Asheville area Fly Fishing Report July 22 2019

Davidson River
The Davidson river has been fishing really well the last week. Flows are outstanding and are holding at about 100cfs. That is a great summer flow. There is a big rain predicted this evening but who knows how widespread it might or might not be. That may affect river flows for a day or two, but assuming it doesn’t terrestrials are game on right now. Beetles, Ants, Crickets, and inchworms are everywhere. There are also plenty of mayfly nymphs drifting around right now. Some of our favorite patterns this week have been green mops, chubby chernobyls, frenchies, black beetles, and of course little midges for up around the hatchery. Worst case scenario I think this rain may put us in high water mode for a few days then summer fishing will resume. If water gets high break out your streamers and bang the banks.

Watauga River
The Watauga fished really well last week. The upper was really good. It is getting pretty crowded because of the low flows on the soho and the muddy water mid week from the doe, but it handled it well. The lower river is still really good early and is producing some really nice fish. Afternoons can be slow down there but the lower half of the river is all about grinding out a dozen or so really nice fish not numbers. On the upper midges and baetis still dominate the food chain. Small black and olive midges fished behind an attractor have been good deep. Dry dropper with assorted midges and frenchies has been good too. The beetle fishing has been strong in the slower spots. We will have to keep an eye on how much water comes into Watauga Lake during the next few days. WE may see more high water if the lake jumps.

Asheville Area Fly Fishing Report July 15 2019

Asheville Area Fly Fishing Report for Western North Carolina July 15 2019

Davidson River
The rain has been falling at just the right pace the last few weeks. We find fly fishing the day after a summer rain to be great and that’s what we’ve been seeing. Fresh water adds oxygen and drops water temps. Fish have been active both at the hatchery and down on the catch and release section. No great hatches to speak of lately. We have been getting fish on terrestrials and really small stuff. As usual midges are all over the hatchery section. The really small stuff has been producing well up there. Fish early in the day to avoid warm water and tubers. After 12:00 things start to get a little crazy out there. Catch your fish, buy some Dolly’s ice cream and head home.

Watauga River
The Watauga has been pretty good this week. The upper end has been good in the mornings and afternoons. Probably best in am. Down low has definitely been best in the mornings. Afternoons last week were really hot. We got a nice 300cfs bump in flows a couple days ago but the river is back down. Bring your 6x it is really clear. We have been seeing baetis and midges hatching. Terrestrials are definitely on the menu as well. Expect the water to come up between 3 and 5 depending on how low down you go.