Davidson River 4/5-6/2010

I kicked off my tour of some Western NC trout fishing destinations on Monday. We arrived in Brevard around noon and made a stop by Davidson River Outfitters for some information and some flies. I was impressed with the DRO shop. They had a big fly selection and the guy that was in the shop was informative and enthusiastic. Unlike some fishing shops I have visited where they act like snobs or a-holes. I will definitely shop there again and recommend it to anyone going to fish the Brevard area.

We got on the water around 1:30p which was good considering that I hadn't even planned on fishing Monday. The water was cool and the air temperature was hot! We had a slow start and decided to move up to the section near the Wildlife Education Center. I have heard that the Davidson is a very popular area to fish but I was amazed at how many folks were crowded into one area fishing. The saying "elbows and a-holes" would be an understatement. We decided to walk a little ways down and fish the far end of the crowds. Despite all the pressure the trout were actively feeding and crashing the surface. Uh oh... these trout seemed to be 65accustomed to people. I feared we would not fare well.

I did manage to tuck into a good spot where some big fish were hitting the surface. I could not figure out what they were eating but they were packing it away. I tried a few fly and nymph combintations and eventually settled on a orange colored Stimulator that seemed to get some action. After a lot of work I finally connected with a trout. Immediately my rod bent over more than I had ever seen it do in my life, I had hooked something BIG! Unfortunately the novice in me took over and I tried to horse the pig in before it tossed the hook. I managed to get it close enough to look into it's beady eyes and see how huge it was but not get my net on it. I stupidly reached down and grabbed the leader to tug it a little closer and was rewarded with a "PLICK" and my pig darted off into the murk. "$*#&@%^^$" Had an elderly gentleman and his wife not been close to be I would have shouted some bad profanity. I quickly recovered and a little while later connected to another fish that once again bent my rod over. I could not believe it! You do get a second chance. Unfortunately as it got close to me my inner novice took over again and the fly popped out of his mouth and landed in some tree branches. "^#^#&*%" By now it was getting dark and we decided to head to the hotel.



We got up early the next day and went to the same spot, sans the crowds. I managed to connect with a nice brown trout but I spent most of the trip thinking about the ones that got away. We fished the area above the hatchery but busted out. We decided to hit the road and head on towards another area to fish. It was a good two days where it wasn't the quantity if the fish but the quality.

The fish in the D are the most educated of all trout I've come across. Not only do they know what fly you're throwing at them, they know what company/tyer ties them....

Glad you were able to fool some Davidson fish. Looks like your expedition across WNC went well!!

If I could have landed those pigs it would have made my year!!

I know how it feels man!!! I lost a 25" brown on the Davidson 5 years ago. He snapped my 6x and left me thinking What happened??

Those are some STRONG fish...

Yes.... the old guy standing next to me told my buddy that you were stupid if you fished less than 5x on the Davidson. I am inclined to agree. I think I had 6X on myself.