After almost a week of heavy rain I wasn't sure if the Davidson River would be fish-able. I thought my best chance would be to hike to the headwaters of the Davidson where the water levels would be lower and more fish-able. Unfortunately, this proved to be a big waste of time, although I did get some good exercise and nice photos.
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I had a relaxing shore lunch and rested up for the long hike back down the mountain. By this time it was about 2:00 in the afternoon and the water level was steadily falling as the day went on. I decided to give the lower Davidson a shot.
(click to enlarge)I went to a big pool just down stream of a popular riffle and just sat and watched other anglers for a while. After a few minutes I saw some fish rising to the swarms of black gnats that the wind pushed in. I tied on a #16 griffiths gnat dry fly, but did not have any luck. Next, I tried a natural color san juan worm imitation that produced the nice rainbow above.
(click to enlarge)As the day got later and the water level dropped, the fishing only improved. At one point, I was getting a strike on almost every other cast. The fish were very energetic and fought hard. Several trout lept out of the water shaking their heads like a large mouth bass. One rainbow in particular jumped four times almost 3 feet above the surface making a huge splash when landing. I have never seen trout do this. Maybe it was the highly oxygenated water from the rain?
(click to enlarge)I was very surprised to catch this large brook trout (below) in the Davidson. My first on this river.
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(click to enlarge) I must say, this was probably the best day I have ever had on the Davidson. If you are ever in the Brevard area, it is definitely worth a try.
Great fishes, David! Above all,I liked the newt's pic a lot. Beautiful contrast between red and green!
ReplyDeleteMy god, you are learning so quickly!
ReplyDeleteCongrats for grand slam!
And the fishes are all in very good condition.
You don't need to go Montana and Idaho!
Try not to use San Juan Worm often. Because using that is a kind of bait fishing. This fly should be used rather desparately when various nymphs as well as dry flies don't work.
Anyway, send the best congratulations that you have a very good trout stream in your vicinity.
Oh sensei, you are so right! I do feel a bit guilty for using the San Juan worm. It is very life-like isn't it? I will try to avoid becoming dependent on it.
ReplyDeleteThe Davidson is a very fine river. It was named one of the top 100 trout streams in America by Trout Unlimited.
I have been asked to work as a fishing guide by DK Littleton Outfitters. The head guide, Mike, is going to call me for the next guide trip so I can start learning the river. They have a private section on the Soque River in North Georgia they call the "trophy waters" where they take clients on guided trips. I must say I am quite excited!
Nice looking fish and blog. Thanks for the comment. Great photo on hte newt. Give me a holla if you want to blueline sometime.
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