Foscoe Fishing Company Blog - Fishing Reports
Foscoe Fishing Company offers the most complete report of fly fishing conditions in western North carolina and Eastern Tennessee. Our professional reports are updated regularly with water flows, recommended flies and equipment, and special fishing tips for the most important fly-fishing destinations in Blue Ridge Mountains. Plan your next fishing trip knowing you’ll arrive without any surprises and discover some new fishing destinations in the area.
Fishing Report
Fishing has picked up and is in full swing. Tennessee is fishing great as we are making many trips to the South Holston and Watauga River. Sulphur hatches are coming off on the holston and the Watauga is producing well also. The small streams in our beautiful mountains are fishing well. The recent rain has left the streams at a perfect level. A dry/dropper rig is the best fit for the small streams. Picking up many fish on either the dry or the nymph is common. The Delayed Harvest Water are fishing well. Be sure to head out there and fish before the Delayed Harvest Regulations will end the first Saturday in June. Follow all regulations and promote catch and release!
Watauga Tailwater 3/27/12
Great day on the Watauga with Micky Swaim and John Pense! Had some nice fish come to the boat and even some dry fly activity later in the day. Hope to do it again!
Watauga Tailwater 3/12/12
Fishing started out pretty hot for the first part of day on the Watauga then tapered off a bit towards the afternoon but all of the fish caught were nice healthy fish! There were a few caddis moving around and hopefully it wont be too long before the big hatch! The usual midge and beatis bight was the ticket for the day.
Fishing Report 3/1/12
Spring is just around the corner in the High Country and if you haven’t had the opportunity to fish the mild winter we’ve had then its time to break out the gear! We are very excited about the upcoming season and we have stocked the shop with the latest and greatest gear of 2012 so be sure and come by to stock up! Fishing has been great due to the warmer weather. Locally the delayed harvest sections of the Watauga river have been fishing well and nice hatches of blue winged olives and midges have kept the fish and fisherman happy! The tailwaters have also been fishing well and some nice fish have been caught on blue wings and caddis using dry and dropper rigs and the usual nymph rigs. Come on up and take advantage of the great fishing the High Country has to offer and check out our facebook page for some great giveaways!
Local & TN Fishing Report
Local waters continue to fish well with the good water levels. Afternoon thunderstorms have kept rivers flowing greatfor this time of year. Nymph fishing continues to be good using a variety of stone-fly patterns ranging from size 8-16 as well as caddis larva patterns in the 12-16 range. The usual searching patterns like pheasant tails and hares ears in sizes 12-18 should work as well. Even though there are not an abundance of aquatic bugs hatching this time of year there are always terrestrials floating down the river.
I watch beetles, grasshoppers, inchworms, spiders, caterpillars, bees, hornets, ants and many other terrestrials happen there way into the river everyday. All of these are great food for trout through the summer.
The TN Tailwaters (Watauga, S.Holston), have been fishing well. Terrestrial patterns are working with thousands of June Bugs and Japanese beetles littering the river. As well as many other non aquatic bugs. Nymph fishing has been good in the afternoons on the Watauga with small mayflies hatching in certain areas. Midges are around throughout the day and will also catch fish.
The South Holston is finally generating again after some turbine work at the dam. The low water wade fishing has been good using scud, midge and mayfly patterns in various sizes. The sulfur mayfly hatch is in full swing on the upper part of the river and the dry-fly bite should be heating up right before and during high-water. Make sure to have sulfur yellow mayfly patterns sizes 14-18 if you plan on heading to the river.
Good Luck, and make sure to call and book a fishing trip if you are interested, 828-963-6556.
4/13/11 Fishing Report
Local fishing on the Delayed Harvest waters has been nothing shy of excellent! Water levels are great and fish are responding well. Attractor patterns such as egg patterns and san juans are good flies to have as well as smaller caddis patterns(soft hackles) as well as standard nymph patterns(small flashback PT).
The tailwaters are just starting to crank up and fishing has been pretty good during the past couple of weeks! On the Watauga, rainfall has increased flows and generation so fishing can be touch and go this month but look for larger numbers of caddis to appear at any time! Fish have been caught on small soft hackles, blue wings, cranefly patterns, and midges in a variety of sizes and colors.
On the South Holston, look for greater periods of generation as well. The bite on the upper section has been fairly steady with good numbers of fish boated during floats. Fish are still responding well to midges in small sizes, black flies, craneflies, scuds, and the occasional good blue wing hatch.
March Tailwaters Fishing Report
Fished the Watauga river on Tuesday and the day started out well with higher than average flow and we ended up catching a few fish on nymph rigs. Suddenly the fish catching came to a stop when the water flow increased rapidly and generation was underway. This can put the fish down for a short while but it doesn’t mean that the fishing is over. We let the fish settle in, and due to the off colored water we tied on a couple larger, brighter patterns and it wasn’t long before we had another fish on! Finding the seams and softer water is the key to finding fish in periods of high water. Adding plenty of weight will get the flies down and increase odds. Don’t let high water days get you down- reconfigure your rigs and find the “protective” water and you’ll catch more fish!
March Local Fishing Report
We are slowly but surely transitioning into milder weather with the approach of spring just around the corner! Local small streams have good levels of water after decent snowfall this winter and trout are getting active with the recent mild weather. Blue winged olives and midges dominate most of the bug hatches as well as small dark dun colored caddis and stoneflies. Fishing with shallow nymph rigs or dry and dropper rigs will produce fish. Keeping a low profile while fishing small streams will also increase odds due to clear water and wary fish!
The delayed harvest water on the nearby Watauga river is beginning to fish well and continued stocking schedules will make fishing even better. Fish have been both in deeper water holding near the bottom as well as shallow flats and tailouts. Sight fishing can be accomplished with the help of a good eye! Midges and small soft hackles have produced most of the fish along with the occasional attractor fly such as egg patterns or san juan worms. Give us a call to reserve a spot for your next fishing trip!
January Fishing Report
Cold weather doesn’t have to keep you from fishing. Local anglers have had great days on the water recently both in the nearby streams and on the tailwaters in TN. Midges have still been the predominant bug hatching but good hatches of blue wings have also offered some great opportunities along with sulphurs (believe it or not)! With the blue wings, size will matter as most of these bugs will be around a 2o or smaller and fish will notice. Nymphs and emergers will also catch fish along with duns. Don’t sit around this winter and wait to fish this spring, bundle up and come fishing with us today!
December Hatch report
This month really starts to bring change to the weather in the High Country. Winter is fast approaching and colder weather is here which also brings colder water temps. This will slow fishing just a bit but hardy fisherman can still be rewarded with nice catches!
As for hatches, they change quite a bit with “bugs” becoming much smaller. Look for baetis or blue winged olives in sizes 18-22 along with tiny olives in sizes 20-22. Small dark colored caddis and dark black stoneflies are also present in sizes 18-20. As always, midges become the predominant insect hatch and trout make them a big portion of their diet. These insects are normally grey, white, black, or tan in color and most are very small, in sizes 18-26.
