First Post Helene Fishing Report!

It is said ....that a thousand years ago a storm blew through Western North Carolina with enough strength to blow down massive old growth tree's along the high ridges of the what is known as the Plott Balsams. The blown down tree's began to decay and left mounds that looked graves as humans encountered the natural history left by that storm. Fast forward and we have what is known as Graveyard Fields, which serves as one of the most popular stops along the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is not the first time these Appalachian woods have seen this level of destruction - forever changing the the landscape. This time, more humans were around to experience that nightmarish storm first hand.

From Jackson County - West, we were spared the worst of that nightmare storm, and the towns are back open with infrastructure in place. Cell, internet and gas being the most important piece of that to many.

What about the fish? Do they Survive? Well the answer is a resounding yes! These mountains were not just carved out by massive earthquakes alone. There is substantial geological evidence of massive flood events. The next time you are in a creek and see a massive boulder that is round and smooth, think about how that came to be for a moment. We now have an idea of what that event looks like.

Back to the fishing! Tuck Fly Shop staff, Nicolay Bell and Sam Nicholson, needed to get their minds off the aftermath of the storm and hit the WNC Fly Fishing Trail. In one and a half hours of fishing the boys netted 30 or so fish! The largest of the lot topping out as a twenty inch brown! Nicolay the Dry Fly tactician he is fished dry dropper and did well fishing a dry dropper. The dropper being the ticket for him was the Prince Nymph. Sam fishing a Euro set up, batted clean up and fished behind Nicolay. The fly of choice once again was the prince nymph! As we drop into cooler temps this week we will transition from the Green hatches of late summer with terrestrials to the oranges of fall as the leaves will begin to turn quickly this week. Most likely Peak leaf weekend for some higher elevations.

Give us a call and lets set up your next guided trip or help you Find Your Next Adventure!