Blue Ridge Trout

Any tips out there for a beginner fly fisherman who's going on a short vacation of sorts to Blue Ridge this weekend and the beginning of next week. I took about an hours worth of casting lessons once and haven't used what I learned much and yet being an avid Gar Fisherman and since my 9wt outfit got stolen a year ago from my garage. I just want to know where to wet a line and what to use with either the flyrod and then work my way down to a spinner at having a good chance of catching a few Trout. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

WestPointLakeGarGrabbers said:

Any tips out there for a beginner fly fisherman who's going on a short vacation of sorts to Blue Ridge this weekend and the beginning of next week. I took about an hours worth of casting lessons once and haven't used what I learned much and yet being an avid Gar Fisherman and since my 9wt outfit got stolen a year ago from my garage. I just want to know where to wet a line and what to use with either the flyrod and then work my way down to a spinner at having a good chance of catching a few Trout. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

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Tamen park directly on hwy 515 just north of Blueridge Business area, is as good a place to start as any. Wadable and generally there a few stockers around to make a reasonably easy start for you. Recomend a wooly bugger to fish subsurface. And about now is a great time for a hopper on top with a pheasant tail dropper just below on about 18 inches of tippet. The hopper works as a strike indicator and often produces a savage strike from the stock trout as well as natives. You can hook up with the guys at www.unicoioutfitters.com to get you in business for a few flies if needed. They are located in downtown Blueridge and your wife can shop around while you get set up with what you need.

Thanks Bitteroot for the tips! I'll stop in Unicoi's for sure.

right below the dam is pretty sweet in the Toccoa River..just watch the release schedule.

Get some first hand pointers from the boys at the fly shop up there. Get them to show you a basic two fly nymphing rig. I don't use them much anymore, but often indicators are used, and that might help you out. Adjust the indicators distance from the weight so that the flies drift right on the bottom, but don't hang up too much. Depth, speed of current, amount of weight, and the aformentioned length are the variables you need to jugle to keep the bait down there and get bit. You need a blood knot or a surgeons knot(dbl or tripple). A variety of small split shot. Flies- get some small red San Juan Worms and drop that behind a small orange egg patern. These aren't purist pattens, but when presented on a proper natural down stream drift (on the bottom), they will take stockers and educated fish alike, just about anywhere anytime. Keep these simple flies on and work on presentation. Avoid wasteing time searching for the magic fly. Presentation and drift are the keys, particularly when you are starting out. You need some 9' 5x leaders and some 5x tippet material.

I wrote in your other post about some general trout/sream presentation tips, so check those out and keep them in mind. If you dont have much fly experience and aren't realy going to chase trout more than once in a blue moon, you may want to just enjoy your weekend and huck some spinners. If you want to get into fly fishing, reading will help. A great book is by David Hughes. I believe it is called Nymph Fishing or Nymphing. Something like that anyway. Awesome material to jump start your skills and success.

Best of luck to you.

Bitterroot is right on with the terestrial hopper dry fly recomendation through the fall. Something generic like a stimulator with a dropper will double as a hopper like profile too. I sometimes forget that when people go fly fishing, the want some dry action also. So much feeding goes on sub surface, it is just a trade off to some extent. That is why droping that second nymph off the dry can be very productive. Often the dry becomes the indicator for the nymph.

Whooo Hooo, a Fly Fishing Forum.
I've always liked fishing Horseshoe Bend Park and Curtis Switch. I was up at the cabin this time last year and had some good luck at both spots.
You definately need to check the release schedule and plan accordingly.
Drop by Unicoi Outfitters in Blue Ridge and they will get you started.
Take your camera!

Look for the Delayed Harvest release.....then look out....lots of fun there...

Are you going to Helen?