Just looking at the 10 day makes you cringe. A pre-summer heat wave is on the way, just in time for the weekend. Mid 90's in the Piedmont with high humidity is flat out miserable. Heat and humidity is a common occurrence here in the Tar Heel State though. Thankfully it will only last a few days. If you want to escape the heat, go up high. The highest peak in the eastern US, Mt. Mitchell, is a refugee for cool weather seekers. Mt. Mitchell is sitting at 58.8° right now (with stiff 27 mph winds). The summit will see low temperatures in the mid to upper 50's, with low to mid 70's this weekend with a breeze. Stand on the summit and watch the Piedmont sizzle!

The trout are not going to be too happy about the forecasted hot temperatures, but they'll make it. This is exactly why the state makes the transition from DH (release all fish) to Hatchery Supported (keep fish) each year in early June. Most DH fish would not make it through the summer. Wild fish are another story. They'll be fine.

The Green Weenie

Make sure you have a box full of terrestrials. Grasshoppers, inchworms, beetles, and ants are falling into a river near you. Tie on a #10 BLT Hopper or a Dave's Hopper (any hopper pattern will work). Pitch one under the trees and watch the fish fly to the surface. They're listening for the "plop" hoppers make when they clumsily land on the water. Don't worry about delicately placing that hopper on the water's surface like you would with a Parachute Adams. Slap it on the water.

Hise's Hetero-Genius

That's what drives the trout crazy. Just make sure your line doesn't slap the surface though! Fishing is going to the best in the morning, likely slowing down by midday, before cranking back up in the evening. I would fish nymphs in the morning, then switch to terrestrials from 10AM until the evening hatches. Drop a smallish #14-16 Pheasant Tail Nymph, Prince, Copper John, Lightning Bug (or whatever floats your drift boat) behind a hopper to double your chances. Try a Hise's Hetero-Genius. Dave Hise, owner of Caster's Fly Shop created this trout magnet. I told Dave he needs to issue a "license to fish the Hetero" to anyone who fishes it. They're trout-tastic. Another fly that should be in any fly fisherman's box is the Green Weenie. You'll catch fish on GW's all day. Toss one into a river and hang on! With that being said, unless you are fishing the hatchery section of the Davidson, fish a likely looking hole over, if nothing bends your rod, move on to the next hole. If stonefly nymphs are crawling up your legs to emerge if you're not catching anything, move on to the next hole.

Stay cool over the next few days! Share your fishing reports with us!