Flooded PI Evacuee's Plan B

[Jrchip1]

Had to evacuate a couple weeks ago due to flooding. After the water kept rising, I pulled out 1 day before the water level rose yet another foot !! So figured it was a good time to go visit my Bro in NC.


Here on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Night Temps. dip down to the low 50-60's F, and mid day low to mid 70's F. I hit the trout streams I had fished last year, and they were "fished out". Peak fishing is April/May. I then took to hours of research on Google, looking for hard to access Trout Streams in remote areas. Amazingly, they were fished out also. Sliding down rocky mountains "head first", is not something I'd recommend. The secret is to fish recently stocked streams, and most Blue Ridge Mountain stocking had ceased in mid June. More research required..... BTW, I've never resorted to fishing (or hunting) guides. Finding dem is the part of the Sport !!

Anyway, located a couple stretches of stream dat had some Brown trout, and bream types. Yesterday lost a jumping 16-18" Brown trout. Let a couple 6"-ers go. Now my challenge is to figure out how to cast ultra light weight lures, 75-100'. Busted my 2nd pole sliding yesterday, again head first, down da mountain.


Cheers..

[dmtfish]

Sounds like a good evacuation plan to me! Hope you were spared the flooding. My wife and I are headed to Northern Arkansas later this month, will be staying at a cabin right on the White River. Plan is to mostly fly fish the White and Norfork Rivers, but I do plan on fishing some marabou jigs if I can't get them to eat flies. What do you use for ultra-light equipment? I have a Pfluger President 6925 on a BPS airstream rod (7' ultra-light) and can still only cast a 1/16 oz jig about 20 yrds. It is spooled with 6lb nanofil. If you have any other recommendations for casting light jigs let me know!

[Jrchip1]

I fish a Spinning reel with 6# Fluorocarbon. I've used 5 1/2 to 7 ft., cheapo, light -> Ultra light, Shakespeare rods(3) in the last 2 years. I break 1 or 2 poles every trip due to "landslides" or mucho brush in every direction. Use 3/0 - 5 size split shot to gain distance (.025-.08 ounze). The 2 disadvantages of weights are 1. most trout are ultra sensitive to splashing noise and 2. the faster it sinks, the more likely you'll get hung up on rocks. It's all a trade off. Most areas I've fished could not accommodate a fly rod.

[Jrchip1]

Another trip produced 7 more fish. They continue to be very weary. I can see some 14-18" trout in the water, but they won't hit anything. In the old days I used to think if it was meat you were after, toss 'em a night crawler and it was guaranteed to get 'em. Nahh...once they see you it's over. Ohhh, lost another 18"er cause I didn't have a landing net and lost him trying to lift him 6' up a bank.

[MathGeek]

Fishing NC was hard when we lived there. (Sylva, NC). You look like you've figured it out, or at least started to.

We would troll the reservoirs and turn up walleye and a few trout. In the streams, we eventually got some good info from the locals. But folks were pretty tight lipped.

[eman]

Inflated night crawler on a ultra light Carolina rig works.

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by eman

Inflated night crawler on a ultra light Carolina rig works.

Yes, we had more success on night crawler variations than anything else and we tried a lot.

[cajun]

Originally Posted by dmtfish

Sounds like a good evacuation plan to me! Hope you were spared the flooding. My wife and I are headed to Northern Arkansas later this month, will be staying at a cabin right on the White River. Plan is to mostly fly fish the White and Norfork Rivers, but I do plan on fishing some marabou jigs if I can't get them to eat flies. What do you use for ultra-light equipment? I have a Pfluger President 6925 on a BPS airstream rod (7' ultra-light) and can still only cast a 1/16 oz jig about 20 yrds. It is spooled with 6lb nanofil. If you have any other recommendations for casting light jigs let me know!

Sounds like a terrific trip. My wife & I used to go every year, but that's 30 years ago. If you have a fly rod, try a solid black woolly bugger for trout on the White River. It really produced for us then. Good luck.

[eman]

Originally Posted by MathGeek

Yes, we had more success on night crawler variations than anything else and we tried a lot.

spent a few days not catching in north Arkansas till a local took pity and pulled out a hypodermic and a night crawler and showed me how to inflate them to make them float off the bottom. nose rigged on a number 10 bait hook . we caught trout every day for the rest of the trip.

[Jrchip1]

These are the Gulp Nightcrawlers I used. But a live, jumping grasshopper got much quicker results. The excitement generated by a new kicking , frightened insect, overcame most of the trout's intuitive inhibitions. Trouble was the grasshoppers were few and far between.


Dr. Reynolds, the English professor (and my bro) assisted me in scripting this.

[eman]

Bring a couple hundred crickets from home?

[rambored]

Sorry about your troubles with flooding. I have lived in Little Rock since the last big flood in Lafayette. The white is easy to fish with one of the rental boats in Norfork Ar. Get a 7' medium light rod and 1000 size reel (shimano is good) put 2# line on it, and get some 2# fluorocarbon leader. Go on line and order Zig Jigs in 1/16 oz. gold head and brown or green skirt. That is all you need! Throw quartering down stream and fish it back to the boat. Bring a net. Release the trout and go buy a steak. Upper Norfolk has pretty good Walleye fishing. Suspended Rapala in rainbow trout. Oh, learn to tie good surgeon and palomar knots.

[Jrchip1]

Originally Posted by rambored

Get a 7' medium light rod and 1000 size reel (shimano is good) put 2# line on it, and get some 2# fluorocarbon leader. Go on line and order Zig Jigs in 1/16 oz. gold head and brown or green skirt. That is all you need! Throw quartering down stream and fish it back to the boat. Bring a net.

2 lb test sounds scary. Mannnnn........!!!


I've tried some Jig heads like you described, and a 1-1.5" grub tail. Will look up Zig Heads and compare.


In my younger days it was 75% Mepp's Spinner, even in NC, North Ga. and Alberta. Lately they are showing 0 interest in Mepp's.


I also thought about buying a 100 crickets.......

[Duck Butter]

If you dont get on a good artificial bite, stop at some of the feeder creeks and pools and lift up some rocks and catch some crawfish to use for bait