Jeffrey Wilkins Fly Fishing Newsletter
Where Fly Fishing is A Professional Passion July 2009
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Dear Friends,
 
I hope that the fishing season is going well for you, things still are fairly wet  in the high country.  Most trout waters are fishing well but the smallmouth fishing is still spotty at best and the past week we have been on some of our favorite stretches and they remain high and colored.   Right now it remains an inconvenience and we are hoping soon that the fishing improves and we can get back to smallie trips too- - -as they are a customer favorite and a favorite of ours as well. 
 
 Our Guided Trip business remains very good and so does our website and online traffic.  The trips have kept Jeff busy, and also getting ready for our upcoming Western Trip (Wyoming) in August.   We are expecting some great fishing particularly the high country fishing, and when I spoke to one of my guide/outfitter friends who will join us, Josh Roth, he said he expects excellent action on the Buffalo, North Fork, and Divide Lake where we'll be doing some of our fishing.  On this years trip it will be Mike and Steve Lalumondier, Dr. Pat Burney, Mikael Tedeborg, and Bob Manning.  Three of the guys I have done Wyoming with before and guided trips, and all five I have done guided trips with.  Should be fantastic.
 
   Our trout trips have been good,  particularly the private water we've been fishing.  One client hooked and played the largest trout (about 14lbs) that I have ever had someone hook, and we also caught 40 fish on the day between 18 and 26/28".  On Friday the 17th I was on the water with a customer of 20yrs, Daryl Knight, and Daryl donned a new cane rod he had built himself, and we assaulted the small private spring creek in Peterstown, WV to the tune of almost 100 fish.  If the count was right I think Daryl caught over 90 fish, all sizes, altogether from 8 to 20 inches, and we had on one 10lb beast that took the money(fly) and ran.....to our dismay.
 
   With the wet weather and cool temps the opportunity to fish private water will continue as the fishing has been great.  Join me fishing over lots of fish, some of them huge, and all in a situation where the whole stream is ours!
 
 
Thanks! and Good Fishing,
 
 
 
Jeff 
 
 
 
 
Mike Worman with a beast 
JWFF Regular customer Mike Workman with a rainbow of 8-9lbs......Jeff Wilkins photo July 17, 2009
 
Fishing Report
Be sure and check out our website fishing report for our most recent trips.   Its been wet but we have still managed to find some good fishing.  You can check it all out  here .
 
 
What the Fishing is Like.....
 
 Wild Waters:  most of our wild waters remain in good shape, water temps will range from mid 50's to mid 60's and that might drop some since we are getting some high 40's to low 50's for nighttime temps.  That is great for our wild waters.  Get out and enjoy some of the pleasant temps- - -the morning might even be chilly- - - -incredible for July!   Best flies:  Dry Attractor patterns, Sulphurs, Anything Yellow, Beetles, Ants, Inchworms, etc., one of the best rigs is a Dry fly with a copper john bead head dropper in size 18 or 20.  It is a killer rig. And another adage, is 'just pick a yellar fly."  Sounds pretty simple and it is but it works.....happens to match a good many of the summertime bugs on our waters. 
 
 VA/TN Tailwaters:  the fishing in TN has continued to be GOOD, and the TVA has even backed off to more normal flows, making it possible to get in a full day's fishing whether wading or floating if you are willing to hop around a bit.  The generation has been a 1 hour pulse in the morning and 1 to midnight.  Sulphurs have been out still, and some good dry fly fishing- - and a good many size 18's too.  Otherwise its been small Bwo's, Blackflies, midges, the usual small stuff when the sulphurs aren't coming off.   On the Watauga for Saturday they were off all day, that is good for wade fishermen.  For that fishing craneflies, small Bwo's, and terrestrials and the usual assortment of midges, small PT's, etc. 
 
  
In VA, the Smith has been decent as well and while the sulphurs are gone except for a little early to mid am activity here and there and on cloudy days, the fish will still respond to a sulphur dry or emerger.  Dry /dropper rigs here and also terrestrials on all waters........
 
 
 
 Release Info   South Holston    Watauga      Smith River
 
 Jackson River- - -- maybe some fishing early and late, and definitely have some terrestrials, but for the most part I'd wait til September when it cools off.
 
Smallmouth Bass: 
the fishing so far this season continues to be spotty, and we've had some decent trips thus far, but so far we've worked for the fish we've caught.  I was out one day this week with Mike Workman and we didn't fare well, catching two on poppers and one that came up on the bug that appeared to be a really large fish.  Other than that it was dead.  Thunderstorms/rain continue to plague the entire area on the New from Independence to Claytor Lake.  Below Claytor you can find some clear water, and I was near Pearisburg on Friday and it was clear despite heavy rains....You can check out more info at the NC Wildlife Commission website.   Right now the ticket is fishing streamers and big uglies, the uglies in dark colors and if they have rubber legs and lead eyes that's all the better.  I wouldn't rule out a few on poppers but I'd definitely not plan on banking the whole trip  on catching them on top
 
   New River NC Flows
 
Local Bass /Panfish:  with cooler temps and the cold fronts coming through its kept things unsettled (again 'cold' is a misnomer, but its the pressure change that is an issue).  But fish are still biting here and there.   Right now you should continue to find some  topwater action early and late as well as a few late.  Now is popper or popper/dropper time and you can have a ball fishing surface bugs.  One trick that often works on warmwater fish is to slow down your presentation, downsize your offering, and fish slowly and methodically close to cover.  During and after a cold front bass tend to relate closely to cover and will often respond to a smaller fly and a more deliberate presentation and are often unwilling to "chase" or "attack" anything.
 
