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Scott Bertrand with A Mammoth
Rainbow
Diane Bertrand with Another Mammoth Rainbow
Brad Ball with a nice
Winter rainbow..
Larry Tomar with a
Large Rainbow
Winter, perhaps
our Favorite Season,
is Now here...let's
Go Fishing!
Bob Manning with
a Trophy Bow
Snow in the VA High
Country...yes we fished
and yes we had a great
Day!
Wally Wallace with
a rainbow on a Frigid
Day!!!
Some of our
Favorite Coldweather
Gear
Its that time of
year again....I love it!
Adam Harman
with a nice VA
Rainbow
Billy Spicer with
a NC Brown.....
a Future Lefty Kreh here! |
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| Dear Friends,
I hope you all are having a great Christmas season so far. I am sitting here looking out the window and taking in the beautiful fresh fallen heavy snow in our yard as we are very blessed to have had a touch of the white stuff just before Christmas. The other side of that though, is that it certainly changes plans somewhat......whew, just not enough time to get everything done and this big snow will make that much more so.
I keep saying it but I'll say it again. We have had lots of water in the form of healthy rains and lots of snow and that bodes well for the rest of winter and the spring. We usually always have a good year after a wet winter. And another thing I'll say again, we always catch more 20" plus fish from November through March than at any other time of the year. If you haven't tried some winter fishing let me show you what you are missing. I think you'll be very suprised at how good it can be.
I have been very busy with trips and have been a little stretched to get newsletters out on time, but I hopefully we'll get back to a normal schedule soon. This newsletter is combined with a lot of stuff, including our normal Christmas Gift Certificate mailer, so take time to peruse all of it- - - certainly looks like there will be plenty of time to do that over the next two days or so.
So sit back and browse through this Newsletter and get ready for the remainder of the winter fishing season and a Spring season that will be here before you know it.
Thanks as always and Good Fishing and Merry Christmas to You,
Jeff |
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Dereck Register of Boone, NC getting ready for ASU exam week
with a citation rainbow on our December 2009 Trip .....
Jeff Wilkins photo
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 .
Brad Ball with a Citation NC rainbow, one of many nice fish
on the day for him on our recent trip....Jeff Wilkins photo
What the Fishing is Like.....
Wild Waters:
Wild waters have been fishing fair to slow, the regular rain and colder temps have kept water levels up and made it a nymph fishing proposition for the most part. The best fishing can be had with bead head nymphs, streamers; on the bead heads both large and small flies, one trick is to try some larger flies - - black stones, brown stones, yellow/golden stones, princes, etc, as well as the usual smaller flies. One other tip, the weather is cooling off so getting out at the crack of dawn isn't necessary. Water temps are touching the mid 30's now early in the day and only reaching the low 40's in afternoons when we have sun, depending upon elevaton. If the water is high, and especially if it is high and has color to it tossing a size 10 or 12 black conehead wooly bugger or krystal bugger can be very effective. I expect the recent snows and runoff will slow the headwater stream fishing down for a few weeks til things settle down.
Bob Manning caught this citation rainbow on our December
Guided trip....Fishing in the Snow was not only fun but
Productive too .....Jeff Wilkins photo 2009
VA/TN Tailwaters:
In VA, the Smith River has been quite slow, in fact its been hard to get on the river with the Corps generating a lot. In town in the stocked water Egg patterns, bead heads, Y2K's in pink and tan shades, and streamers will usually produce on the stocker rainbows. In the special regs area, and up to the dam, try bead heads w/a small dropper of some sort. Midges and little black stones #18, as well as a few early season BWO's can be had , especially on cloudy, dreary days. Always double check as the schedule can change at any time..276-629-2432.
Click here for a free printable Tailwaters Hatch Chart
In TN, the TVA has been running a lot more due to the heavy rains of the past two weeks in and around the Tri-Cities area and SW Virginia. Its been 1 unit all day long and til midnight on the South Holston over the past week, and the fishing on high flows have been slow. On high water unless there are some BWOs on the upper part of the river, its pretty much a chuck a streamer and chance it float. Take care to note that several areas, like Hickory Tree to Rivers Way, the Webb islands to downstream of the 358bridge, and the islands around the Dead Chicken Hole are all closed now for the brown trout spawning season and won't reopen until Feb 1, 2010.
On the Watauga the TVA had been releasing /spilling until further notice, but there will be some wade fishing available today for the first time in quite a while, as the TVA is off today through midnight tonight. Nymphing and fishing dry /droppers is effective, as well as #20 bwos in the afternoons, mixed with a few black caddis and #18 Little Olive Caddis. Usually by this late in the year the better fishing is above the confluence with the Doe River, as the Doe runs pretty cold and the river above is a bit warmer. The Wag' always a good pm sidebar to the South Holston, or an all dayer if they are pumping on the SoHo. The bwos come off here whether its cloudy or not. 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.
