New to this board! Nice!

[NCMitch]

I am glad I finally bothered to see what BRFFF actually stood for!  Great site and is actually reasonably local for me.  (Greensboro, NC).

I fish The New, James and some Blue Ridge trout streams.  I do have a double yak but do most of my fishing wading.  To be honest 5-6 trips a year is all I get with kids, sports, school stuff, etc  (oh yeah ... my work too).  I am looking forward to learning a lot from this site and I hope I can contribute in some way down the road. 

Thanks for all the work you guys all put in here.  It shows.

NCMitch
Greensboro

PS:  Trying to get away after church this sunday.  Any suggestions on The Smith?  May hit The New but appears a bit high and I am guessing somewhat muddy due to recent, rapid rise.  Still a couple days out though.  Never fished the Smith.  Talked about it a lot but never pulled the trigger.

[Woolly Bugger]

Welcome Mitch,

stick around and we can fix that 5-6 trip and at least double it...hehehehe

Pleant of water on the Smith to fish, they are generating on the w/e now so be sure to call before you go...

I was thinking about the New on Sunday too.. but we'll have to see what the water is like then... Smith may be a back up...

[NCMitch]

Are there areas one should fish when they are generating.  I guess I really should know where NOT to be!   Looks like the allieworm and the green weenie are "must haves" on the Smiff.  I am typically a "hopper-dropper" kinda guy.  Hey, your strike indicator might as well have a hook in it! 

Has Kibler Valley area been reopened on the Dan yet (of course... never been there either)

I typically wade fish the public put ins on The New north of Galax/Hillsville, etc.  We shall see.  40% chance of tstorms combined with an afternoon only opportunity doesnt look too good.  Cant afford to blow a rare shot then get rained out.  Like we said... still a ways off yet. 

Thanks
NCM

[phg]

When generating, the Smith is not fishable with a flyrod.  You might be able to do some good fishing the edges with a spinning rod, but you will be standing up the bank in the trees. 

[Woolly Bugger]

It's all about timing.....there are many part of the river that are fishable even during generation. You just have to know how long it take the water to get on down stream.
And after the generation you can fish up close to the dam as the water receeds...

Al is the expert on how long it takes the water to get to various parts of the river... and he had a great post about that but it's been lost on a site that went down....


I'll assume that you're watching the USGS site at Galex to keep an eye on the river. We floated 2 week ago @ 1700 and it was stained but very fishable...

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/va/nwis/uv?03164000

[NCMitch]

Sunday is probably off as of now but still hopeful.  Yes the Galax gage is the one we use.  I have fished 1500-1800 and been fine.  However, I like to see my feet when wading.  Though after a few trips (no pun intended) I am comfortable in the area we normally fish. 

Where do you guys fish the James?  The few times I have gone have been through Wilderness Outfitters (Dick Pickle) in the Natural Bridge area.  He is located next to that JellyStone  or Yogi Bear campground.  New batch of canoes and kayaks this season, decent floats, decent primitive camping - NICE RIVER!

Hipe to see you guys somewhere, sometime.  The Smith is high on my list.  Soon very soon.

Later
NCMitch

[Woolly Bugger]

I've been to the James twice, the first time we floated from Springwood to Buchanan (http://www.kbrcomm.com/btwc/ff2003/fflog2003.html Trip #10) and then this past trip was from Horseshoe Bend to Springwood.

Our next float trip my be on the James; Scottsville to Hardware River W.M.A