The western NC rivers and streams have boasted some fantastic fishing conditions as of lately. Nice weather will end abruptly with deteriorating conditions as we head into tomorrow as a storm system will deliver heavy rains and possible thunderstorms into the region. This usually equates to higher flows and tougher than average fishing conditions. When we see heavy rains on area rivers and streams, deep nymphing with large, buggy stoneflies or dead drifting gaudy streamers through deep runs are usually the best bet in terms of catching fish. It does look like a sizable amount of rain will fall tomorrow across the Tennessee Valley and into the Carolinas, so rivers will be nearly guaranteed to rise; rapidly in some cases.

In most rivers 4x-5x tippet is small enough. The Davidson River being the only exception as the D is running crystal clear, so 6x-7x here (that'll change come tomorrow).

All of the area DH streams are fishing very well. Fish are being caught on Y2K's, San Juan Worms, egg patterns, Copper Johns, Princes, Hise's Hex, Woolly Buggers, etc. They shouldn't be too tough to entice. If you notice BWO's hatching, don't hesitate to tie on a para BWO or an emerging BWO. The best set-up right now looks to be a #10 Woolly Bugger as the point fly with a smaller nymph (ie Princes, San Juans, Y2K's, CJ's, etc) as the lead fly. Don't be too surprised if you even catch fish on a #16 Elk Hair Caddis or a Stimulator. Stocked fish tend to tolerate cold weather better than their wild counterparts, thus they tend to become liable to rising to bugs on the surface.

See ya out on the river,
Tyler Legg