 
 Articles You May Find Interesting:
 
Water Temperatures and Trout  click here
 
A Guide's Perspective   click here
 
Tips on Fishing Low Water Conditions   click here
 
Favorite Leader Recipes                      click here
 
 
 Private Water
 
On Monday of last week Mac Cheek and I fished near Rocky Gap, VA and caught 15-20 fish, it was hot and we caught one large fish, a 20 inch rainbow.  On Wednesday Mike Workman and I fished one of our other private accesses and the water was finally down and cleared up, we caught about 40 fish in total from 18-26/28", 3 fish of near 8-9 lbs and had one come off at the end that was near 12-14lbs by my estimation and would have been the largest rainbow I have ever had a customer land.  A couple of the fish we did land though were huge too, click here for a short clip of one of those battles.  On Friday we finished the week with a trip to Peterstown, WV to fish a little spring creek I have access to.  Daryl Knight was my client for the day.  Daryl has been a customer of 20yrs and we had a phenomenal day catching  fish from 8-20", and a lot of them on large dry flies, Daryl caught just under 100 fish.  And all in total solitude and having the whole creek to ourselves.  To read it all visit our fishing reports page here .
 
Coming up in the next few weeks will be a prime time to sample some of this great water and fishing.  One of the streams I will continue to guide on will fish red hot no matter how hot and dry the weather gets.  So if you get tired of fishing low, clear water with skittish fish then join me for a day on the wonderful spring creek water.....you will be amazed how such a small stream can have numbers and sizes of fish you will catch.  To book a trip while there are still days open click here
 
Tips:  Killer Fly Combos for Summer Fishing...
 
Smallmouth - a Size 6 or 8 popper with a black rubberleg bug as a dropper ; tie a 18-20" piece of 2x or 3x for the dropper.  Another good dropper fly is a size 8 rubberleg hares ear, as well as a large prince nymph w/long rubberlegs.  This is a good rig for using some of those big Montana/Western stonefly patterns that maybe you bought way back when and have never used.
 
VA Tailwaters -  Elk Wing Caddis size 18 and a #20 Red or Green Copper John dropper tied 18-20" off the hook bend.  CDC Sulphur size 18 with a size 20 brassie or red wire brassie or zebra midge as the dropper.
 
TN Tailwaters - size 16 or 18 CDC Sulphur Dun or emerger with a PMD Split case size 18 tied 18-20" off the bend of the hook.  Also, the same sulphur on top but with size 20 Baetis nymph as a dropper.
 
Small Streams - Elk Wing Caddis size 14 or 16 with a #18-20 Red or Copper Copper John as a dropper.  Black Gnat Parachute size 14 with a wet Black ant dropper size 16 or 18.
 
Pond Fishing - for bream try a popper with a size 12 or 14 fur or epoxy ant dropper 18" off the bend of the popper.  For bass just use a larger popper and either a black ant (yes, trophy and even 10lb bass will eat an ant....who knows why but go figure) or a rubberlegs bug or something with rubberlegs on it.
 
Any Water:  Tie a large nymph or small streamer then another streamer about a foot to 15 inches behind it.  The larger end fly appears to be chasing the lead fly and often a large fish isn't going to stand for a little fish getting a meal before him....try it it works..
  
Great Tips on Fishing droppers  click here . 
 
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Even though things have been very busy we've still been working to keep a regular fishing report and e-news coming out.    Check out our Fishing Reports web page here to see what type of fishing we have been doing.  Also, we regularly update our available Guide Trip calendar on our Guide Service page here .  Our Fall bookings are already pretty good and the best times are filling already.
 
Until next time, we hope you have some great fishing and catch some nice fish.  And by all means, if you catch one worth bragging about, don't keep it to yourself, let us know!  Best of fishing to you in the coming months and see you on the river.....   I wish you and your family a blessed summer fishing season. 
 
May your casting loops be tight and all your hatches match...
 
Tight Lines & Threads......
 

jeffsig

Jeffrey Wilkins Fly Fishing
3703 Windspray Court
Summerfield NC 27358
:: 336-644-7775
 
 
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 beetle_summerfield
A pair of brown trout morsels, or rather any trout morsels,
 but browns are my preference...Jeff Wilkins photo July 2009