the results of the "kick sampling" were truly amazing. Large stoneflies, plenty of caddis, mayflies and a few other species were found.

After lunch we headed to a local steam to do a different kind of sampling. The water was running hard, clear and cold (45 degrees). Midges were hatching but no risers were seen. I tried the dry fly thing for a while, but quickly added a #18 beadhead pattern that I tied the night before. That seamed to be the ticket, on the first cast I had a strike and launched a four inch rainbow. On down at another run I hooked a nice 7 to 8 inch rainbow. I thought thing were going to be great. But my luck ran out and over the next several hours I failed to catch another fish. My companions reported similar results. The rain came on harder and I headed back to the van for a beer and then a cup of hot coffee for the three hour haul back home.

No y2k problems surfaced in this test.

4. February 16 Sunny 70 degrees.

I had a memory glitch, about half way to the stream I realized that my vest was in the other car. I took a quick look at my hat and decided that there were a sufficient number of flies on it to make the trip worth while. I only had a couple of hours to fish and nothing was coming of the water, so I tied on a woolly worm and added a short lead head to fish the deep pools and runs. It turned out to be one of those days. I didn't catch anything, lost three flies on submerged logs but still enjoyed the time spent on the water. Got to fix that memory problem.

One y2k problems surfaced in this test.

3. February 11 Sunny 70 degrees.

Imagine driving to a trout stream with the top down and fishing in February in short sleeves, no I didn't take a trip to South America, the weather in North Carolina has been unusually warm with close to record setting temperatures. I had to get out on a stream to enjoy this beautiful weather. I am still working with my new rods so I need to fish a big river; I ended up on the Smith in VA. This river has undergone a number of changes since it reached "world class" status in the early 1980s. Poaching is prevalent; a quick look at the banks reveals their calling card, an empty six-pack and a can of corn. Not only do they poach but they litter as well. The stream may never produce the giant browns that once thrived on the shad that use to come thought the generators, but it can be better if the illegal fishing is stopped. Other fisherman are complaining as well and the Virginia Council is going to address this situation at their meeting on May 8th in Martinsville. See Smith River Action Line.

There was a good hatch of mayflies and midges on the river and a few trout were rising to the early delights. But the rises were few and far between. I tried the dry fly thing for awhile, before switching to a beadhead nymphs. Success, I landed six brown trout that ranged eight to twelve inches. Later in the evening a significant midge hatch occurred, but I didn't spot any trout rising to the evening meal.

No y2k problems surfaced in this test.

2. January 27.

Several other fishermen had the same idea as I, when I got to the K-mart three other guys were in line getting their fishing licenses. One from Greensboro, Burlington and Charlotte. They were headed to the same Special Reg river. When I arrived at the parking spot there was another guy stringing up his rod. Then the newly licensed fishermen arrived, I was surprised to see that one, if not two, were planning to wet wade. To cold for me! I decided to try out my other new rod the Dbl L Bean rod and the 6 wt came in handy as once again the wind was whipping up this river. It made short lining difficult as gusts practically lifted the fly out of the water. In the early going I caught 3 nice browns all about 12 inches. Then thing got real quite on the river. The was a small hatch of midges, but I only saw two fish rise. The air temp was warm but offset by the windy conditions, bright sunlight gave way to clouds and needless to say the water was frigid.

No y2k problems surfaced in this test.

1. January 20.

I won two new fly rods at our TU banquet, a 9ft 6wt LL.Bean and a 9ft 4wt 4pc RLP+ Sage. I put a new Cortland WF Laser line on my CFO III and coupled that with the Sage. I loaded a SA2 6/7 reel with a Cortland WF Laser line and put that on the Bean rod. Now where to go to check out these new rods? I wanted to hit the Smith as its a nice sized stream close by. But the scheduled release was till nine and then I had to be back early for another TU Meeting. Anyway I drove up to some local water that is know to hold some large fish. The air was brisk when I started, but the water was even colder. Today I set aside my Loomis and break in the Sage. As I started fishing a green woolly bugger, I noticed that there didn't seem to be very many fish around. Gradually I added a little more weight to get that bugger down and after some careful casting I managed to coax a brown to take the fly. The fish were hiding under rock and it wasn't easy to find them. But the day was fantastic, as the sun rose the air warmed and felt like spring. Snow still resting in the shade began to melt and join the stream. In one pool the fish began to rise, smacking the water loudly, I could not see anything coming off the water. I rigged up for some emergers even went so far as to use 8x tippet with these tiny CDC pattern. First cast was a little to the left, smack a rainbow snatched something unseen from just below the surface. I waited and cast again, dropping the fly perfectly onto the water, wait, wait, mend, wait... nothing! Then, smack again. This went on for 20 minuets, I changed flies a dozen times to no avail. Then the fish stopped. I switched back to a woolly bugger and promptly landed a 12 inch brown. I'm now a Sage fan.

No y2k problems surfaced in this initial test.

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