With all the Meet and Greets being planned on NCAngler I thought I'd better get this one started so participants can mark their calendar!
It is once again time to plan our annual New River Smallie Trip! I think it's our 4th one but I'm old and tend to forget. What I do know is that we have a blast every time and the growing number of participants each year is indicative of that.
For those that have never been here are some of the details. And for those who go every year, we've made a few changes this year that I think you will like.
The South Fork of the New River in Ashe County is a relatively gentle flowing river with spectacular scenery and gazillions of fiesty smallies. It is listed as a National Scenic and Historic River and is believed to be the second oldest river in the world, behind the Nile in Egypt. It is one of the few rivers that flows South to North and that's because the river was there before the mountains were! The fish in the South Fork tend to run smaller than in the main river (above where the North and South Forks meet) but are a blast on ultralight tackle and flyrods. Last years largest fish was a 15 incher caught by Raymond 'Curt Gowdy' Wells. River fish are aggressive, opportunistic feeders and will strike a large variety of offerings. About the only thing that slows the fishing down is muddy water which is one reason we hold this event mid summer as water levels tend to be lower and clearer during this season. That time of year in the mountains is a great break from the heat of summer that we'll have in the lowlands as well.
A gently moooooving section.......yes those are cows...
We choose the South Fork versus the main river for safety reasons. We want canoe/kayers of all ability to be able to participate and the South Fork has just enough rapids to make it exciting without it being exceedingly dangerous. Again, the summer low river flow adds to the safety factor. Nevertheless you have to respect the awesome power of moving water and you will get lots of practice manuevering your craft around exposed and slightly submerged boulders and picking your lines through the small rapids and shallow areas. We've never had anyone hurt on these floats and want to keep it that way.
PapaDave and Grandson maneuvering some white water last year:
Darrell (dbeam) running the same rapid in his yak.
We base out of the New River State Park, Highway 221 Access. It has tent camping as well as RV camping available as well as a nice bath house with showers. Each participant is responsible for thier own reservations which can be made online through the following link, which also has lots of other useful information about the park. Be sure to reserve at the 221 Access as there are other campsites within the park.
http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/neri/main.php
We arrive on a Friday, set up camp, sneak in some fishing...whatever. We float on Saturday and Sunday. In the past we have floated two separate sections and planned all of our own logistics for putting in/taking out/ ferrying participants/leaving vehicles and trailers at take outs etc. This was fine when we had a dozen or so participants but last year it became quite the chore with over 20 vessels and without the extra effort and cost by folks like Echerd, Big Dave, Froggy Waters and others it would have been catastrophic. I don't want to impose on those guys this year so I contacted New River Outfitters (the campground/canoe rental place next to the 221 high bridge) to see how much they would charge to haul us from the Kings Creek Access (take out) back to the 221 Access each day. For 22 vessels they quoted me a price of $90! Basically for $5 per day per vessel ($10/vessel for the two day trip) we don't have to deal with the hassle and cost of gas running trucks/trailers all over the mountains. Gives us more time to socialize back at camp! So that's what I plan on doing this year.
Camp Shot from last year...Gary (Froggy Waters) pouring me a much needed cup of coffee early one morning and Eddie (yakattack flyflinger) in the background. I raided the sausage and eggs while I was there too!
This year we will be floating from the campground to Kings Creek Access on both days. This section of the river has fewer other recreational boaters and better fishing. It allows folks to drop their vessels in the water to depart whenever they choose right from the campground. The only caveat will be to be sure to be at the take out by the designated time so as not to miss the ride back (attn: Raymond)
And of course we have our Day 1 'Big Fish' fishing contest. On day 1 take a pic of a nice fish and bring the image to the official 'weigh in' back at camp. As in years past I will serve as the Judge for the contest. All judging decisions will be final. I take Mastercard and Visa. Bring a lure or two to put in the prize pot. Last year there were a number of contestants disqualified for not heeding various rules and clauses in the 'Official Red X Angler Tournament Rule Book'. Here's an example whereby I disqualified myself for not following Section 22, Subsection 18(c)-.01 regarding framing a photo so as to make the fish appear larger.
Here were the contest winners, who got to split the very large prize package
So let the planning begin!! If you've got pics from past events feel free to post them as we go!
The event will be held on July 27,28,29. The attendance list is attatched. (Updated as of 6/1/12)
Cedwards 1
bigdave 1
h2ohhh (w/dave)
raymondwells 1
froggy waters 4
froggette waters (inc. in Froggy)
dbeam 1
echerd (and family) 4
catawba 1
papadave (and family) 1
pondhopper 1
rockhopper 1
luckyone 1
yakattackflyflinger 1
abert43 (dad and maybe anortnc7)
mofish (almost forgot) 1
Fisherman Bill 1
RouseD 1
Kelly 1
plowboy (and daughter)
Drewyakker 1
Fanapoe (and friend) 1
Jared 1
Southfork Smallies
Johnyaksjax 1
Ncmtnguy 1
Finstalker 1
Masterblaster8948 1
It is once again time to plan our annual New River Smallie Trip! I think it's our 4th one but I'm old and tend to forget. What I do know is that we have a blast every time and the growing number of participants each year is indicative of that.
