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

Guided Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Tuckasegee Delayed Harverst 10-21-11 to 10-25-11

Posted on October 25, 2011 by jasoncole

It’s been a busy week here at Hookers Fly Shop. We have had several trips out and guides Cris Weatherford and Clint Holcomb fished in the Rumble in the Rhododendron this past weekend.

On Friday, I guided repeat client and good friend Daniel B. from Alabama. It was a bit slow but all three gentlemen landed some nice fish including a really nice brown. It was a good day on the water with a great group of guys. Fish were taken on #8 Olive/Dark Olive Hot Head Marvins and a #16 Tungsten Surveyor.

On Saturday, I guided brothers Lee and Reed J. and friend John from southern Ga. Reed started out the morning pretty hot with several rainbows and a brook. John and Lee had a slow morning but picked up some nice fish in the late morning/early afternoon. Lee landed a 16″ inch bow and John got his first trout on the fly! Great day on the water with some great company. Most fish were taken on #8 Brown Marvins, #10 Y2K and #16 Rainbow Warriors. These guys are already talking about another trip in the Spring.

Yesterday and today, I had the pleasure of guiding Dan C. from Atlanta, Ga. This was Dan’s 5th trip with me and we normally fish the Tuckasegee for trout or smallmouth. This trip, Dan wanted to try some small mountain trout streams, so yesterday we fished the Upper Oconaluftee just above Kephart Prong. Dan ended up with several rainbows and browns in the net including the beautiful rainbow pictured below. Most fish were taken on an #16 Orange Soft Hackle and a #14 Yellow Caddis. Water temp was 48 and there were was very sporadic hatch of Yellow Stoneflies.

Today, Dan fished the lower and upper sections of the Tuckasegee Delayed Harvest. He landed somewhere around 20 trout and a one big Red Horse. Fish were taken on a #8 Yellow/Brown Hot Head Marvin, #18 Griffiths Gnat and a #16 Copper B.H. Hares Ear. Dan also landed several brook trout on a #6 tan Sculpzilla.

Tuckasegee Delayed Harvest Guide Report 10-17-11 to 10-20-11

Posted on October 20, 2011 by jasoncole

Mike with a pretty Brook Trout on a Tuckasegee Float

Hookers Fly Shop guides Jason Cole, Clint Holcomb, Jesse and Aaron Lambert have been out on the Tuckasegee Delayed Harvest pretty much since the first stocking on the Oct. 4th and 5th. We are still seeing heavy crowds on the weekends and decent crowds on the river during the week but it has slowed slightly since the first of October.

"Three Little Brookies"

This week we had trips out every day except for yesterday as we had to cancel a float trip due to weather and low water conditions. On Monday I had a 3/4 day float with Mike A. and son Grayson from Upperville, Va. It was a pretty good day on the water with plenty of rainbows and brookies brought to the net. It was Grayson’s first time fly fishing and he quickly landed 5 or 6 fish in the first half hour with one decent bow around 16″.

Clint also had Tim M. and his wife out for a second day of fly fishing on Tuesday. Clint reports a decent day with some nice fish in the net and plenty that got away. Hot flies were #10 Yellow/Orange Y2K, #8 Brown Marvins (Olive/Dark Olive), #18 Tailwater Sow Bugs, #16 Rainbow Warrior as well as #16 Para Adams and #18 Griffiths Gnats. The Para Adams and Griffiths Gnats were fished as a dropper rig in the early to mid morning for plenty of rising fish. I had WCU student Nick T. out on Tuesday as well. Nick did pretty good. He brought somewhere around a dozen fish to the net with several nice Rainbows and Brook trout. Most fish were taken on #8 Brown Marvins and #10 Y2K.

Today I guided Tim B. from Kennesaw, Ga. We fished a section of the Tuck that hasn’t received as much pressure as some of the area above the island. Tim got into them on the first cast. We ended up with close to a dozen in the net and just as many long distance releases. The big fish of the day was a 23″ Brown that took a #8 Olive/Dark Olive Brown Marvin. Talk about one happy client!

Tim with a 23" Brown on the Tuck

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 Trips Mid October 2011

Posted on October 16, 2011 by jasoncole

"Fog rising on the Tuck"

The Tuck has seen less pressure over the last week compared to the week before. However, the upper section and the lower section near Carol’s Cabins have still been getting hit pretty hard especially on the weekends. Our guides have been out for the past few days and the fishing has been hot.

Yesterday, we had three trips out on the Tuckasegee DH and everyone caught a decent amount of fish. Most fish were taken on #8 Brown Marvins (brown and yellow/brown), #12 Y2K, and #18 Tailwater Sow Bugs.

Cheryl with a nice brown

Today, I had the pleasure of guiding Cheryl F. on her first fly fishing trip. She quickly picked up on the casting and it wasn’t long until she was hooked up on her first fish on the fly. I soon lost count of how many fish Cheryl was bringing in. She ended up catching a couple of brook trout near the end of the trip for the “Tuck Slam”, rainbow, brown and brook. Way to go Cheryl!!!

Clint’s dad, John, came up to surprise Clint for his 21st birthday. Today, they headed out to the Tuck for John’s third time fly fishing. Clint reports that most fish were taken 0n a #18 Tailwater Sow Bug and several fish on #8 Green/Black Marvins and #10 Y2k. John caught the big fish of the day, a 17″ brown, which was on a #12 Royal Stimulator but it broke off before they could get it into the net.

We are looking forward to the being on the water guiding for the next couple of weeks straight! We will continue to post reports after every couple of trips.

John Holcomb fishing with his son Clint on the Tuck DH

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, The Fly Fishing Trail | Comments Off

Happy Birthday Clint!

