The Secret Season By Andrew Corpening
f you ask the occasional trout fisher when the best time to fish is, most likely they will say it is in the spring and early summer. This is mostly true, but if you limit your fishing to spring and summer, you are missing another great season. That secret season is the fall. One of the main reasons fall fishing is great is the lack of crowds. The fall presents anglers with other activities that draw them away from fishing. Since a lot of fishers are also hunters and autumn is hunting season, many anglers are pulled away from the rivers and move into the woods. This is great for the fisher, but fishing during hunting season does have some risks. It is a good idea to wear some bright clothing when fishing in areas that might have hunters. This is particularly important when fishing the wild trout waters in the national forests. You don’t want to be mistaken for a deer. Also thinning the angling crowd is football. With collegiate football (go App State Mountaineers) on Saturdays and NFL (go Panthers) on Sundays, it is surprising how this pulls people off the rivers. Another factor that opens up the rivers is the migration of summer residents and High Country visitors back to their primary homes and busy fall schedules. Some stay through the leaf change but many are gone by the end of October. While the fall foliage does bring a lot of tourists to the area, most are weekenders and day trippers. The same reason that the leaf lookers are here also makes fall fishing one of the most beautiful times to be on the local streams. Even though the High Country offers ample fishing opportunities during the summer months, it can sometimes be daunting to catch trout that time of year. When water temperatures are warmer, a trout’s metabolism slows down. Also, water levels tend to be lowest in late summer. With water temperatures nearly 70 degrees and the ideal temperature for
trout being between 50 and 60 degrees, the trout tend to be in the deep pools and do not move much to go after food. This behavior changes during the fall. As the days get shorter and the sun gets lower in the sky, the water temperature cools down. As the water gets closer to the trout’s comfort zone, they get more active and seek food. For the fly fisher this means the trout fishing heats up. As autumn progresses, trout, like many of nature’s creatures, seem to know that winter is coming. During the winter the activity of aquatic insects, a trout’s major food source, slows considerably. The trout need to store fat to hold them through the lean winter months, so they become more opportunistic and less selective feeders during the fall. They will try anything that looks like it might be food. This means that having the exact fly to match an insect, or matching the hatch, becomes less important. One other reason that fall fishing is good is the start of the delayed harvest season. The delayed harvest rivers are those that the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) has designated single hook, artificial lure, catch and release only from October 1 to the first Saturday in June. These are the only rivers that the Commission stocks in the fall. The NC hatchery crews will normally stock these rivers twice after Oct. 1. From the first Saturday in June to Oct. 1, these rivers revert to the hatchery supported designation. Some of the High Country’s delayed harvest streams are in Watauga County, Ashe County, and Mitchell County. The Watauga County sections are from State Road 1114 (Dewitt Barnett Rd.) to the Valle Crucis community park lower boundary, and from State Road 1103 to the confluence with Laurel Creek. The Ashe County streams are Helton Creek from the State Road 1324 bridge to its confluence with the North Fork of the
New River; Big Horse Creek from the State Road 1324 bridge to the North Fork of the New River; and the South Fork of the New River from the upstream end of Todd Island to the State Road 1351 bridge. Mitchell County’s Cane Creek delayed harvest sections are from the NC Hwy 226 bridge to the State Road 1189 bridge and from the U.S. Hwy 19E bridge to the NC Hwy 226 bridge. Some other good choices for fall fishing are the streams designated as Wild Trout. The NCWRC views these rivers as self-sustaining. In other words, the trout are reproducing adequately so that stocking is not required. Since these are not stocked, they tend to be overlooked by many fishermen. Also, don’t forget the Elk River on Lees-McRae College property. This river is designated Fly-Fishing Only, Catch and Release. It, like the Wild Trout waters, is considered self-sustaining and not stocked. For more information about the area’s fly-fishing only streams, visit ncwildlife.org, or check with one of the High Country’s fly fishing shops. As for fly selection, as mentioned before, matching the hatch exactly is not as important in the fall. Any of the usual nymphs, such as Copper Johns, Beadhead Pheasant Tails, and Tellicos, should work well. For dry flies, any of the darker colored flies, such as dark midges, Adams, or Blue Winged Olives, should work if the trout are feeding on the surface. Keep in mind that smaller dry flies, 18 to 20s, should work the best. As usual, if you see trout feeding but do not see any insects, try a parachute Adams. Now that you know about the secret season, get out on the water and enjoy. Even if you don’t catch any trout, there is no more beautiful time to be outside surrounded by the fall foliage of the High Country.
CAROLINA MOUNTAIN LIFE Autumn 2021 —
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