Memorial Day weekend is upon us. We all know that signals the start of some crowded rivers, lakes, national parks/state parks, and recreational areas. Don't let that scare you though. Believe it or not, it's pretty easy to leave the crowds behind without sacrificing some excellent fishing. In fact some of the best trout fishing in the state can be found in the backcountry right now. With that being said, more easily accessible waters such as the Davidson, North Toe, Nantahala, the Tuck, and many State Park waters, are fishing well. Many anglers would agree that a secluded stream or river well away from other anglers and people adds to the experience.

The unofficial start to summer, or meteorological start of summer, starts tomorrow. Looking at the forecast, it doesn't matter if tomorrow is the unofficial start or not. It's about to get downright summer-like. Many places in WNC are expected to climb well into the 80s throughout the week. Sparse, pop-up t-storms in the afternoon/evening will cool off areas that see them, but count yourself lucky if you're caught in a storm. It looks like the storms will form and roll across western NC almost every evening this week. Slightly better chances for them on some days and slim chances on others.

Like mentioned, the wild waters up in the higher elevations are on fire. If you don't mind smaller fish (with some occasional fish of decent size on some waters) head up to a wild stream. DH waters end next Saturday, June 4th by the way, so we have a week to fish them. Check out last week's stocking schedule here. Or you could fish a lower elevation river, such as the Davidson or Nantahala in the morning and then fish wild waters from noon until the end of the day. Water temps are still looking great as well as water levels. The trout are pretty happy right now. With the prolonged hot temperatures and relatively slim rain chances, water temps and levels will change soon. Keep an eye on the water levels by clicking here or choosing a river from the "Stream Levels" tab on the menu bar.

As far as flies go, nymphs in the morning and dries in the late afternoon/evening is best. Try a Prince Nymph, Pheasant Tail Nymph, Lightning Bug, Rainbow Warrior, Green Weenie, Inch Caddis, San Juan Worm, and so on. Switch to terrestrials such as a foam beetle, Extended Body Inchworm, ant, or even a hopper (although it's a bit too early) by noon. By evening, I would switch to dries such as a yellow Stimulator, Elk Hair Caddis, a Yellow Sally pattern, Parachute Adams, or Light Cahill. Green Drakes are hatching according to reports. This is about the time they're seen, so it wouldn't hurt to have a few Green Drake patterns in your box both nymph and dry.

If you'd like some free flies, make sure you enter the contest by either clicking the banner at the top or navigating to the post below. We still have plenty of time, as the contest ends June 21st.

If you head out to stalk some fish, have fun!

Want to win some free Extended Body Inchworms, Vinyl Rib Stones, Nymph Skin Stones, and some "surprise" flies? Here's the low down:

1) Become a follower of THFF in the upper right hand corner of the blog.
2) Have a Facebook account? Like THFF on Facebook.
3) Do you "tweet?" If so, follow on Twitter, for frequent tweets on conditions, waters, tips, etc.
4) Last but not least, leave a comment below. Doesn't matter what the comment says, as long as it's appropriate and clean. Good comments would include "I'd love to win this contest", or "I like fly fishing!" I'll then count up the comments. Then I'll use Random.com's number generator to draw a number. If there's 25 comments and you're comment number 20 and number 20 is drawn, you'll win 2 of each of the following flies and a few "surprise" flies.

Thanks for supporting THFF.com! Good luck! Spread the word! Contest starts now and ends June 21st, the first day of summer.

Extended Body Inchworm

Vinyl Rib Stone

Nymph Skin Stone

We have our fair share of interesting news articles and stories here in NC. Unfortunately, every now and then, we hear the stories we don't want to hear, such as a drowning or missing angler/outdoor enthusiast.

Through Twitter, Facebook, the news, and so on, I've mustered up some recent and very interesting fishing-related news articles. Check them out:

1) A potential world record breaking Redear Sunfish was caught in Lake Havasu in Arizona earlier this month. The monster weighed in at a whopping 5 pounds 8 ounces. Imagine catching this sunny on your 2wt fly rod. Of course in order to show the significance of this fish, the bottom picture is a Redear I caught last month. That fish—caught in a small pond in Virginia—is about average for Redears.





