Spring is Coming!

Despite the recent weather forecasts spring will eventually arrive to western North Carolina and now is the time to prepare your fly fishing equipment for the up coming season.  A yearly tune-up may save you time and expense on a trip, not to mention the fish you won’t catch due to a piece of neglected malfunctioning equipment.  So clean those reels will a solution of mild soapy water and lubricate all the moving parts.  Remember that a little reel lube goes a long way.   Inspect those rods for sharp edges on the guides and I use a little furniture polish to make the rod look almost new. 

You may also think about tuning up your fly-fishing skills with a one-day or two-day fly fishing school.  Davidson River Outfitters offer classes to assist fly fishers at all levels to improve their fishing skills.  Our two-day classes include a half-day fishing with a guide on our private trophy water.  Our objective is to determine a person’s skill and take them to the next level.  No costs to anglers are our Friday two-hour tune-up sessions given on various topics on selected Fridays.  Ladies, we offer classes specifically to meet the unique needs and learning styles of women and girls while balancing the challenges with fun! Check out our website for a date for a school that meets your schedule or give us a call.  Fly-fishing is a wonderful sport where there is always something new to learn. 

We would love to help you to improve your fly fishing skills and catch more fish!

Lou Barlow, Instructor

Davidson River Outfitters

lou@davidsonflyfishing.com

888-861-0111

Five Helpful Tips for Winter Fishing

Trout have to eat to survive. While we all stop fishing because the weather gets cold, the fish still have to eat; and besides trout are a coldwater fish.  Winter fishing can be some fo the best fishing of the entire year, I enjoy winter fishing probably more than any other time of the year. There are fewer people on the river and the fish I catch are generally larger.  You do have to make some changes to your tactics for the winter though.

1. This is the clearest water of the year. You will need to approach holes cautiously. Fish will spook easier this time of year than any other time. So be sure not to line fish, and be cautious of your shadow spooking fish ahead of you.
2. S L O W down. While most anglers fish just as fast as they do in warm weather, the fish are lethargic and will not run the length of the pool to attack a fly. You may literally have to drift the fly over the fish three times to make him eat it.
3. Know what the fish are feeding on. There are not a lot of insects available to the trout in the cooler water, mainly midges, stoneflies, and a few baitfish or crayfish. There are also some worms available after it rains.
4. Stay in the strike zone, while you will catch a few fish in the winter on dries.  More often than not you will have to add lots and lots of shot to keep you fly in the strike zone.  Generally if you are not hanging on the bottom on occasion then you are not deep enough.
5. While it is tempting to fish very small tippet in the clearer water don’t. There is usually increased water flow, so I typically fish 4x fluorocarbon to my lead fly and 5x to my dropper. This results in fewer lost fish, and fewer lost flies on the bottom.

Good Fishing

Kevin Howell

Davidson RIver Outfitters<-->