SC Trout Stocking Report and Flash Flooding

 Fly Fishing  No Responses »
May 192012
 

We certainly saw our share of inclement weather in the Carolinas this week. Heavy rain prompted several flash flood advisories and warnings mostly in the Pee Dee and coastal regions. Luckily, the Upstate probably saw a bit less precipitation, but rivers like the Chattooga did make a pretty good jump back on the 14th. Most Upstate streams have fallen back to around average, but things over here in the Pee Dee are a little different. The Great Pee Dee River itself is pushing nearly 20,000 cfs at one location and is still rising and should exceed its banks here shortly if it hasn’t already.

The good news is, if you’re looking to fish for trout this weekend, the weather looks fairly decent. Mostly sunny, highs around 80F. Not too shabby. And if that wasn’t enough good news, the SCDNR stocked over 12,000 trout this week. If you like fishing the hatchery supported water, there should be a few fish to choose from out there. Some of this week’s stocking included the Little Eastatoee, Little Canebrake, Rocky Bottom and the South Saluda.

I’d carry the usuals. Elk hair caddis, para Adams, stimulators, or the old trusty woolly bugger. 5x tippet should suffice, but don’t leave the 6x at home. Wild trout should probably do fine on para Adams sizes #16 to #20, as well some standard nymphs and such. As always, its fishing, so you may have to feel them out a little of course.

SC Trout Stocking Report 5-12-2012

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May 122012
 

Whoa! Hold it now! I can’t let two weekend’s get completely by me here. Looks like the SCDNR stocked just over 7,000 trout this week into the Lake Hartwell tailwaters, Chauga River, Big and Little Eastatoee, Little Canebrake, and Rocky Bottom.

The weather for the remainder of the weekend looks a little less than perfect. Starting Sunday, the chance of rain jumps up to 60%, with the possibility of up to a half inch of precip. in the Upstate. The risk grows even higher moving into Sunday evening, so I don’t know what to expect. Waters could get fairly high in localized situations, and potentially muddy as well. If I were considering fishing this weekend, I’d make it sometime Saturday afternoon. If you want to risk it on Sunday the high is predicted to be around 70 which isn’t bad.

I’d bring along some beadhead style flies in case the water gets up and going. San Juan worms would be a good choice. If the rain doesn’t happen, I’d be ready with parachute Adams, elk hair caddis, Quill Gordons, and such for dry flies. Hare’s ear and prince nymphs if you want to take it down deeper. Roughly the same for wild trout.

SC Trout Stocking Report and the Weather Roller Coaster

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Apr 282012
 

Several disturbances moved through the Carolinas over the last few days, bringing heavy to rain to some areas, and lesser amounts in others. Here at HQ, we had 1″ of rain on Friday with some nickel and dime sized hail mixed in. The biggest system moved through last weekend, bringing as much as 6.5″ of rain to Pawleys Island, while I had .1″ here at Darlington. The Upstate has seen some precipitation as well, and water levels jumped well above average at times, but have begun to recede. One of the most interesting occurrences was frost on the ground here Tuesday morning. Never seen it that late before.

As mentioned, water levels are falling on the trout streams, but for the remainder of the day, I’d expect some off-color conditions. I would most likely keep it subsurface fishing buggers, other streamers, San Juan worms, or beadhead nymphs. Dry flies may work. You’ll just have to monitor conditions as you go and adjust.

The SCDNR stocked over 13,000 trout in several Upstate streams including Little Canebrake, Big and Little Eastatoee, Rocky Bottom, North and Middle Saluda rivers, and the Chauga. Weather for the rest of the weekend looks fairly decent.

Recap Of Last Weekend’s Fishing

 Fly Fishing, Notes From The Creek  No Responses »
Apr 222012
 

I mentioned in a previous update that fly fishing for trout in the Upstate last weekend (4/14/12) was really incredible. Water levels were somewhat low and very clear, but fish were still biting really well on the wild trout water I fished. They were quite spooky, so once the sun got fairly high in the sky, I switched to a #20 parachute Adams to decrease my impact on the water. Up until that point, I had fished with more of a beadhead streamer that caught a few browns. Trout took the Adams very eagerly as well as #18 March Browns. I even managed to catch a combination of rainbow, brown, and brook trout last Saturday.

I won’t go into any really drawn out details. I fished with 6x leader and tippet all weekend, and nearly even decided to go 7x. Fishing was a lot slower on Sunday, although I did manage to catch a few. There was an abundance of debris in the water on Sunday that may have had something to do with it. Looked mostly like blossoms from trees, and some leaves as well. The fish may have had a hard time distinguishing what was food and what wasn’t, or perhaps they were just being fish. I’ve posted a few of the better photos from the trip below.

SC Trout Stocking Report 4-20-2012

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Apr 202012
 

The SCDNR stocked quite a number of trout into the Upstate this week. Over 12,000 in total into a combination of the Little Canebrake, Big and Little Eastatoee, Rocky Bottom, the Chauga, and a few other locations. There is one small catch though. It may rain and/or storm all weekend. Looks like the chance of foul weather begins increasing from around 11:00 am Saturday through Sunday morning. The actual chance only reaches a maximum of 60% Saturday night, so it really may not be that bad. There could be some heavier rain associated with thunderstorms, which could affect waters in a more localized way. It remains to be seen.

I would be prepared for off-color water, and hope that it doesn’t get muddy. Off-color will allow you to use a slightly heavier tippet on stocked fish and wild trout. They won’t be quite as spooky at least. Last weekend, with fairly low water and clear skies, the wild fish at least were very spooky. You had to have your heron like skills finely tuned. That may not be the case this weekend.

Streamers did well last Saturday morning catching browns, and then in the afternoon as things got brighter and the trout more easily spooked, casting #20 parachute Adams and #18 March Browns worked well for both browns and rainbows.

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