2) Texas is expected to pass the "Liar Law." It will be a felony if you lie about the size of a fish in a tournament. The law would create a new Class A misdemeanor. However, if caught lying at a tournament with $10,000 or more in cash or prizes at stake, it's increased to a third-degree felony. That means 2-10 years behind bars. I haven't found any updates on whether or not Texas Governor Rick Perry has signed the bill, but the fact that the Texas senate unanimously passed the bill has myself (and many others) believing it will be signed (if it hasn't already and I'm simply not seeing the updates).

3) An angler fishing the Jackson River in Virginia, slipped and fell into the river, filling his waders. Luckily the man was pulled to safety by his brother. When your waders fill with water, it's a struggle to stay above the surface. It's one downright scary experience. Read the article here.

1) Highs were in the 40s across some parts of WNC earlier this week. In fact, snow was falling atop Beech Mountain and Mount Mitchell believe it or not. Elevations above about 5,500 ft were, for the most part, cold enough to see some frozen precipitation falling from the sky. While not a common occurrence this time of the year, it's not unheard of. Mount Mitchell has observed snow during every month of the year. The snow didn't last very long and was in, out, and gone quickly. No accumulations during that small window of wintry fun, but it goes to show the weather around here can change in a blink of an eye. Sunny skies, warm temperatures, and overall pleasant conditions in the morning are prone to rapidly change. Especially when cold fronts move in. With that being said, if you enjoy continuous hot, humid, downright muggy conditions, next week is your kind of week. The 7 day is a horror story to cold lovers and music to Al Gore's ears. Low 90s in most Piedmont spots and temps approaching the 90 degree mark in areas such as Asheville, Brevard, and Franklin. Not as bad as you'd think though. Slip your feet into your wet wading shoes and let the cool water of a trout stream wash the heat away.

2) Delayed Harvest waters will be winding down in about 2 weeks. Shortly after DH ends, most streams will be cleaned out. If you're a big DH fan, enjoy the remainder of the 2010-2011 season! Right now, wild waters are on fire. The fish are active and are readily caught on dries (nymphs too, especially in the morning). Try a Pheasant Tail Nymph, Green Weenie, Zug Bug, Lightning Bug, or Prince Nymph. In the afternoon/evening, switch to dries. A#14 Yellow Stimulator, Inchworm, Beetle, Ant, or a Parachute Adams (yellow Para Adams have been working exceptionally well). You're not limited to just those though. Most fish around here, particularly fish that are not pressured as much as others, are opportunistic feeders. This essentially means what it sounds—they will eat anything that looks remotely like food. The higher elevation wild streams typically have a medium to high gradient, so swift water is plentiful. Quick decisions must be made by the trout, or he'll lose his potential meal. Stay low, wear drab, earthtone colors, and avoid splashing. Crawl if you must. If you don't see any fish and don't catch anything, stealth was likely the main culprit. Most fish will flee before you even know they're there, making it seem as if the stream is devoid of trout. Approach your quarry like a heron, cast to them delicately (i.e. picking the fly line off of the water delicately, not slapping it down on the water, etc), and present a decent presentation, and your catch rate should increase tremendously.

3) Enjoy the week! If you head out, we would love to hear about your trip!

Below is a panoramic shot taken along the Foothills Parkway, just outside Great Smoky Mountains Nat'l Park. I took a handful of photos with the DSLR and stitched them together in Photoshop. The results were pretty pleasing...

Words cannot fully describe how epic this weekend has been. Troutfest was incredible, the fishing was great, and the scenery/photographic opportunities were nothing short of spectacular. Met/saw a host of folks at Troutfest and at the shop.

Like mentioned, words can't fully describe the trip. So, here's some pictures. Okay, a lot of pictures. Some were taken with a point and shot, but most were shot with the Canon EOS 20D. Click on them for a larger view.