October 22, 2016

Fall arrived yesterday as a cold front made its way in the mountains bringing much cooler weather with some wind.  It is in the lower 40's this morning with a steady breeze.  The National Weather Service has issued a Frost Advisory from 12AM EDT until 9AM EDT Sunday.  We are expecting lows to plummet into the lower 30's overnight with a daytime high of 69 degrees forecast for Sunday.  Today we are forecast to reach 55 degrees but expect windy conditions.

The Tuckasegee in Jackson County is running at 217cfs which is higher than we have seen in awhile.  The water temperature was still reading around that 62 degrees mark yesterday but I do expect the water temperature to begin falling soon. 

Many leaves had made their way into the river bed and also on the surface which made working the edges a bit more difficult but it was still producing good trout on dry flies yesterday.  I fished yesterday on various sections on the Delayed Harvest water with success.  It was a bit slow but I did catch the Tuck Slam and some Redhorse .  All action early on was on nymphs but in ripples and runs.  The trout seemed to be more active in those areas versus typical deep holding pools.  In the afternoon the trout started breaking surface feeding on emergers and midges.  I focused my afternoon efforts sight fishing and drifting #20 Griffiths Gnat trailed behind a Comparadun Adams. 

I expect the trout to start adjusting to the colder weather and I also expect a lot of fishing pressure this weekend.  Don't be afraid of thinking outside the box with fly and nymph selections.  These trout have seen a bit of everything since making their arrival early October.  You are going to have to entice them with some tiny midge patterns trailed behind a traditional nymph pattern.

Tight Lines!