Well, Stone Mountain was on fire today folks. The temperatures were in the mid 60’s most of the day, with overcast skies. My kinda weather!! Water temps were in the mid 50’s, which means wader season is here and wet wading can be eliminated until next summer. Most of the folks visiting the park were hiking and searching for wildlife. I did see a handful of other fisherman, but the pressure was low. I was fisihng the East Prong Roaring River, where the recently stocked water gave way to excellent fishing. The fish (I’d say 90% of them were Brookies) were a little cautious about grabbing my fly, but that’s what makes fly fishing fun. I ended up catching about a dozen, while missing literally 60-70 fish. They were rising to dries and taking small nymphs. One fish was unusually large. I saw him rising and tailing in calm, shallow water, only 10 inches deep or so. I tossed a #8 olive Slumpbuster streamer over to him and slowly stripped it in. Not too long after the fly hit the water, he swallowed the fly and I set the hook. Apparently he was a pretty smart fish, as he wiggled free and swam back down to his hole before I was able to bring him in. On 6x tippet and the absence of a landing net, I wouldn’t have got him in close enough. (I didn’t expect to hook up with anything big enough to need a net). My dad and I agreed he was probably 21-22 inches.

1.) Off to Stone Mountain tomorrow afternoon to take advantage of the recently stocked East Prong Roaring River. The Davidson River (AKA “the D”) was another option, the Mitchell River was the next. It’s going to be NICE tomorrow…Especially up in the mountains, with lower 70’s for highs and mid to upper 40’s for lows. The temps are ideal for trout right now. Not to hot, not to cold. I’m tempted to fish some wild trout water such as Garden Creek. Don’t know if I will yet. I really don’t care where I fish…As long as there’s fish and I’m out of town for a while.

2.) Yesterday afternoon, I met with the Public Works Director, the Storm Water Manager, and two guys who work in the Public Works department in Kannapolis. We discussed my plan, layout, and what could be done on Roger’s Lake Branch over deer jerky. Man alive, one of the guys, Henry, can make some pretty mean deer jerky. I’m a big fan of deer and elk meat, so I jumped when he offered me some. Anyways, the storm water manager was able to tell me where all of the major water lines were, so I wouldn’t have to worry about rupturing one of them and creating another Mississipi River. They told me that the silt fences surrounding the stream could be removed, so I told them I would take them out. It’s all falling in line!! Nothing looks to be holding us back…

1.) Off to Stone Mountain tomorrow afternoon to take advantage of the recently stocked East Prong Roaring River. The Davidson River (AKA “the D”) was another option, the Mitchell River was the next. It’s going to be NICE tomorrow…Especially up in the mountains, with lower 70’s for highs and mid to upper 40’s for lows. The temps are ideal for trout right now. Not to hot, not to cold. I’m tempted to fish some wild trout water such as Garden Creek. Don’t know if I will yet. I really don’t care where I fish…As long as there’s fish and I’m out of the “big city” of Kannapolis.

2.) Yesterday afternoon, I met with the Public Works Director, the Storm Water Manager, and two guys who work in the Public Works department in Kannapolis. We discussed my plan, layout, and what could be done on Roger’s Lake Branch over deer jerky. Man alive, one of the guys, Henry, can make some pretty mean deer jerky. I’m a big fan of deer and elk meat, so I jumped when he offered me some. Anyways, the storm water manager was able to tell me where all of the major water lines were, so I wouldn’t have to worry about rupturing one of them and creating another Mississippi River. They told me that the silt fences surrounding the stream could be removed, so I told them I would take them out. It’s all falling in line!! Nothing looks to be holding us back…

3.) I’ve noticed that there are more and more folks using and switching to WordPress. I decided to start another blog over on WordPress. It’s still called Tar Heel Fly Fishing, but it looks a little different. There’s a lot of helpful stuff and extra things WordPress developers have created. Check the other blog out here. If you have any concerns, questions, or comments shot me an email. I’m experimenting more than actually transitioning…

So, off too the river tomorrow afternoon, might begin the project later tomorrow when back, might hold off until Monday. If you see a silver Nissan Pathfinder with a GTNP (Grand Teton Nat’l Park) decal on the back, stop and say hello…More tomorrow when back

The day has come and I have decided to create a WordPress blog. If you are a regular follower of my other blog www.tarheelflyfishing.com, don’t worry…I’ll still update both periodically. If you have any suggestions, comments or questions, pless feel free to leave a comment or shot me an email at thflyfishing@aol.com

1.) I’m getting deeper and deeper into the planning of the upcoming stream restoration project for one of my classes (read the previous post for specifics). I’m meeting with our Director of Public Works and the Storm Water Manager of Kannapolis Friday afternoon, to discuss the plan, the possibilities and the limitations that could stop certain jobs (such as extending the section of the stream into private property) from being carried out.

