Foscoe Fishing Company Guide - John Lord
John grew up in Greenville, SC where his grandfather taught him how to fly fish on small streams in the mountains of northwest SC. Since then he has always had a passion for any sport that gets him in the woods--fishing, hunting, and mountain biking are his favorites. After high school he moved to the mountains of NC and has called them home ever since. John loves fishing small, remote streams that see few anglers. He loves teaching folks how to fly fish and is the Fly Fishing Instructor at Foscoe Fishing Co.
John's Fly Fishing Tales
Follow along with John as he shares his flyfishing adventures in the freshwater streams of North Carolina and Tennessee. John posts to this blog regularly so be sure to check back often or subsribe to our newsletter for digest updates.
The Death of Delayed Harvest
With Delayed Harvest waters turning over to Hatchery Supported soon, the yearly trout slaughter is upon us. The first Saturday in June marks the end of the catch & release single hook regulation on Delayed Harvest (DH) waters. At noon, the DH waters will revert to Hatchery Supported regulations. No lure restictions (bait), no size limit, and a 7 fish creel limit.The state says that DH streams are managed like this because the stocked trout would not survive the summer. Personally I disagree with this. DH waters do have a lot of stocked trout that may or may not survive, but there is also a large number of stream born wild trout in the water too. I am a firm believer in catch and release fishing, especially for trout.
If you insist on keeping fish, please be responsible and take no more than you are going to eat. If you see someone in violation of these regulations, report them to the Wildlife Resource Commission 1-800-662-7137. Poachers are bad news for all anglers, and it is our responsibility to protect and conserve our fishing opportunities in the High Country.
Fly Fishing Schools
With fishing picking up and trout on the rise, now is great time to take a school and learn how to fly fish. Earlier this week I did a 2 day school with a gentleman from Greensboro.
We had a great time learning the ins and outs of fly fishing, and an awesome time on the river the second day. There was a lot of insect activity on the water with an abundance of large mayfly nymphs, as well as some small yellow sallys hatching in the morning.
Hellbender on the Fly
Nasty Hellbender
When you get tired of catching trout in the stream, and the smallmouth are not biting yet, its time to pursue the elusive hellbender. I was fishing the Watauga DH last week, and got a nice surprise on the end of my line.
I was swinging a wooly bugger through a trough hoping to get a big trout to eat, instead I hooked this prehistoric throwback hellbender. Hellbenders are native to this area and the New River drainage, and can be as big as 2 1/2 feet long. Apparently wooly buggers are part of their diet.
If you do catch one of these things, you don’t want to pick it up trust me. When they are agitated, they secrete a disgusting slime like substance similar to rubber cement. It stays with you and its nasty. I’m gonna stick to trout from now on.
I think its called Sun.
After a long winter, its looking like that big orange thing in the sky has decided to show up again. Delayed Harvest waters have been stocked, and fishing season is upon us.
I have been out a few times playing with the stockers, and it has been a blast. The state stocked a good number of large fish, and they have been in the stream long enough to get some good fight in them. Remember that Hatchery supported streams are closed until the first Staurday in April.
-John
Farm Pond Bass Fishing
I recently had the opportunity to go and fish a small pond in SC while on a duck hunting trip. “Farm pond” fishing is one of my favorite ways to get a line wet. Usually there are alot of different species lurking in those dingy waters like large mouth bass, sunfish (bream), crappie, catfish, and there’s always the stories of the giant snapping turtle as big as a dinner table.
I am no Nathan Webber when it comes to bass fishing, but we did alright fishing brown woolly buggers on a slow retrieve. The bass were hungry, but not too willing to chase anything moving fast. After we caught a few bucket mouths, we switched to some trout patterns like copper johns and soft hackles to catch some bream.
Small pond fishing is a great way to keep fishing in the winter, or if you live far from a trout stream. Its easy to run out for an afternoon and cast some flies to eager fish- or maybe even hook that giant snapping turtle. -John
Winter Fishing
Its cold, I can’t feel my hands, the guides on my rod keep freezing, and I wouldn’t change a thing. Winter is one of my favorite times to hit the water. Finish reading this tale >>
Favorite Brook Trout Streams
Last night I left the shop early so I could get some fishing in on one of my favorite brook trout streams. Being wild fish, these little fellas were not very picky.
I tied on a size 16 caddis pattern with some CDC wings and didn’t change flies till I caught a nice rhododendron bush. The fish were eager to rise as long as they didn’t see me.
The brookies are starting to get their spawning colors, and in some of the pools it was like looking into a tropical aquarium. All in all it was a great afternoon on one of my favorite streams.
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