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March 7-8, Watauga River, Delayed Harvest
Section
Date: March 7th
and 8th, 2007
Location: Watauga River, Delayed Harvest
Conditions: Cloudy with Sporadic Light Rain
and Snow
Guide: Justin Shroyer and Joe Spencer
The delayed harvest section of the Watauga
River in Boone and Valle Crucis is fully stocked and ready to
go. The day after the stocking we received over 3 in. of rain
and extreme high water followed. The high water pushed the
freshly stocked fish out of their pods and into typical holding
water throughout the entire delayed harvest sections and below.
Look for fish holding in slower water adjacent to fast runs and
riffles that would have carried the fish downstream. This is
where Joe and myself found the majority of the fish.
We guided a total of three half-day trips in
muddy water with great success. Forget the 15 mph winds, high
muddy water, and snow flurries, our guest toughed it out and
caught fish consistently. We stripped rubber legged buggers
through prime holding pockets with great success. As the water
cleared I tied on some size 14 soft hackles and nymphed the tail
outs and behind boulders. Three good rainbows were taken this
way, each of them hitting the fly with reckless abandon. It is a
good idea to trail a wet fly behind your bugger (8-12 in.) as
this will almost always produce more strikes. Popular wet flies
for freshly stocked fish are soft hackled hares ears, pheasant
tails, and copper johns. Good nymphs to use on these fish are
the rainbow warrior, micromayfly, copper johns, brassies, or any
buggy beadheaded nymph. We currently have a good selection of
proven delayed harvest flies in our shop. Stop by to pick up
some hot patterns and gain insight on where the fish are being
caught.
Reported by: Justin Shroyer
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