Here’s some before pictures I snapped a few days ago of Roger’s Lake Branch…

As you can see in these pictures there’s a good amount of trash that needs to be picked up.

With it being fall, we are transitioning from warm temps to cold temps. This means that I just have to slide my waders on when it gets into the lower 20’s in November. If I would have chosen a fall garden, it would have been very risky, since the class started after the preferred date to start a garden. Roger’s Lake Branch, usually freezes over night when temps get into the teens during the winter, so this may be the only problem. Last year, I was fishing Roger’s Lake in early January with 13 degree temps early in the morning. Between navigating through sheets of ice and deep pools, I managed to catch several half frozen bluegill.

Anyways, hope everything falls into place with the project and nothing turns for the worst…

Found a thread/fishing report here on the Southeast Fly Fishing Forum that illustrates what the Davidson River looks like during 2,500 cfs flows…This is amazing…High water does make for some excellent streamer fishing. Leave the 6x in the car!! I need to get over there to try for a big one on 2x and a #4 streamer!!

1.) I can’t for the life of me remember what the sun is. It’s been cloudy and dreary for the past week or so. There was some sun on Sunday (Sun on Sunday…what a coincidence). I’m looking out the window now and all I see is gray skies. It hasn’t been raining in the Charlotte Metro area, most of the rain has stayed west of us. It’s like were living in the Pacific Northwest. We need rain…Not cloudy skies without precipitation!! It looks like the sun will dominate the day next Monday, but until then, cloudy and dreary skies will prevail. On the positive side of things, today is the first day of Fall. 10:34 AM marked the turnover from Summer to Fall. Next week looks cooler, according to the 15 day forecast. upper 30’s for lows and 60’s for highs. The best time to fly fish here in the state (especially for streamer enthusiasts) is in the Autumn months.

2.) I was able to fix the blog difficulties yesterday. I needed to renew the domain which only last annually. Lance Milks (his blog is here) emailed me yesterday because the blog was down. I checked and sure enough, “Tar Heel Fly Fishing” was now a random webpage/advertisement. It came to me that the domain has probably expired. I renewed it and an hour later the blog was back up and running smoothly. It scared me for a second, as I didn’t know if it could be fixed our not. Sorry for the hold up, I’m sure some folks are thinking Tar Heel Fly Fishing is gone…It’s not!!

3.) I checked the water levels which are VERY high in Western NC. The Davidson River is blown out. Currently it has receded back down to 1,010 cfs (I know what you’re thinking…Receded?!?! To 1,010?!?!). Folks, average for the “D” is a mere 83 cfs. The water levels spiked to nearly 6,000 cfs yesterday evening. For a brief hour or two, the NWS Flood Stage was reached on the Davidson. Has anyone ventured over that way during all of the heavy rain?

1.) It’s been pretty warm in the Carolina’s today. Mid 80’s prevailed across the Tar Heel State. It really wasn’t bad weather wise, with relatively low humidity levels thanks to a dry air mass. The ten day suggests a pretty steady trend in the upper 70’s and into the 80’s. A wedge or two (cold air damming event) may disrupt consecutive 80’s. If you’re venturing out to the stream, river, or lake, low water will be a major problem. The Davidson River is flowing at 32 cfs, average to date is 89 cfs. 6x-7x tippet is almost a must in these conditions, so unfortunately 2x ain’t gonna fly. Given the first frost hasn’t “frosted” yet, terrestrials are still on the menu for most fish up in the high country.

2.) DH is starting back soon (October 1st). I’m ready for some delayed harvest fishing. A friend of mine said he went up to Stone Mountain to fish one of the wild streams (Forgot which one he told me). He said he caught several smallish wild rainbows on dries. He and I agreed DH needs to start soon!!

3.) It’s almost the 1 year anniversary of Tar Heel Fly Fishing. I posted the first post on September 20th of last year. It’s been a fun ride in the Blogging world. I hope to keep the blog up and running for years to come. I signed up with Sitemeter back in roughly early January. Sitemeter tracks and records visits from folks. 4,612 visits and 7,496 page views, with a combined 12,108 visits/views since January. It’s all because of the support and my readers, who keep coming back. Thanks again folks for a great first year…I’ve received countless emails from folks that really enjoy reading the blog. These emails keep the drive going. Thanks again folks!

