Watauga County 5/6/2006

[quercus]

Left the house at 6:00 a.m. to meet Busta in Wilkesboro. I piled my gear in his Jeep and we were on the road again by 7:00. Busta informed me that we were gonna hit two streams today,one tiny, the other more open,neither of which I'd fished. I'm always down to hit new water,especially when you have the opportunity to fish it with a buddy who also happens to be a guide.
After winding through several backroads we came to the first stream of the day. It was a small flow with banks choked of Alder and Hornbeams which formed a canopy over the diminutive stream where trees from one bank often joined seamlessly with those from the other, forming extremely narrow lanes for casting. Bow and arrow casts from the kneeling position were often necessary just to get the flies under the low overhang. Busta had an extensive knowledge of the of the stream that led to early hookups. We both fished a dry and dropper most of the morning with excellent results. More fish were taken on the dropper but we took several nice fish on top. All of the fish were beautifully colored and indisputably wild. Most were chunky and in the 6-8" range and with a few exceeding that. I think Busta may come along with pics. They were all healthy and well fed from the abundance of insects in the stream. We started turning over rocks and found insane numbers of both caddis larva and mayfly nymphs along with a large yellow stonefly nymph in about a size 10; a big bug for such small water. We both recorded a slam, landing brookies,rainbows and browns.
I gotta tell y'all that Busta is one of the best small stream fisherman I've fished with. As y'all know,small,brushy streams present unique casting challenges . You may know where the the trout dwell,but the problem is getting the fly to them without first snagging one of the many obstacles willing to eat your fly. I reckon Busta could pick a deadbolt lock from 8 feet with a size 14 Mr. rapidan.
We fished till around 1:30 before breaking for lunch. Busta allowed me one kind beer to wash down the Cheesesteaks. After the grub we hit another stream. It was alot more open and actually allowed for a backcast. The water was much larger without many rises and we switched to double nymph rigs. We were rewarded with many nice wild browns and bows brought to hand. Many of the bows launched themselves into the air, feet above the water several times before landed. A couple snapped our 5x with ease. Busta finished the day hooking up with A nice brown on a dry as the the sun was sliding behind the hills. It was an excellent day on the water with numerous wild and feisty fish brought to hand. I'm glad I put off mowing the yard till Sunday.

[Woolly Bugger]

sounds like a good urn and the spring weather was perfect ... unlike today.. :(

[troutjedi]

Got any GPS coordinates you'd like to share?

harharharharharharhar 

[quercus]

Sorry Jedi,Busta made me take a vow of silence .

[Woolly Bugger]

Got any GPS coordinates you'd like to share?

harharharharharharhar 

try this UTM 17 489503E 4034773N (WGS84/NAD83)

[Busta Brown]

As Q has said we had a great day. I feel I have been blessed to be born here and learn the streams of this area. I also have been lucky enough to make friends like Q who share my fly fishing passion. Q is and intense fly fisherman.

Jeff

[troutphisher]

Sounds like you both  had a great day, those kind of days are the ingredients of great memories.


It just doesn't get any better than that.  0--0