October 2009 Jeff Wilkins Fly Fishing E-News & Fish 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 .

Something Really Neat Happened Last Week....

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What the Fishing is Like.....

Wild Waters:

Wild waters have been fishing well and should through the end of the month, its still good terrestrial time so make sure you try some ants, beetles, and inchworms. Inchworms have been reliable late season pattern for me lately most places, though that will end soon with the cold weather coming. Also, look for yellow stones to be waning but caddis coming on strong again. A size 16 or 18 Tan Caddis with an Olive Body is hard to beat. Dropping a small nymph that would mimic a fall BWO is a good idea too. The typical rig, Dry on top (Caddis or Stimulator) with a small bead head dropper nymph will work well. One of my favorite patterns is a Beadhead Quasimodo PT, which is basically a curved pheasanttail flashback nymph. In size 18-20 it is a deadly dropper nymph. One other tip, the weather is cooling off so getting out at the crack of dawn isn't necessary. Water temps are touching the low 40's now early in the day and reaching 50-52F in afternoons when we have sun. That means fishing nymphs/subsurface early on then switching to dry when afternoon begins.

VA/TN Tailwaters:
In VA, the Smith River has been fair but will still offer some pm dry fly fishing in the way of tiny Blue Winged Olives 20 and 24, midges, and an occasional black stone size 16/18. Today 10/16, the schedule is on from 5-9pm, Sat/Sun is off, Mon 10/19 and Tues 10/20 5-9pm, and Wed through Fri 10/23 is 6pm -10pm. Perfect for catching the fish eating those little bwos and midges in late afternoon. Dont forget some beetles too, and look for risers in the 'leaflines'.

In TN, the TVA is running 1 unit from 10am -2pm and 1 unit from 5 til 10pm on the South Holston, and the fishing on both high and low flows have been good. On low water, sulphurs still coming off, along with midges (midge pupa), blackflies, etc., and high water sulphurs have been very consistent/strong. Low water I have had some 30 fish afternoons on dry flies, and even more so with the gray skies. On the Watauga its been off from 6am til midnight, nymphing and fishing dry /droppers effective. In some of the tailouts and slow pools terrestrials are doing the trick. As fall comes on expect BWOs to get going again, both #20 and 24, the Wag' traditionally has strong afternoon BWO hatches in the fall so its always a good pm sidebar to the South Holston. Also, don't forget the beetles and ants. Those are not just summer flies, we catch many good fish on them even late until the first few frosts. One thing is for sure, if its not a gray, damp day you'll want to have some emerger patterns as the fish often totally ignore the duns. If you need a good emerger pattern I have just the ticket, contact me if you'd like some. You can contact me here to get more info or to place an order.

Release Info South Holston Watauga Smith River

Jackson River- - -- releasing 192cfs and water temperature around 58F. October is a great month on the Jackson, look for Caddis #14-18 (Little olive caddis), Black Caddis #18-20, small BWO's #20,24, and some mahogany duns too. Dry /dropper rigs like the Smith will work well here. Also, the Jackson can be a good streamer river as well, so be sure and have a few beadhead buggers in black and olive. Terrestrials will still be good for a few fish as well. One of the best all around fall flies here is a parachute Adams in size 18/20.

Smallmouth Bass:
With the coming cold weather, as far as the typical haunts, the usual fly fishing places using the usual flies and tactics I'd say the smallies are done for the year. Not to say you couldn't catch one, just that when the water starts really cooling off the fish are not as aggressive and generally folks fishing hardware or bait will fare much better. In fact, the bait guys fishing live bait usually continue to do well through November.

New River NC Flows

Local Bass /Panfish: local Bass and panfish are hitting pretty well, October and November used to always be second only to February and March for me personally in terms of catching a big bass. Crappie also turn on again and come shallow as the weather cools off. Our lakes are still way low, Townsend looks like it is drying up on the Church Street areas, Lake Brandt is several feet low, but its better than it has been, with West side of 220 bridge finally looking kind of normal again - - - but its still low enough to be a hazard to non discerning boaters. As the water continues to cool, both in the lakes and ponds around the area the bass will be on the move along with everything else.

Private Water

On Monday of this week regular customer Daryl Knight and I fished near Lindside, WV and caught some nice rainbows, including a 27-28 inch 8lb beast of a rainbow, and on a dry fly.

We have uploaded several new video clips to our YouTube channel, you can view them here .

Coming up in the next few months and actually all winter long will be a prime time to sample some of this great water and fishing. We are coming into the peak of Fall leaf season/time and the calendar is filling up for October and November. Fall bookings are up over last year and we'd love to get you a great day on one of the 5 private waters we have available. To book a trip click here.

Used Fishing Equipment

Check out some of the used fly fishing equipment on our used equipment page. Check back often as we are frequently posting new items and some of them are unique finds/deals. Check it out here .

Newsworthy

Upcoming Fly Fishing School This Month

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New on our Website:

Current Fishing Report Information

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Fly Fishing U Some great fly fishing tips

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Fly Fishing Blog

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FALL ESCATAWBA FARMS TRIP
October 21, 2009

Escatawba Farms has become a premium destination for us, and for good reason. The Farm is an equisitely manicured, well-maintained fly fishing haven with an abundance of heavy rainbow, brook, and brown trout. Located in Alleghany County, Virginia, Escatawba is situated on Dunlap Creek, a spring-fed stream that runs between wooded mountainsides and fenced pastures. Its the perfect balance of superb angling and picturesque scenery that keeps calling you back, time after time.
For novice anglers and seasoned experts alike, Escatawba boasts a beautiful one and a half acre spring fed lake; in addition to the nearly two and a half mile stretch of water you'd swear was Montana. And, with three ponds teeming with huge trout where you can try out your technique or watch them laugh at you from the comforts of the underbrush, there's something for everyone, at every skill level. With only 8 rods permitted on the property per day, you'll have no trouble spending a little extra time matching that perfect fly. Most outings are spent catching fish and seeing no one. We will take up to 4 anglers on this trip. While on each trip we will usually "highlight" a particular method or technique, it could be said we'll use many methods during the day to catch fish. The point is to catch fish but also to give our guests something to learn that they can take back to their home waters and catch fish. Trip Rate is $250.00 per angler and includes guided fishing, flies, lunch. Transportation, Lodging, license, and gratuity not included. Photo Gallery from past trips click here.