Hot + dry = tough fishing

Low,summer conditions require certain talents

A successful trout-fishing outing during hot and dry summer conditions depends on three factors: when you fish, where you fish and how you fish.

Fishing conditions this summer have been far from ideal because of the lack of rain. Stream levels throughout the mountains have been consistently low, even in the large, valley streams. The Tuckasegee River, one of the largest valley streams in the mountains, often resembles a graveyard of rocks.

At the end of June, the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council had classified four Western North Carolina counties as having severe drought conditions and 10 others with moderate drought conditions. Those 14 counties contain the bulk of the state’s top trout streams. Long-range weather forecasts indicate drought conditions will continue through the summer.

Keeping tabs on water temperatures can improve your catch rate. When temperatures hover in the high 80s and low 90s, streams heat up quickly when the sun gets on the water, and once water temperatures reach the high 60s, trout seldom feed. Ideally, water temps should be in the mid- to high 50s. Streams in the higher elevations that have abundant cover usually have the lowest water temperatures, even during the hottest part of the day.

Low, clear water makes trout extremely spooky, especially wild ones. Keep a low profile and fish upstream so that trout are less likely to see you coming. If you see fish darting when you move in the water, move to the next stretch.

As for when to fish, fishing guides say the earlier the better. Marc Hipp, a veteran guide for Brookings Anglers in Cashiers, said first light to 10 a.m. is the best time to fish because the water has had adequate time to cool off. Hipp recommends long leaders, at least 7½ feet, with a 5X or 6X tippet. Leader length is important, he said, “Because you can hit every spot you think might hold a trout. Keep your casts short and precise,” he said, “and fish the riffles, plunge pools and back eddies behind rocks. If nothing happens, move.”

In hot weather, trout are more vulnerable to stress and should be released quickly, with minimal handling. Hipp recommends using barbless hooks or filing the barbs off regular hooks.

“You may lose more fish that way,” he said, “but at least you hooked it.”

Also, Hipp said, spread your fishing out. If a certain spot produces a lot of fish one day, don’t hit it again the following day.

“Be respectful of the water and the fish,” he said.

Jeff Furman, a guide for Davidson River Outfitters near Brevard, recommends fishing mid-level streams during hot-weather, low-water conditions. These streams, he said, will have more water than high-elevation streams and will be cooler than low-elevation streams. Also, he said, they get less traffic than streams such as the Davidson River.

Two mid-level streams he recommends are Avery Creek and Looking Glass Creek, tributaries of the Davidson River and both in the Pisgah National Forest. Avery Creek, the smaller of the two, is predominantly a rainbow trout stream. While most of the rainbow are small, it does occasionally produce trout in the 12-inch range.

Looking Glass Creek, a major tributary of the Davidson, has rainbow and brown trout, and despite its easy access off US 276, has only moderate fishing pressure.

Shane Buckner of Hunter Banks Outfitters in Asheville is a devotee of the Tenkara style of fishing, which originated in Japan. The Tenkara, a fixed-line, telescopic rod that does not use a reel, allows for a more delicate presentation than a standard rod, Buckner said, and it is especially effective when water levels are low. The rod can be telescoped up to 12 feet.

“You can bow-and-arrow the fly under bushes and places you normally couldn’t fish with a traditional fly rod,” he said.

Buckner also recommends mid-level streams such as the Oconaluftee River, Straight Fork, Bradley Fork, Abrams Creek and Yellowstone Prong, all in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Most of the guides recommended dropper rigs with a dry fly on top and a smaller nymph or terrestrial on the bottom.

Recommended dry flies include a parachute Yellow Sally, yellow Stimulator, parachute Adams, Cahill and Caddis. Recommended nymphs include a Frenchie, Hare’s Ear, Sassi Solution, and a Tokins Soft Hackle in size 16 with a size larger dry fly for the indicator.

When hatches are limited, get out the terrestrials. Trout will feed on any kind of bug you find in the yard, especially ants, beetles, crickets, grasshoppers and inchworms.

Recommended terrestrials include the Jack Cabe Hopper, which is especially effective on wild trout streams, Fat Albert — a beetle imitation — Chernobyl Ant and a floating or sinking inch worm.