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by Roy Hawk
The Nantahala River in Western North Carolina is known as a great white water stream by paddlers through out the U.S. as well as being a great trout river. The Nantahala is listed as one of the nation’s top 100 by Trout Unlimited. The Nantahala River is a diverse fishery with many different types of water in the same river system. In the tight confines of its headwaters you can find brook trout and in the tailwaters below the powerhouse the river supports some impressive brown trout. Above the powerhouse is designated Delayed Harvest and is a good place to go to have great trout fishing action throughout the year. One can catch brook, rainbow and brown trout in this section of the river. My favorite time is before June 1 because of the catch and release regulations in place until then.
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When my sister called and said she wanted to go trout fishing with me I immediately thought of the Nantahala. It is conveniently located between Tennessee and her home state of South Carolina. She went on to tell me she wanted to fly fish for trout and to try to begin to understand what I liked so much about trout fishing.
After selecting the river and setting the dates, we spent a little time going over the basics of casting, knot tying, line control and playing a fish. As a newbee to the sport of fly fishing my sister quickly got the hang of some of these new skills. Women make great fly casters because of their higher patience level when they take up the sport. Assisted by the wind in the gorge she was soon casting to several select areas on the river. We caught fish on beadhead pheasant tails, prince nymphs, tan elk hair caddis, parachute Adams and YES Trout Magnets. I always carry a selection of Trout Magnets with me when I am on the stream. The
Trout Magnet Neon Kit is a great one to carry with many of the best colors and it fits easily into your vest or shirt pocket.
When the trout catching slowed on the flies I switched over to fishing Trout Magnets and immediately begin to get strikes in the same pools where our fishing had slowed. The colors that worked best that day were bubble gum, red, and white. Bubble gum by far out-produced the other colors. Trout Magnets come in so many colors because conditions can change each day you are trout fishing and when one color stops producing simply switch to another.
I am proud to say that day my sister caught and released her first fish on a fly rod. Before our day ended we had caught and released the complete Nantahala Grand Slam -- brook, rainbow and brown trout. The Nantahala River above the powerhouse is an easily accessible stream that can provide novice as well as experienced anglers with a great day on the water. I hope my sister will make time in her busy schedule for more trout fishing and continue to improve and perfect her new found skills.
Rising Heads and Tight lines to all,
Roy Hawk
"just a guy who likes to fish..."
