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Nat Greene Flyfishers    September 2010

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Trout in the Classroom – Fall 2010

Nat Greene Fly Fishers will be funding two Trout in the Classroom projects in the fall of 2010. Participating schools are South Asheboro Middle School in Asheboro and Claxton Elementary School in Greensboro.  Trout in the Classroom (TIC) is a national environmental education program designed by Trout Unlimited.  During the year each teacher tailors the program to fit his or her curricular needs. TIC has interdisciplinary applications in science, social studies, mathematics, language arts, fine arts, and physical education.

Students will:

• raise trout from eggs to fry

• monitor tank water quality

• engage in stream habitat study

• learn to appreciate water resources

• begin to foster a conservation ethic

• grow to understand ecosystems

At end the school year, the students will release their trout in a North Carolina state-approved stream.

Charles Tuttle

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Nat Greene Members Invited to Blue Ridge Chapter of Trout Unlimited Meeting

I wanted to inform Nat Greene Fly Fishers of an interesting speaker coming to our next month’s chapter meeting and extend an invitation to your members who might have an interest. The presenter at our September 21, 2010 Chapter meeting will be Alex Bell, who will be speaking about the Western North Carolina Fly Fishing Trail, and he will be sharing tips and information about fly fishing in the Western part of the state.

Alex owns and operates AB’s Fly Fishing Guide Service in Sylva. A long-time resident of Western North Carolina, Bell has an intimate knowledge of the trout waters along the WNC Fly Fishing Trail, especially the portions that include the Tuckasegee River . Bell recently retired after 30 years in public education to provide fly fishing instruction and fly fishing guide services in the trout-rich waters of Jackson County.  Alex Bell’s website

LOCATION CHANGE ALERT: Due to construction at our regular location we will be meeting at Lone Star Steakhouse, in Pavilions Shopping Ctr at 504 Hanes Mall Blvd, Winston Salem.  Our meetings start at 6:00 PM to allow folks to mingle, order dinner and get settled before the 7:00 program. We welcome new members and visitors.  Link to Lone Star Steakhouse at Pavilions Shopping Ctr at 504 Hanes Mall Blvd

Hope some of you Nat Greene Fly Fishers can make it.

Bob Lassiter, Board Member/Chair of Speaker Programs, Winston-Salem Blue Ridge Trout Unlimited Chapter

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Big Streamers and Rainbows

A day on Wolf Creek with Captain Paul Rose

It was Tuesday night and I was just recovering from my weekend at the June 4-5, 2010 Federation of Fly Fishers Southeastern Council Conclave when the phone rang. It was fly fishing guide Captain Paul Rose. He told me that he had an open date for this coming Saturday (June 12) and wanted to know if I could fish with him. I enquired with Robin and got permission to fish that Saturday. Her permission came with the caveat that I could fishing Saturday go as long as I would be available for the chores she had lined up for me on Sunday after church. I agreed and we set up the time and meeting place for our Saturday trip.

Paul is nationally recognized as an expert fly fisherman and fly fishing guide for carp (www.carolinabonefishing.com). However, on this trip we would not be targeting his beloved carp. Paul has expanded his guide service to include trout and even some inshore saltwater fishing. Paul explained that he had access to a private trophy trout stream, Wolf Creek, in northwestern Virginia. The plan was to meet at the Virginia Welcome Center Rest Stop on I-77 at 7:00AM and I would follow him to Wolf Creek access near Rocky Gap, VA. We would be fishing big streamers for 14-inch plus rainbow trout with the possibility of catching smallmouth bass and panfish. Paul said, “bring at least a 5-weight rod and no smaller than 3x tippet. You will need the heavier weight rod to cast the large streamers we will be using.”

When we arrived at Wolf Creek at about 8:15AM it was overcast and threatening rain. We put on our waders and strung our fly rods. I opened my “big trout fly” box of what I would view as big nymphs and streamers,. Paul took one look and said “those are all too small. Here try this one” as he handed me a huge white marabou muddler minnow tied on a 4x long streamer hook. This streamer had a natural gray deer hair head that was approximately the circumference of a dime and with white marabou feathers extending over two- inches long behind the head. This fly seemed as big as a small canary and heavy in my hand from the lead wire underbody. This fly reinforced why Paul suggested using the heavier fly rod and tippet.

By 8:40AM we were both standing knee deep in two separate long pools casting (or should I say chunking) these large streamers. Paul’s instructions were to cast across stream and fish the streamers across and downstream with fast jerky strips. Paul was the first to hook up and landed a spunky 8-inch smallmouth bass.

Soon after that I hooked and landed this decent 11-inch smallmouth bass which jumped several times in its effort to throw the large streamer stuck in its lips.

Wading upstream we continued to fish the pools and runs. We each caught several smallmouth bass in the 7-11 inch range along with a few rock bass and red breast sunfish, but no trout. There was plenty of very satisfying fishing action to satisfy me. However, Captain Paul’s heart was set on each of us catching a trophy rainbow trout. It was now 11:30AM and neither of us had hooked a trout, although a large rainbow had followed my marabou muddler streamer right up to my rod tip. As fate would have it I snapped off the muddler high in an overhanging tree on a bad back-cast. Paul tied a #6, 3-inch long cone-head olive wooly bugger to my tippet. To me this was a really big fly for small creek trout fishing, a fly I would cast for big largemouth bass.

