Smith River - 21 & 23 Apr 08

[al k]

It is unusual for me to have free time at the beginning of a week but I'm sitting out the semester at the college where I teach security related topics to graduate students who are preparing for jobs with governmental agencies or corporate America so decided to head for my "get-away" place which is less then a mile from the Smith River. Someone forgot to tell the weatherman I was coming because the weather was very unsettled with drizzle and showers most of the time I was there.

Monday I linked up with a Smith River TU member who seldom misses a chance to postpone whatever he has planned if an invitation to go fishing is offered. We met at the Mirror Factory at about 1:30pm and proceeded down the railroad tracks to the trestle pool.


We knew the water would be colored a bit from the recent rain but having experienced good action under such conditions in the past we hoped to be able to coach a few fish to hand. The water was a the color of creamed coffee and it had started to rain again on the way down the tracks. Things were not looking good. We were there, so decided to give it a try. I connected first - this 7-8 inch brown put the skunk behind me.


My fishing partner missed several takes at the head of the pool but finally connected with a brown of similar size.


Knowing the river upstream of Town Creek would be much clearer and therefore much more favorable for fishing we pulled out of what is normally a very good section of the river and returned up the railroad tracks to our vehicles. The upper river is a little narrower and not conductive to group fishing so we split up with my partner entering the river by the iron stairs and myself going in near the little camp with the steep steps. As expected the water was very clear. Folks not familiar with the Smith's clear water would have thought it was too clear - it certainly called for more stealth, longer leaders and more precise presentations. I had not gone very far before being rewarded with another Smith River "Jewel"


The upper Smith is also noted for being some of the trickiest wading around. Most of the gravel has been washed downstream and the bottom is slick ledge and bedrock. Small steps or what I like to refer to as "shuffling of feet" is the order of the day. A wadding staff also comes in handy.


I remained on my feet and added eight more browns to my tally. This section is hatchery supported but neither my partner, whom I linked back up with later on, nor I connected with a rainbow on this outing.


I had planned to fish on Tuesday but it had rained fairly steady most of the night and I knew the Spec Reg section and the lower river would be a mess. Although it drizzled most of the morning I worked on deer stands which is my other passion. I sometimes wonder if fishing is just something I do while waiting for deer season to roll around. Good question - I love them both! While driving around Tuesday afternoon it was apparent that the stock truck had just visited the Lower River because every bridge had 3-4 cars or trucks parked and double parked at the pull off's - The local fish market was open for business!

Wednesday morning I checked the color of the water at Stanelytown Bridge and found it fishable. I also saw fishermen already in the water. I headed up Riverside Drive looking for an opening but observed fishermen at all the access points. I ended up at the canoe access just downstream of the Hwy 666 Bridge and the lower end of the Special Regulation Section. No one was fishing the Spec Reg but one fellow with a stringer of fish almost ran over himself from the other side trying to beat me to the bridge. He pulled up short when he saw I was bypassing some promising looking riffles. We exchanged pleasantries and he said he needed one more to make his limit before heading off to work. I wished him luck and started fishing the flat water upsteam of the bridge.


The fish were there but I had a hard time figuring out what they were feeding on. My Allieworm fooled a few but there was some sort of emerger hatch coming off - lots of surface activity without visible insects. I tried several variations of small dry flies and soft hackles but only had one more hit. I could have probably pushed forward and caught a few more but I had a limited amount of time to devote to fishing as North Carolina was calling me. I decided to chalk this one up as a "win" for the fish.


The highlight of the morning was when I arrived back at the canoe access and saw a Conservation Police Officer vehicle parked along side several fisherman vehicles. As I pulled off my waders two CPO's came off the river with a gentleman in tow. When I finished putting my gear away and as they milled around the rear of the CPO vehicle I approached and one of them broke away to meet me. I expressed pleasure at seeing them. We talked for a few moments and then he excused himself so he could get back to the matter at hand. I am not sure what the situation was but as I entered my vehicle I heard one of the CPO's say. Mr. "x" you're lying to me again". I can only hope that Mr."x" let all his friends know that the Smith River is now being patrolled with increased vigor.