Hookers Fly Shop and Guide Service. Your Smokies Fly Fishing Experience.

Tuckasegee River Trip Booking Specials with Hookers Fly Shop and Guide Service

Posted on December 27, 2011 by jasoncole

Large Smallie on the Lower Tuckasegee River

SPECIAL SMALLMOUTH FLOAT TRIP OFFER: Book your 2012 Smallmouth float trip on the Tuckasegee or Little Tennessee and receive a 30% discount on the total trip cost. Offer is for a limited time only so book now to enjoy some great savings. Not sure when you can take your trip? No worries! Just put down a deposit and set your date later. Our guides are some of the most knowledgeable guides in the area and absolute smallmouth fanatics. We are the only outfitter and guide service that offers seven different sections to float on the Upper and Lower Tuckasegee River. Check out our photo gallery of some of the big fish our clients have caught over the past several seasons.

Winter Booking Special: Book any trip between now and the end of February and you will receive $35.00 off the trip price and a free Hookers Logo T-Shirt or Logo Cap. Also, book any trout trip for March through Dec. 2012 and get 20% off the total trip cost.

Categories: Fly Fishing near Cherokee, Fly Fishing near Sylva North Carolina, Fly Fishing near the Blue Ridge Parkway, Fly Fishing near the Smokies, Fly Fishing the Tuckasegee, Hookers Fly Shop, Smallmouth Trips, The Fly Fishing Trail | Comments Off

Tuckasegee Trip Booking Specials at Hookers Fly Shop and Guide Service

Posted on December 27, 2011 by jasoncole

Large Smallie on the Lower Tuckasegee River

Winter Guiding on the Tuckasegee River

Posted on December 18, 2011 by jasoncole

Trent with a nice Rainbow

Most of the crowds we saw during Oct. and early Nov. have pretty much disappeared from the Tuck DH. Now you will only find the occasional guide with clients as well as a few of the anglers that don’t mind fishing in the colder temps. Today was no exception with less than a dozen anglers on the upper section along South River Rd.

Aaron with a Rainbow on the Tuckasegee

The fishing started out pretty hot for Trent and Aaron. Trent began the day with a 17-18″ rainbow in the net followed by a small brook and a monster bow that was pushing 22-23″. The big bow put up a pretty good fight that ended with a snapped leader and a broken heart. Aaron had several nice takes and landed several fish in the 12-13″ range and ended up with a grand slam with the last fish of the day. Fish were taken on #8 Hot Head Brown Marvins, #14 Lightning Bugs, #18 Midge and a #14 Catamount (Purple and Gold Lightning Bug Pattern) Overall great day on the water with some excellent company.

Don’t be turned off from fishing in colder temps because the winter can provide some of the best angling opportunities of the year especially on stocked rivers and streams. Just remember to layer up and always carry an extra change of clothing for those occasional slips and falls that every angler encounters as some point or another.

Catch and Release

Fly Fishing on the Tuckasegee DH in November

Posted on November 18, 2011 by jasoncole

Monster Rainbow caught and released on the Tuck DH

The Tuckasegee has been fishing extremely well this Fall. The crowds have died down, which has given these fish a break from the pounding they received in October and early November. Myself and Hookers Fly Shop guide Clint Holcomb have been on the river almost everyday for the past few weeks guiding or just fishing. We have seen plenty of impressive fish including a monster brown pushing 30″ that Clint hooked into several days ago. Unfortunately, after the 10 minute fight the fish spit the fly and won the battle. We have also landed several rainbows and browns in the 18-23″ range and a few big brookies in the 16-18″ range.

The fish are eating a variety of flies including: most junk food patterns (i.e. San Juans, Eggs, Y2K, etc.), Large Stoneflies (Double Bead Stone, Lowe’s V-Rib Stone, Brown Marvins), Midges (Black, Red, Olive and Purple Zebra Midges, Griffiths Gnats, WD Flash Wing in Red, Black or Olive, Brassie in Red, Copper or Green, Dries (BWO, Para BWO, Adams, Para Adams, Tan Caddis).

November and December Float and Wade Trip Booking Special

Book with us between now and Dec. 31st and receive a $30.00 discount on any of our trips and a free Hookers Logo T-Shirt or Hat.

Fly Fishing the Tuckasegee River

Posted on November 13, 2011 by jasoncole

Large Tuckasegee Rainbow

The Tucksasgee Delayed Harvest has been on fire. We have been seeing less crowds than we did in October, where we were seeing record numbers of anglers and guides on the river. For me, November is one of my favorite months to fish and guide the Tuck Delayed Harvest. With the last stocking at the first of the month the river has now been stocked with close to 20,000 fish in the 5.5 miles of D.H. water. Our trips have been bringing in anywhere from 30-60 fish per trip and our guides have even been able to get out there on their own as well.

Biff with a very nice Rainbow

Underwater shot of a large bow

Charlotte with a decent Rainbow

Yesterday, Clint and I guided a great group of women from Tallahassee, Fl. The ladies had a fantastic day on the water with somewhere between 40 and 50 fish hooked and brought to the net. Charlotte had the big fish of the day and the even bigger fish of the day that eventually got off. Looked to be a rainbow pushing 20″. Most of the fish were taken on, yes you guessed it, Hot Head Marvins #8 as well as #16 HH Prince Nymph, #10 Y2K, #16 B.H. Hares Ear and #18 Laniers Lucent Lightning Red.

Today, I will be headed out to the Smokies to guide two guys on a 3/4 day trip.

