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Tyler Legg
Charlotte, NC, United States
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Welcome to THFF.com! Kick your wading boots off and stick around for a while. You'll find content ranging from NC fishing reports, videos, pictures, fly fishing news from around the state/country/world, humor, and even some irrelevant, yet interesting posts.
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Tuesday, September 30, 2008













Above is a picture of the famed Madison Range in Montana. Right in the center of the picture, you can see a distinct treeline bordering the Madison River. I took this one right after a storm blew through.

1.) September is coming to a close, as today is the last day of September, and tomorrow is the beginning of October. Colder temperatures are giving it away. Right now the temperature is 79 as of 3:30, but Friday morning breaks the warm spell, with a forecasted low of 46 here in the Charlotte area. The mountains will be exceptionally cooler. Mt. Mitchell will make it down to only 37 early Friday morning. Folks, it is cold enough to snow at 37. It won't stick to the ground, but the atmosphere is cold enough for snow to fall. If I'm not mistaken the atmosphere must be at the maximum, 41 degrees to support the formation of ice crystals. To bad it will be clear and dry that morning.

2.) Like I said yesterday, I will give a detailed fishing report today. Fishing has still been on the good side. Other than lower than normal flows in many streams, the fish still go after a well presented dry or small nymph. Trying small #16-18 BH PT nymphs will produce fish, as well as a Green Weenie in sizes of 12-16. BWO nymphs will also work, especially in sizes of 16-22. Really any general nymph in sizes 14-18 will get you a few fish.
With the temps sitting in the mid to upper 70's up in the high country, go ahead and try a #12-14 hopper. Most grasshoppers will be out of the grass and gone in about 2-3 weeks due to frost. Also, for some reason, beetles are working. I am going to update the fly chart to the right for the month of October, either today or tomorrow.

Here are a few selected river flows for the USGS water survey.

  • Davidson River (the "D") @ Brevard.....30 cfs

  • Watauga River at Sugar Grove.....52 cfs

  • Oconoluftee River (the 'Luftee) @ Birdtown.....94 cfs

  • Nantahala River @ Rainbow Springs.....45 cfs

  • Cataloochee Creek @ Cataloochee.....17 cfs

  • Tuckassegee River @ Bryson City.....248 cfs

  • South Toe River @ Celo.....111 cfs

Here are a few out of state, but not to far from, river flows.


  • South Fork Holston River @ Damascus, VA.....108 cfs

  • Clinch River @ Tazewell, TN.....132 cfs

  • Tellico River @ Tellico Plains, TN......22 cfs...way below average of 129 cfs.

If you are thinking about taking a trip out to Montana, then here are some water flows.

  • Madison River below Ennis Lake....1,310 cfs

  • Gallatin River @ Gallatin Gateway.....440 cfs

  • Bighorn River @ St. Xavier.....2,740 cfs

  • Big Hole River @ Melrose.....357 cfs

  • Flathead River @ Polson.....7,560 cfs

  • Ruby River @ Alder......157 cfs

3.) From what I've heard the Madison River from the confluence of the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers in Yellowstone, all the way to Three Forks, Montana, are on fire. The Madison, Gallatin, and Jefferson are all fishing very well right now. 1,310 cfs on the Madison vs. 17 cfs on Cataloochee, I think I would rather be out west this time of year. The folks at Madison River Fly Fishing Co. said that the leaves are red and orange, and the nights are starting to get chilly. Montana has had a superb fly fishing season, due to all of the snow melt. They had a record year for stream flows this year, which means it is not very good fishing early, say in May-July, but come October, the fishing is absolutely wonderful. I also would recommend fishing the alpine lakes high up in the mountains. We fished these extensively, and I loved going up to Axolotl Lake every evening and watching the cutthroats rise (more like fly out of the water and land with a big splash) to chironimid adults. Man, was that a fun trip out there.




4.) I have been tying some BWO patterns for the next couple of months. I usually tie them on a #14-18 TMC2457 (scud hook). I use fibers from a pheasant tail as the tail, and then a peacock quill stripped of all the "fuzz". The fly doesn't have a wingcase, but instead a wet fly profile, with Indian Partridge hackle for the legs.




5.) Might post later today...if not then manana.

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