May 15-25, 2008 Fishing Report - Watauga Trophy Section

Sight fishing for big browns with tiny flies and tippet has been the tactic used by some of our guides lately on the Trophy Section. At times we are fishing size 24 flies 10 ft deep on 6x fluorocarbon tippet. Nice fish are still being caught on midges in fast riffles and slow tailouts. Good rainbows are being caught on PMD nymphs in fast water as well. The PMD’s are hatching around 4:30pm and continue until dark. Fish are also keying in on the spinner fall the last 30 minutes of light. Fish submerged PMD spinner patterns for best results. Big streamers are getting some nice follows when fished deep, and catching plenty of brook trout when fished elsewhere. We have had multiple fish well over 10 lbs follow our flies to the boat. We later came back to one of those fish and caught him on a size 22 midge pattern dead drifted right in his nose. The brown trout measured 28 inches long and who knows how many pounds.