"Fish Kisses"

Tuckasegee River Delayed Harvest Fly Fishing

Posted on November 7, 2011 by jasoncole

On Saturday, myself, Clint, and Matthew had the pleasure of working with several of the young men from our local Boy Scout Troop. This fine group of scouts are now well on their way to earning their Fly Fishing merit badges. Several of the boys caught some nice rainbow and brook trout on the fishing segment of the day as well as learning overhead and roll cast techniques. We also had the opportunity to talk to them about fishing and access regulations, bug and fly identification and knot tying. A superb day on the water introducing these future fly fisherman to the sport. If you have a troop that is interested in this please feel free to contact us.

Intro to Fly Fishing with Troop 999

Today, I had a few hours before I had to be at the fly shop so I slipped down to the Tuck. There was no generation so the water was extremely low. There were a few fish rising so I tied on a #18 Blue Wing Olive and landed a few rainbows and a couple of brook. I switched over to a #8 Hot Head Marvin with a #16 Pink Beadhead Prince Nymph dropper and landed close to two dozen more trout. Most of the fish were in the 12-14 inch range with several fish around 16″. With the East Fork release the water was due to come up around 10am so I had to cut the morning short. The primary hatch for November will be Blue Wing Olives, Dun and Tan Caddis, and Dark Midges. Call or message us for a list of suggested patterns to use on the Tuck or any of the other surrounding streams and rivers.

Little Brookie on a Hot Head Prince Nymph

Categories: Fly Fishing near Sylva North Carolina, Fly Fishing near the Blue Ridge Parkway, Fly Fishing near the Smokies, Fly Fishing the Tuckasegee, Hookers Fly Shop, The Fly Fishing Trail | Comments Off

Tuckasegee River Guided Trip 11-4-2011

Posted on November 4, 2011 by jasoncole

The Tuckasegee has been on fire since the November stocking on Wed. and Thurs. of this week. Expect large crowds for the next week or so. Fish are holding in large pods mostly near the banks where they were stocked. For the Duke Energy generation schedule you can click the Duke Energy link, which is also on our home page.

Today, I guided a great group of guys from the Charlotte area. They brought somewhere around 50 fish to the net including a grand slam and a double (two fish on the same line). Most fish were taken on a #8 Hot Head Marvin and #10 Y2K setup. With the overcast rainy morning there were plenty of fish rising to tiny Blue Wing Olives.

Tomorrow, we will be guiding 15 scouts from a local Boy Scout Troop. The boys will be attempting to earn their fly fishing merit badges.

Tuckasegee River Delayed Harvest Guided Trips 10-29-11 and 10-30-11

Posted on October 31, 2011 by jasoncole

Windy Day on The Tuck

Saturday and Sunday I guided Patti and Walton from Hoschton, Ga. Saturday started off pretty good with 7 or 8 fish in the net and then the wind really picked up. We made it about two hours before we decided to call the half day trip a two hour trip. Luckily Patti and Walton had two days booked with us so we made it out again on Sunday morning. Sunday ended up being fairly slow with just a handful of fish in the net but Patty hooked into a monster 19-20″ rainbow. The fish got away before we could snap a picture. Fish were taken on #10 Yellow/Orange Y2K, #8 Hot Head Marvins and #18 Tungsten Surveyors. What a great couple of days on the water with some fine people!

Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off

Tuckasegee River Fly Fishing Float Trip 10-27-11

Posted on October 28, 2011 by jasoncole

Keith and Mark with guide Clint Holcomb

Morris with a Brown Trout

Yesterday, Clint and I had our boats on the delayed harvest with clients Keith, Dave, Morris and Mark. I had Dave and Mark in my boat and Clint had Keith and Morris in his. Overall the guys caught somewhere between 50 and 60 trout and a few smallies as well. Keith caught the big fish of the day with a rainbow that was just shy of 20″. Keith also had two back-to-back double hook-ups, which is something that is pretty rare. This was my second trip this year with Keith and Dave and they are already talking about floating again in the Spring. Fish were taken on Hot Head Marvins in Brown, Brown/Yellow and Olive/Dark Olive, #10 Y2K, #12 B.H. Prince, #18 Red Laniers Lucent Lightning and #18 Soft Hackle Hares Ear. What a great day on the water with some great company as well.

Working and tying some flies at the shop as two of trips today rescheduled. Hopefully I will get some much needed flies tied and back into the guide boxes.

Categories: Fly Fishing near Cherokee, Fly Fishing near Sylva, Fly Fishing near Sylva North Carolina, Fly Fishing near the Blue Ridge Parkway, Fly Fishing the Tuckasegee, Hookers Fly Shop, The Fly Fishing Trail | Comments Off

Tuckasegee River Guided Trip 10-26-2011

Posted on October 26, 2011 by jasoncole

Another foggy morning on The Tuck

Today, I had the pleasure of guiding Wade (The Peanut Man) from the Columbia, SC area on a half day trip on the Tuckasegee Delayed Harvest. It was Wade’s first fly fishing trip for trout. We hit the river around 8am and soon found a large pod of trout to cast to. Wade began the trip by landing several rainbows around 12-13 inches and several smaller brook trout. That is, until he

Wade with a nice Tuckasegee Brown Trout

hooked into a monster rainbow that looked to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 22-24 inches. After a short battle the bow took a hard run and snapped off the fly. Naturally, Wade was a little disappointed to lose such a big, beautiful fish but it wasn’t long until his rod was bent by not one, but two hefty brown trout. The first fish came in around 15-16 inches but did not have very much weight on him. The second fish was in the 16-17 inch range and was a bit fatter and put up a heck of a fight. All the big fish were taken on a #8 Yellow/Brown Hot Head Marvin. Wade also landed several fish on a #18 Soft Hackle Hares Ear and a #18 Tungsten Surveyor.