Greetings from a newbie in Davidson

I wanted to say hello to everyone. I read this forum almost every day and enjoy learning about fishing and looking at all the pictures. My name is Ho Young Lee, and I moved to Davidson from NY 7 years ago and just starting fly fishing this past March. I fish with my two boys, Andrew (12) and Mark (10). So far, we have hit mostly the DH streams within 2 hours of my home, which means Mitchell, Stone Mountain, South Mountains, and the Wilson. We have also made three trips to Cherokee and two unfruitful trips to the GSMNP. It's awesome that I can fish with my boys and still get credit from the wife for quality "family time"

We are totally addicted to fly fishing for trout and scour the web for as much information as possible. I think about catching trout all day long (and releasing of course). We really enjoy this site and this forum. As newbies, if anyone has any advice on where to fish, what flies to use, or whatever advice you want to give, we would welcome it. I have learned that certain wild trout streams are sworn secrets so please also feel free to continue my education in trout stream etiquette. That being said, if anyone has any recommendations for decent streams to hit when delayed harvest ends, please PM me and maybe we could hit them together.

One amazing thing I have noticed is that every fly fisherman we have met so far has been so nice to meet. Most will let you know what is working in terms of flies, some will even tell you which areas of the stream are most productive, and some have even given us flies from their own box. They are also courteous and will always ask permission to fish near you after having talked with you for a while. That has not been the case will all spin fishermen (although the majority of them are nice too).

So hello everyone, I look forward to posting and meeting all of you.

Thanks,
Ho Young

Welcome to the forum! Glad to have you aboard. It sounds like you guys are some serious fly fisherman. It's great to see that your kids share your love of fly fishing! They're the next generation.

Again welcome to the forum. Feel free to jump right into any discussion.

Tyler

Welcome! There are some good guys on this site with some good information. Don't hesitate to ask questions because that is how you figure it out.

Thanks for the welcome gentlemen. I enjoyed both of your posts about the Wilson. Had a chance to fish it in late April. Started at the HS section which was void of fish, had an LDR at the beginning of the DH section (black wooly bugger) and netted one brook (salmon colored size 12 egg) that day. The water downstream of the bridge was not flowing too well. Question, should we fish pools where water is not flowing too well or should we move on and look for riffles? Also, how much difference would it make to go from 5x to 6x tippet? Lastly, what size dries would be productive (we were using size 12 parachute adams which were being rejected). Thanks.

Good question. Really it all depends. In the winter, most fish will hunker down in a deep slow moving pool. They don't use up the limited energy they have due to the cold temperatures sitting in a calm pool and not fighting the current. In the summer, dissolved oxygen levels are more abundant in riffles and runs, so fish seek swifter water. I've found that this time of the year, on most streams, you'll see a decent amount of fish holding in riffles and runs, vs. the pools. Fish tend to slip into the pools briefly to grab adult insects on the water's surface right now.

Switching to 6x can make a big difference believe it or not. If you're not catching anything with 5x on, switch to 6x and see what happens. Usually results are better. Same with flies. If you're not catching anything, downgrade to a smaller fly. If that #12 Para Adams isn't bringing fish to the net, try a #14, then a 16, and then an 18, until you find the right size.

Also, try different dries. Terrestrials are active right now, so tie on a beetle, ant or inchworm. They tend to work very well.