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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.
Have a question, comment, fishing report, or a few suggestions regarding THFF or fly fishing in NC? Feel free to e-mail me at wncflyfishing@gmail.com
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Wednesday, July 1, 2009
1.) With my 6 wt in hand, I hit the Hiwassee River early this morning. It was a somewhat cool morning, the dew had yet to evaporate and the intensity of the sun was low. I pulled up just downstream of Appalachia or just a mile or so upstream of Big Bend. I got out of the car and watched the mighty Hiwassee for any rises. About 25 ft from shore, I saw a small rainbow feeding on emerging olives. I wanted to see if the fish would take a small # 18 Mr. Rapidan, so I rigged up, suited up into my Simms and half walked/half crouched down to the water's edge. The wild Hiwassee bow was still sipping small olives from the surface film. I waited for him to rise again, then once he made a subtle rise, I gently made 2 false casts and a very light presentation. Since the water the fish was holding in was slack and calm, drag was not a problem; ...stealth was the problem. I new the fish that I was targeting was on the small size, so 6x tippet was more than enough. I let the fly drift to the rising rainbow. Eventually the fly was on top of him, so his first reaction was to investigate the potential morsel. He slowly drifted towards the fly and with a light sip he plucked it from the surface. I set the hook, but instead the fly flew back in my direction. I had evidently pulled the fly away from him. I shrugged it off and quickly made another gentle cast back to his immediate area. With one strike on this fish, my second try was successful. He grabbed the fly with reckless abandon. Instead of a gentle rise, it was more like a very aggressive and frustrated rise. I saw his white mouth engulf my dry and I waited 2 seconds and then set the hook. The fight was on! A small rainbow can sure fight pretty hard for it's size. I brought the fish to my net and released the 11 inch rainbow unharmed. Soon after I heard a loud splash ahead of me, so I figured the BWO hatch was really starting to crank. A waded to the middle of the river and made a few casts to a rising brown. I had to pack it in a little earlier than planned, as TVA decided to generate a little bit earlier than scheduled (TVA's on THEIR schedule...They don't always follow the exact generation times.) I looked upstream and saw a wall of water building up, so I had to run to the bank before it made it down to my position. I noticed that rocks previously out of the water, where now entirely under the surface. I really started running now. Once I crawled onto the bank, the water started to rise rapidly and I knew wading in this section wouldn't be very wise. So, from then on out, I've been tying and stocking up on Isonychias, which are plentiful here on the Hiwassee. In short, I believe I've found a pretty fair spot. I'll be back on the Hiwassee most likely early next week. Maybe earlier....

2.) I swung by Hiwassee Anglers to buy leader, a few tippet spools, and a few flies. The guy that rung me up, asked if I was from NC, I said yes sir, visiting family here in TN for the Summer. He replied "I read your blog while I'm here at work." I thought the rainbow I caught earlier made my day up until now....I told him, "well, I've had the blog since September". Over the past few months, I've had a few people stop me and ask if I am "Tar Heel Fly Fishing". There was a couple of folks at Troutfest that asked if I was from NC and if I had a blog called Tar Heel Fly Fishing. It's mind boggling how many people I'm reaching through Blogger. I have a feeling THFF will be around for a long time. Every time I look at the latest Feedjit data, I notice the same people, or people from the same town coming back frequently (sometimes daily) to see what mayhem arises on my fishing trips. I enjoy receiving feedback from readers. It's a sure way of connecting with my readers and noticing any problems or suggestions. So, any comments, questions, suggestions, rants or reports feel free to share.

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