1.) I’ve been on my toes the past few weeks. School has been taking away from the blogging world. Haven’t had much of a chance to get away from it all. Projects and major assignments are now being assigned, which will take away even more blogging time. I’ve got an SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience) project that’s being planned out. I’m still not sure what to do, but, I’m thinking it will relate to fishing in some way, shape, or form. I’ve thought about heading back to the Smokies to help with the brook trout restoration project on Lynn Camp Prong. As long as the project pertains to wildlife, conservation or general agriculture it’s accepted. Stream restoration on Irish Buffalo Creek which runs behind my house is another project. It’s a real possibility, and would not be “just another science project”. I would have to obtain permission through the county and the Soil and Water Department. I’ll probably contact our local Trout Unlimited chapter here in Cabarrus County. If this becomes reality, I’ll concentrate on restoring a section of Irish Buffalo, making it more suitable for the native bluegill and bass that inhabit it, and making not only the stream better, but the surrounding riverbanks and adjacent areas more suitable for other folks and for wildlife. Before and after pictures are a necessity for this project, which shows progress. So, I’ve got some work to begin in the coming days/weeks/months.

2.) College football’s here!! I’ve seen/heard of some major blow-outs today. Here’s a few final blow-out scores…

Florida/Charleston Southern….62-3. ~Florida

Notre Dame/Nevada…..35-0. ~ND

North Carolina/Citadel…..40-6. ~UNC

Vanderbilt/Western Carolina….45-0 ~Vanderbilt

Kentucky/Miami (OH)…..42-0 ~Kentucky

Tennessee/W Kentucky….63-7 ~Tennessee

Boston College/Northeastern…..54-0 ~BC

Montana (GO GRIZ!!)/Western State….38-0 ~Montana

My grandad who is a graduate of Baylor University down in Waco, TX, had tickets to the Baylor-Wake Forest game, so we all were up in Winston Salem for that game. 24-21, Baylor…It started out gruesome if you’re a Deacs fan, but eventually winded down to a 3 point difference, which is not bad at all. If it would have been 65-3 it would have been pretty horrible.

Just walked in the door from a 3 night camping trip at Elkmont in the Smokies. The first day and night (Tuesday) was not bad weather-wise. There was off and on showers, with a lot of low lying fog, but it was a good opening day for the trip. Wednesday was overcast and intermittently rainy, which is perfect for fly fishing. Wednesday night was pretty miserable, as a severe t’storm caused rain to pond under the tent. I’ve never heard thunder that loud before. It echoed across the valley and mountains. Scared the mess outta me… Anyways, the condensation from the heavy rain caused the inside of the tent to become soaking wet. We woke up to water all over the floors and the sleeping bags. Tents are usually able to withstand rain, but not rain falling at 2″ an hour. Last night was a lot better, without rain and thunderstorms.

Dinner…and gosh was it good!!!

I took off to fish Little River under the bridge at the campground. Caught several small rainbows all on dries, all in the late evening around 7:45.

Right on the river!! I had to be careful where I stepped if I got out of the tent in the dark… 5 ft and I would be in the river…

The Light Cahills were an abundance…No really, they were everywhere…

Don’t exactly know what this mayfly was. Looks like either a Brown Drake or a Mahogany Dun. Any aquatic entomologists with answers?

Tying up one of my newest creations: The Foam n’ Hair Caddis

The premier fish of the entire trip (heck the whole Summer!) I caught this guy between Metcalf Bottoms Picnic area and “The Sinks” on Little River. He fell for one of my #6 bright green caterpillar flies made solely of Furry Foam. The first cast was all it took. I saw a large white mouth open as my fly drifted through a deep run. I knew he had my fly so I set the hook and he let some rage out. I initially thought it was a large rainbow, because of the jumping this fish did. I’ve never seen a brown trout jump as high as this fella did. He cleared the water several times. I had to remind myself that this was trout on Little River, not tarpon at Boca Grande. Now, the size of this fish is nothing special on the South Holston River in TN or the Davidson River in NC. By Smokies standards it’s a good fish.

Mt. Leconte shrouded with low lying clouds

Newfound Gap

Summary: Counting down the days until the next trip to the park…