For those that have never been here are some of the details. And for those who go every year, we've made a few changes this year that I think you will like.
The South Fork of the New River in Ashe County is a relatively gentle flowing river with spectacular scenery and gazillions of fiesty smallies. It is listed as a National Scenic and Historic River and is believed to be the second oldest river in the world, behind the Nile in Egypt. It is one of the few rivers that flows South to North and that's because the river was there before the mountains were! The fish in the South Fork tend to run smaller than in the main river (above where the North and South Forks meet) but are a blast on ultralight tackle and flyrods. Last years largest fish was a 15 incher caught by Raymond 'Curt Gowdy' Wells. River fish are aggressive, opportunistic feeders and will strike a large variety of offerings. About the only thing that slows the fishing down is muddy water which is one reason we hold this event mid summer as water levels tend to be lower and clearer during this season. That time of year in the mountains is a great break from the heat of summer that we'll have in the lowlands as well.
A gently moooooving section.......yes those are cows...
We choose the South Fork versus the main river for safety reasons. We want canoe/kayers of all ability to be able to participate and the South Fork has just enough rapids to make it exciting without it being exceedingly dangerous. Again, the summer low river flow adds to the safety factor. Nevertheless you have to respect the awesome power of moving water and you will get lots of practice manuevering your craft around exposed and slightly submerged boulders and picking your lines through the small rapids and shallow areas. We've never had anyone hurt on these floats and want to keep it that way.
PapaDave and Grandson maneuvering some white water last year:
Darrell (dbeam) running the same rapid in his yak.
We base out of the New River State Park, Highway 221 Access. It has tent camping as well as RV camping available as well as a nice bath house with showers. Each participant is responsible for thier own reservations which can be made online through the following link, which also has lots of other useful information about the park. Be sure to reserve at the 221 Access as there are other campsites within the park.
http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/neri/main.php
We arrive on a Friday, set up camp, sneak in some fishing...whatever. We float on Saturday and Sunday. In the past we have floated two separate sections and planned all of our own logistics for putting in/taking out/ ferrying participants/leaving vehicles and trailers at take outs etc. This was fine when we had a dozen or so participants but last year it became quite the chore with over 20 vessels and without the extra effort and cost by folks like Echerd, Big Dave, Froggy Waters and others it would have been catastrophic. I don't want to impose on those guys this year so I contacted New River Outfitters (the campground/canoe rental place next to the 221 high bridge) to see how much they would charge to haul us from the Kings Creek Access (take out) back to the 221 Access each day. For 22 vessels they quoted me a price of $90! Basically for $5 per day per vessel ($10/vessel for the two day trip) we don't have to deal with the hassle and cost of gas running trucks/trailers all over the mountains. Gives us more time to socialize back at camp! So that's what I plan on doing this year.
Camp Shot from last year...Gary (Froggy Waters) pouring me a much needed cup of coffee early one morning and Eddie (yakattack flyflinger) in the background. I raided the sausage and eggs while I was there too!
This year we will be floating from the campground to Kings Creek Access on both days. This section of the river has fewer other recreational boaters and better fishing. It allows folks to drop their vessels in the water to depart whenever they choose right from the campground. The only caveat will be to be sure to be at the take out by the designated time so as not to miss the ride back (attn: Raymond)
And of course we have our Day 1 'Big Fish' fishing contest. On day 1 take a pic of a nice fish and bring the image to the official 'weigh in' back at camp. As in years past I will serve as the Judge for the contest. All judging decisions will be final. I take Mastercard and Visa. Bring a lure or two to put in the prize pot. Last year there were a number of contestants disqualified for not heeding various rules and clauses in the 'Official Red X Angler Tournament Rule Book'. Here's an example whereby I disqualified myself for not following Section 22, Subsection 18(c)-.01 regarding framing a photo so as to make the fish appear larger.
Here were the contest winners, who got to split the very large prize package
So let the planning begin!! If you've got pics from past events feel free to post them as we go!
The event will be held on July 27,28,29. The attendance list is attatched. (Updated as of 6/1/12)
Cedwards 1
bigdave 1
h2ohhh (w/dave)
raymondwells 1
froggy waters 4
froggette waters (inc. in Froggy)
dbeam 1
echerd (and family) 4
catawba 1
papadave (and family) 1
pondhopper 1
rockhopper 1
luckyone 1
yakattackflyflinger 1
abert43 (dad and maybe anortnc7)
mofish (almost forgot) 1
Fisherman Bill 1
RouseD 1
Kelly 1
plowboy (and daughter)
Drewyakker 1
Fanapoe (and friend) 1
Jared 1
Southfork Smallies
Johnyaksjax 1
Ncmtnguy 1
Finstalker 1
Masterblaster8948 1