But, Paul insisted I give the large wooly bugger a try. The first three cast produced one 10-inch smallmouth bass. After the fifth cast hit the water I mended the line and let the current pull the fly deep into the lower end of a long pool. On my third strip the line came tight with a hard jolt. Then the quiet of the pool was shattered as 18-inches of metallic pink and silver erupted through the surface of the calm water. This was the big rainbow trout we had been hoping for. The reel drag purred loudly as the trout made a fast run ten yards downstream, swimming right toward a big downed sycamore tree laying in the creek. I knew if it ever got to the tree the fight would be over and the fish lost. Knowing I had 3x tippet, I palmed the reel and stopped the fish about ten feet short of the tree. From there it was a back and forth tug-of-war to bring my first Wolf Creek rainbow trout to the net.

Shortly after, Paul changed his fly to a big white zonker and caught this nice rainbow trout.

Paul hooked and landed with a couple more 12-16 inch rainbow trout. At about 11:50AM it started a hard drizzle of rain and we heard the first clap of thunder. With some very dark clouds headed in our direction we decided to make a quick quarter-mile jog back to the safety of our parked cars and wait out the oncoming thunderstorm. Before we got half-way back to our cars it started to rain very hard with big cold drops. The air temperature dropped significantly and I was feeling wet and chilled. By the time we finally got to our cars we were both soaked. My new “Dr. Slick” baseball cap was so drenched that green dye started to run down my cheeks. We barely made it to the safety of our cars when the brunt of a strong electrical storm hit. We decided to sit in the car, turn the heat on and eat our lunch while we waited for the storm to move through. In about an hour the storm dissipated and the sun made momentary peaks through the thinner vales of clouds. With our hunger satisfied by some good sandwiches and the rain gone it was time to start fishing again.

I switched to my old Orvis wide brimmed fishing hat for the afternoon. This hat is old, wrinkled, bent, squashed and just plain ugly. However, it was also comfortably dry so I swallowed my pride and put it on.

Paul decided we would head down stream and fish some faster, deeper runs. He was now fishing a #4 cone-head olive wooly bugger, while I fished a #4 rust colored Hellcraw nymph from my box of bass flies. I was hoping to catch a big smallmouth bass. The Hellcraw fly has caught more quality smallmouth bass (15 plus inches and up) for me than any other fly.

As we slowly walked the bank downstream we continued casting to every potential fish holding riffle, run and pool. We each caught several rock bass, sunfish and 9 to 11-inch long smallmouth bass. Paul caught another 14-inch rainbow in a big bend of the creek. Then we came upon a long, swift, deep, tree shaded run where Paul and his guide clients had caught several large rainbows on past trips. The run was broken in places by large rocks which made perfect holding water for bass and trout. Paul insisted I make the first cast into the run and I quickly hooked and landed a nice 12-inch smallmouth bass that slammed the Hellcraw.

It was now Paul’s turn to fish the run. He made a few short casts upstream into the head of the run and let it drift back downstream on a semi-tight line. On about his fourth cast he gave a short strip and the line jumped tight. Paul set the hook and a very large rainbow trout rolled half-way out of the water. The trout bolted downstream with Paul running after it, his reel drag screaming in protest. When the trout got to the tail end of the run it changed directions and made a fast run upstream to the head of the run. The tug-of-war and back-and-forth continued for about 10 more minutes until Paul was finally able to lead this beautiful 24-inch long rainbow trout into my waiting landing net.

In this photograph I am the happy “net man” holding the 24-inch long rainbow trout Paul Rose has just landed. He wanted to take a very quick photo and revive the fish for release.

It was now getting a little warm in our waiders so we took a short break to revive Paul’s big trout and drink some water. Paul had fought his trout up and down through the run several times. I figured that the run was disturbed water and any gamefish still present in it would not be feeding. More to satisfy Paul’s request that I make a few cast than any faith I had in catching a fish, I cast the Hellcraw into the middle of the run. I was fishing the big rubber-legged Hellcraw nymph on a down and across dead-drift when I felt the sudden sensation of weight. I tightened up expecting to be hung on a rock when the rod started bucking hard from the pull of another large rainbow trout . The trout exploded through the surface of the water, streaking across and upstream. This one was not as big as the trout Paul had landed a few minutes earlier, but it was plenty big to put a big bend in my fly rod and strip line from my reel. After several runs and jumps up and down the creek, including my falling down once and bruising my knee, I lead this 21-inch beauty to the landing net.

This fish was well worth the bruised knee. Man, that is one butt-ugly hat.

We fished a couple more hours, each catching a few more bass, panfish and trout. Paul caught a nice 15-inch smallmouth bass we had observed chasing minnows. I got a mega-sized 12-inch long rock bass. On one of my #6 olive/gold flash marabou jig flies I caught a few more smallmouth bass and a nice 16-inch long rainbow trout to end the day.

With the sun starting to get low on the horizon we called it quits. It had been a really fun day of fishing with each of us catching over 30 fish (honestly, we lost count). I had caught ten rainbow trout, with eight of them being 14-inches or bigger, and had lost a few more. In addition, I had landed several smallmouth bass, rock bass and sunfish during my day on Wolf Creek. It was a true smorgasbord of fish species on a great day with a good friend.

Captain Paul Rose is an excellent guide who taught me a lot about streamer fishing for trophy trout in small creeks. Fishing big streamers for trout is a technique I had tried only once before, in 1996 during a float trip on the Yellowstone River in Livingston, Montana. The Wolf Creek rainbows hit and fought just as hard as those Yellowstone River brown trout. Paul’s expertise and coaching has convinced me that this is an excellent technique for catching trophy trout from small streams. So this old dog learned a new fishing trick from a young guide. Contact Paul (captpaulrose@gmail.com) or visit his web site to learn more about his guide service. Book him for a trip and you will not be disappointed.

God Bless and Tight Lines

Anthony Hipps

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