Foscoe Fishing Company Guide - Nathan Webber
Nathan grew up a short drive off the mountain in Kernersville, NC. As a child his father took him fishing as soon as he was big enough to hold a rod. They fished throughout NC from trout to saltwater fish up and down the coast to everything in between.
During his high school years he began focusing on fly fishing for trout, saltwater surf fishing for red fish and tournament fishing for bass.
Nathan moved to Boone in 2000 and discovered the tailwaters of Eastern TN; that combined with his knowledge of the local streams landed him a job guiding both in NC and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Nathan attended Appalachian State University ( ASU ) and received a degree in Business Management. He is a full time guide here at Foscoe Fishing and has had the opportunity to fish throughout the country including Alaska.
He still finds time to compete in Bass tournaments and can occasionally make time to hunt as well as saltwater fish. He recently was on a segment of the Southern Sportsman guiding for trout on the tailwaters in TN.
Nathan's Fly Fishing Tales
Follow along with Nathan as he shares his flyfishing adventures in the freshwater streams of North Carolina and Tennessee. Nathan posts to this blog regularly so be sure to check back often or subsribe to our newsletter for digest updates.
Terrestrials
When I think of hot weather trout fishing one thing sticks out in my mind more than anything else…Terrestrials. Terrestrial insects describe any type of insects that are born on land and happen to fall in the water. Grasshoppers are most commonly recognized from this category since they are popular out west but on eastern rivers, particularly the small streams we have around here beetles, ants, and crickets are more abundant. Any tree lined stream has the potential to provide action for an angler fishing a beetle, while crickets and ants are worth trying anywhere trout are found.
Another common, but easily over looked bug, is the inch worm. These little green worms are slow moving, and make a great food source for the fish whenever they hit the water. A floating version is usually fished, but sinking an inch worm is a great tactic as well.
Next, I fish several different types of ants depending on the conditions. Parachute ant patterns or small foam imitations are great on the top while epoxy body or fur ants work well fished below a dry fly in the surface film. In my box I carry ants varying in size from size 12 flying ants to small size 18 fur body ants for fishing as droppers.
Last of all are my crickets and beetles. These usually range in size from 10 to 16 and are most commonly fished on the surface. I’ll use heavier tippet for these starting with 4x and dropping down to 5x if the fish are looking at, but not eating my flies. If I find a pattern the fish like, but I have trouble seeing I sometimes use a brightly colored paint pen to color the back of the fly.
With all of these patterns dead drifting is usually best for enticing strikes but the occasional twitch can be a deal maker for apathetic trout. Also, throw out conventional wisdom when it comes to choosing a spot to cast. Slow “frog water” can be a great place to throw a beetle or inch worm if the overhanging trees provide shade and have bugs crawling around.
Every summer terrestrial insects fished dry account for some of my biggest trout of the year both on small freestone streams and the bigger tailwaters like the S. Holston and Watauga. Keep your eyes open for big surface feeding fish in the shadows and expand your terrestrial selection to give yourself a shot at fish most people completely ignore!
Winter Equipment Check
Don't let this happen to you!
When the winter weather keeps you indoors, it is a good time to get your equipment ready for spring. One really important item to check is your fly line.
Dirty line does not cast or float as well as clean line. Your can clean it the hard way by washing it in some water with a mild detergent and then rinse it in clean water or you can use a commercial line cleaner.
If you use line cleaner you reduce the process to one step and the product adds a slick finish for better casting. If you inspect your line and it is frayed or cracked, it is time to replace it. Take care of it now before it becomes a problem in the spring.
Fishing on the Watauga River
Yesterday I fished the Delayed Harvest section of the Watauga river on the Hwy 105 section. The fishing was good and we caught a couple of 16+ inch fish. We caught most of the fish on nymphs like pheasant tails in size 14-16 and hares ears in the same size.
We were dropping small zebra midges size 18-22 and micro mayflies in 18-20 and they were producing fish as well. We found a couple of rising fish that were eating small BWOs size 16-20. It was a good day on the river.
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