2009 A year of fishing recap.

It has been a couple of years now since I dusted off the gear and hit the waters in search of trout.  2009 really marked a turning point for me in my fishing where the fundamentals all clicked and I finally began to catch some fish.  I'm not talking huge numbers of hog sized trout but catching some fish and making me think "Hey, I'm not wasting my time out here.".

I spent a lot of time fishing the Mitchell River in Dobson, NC.  It's a good place to go to if you want to escape and fish a little.  However, it's a little over fished and can be crowded.  As cheesy as it sounds I fished behind the hatchery truck there one day and had my first real productive day fly fishing.  It was no accomplishment, snagging shell shocked stocked trout, but it felt good to catch a few trout.  I had my first good dry fly take on a slow moving section and I was now hooked on dry fly fishing.

2009 was full of diversity for me.  I spent lots of time on the water in North Carolina and managed to return to Virginia to fish water that I had fished earlier.  I spent almost as much time on the Smith River in Bassett, VA as I did on the Mitchell River.  The Smith River was a source of much frustration with it's skittish brown trout and high pressure fishing environment.  I really enjoyed fishing the Special Regulations section and was frequently frustrated by my lack of success.   It all paid off late one afternoon when I finally landed an elusive brownie!  I felt vindicated and thought that I really had accomplished something.

 

In the spring I made a trip to the Cherokee area for a long weekend of fishing with my co-workers.  I have always wanted to fish this area and have been told tales about how the reservation waters are stocked to the brim and you can just walk out there and scoop them up in your net.  My Dad always told me "If it's too good to be true then it isn't."  My Dad was right!  We fished the Tuckasseege Delayed Harvest section on the first day where I caught a bunch of brook trout.  That was an awesome day because I had not caught a bunch of fish in one day and the Tuck paid off in spades! We fished on the reservation for the rest of the trip.  Unfortunately, the reputation did not live up!  We fished Soco Creek with a guide and only caught a couple of small rainbow trout.  Definitely not worth the $60 we paid.  I can "not catch fish" all by myself.  We also fished the Oconoluftee with a big fat skunk!  Overall, we had a great time in Cherokee.  This despite the fact that the reservation is dry and the drive to Bryson City is long for a beer.  Can't wait to go back in 2010 and wipe the skunk off!

Finally, we fished the new Delayed Harvest section of Wilson Creek.  I had a wonderful and productive time fishing this newly acquired stretch of public water.  I caught a lot of rainbow and brook trout on this trip and really felt like my fishing skills were coming together.  We camped overnight in the Mortimer Campground which was the first time I had been camping since I was a kid.  I think it will be a super fishing spot and I hope to fish it a lot more in 2010.

 

I am hoping that 2010 is going to be a great year for trout!  Hopefully the rains of the winter will yield good water levels and insect hatches for the Summer.  I am just getting a little antsy waiting for a suitable day to get back on the water and do some cold weather trout fishing.  

Waters I hope to fish in 2010:

• Wautauga River, NC
• S Holston River, TN
• White Top Laurel, VA
• Jackson River, VA

Here's to 2009, it was a great year!