Stalking Trout in Todd



The trout stalkers

Finally, after many months and some false starts, Jim Hatchell and I were able to meet at our place in Todd, North Carolina for a day of fishing with Kelly McCoy of the River Girl Fishing Company in Todd.  I have known Kelly since she opened her shop about 5 years ago but we had never had the opportunity to go fishing together until now.

Jim arrived on Sunday evening and we had a great dinner of burgers & brats on the deck with some micro-brew he brought from Winston.  An evening of good company and conversation.

Monday morning we net Kelly at her shop and the three of us headed to Howard's Creek for some small stream fishing.  I fished a Tan Caddis with a #20 tungsten head nymph about a foot below.  My weapons were a Cortland 7' 3/4 weight rod, 4 wt line and 5x 7 1/2 ft. leader.  Small rainbows were the primary fish of the day with plenty of fish in the 5-8 inch range.  I did manage a 10" rainbow and an 11" brown from a nice hole. 

We fished all morning and then Kelly showed us a couple of access points for future fishing opportunities.  We probably scored a combined total of 25-30 fish in about 2 hours of fishing.

A great morning in the mountains around Todd, NC.  Thanks Jim and Kelly!


Kayak Rack

Both Kayaks on the rack

We purchased a couple of Native Watercraft Manta Ray 11 Kayaks last month for fishing and paddling fun.  While we could just toss the yacks into the truck bed and go on our way, that prevents filling the truck with the other ton of stuff needed to chase a 5 oz. fish.  (Fishermen will understand, others will not.)

Anyway, on with the tale.  In anticipation of wanting to travel with the yacks overhead, I began looking at "Official" kayak racks for pickup trucks.  Bars, cradles and the like sort of overwhelmed me and as I began to contemplate paying more for the rack than the kayaks AND since I have about half of the Federal deficit already invested in fishing stuff, I just couldn't see adding another grand to the total and began to look for more affordable options.

A visit to Amazon.com turned up this "Ladder Rack" for only $106 bucks and free shipping.  The rack arrived and was easy to install, built like a tank and looked like a perfect match for my soon to be purchased kayaks.

A test run to Todd, NC to try fitting the yacks proved to be a nearly bubble bursting experience - in my F-150, the distance between the top posts on the racks was about 60 inches, the pair of kayaks needed about 61 inches!  I could stack the yacks but one would have to lean against the other and it just wouldn't look right.  It was also a real bear getting the second kayak up onto the rack and in position.  Since the two kayaks were tight against one another, getting the tie downs in place and secure was difficult for Mary and nearly impossible for large me.  A different solution had to be found.

Cradle holding Mary's Yak

I decided to place a flat shelf across the ladder rack to support the kayaks evenly, force them to drop into a sort of cradle to hold them in place, leave enough room to allow a person to slide the second kayak onto the rack after the first was in place and finally allow enough room for a large adult to stand between the kayaks and tie them down (or untie them) without playing contortionist. 

A bit of head scratching and a couple of trips to the local Home Depot (one trip is never enough) and the rack was assembled as pictured.  I used 5/4" x 6" x 8' decking boards for the cross pieces, other decking boards cut and fastened at the proper angles to form a cradle for the kayaks, some marine carpet to cover the wood and voila!  A Yak Rak is born for well under $200.

So, if you are on a budget or would rather save fishing bucks for actual stuff, consider this combination ladder rack and home built kayak rack.

Davidson River and a suprise September 2010

Jim fishing the Davidson

In mid September, Jim Hatchell called me to say he had a weekend seminar to attend in Brevard, NC and if I wanted, he could come a couple of days early and we could harass some fish on the Davidson River.  Well, always ready to harass finny creatures, I agreed to meet mid week before his classes and see what we could find.

We met around noon on Wednesday and flogged the water until nearly dark.  About the only action was in a honey hole above the hatchery where we each bagged a smallie and tied into one of the hundreds of monster trout living there.  We discovered that these trout don't eat, they just grow and ignore flies.  I'm not sure which is more painful, fishing where you don't KNOW there are fish or watching fish ignore your fly.  Both are painful. A few brews and a Chinese Buffet that evening sent us off to dream of the big ones we would catch on Thursday.

