1.) Man alive am I glad it's Friday. I have 2 weeks off, so I will be out of town to see family in Tennessee. I may squeeze in a little fishing, but can't tell for sure. I should post a few times during next week, but don't know. If you have the chance, go fishing up in the mountains. It hasn't been this warm since what, Halloween? The water temps are PERFECT right now... most streams are in the 60's, with mid 50's in the higher elevations. Water level is at it's best, and most trout streams are at or a little above average. Here's a few of the popular stream's water levels...

• Davidson River @ Brevard...119..average is 111 cfs
• Watauga River @ Sugar Grove...125...average is 140 (not bad at all)
• Tuckasegee River @ Cullowhee...771...average is 441 (mostly because of the generators
• Jacob Fork @ Ramsey...32 cfs...average is 38 cfs
• Nantahala @ Rainbow Springs...249...average is 200
• South Toe River @ Celo...188...average is 114
• Oconaluftee River @ Birdtown...720...average is 535
• Cataloochee Creek @Cataloochee NC...173...average is 97

With all of this "higher than normal" water, use large nymphs and streamers, and watch for BWO's. Also don't be surprised if other bugs hatch out that aren't supposed to due to the warm weather. All of the warmth will come to an end starting Monday, as temps will take a dive to into the upper 30's for highs on Monday. Christmas Eve will be cool with a few showers for the fat guy in red, looks like mid 50's, and Christmas will be dry with mid 50's.

2.) Montana and Richmond play this evening in the FCS Championsip game. I hope Montana will take a win back to Missoula, they've done very well this season.

3.) Finally, the Panthers play on Sunday night in the Meadowlands against the 11-3 Giants. I will be glued to the TV.

Here's a few pictures from my last trip to the Smokies for a little fishing. All of these pics (and fish) were taken on the Little River, not far from the Tremont Institute inside the park.

Just got an email from Simms, and they were advertising all of the great new gear coming straight out of Bozeman, MT. Their new StramTread wading shoes are new and are already on their site ready to be ordered. Simms is a great fly fishing company. They really do their best to bring the upmost quality in ALL of their products. Try a pair of G4's on or slip on one of their Freestone wading shoes. Trust me, you won't be dissapointed.

It's that time of year. Yes Christmas, but to us fly fisherman, Winter brings these two reliable aquatic insects: the Blue Wing Olives (Baetis) and midges (Diptera). In fact, these two aquatic insects may be the only consistent bugs hatching throughout the winter in NC. Sure, you may see small Black Stones or even early Quill Gordons sporadically hatching on the river if water temperatures are at 50 degrees of above for a week. If you have lived in North Carolina for a period of time you know that the weather is very unpredictable. We can get a full fledged snowstorm one day and then 3 days later make the transition to 50's and 60's for highs with sunny skies. Always be prepared...


---Blue Wing Olives---
BWO nymphs are swimmers, which means they can freely swim in the stream by use of their strong tails to propel themselves. Olive's tend to hatch when the water temperature is hovering at or above 40 F. They also tend to hatch when the weather is cloudy and rainy. These bugs are usually small. They can grow to about a #16 (which is large), but #20-24 "ish" are more abundant. Like all members of the Ephemeroptera family or mayfly family, the BWO's life cycle consists of 8 stages. First the eggs hatch into young nymphs that migrate to the underside of a submerged rock. The nymph then matures, while at the same time growing in size. The nymph makes a run to the surface of the stream after hatching from the egg. This time the insect emerges from it's nymphal shuck, and "stands" in the surface film to dry it's wings. This stage is it's Dun or subimago stage. The subimago stage is represented by a dry fly, which "stands" on the water. After this, the BWO will crawl onto streamside vegetation and completely shed it's nymphal shuck. Large groups of BWO's then mate and lay their eggs. At this stage they are called spinners, and are recognized by their transparent wings. The Spinner stage is followed by death, and the dying mayflies lay on the water, with their wings flat across the water's surface. The Emergence stage through the Spinner stage is completed in one day. Sometimes only hours.


---Midges---
Midges are extremely important to trout in the long, cold, lifeless winters of the environment they live in. People often mistaken these bugs with the common mosquito. Both are extremely similar in size shape and life cycle, but midges don't bite; their harmless. Midges will hatch regardless of the temperature, thus giving the trout a constant food source throughout the winter. The life cycle of a midge is a little different than mayflies, as these guys are similar to caddisflies. They have a larval stage, where they bury themselves in the riverbed, usually in a slow, calm section of the stream. After this stage, they transform into a pupae, and swim to the surface. This is the most vulnerable stage where a trout will happily pick them out before the insects make it to the surface. The bugs that make it to the top, will hatch into adults. Most midges are in the 20-28 size range. Although, a few species of midges can grow to a size 16 or 14. But, your common midge is going to be tiny. Griffith's Gnats, midge dries, and midge clusters are ideal flies for the adult stage, while disco midges and Zebra Midges are great for the larval and pupal stages.

I hope this has cleared up two of the most important aquatic insects that you will likely encounter, if you fly fish in the cold and snow.