Jackson River- - -- releasing 503cfs and water temperature around 56F, which is a great temp but the level is too high to wade. December is a so/so month on the Jackson, look for Black Caddis #18-20, small BWO's #20,24, and some midges as far as anything on top. Dry /dropper rigs like the Smith will work well here. Also, I'd have a #14 or 16 bead head prince in the box as well as some Gary LaFontaine Caddis Pupa Tan size 14, and some Black Conehead Wooly Buggers, as the river can offer some exceptional streamer fishing in the fall. For the BWO's and generally for a good dry fly that will work to imitate a variety of bugs if you are not sure what to tie on - - -well consider a Parachute Adams. One of the best all around general bwo flies here is a parachute Adams in size 18/20.
Smallmouth Bass: As far as the smallies and fly fishing, rivers aredone for the year. Right now is an excellent time though to fish some of the mountain reservoirs for them, and Lake James near Marion, NC and Kerr Scott Reservoir near Wilkesboro, NC, and TN's South Holston, Boone, and Watauga Lakes are some of the best.
New River NC Flows
Local Bass /Panfish: local Bass and panfish are pretty slow right now as far as any reports I have gotten, the water is cold and muddy, with all the rain things have been pretty unsettled. I am contemplating hitting the pond in the snow sometime this weekend just to be able to say a fly touched water somewhere!
Private Water
Earlier this month regular customers Bob and Bart Manning and I fished near Lindside, WV and caught some nice rainbows, three of which we 20 inch plus rainbow, and a total of over 100 fish on the day.
We have uploaded several new video clips to our YouTube channel, you can view them here . We have more trips here in the coming days and weeks and will have tons of great reports and photos to pass along to you.
My oldest son Ben with one of over 40 fish on one of our recent
trips.........December 2009 .....Jeff Wilkins photo
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. These waters offer great fishing all winter long and we are currently into the peak of the winter season when lots of large fish are caught. So far 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.
CHRISTMAS GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE
 As we normally do for the Christmas Season we are again offering Gift Certificates and these can be purchased for Guided Trips, Guided Private Water Trips, Fly Fishing Instruction, Fly Tying Lessons, Casting Lessons, or in Individual Amounts. We can make it really easy on you as well, we offer e-Certificates as well. We can email the Gift Certificate to either you or the recipient if you have run out of time or are needing to take care of that last minute gift. We can have a Gift Certificate in your Inbox within minutes after purchase....its easy! The best thing about trip and lesson gifts is that they are experience gifts, and the recipient will learn something they can use from now on, so its a gift that keeps on giving. Here are some of our most popular Gift Certificate Options: Local Guided Trip Certificate 1 Angler click hereLocal Guided Trip Certificate 2 Anglers click hereTN Tailwater Trip Certificate 1 Angler click hereTN Tailwater Trip Certificate 2 Anglers click herePrivate Water XStream Trophy Trip 1 Angler click herePrivate Water XStream Trophy Trip 2 Anglers click hereEscatawba Farms Private Water Trip 1 Angler click hereEscatawba Farms Private Water Trip 2 Anglers click hereOn The Water Fly Fishing Instruction1 Angler Click Here2 Anglers Click Here3 Anglers Click HereFly Casting Lesson click hereFly Tying Basic Lessonclick hereGift Certificates by AmountClick here
Newsworthy
Download An Article on Polish/Czech Nymphing
click here
* * *New on our Website:
Insect Photo Gallery
New Wall of Fame II Page
Current Fishing Report Information
Fly Fishing U Some great fly fishing tips
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We have had a great start to the winter season so far even despite the economy and the up and down weather and we realize that without you this business couldn't and wouldn't exist. Thanks so much for your continued interest and business.
I always say my favorite time of the year is cold weather, and it is. Not sure if its the cold, bundling up, the solitude, the great fishing, or what specifically. But all I know is folks would be pleasantly suprised at what cold weather fishing can be...
Until next time, I 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 me know! Best of fishing to you in the coming months and see you on the river..... I wish you and your family a blessed Christmas Season.
May your casting loops be tight and all your hatches match...
Tight Lines & Threads......
Jeffrey Wilkins Fly Fishing
3703 Windspray Court
Summerfield NC 27358 :: 336-644-7775
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Rick Trautman of Greensboro, NC with a beast of a rainbow
caught while fishing with his son Michael, it was one of
several large fish they caught
........December 17,2009
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