Day 2 was Hot and long and virtually fishless.  We got an early (for us old geezers) start and fished the lower Davidson, the upper Davidson, the Davidson you have to climb the mountain to get to, Looking Glass Creek, Avery Creek and again the honey hole.  A few bumps, a light hit and a snagged trout in the honey hole.  Got back to town about dark and ended up in Mike's Deli eating too much pizza accompanied by too much beer.  We contemplated taking up a sensible hobby like bungee jumping or stunt car driving but decided on a good night's sleep instead.

Jim fishing the suprise

Friday morning, stiff, sore and a bit hung over from the excesses of Thursday night, we decided that another day of fishing the Davidson was just not going to yield different results so we would explore the area to the West of Brevard for a possible future trip.  Jim had to start his seminar Friday evening so we wouldn't be able to fish all day anyway.

After consulting our maps, we decided to go West on Hwy. 64 to 215 and follow the North Fork of the French Broad looking for nirvanna.  As we approached the junction of 64 and 215, we spotted Headwaters Outfitters and decided to stop in for a chat and some advice.  The folks there were most gracious and helpful.  We asked if there was someplace in the area that didn't see 100 fly fishermen a day and which might have a few dumb fish the likes of us might catch.  They pointed us to a wild trout stream that flows into the North Fork several miles up 215 (stop and ask, they'll give directions if it hasn't been fished too heavily that day).

Well, the directions were great and we found ourselves in a fantastic stream with a few cooperative native trout.  I caught a beautiful 10" Rainbow - possibly the most beautiful fish I've ever seen.  What a great suprise and a fantastic end to another great trip with Jim.

Todd 8/25/2010



Jim & Richard


In late August, Mary & I spent a couple of weeks at our family place in Todd, North Carolina.  We needed to do some maintenance on the deck and general sprucing up before it was play time.

The south fork of the New River flows just a few hundred yards from our house so every time we go up there, the fly rod has to accompany us. 


Richard dodging a hole.


The hot dry summer has slowed the fishing in Todd, but my fishing buddy Jim Hatchell came up and we did catch a few smallies and a trout or two.  We agreed to try it again in late September or early October when things cool down a bit.  Nothing to brag about but it is truly a beautiful place.

Tristan's first catch

Tristan's fish!

In late June, we had our 10 year old grandson Tristan over to Tellico for a week of sailing and fishing. 

Tristan took to the fishing more than sailing so we spent some time looking for panfish in the lake.  Though he hadn't fished before, the showed the wonderful traits of patience, perseverance and a real desire to learn how to do it well.  This is Tristan's very first fish; one of many fish caught that week.

Hopefully we can get him back next year for an introduction to the fly rod! 

Early Spring on the Davidson

Jimmy fishing the Davidson

As spring brings life back to the Brevard area of North Carolina, Jim Hatchell and I met at the Davidson River Campground for some fishing and tale telling.  This trip, we both caught a few fish but nothing to brag about.  Truth be told (and being an avid fisherman, I ALWAYS tell the truth) we enjoyed the visit as much as the fishing.

I admitted to Jim that I really didn't know much about trout flies but wanted to learn.  He took it upon himself to tutor me in the lingo of Yellow Humpies, Blue Winged Olives and Elk Hair Caddis.  Lest I forget, there were nymphs, Stoneflies and a terresterial or two thrown in for good measure.  We sorted and organized and somewhere along the way, we even caught a few trout including a nice brookie that we stalked, watched and which Jim graciously allowed me to catch. Very satisfying!



Supper in camp!

 Now, I wouldn't want you to think we suffered for lack of nourishment while "Roughing it", we ate like kings!  Jim handled the suppers and I managed the breakfasts.  Lunch was trail mix or an Ice Cream at Dottie's, we managed not to starve.

Come Sunday, it was time to head home and start planning another trip!  As usual, a great trip.