Posted on October 16, 2011 by cbdebnam

Everyone take this opportunity to wish a happy 21st birthday to our guide Clint. You may also recognize him as the guy leading fly tying class on Tuesday nights. Happy Birthday Clint!

Categories: Uncategorized | Comments Off

Tuckasegee River Fly Fishing Trip 10-11-2011

Posted on October 11, 2011 by jasoncole

You gotta love it when you get a good dose of “liquid sunshine”. Well Ed F. and I had plenty of it while fishing on the Tuckasegee Delayed Harvest today. This was my fifth time guiding Ed and as always, it was a pleasure. Ed ended up with close to 20 fish in the net and he even got the “Tuck Grand Slam”-Rainbow, Brook and Brown.

We started the morning about 300 yards above the island and found several nice runs with plenty of fish. Ed quickly landed 8 or 9 fish in the first hour. The fish were taken on a #8 Yellow/Brown Hot Head Marvin with a #14 B.H. Hares Ear dropper. It began to slow down around 12:30 so we decided to drive up stream and break for lunch. After we ate lunch at the boat launch below Hwy 107, we worked our way down to the Smoky Mountain Getaways cabins on Dillard Road. Ed had been talking earlier about getting some fish on dry flies and here we found plenty of hungry fish rising to midges. We tied on a #16 Parachute Adams with a #20 Griffiths Gnat dropper. Ed ended up with three or four on the Adams and three on the Gnat included a fat little brown trout.

Despite standing in the rain for most of the day it was a fantastic time on the water with some great company.

Categories: Fly Fishing near Cherokee, 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

Tuckasgee River Guided Trips 10-7-11 10-8-11

Posted on October 9, 2011 by jasoncole

Fall on the Tuckasegee River

You probably can’t find many, if any, fly fisherman that have had a bad day on the Tuckasegee Delayed Harvest this week. With the October stocking on Tuesday and Wednesday the river is full of fish and has been fishing extremely well. We have had several trips out on the Delayed Harvest this week and all the trips have been productive. Yesterday I had the pleasure of guiding my good friend Manny T. from Greenville, SC. This is Manny’s 5th trip with me and it was nothing short of spectacular. Manny landed over 20 fish on our half day trip. He was a brown shy of the Tuck grand slam but the beautiful brook trout he caught definitely made up for it. Most fish were taken on #14 B.H. Prince Nymph and #8 Hot Head Marvins.

Today, I guided Brent E. and older brother Shane E. from Candler, NC. Shane started off the day with six fish in the net in under 20 mins. Brent ended up with close to a dozen fish by the end of the day while Shane landed somewhere around 15 or 16. Most fish were in the 11-13 inch range with several rainbows around 16-17 inches. Orange eggs, Hot Head Marvins and #14 Prince Nymphs were the flies of choice.

Categories: Fly Fishing near Sylva, 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

Fly Fishing the Tuckasegee River

Posted on October 5, 2011 by jasoncole

The Tuckasegee Delayed Harvest has received its first fall stocking! Yesterday and today the stocking trucks were out delivering close to 10,000 fish to the delayed harvest section of the Tuckasegee River located between Hwy 107 and Dillsboro. It wasn’t long before word got out and hordes of fly and spin fisherman hit the river. At one point today there were probably close to 100 people along the delayed harvest. This will only last for a first week or so and then the crowds will die down a bit. Look for Friday, Saturday and Sunday to be the most crowded. Keep in mind that this section of river is close to 5.5 miles and fairly wide in most areas so there is plenty of room for everyone and no reason to crowd fellow fishermen and women.

If you are in need of a guided wade or float trip please feel free to contact us. We offer 1/2 day, 3/4 and full day wade and float trips on this section of river. October and November are extremely busy months for us so it is always better to book your trip in advance. If you are in need of gear please feel free to stop in and check out what our fly shop has to offer. We are located just five minutes drive from the Tuckasegee Delayed Harvest on West Main St. in downtown Sylva.

Be sure to click on the Duke Power link on our homepage to check out the generation schedule. Also, if you need to report wildlife violations such as poaching please call 1800-662-7137.

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

Overnight Camping and Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Posted on September 30, 2011 by jasoncole

There is nothing like going to sleep and waking up to the sound of a mountain stream. Some of my fondest childhood memories take place on the banks of Hazel Creek, Eagle Creek and Forney Creek. Growing up I had one of the greatest mentors I could have ever hoped for, his name was Henry Lambert and he was my “Pa-paw”. He taught me everything I know about fishing in the Smokies and how to spend days and nights in the backcountry. These are the lessons and experiences I hope share with my son and in a few years with my little girl.

I decided to take a break from guiding and running the fly shop to take my son camping in the Smokies for the past couple of days. We didn’t want do anything very remote since it was my son’s first tent camping trip into the Smokies so instead we decided on camping at Smokemont Campground. This way we had several options for fishing: the main stretch of the Oconaluftee along Hwy 441, Bradley Fork or we could hike the 1.2 miles up to Chasteen Creek. On the first afternoon we decided to take it easy and fish around the campground on Bradley. We landed several decent browns and one tiny rainbow before we headed back to camp for dinner.

The next morning my son woke me up at 6:30 and said “what’s for breakfast and can we go fishing”. After getting our bellies full we pulled on our waders, tied on our flies and headed towards Chasteen Creek. We fished several spots along the way on Bradley Fork without very much success. Once we got to Chasteen Creek we began landing fish after fish and my son brought in the “catch of the day” with the brown pictured below. Most of the fish were in the 5-9 inch range and were taken on #12 Tan Caddis and #16 BH Copper Johns.

My son says to me as we are hiking out of Chasteen, “Daddy is this the best camping trip you have ever been on?” which echos the same thing I would ask my “Pa-Paw” after every trip to the Smokies.

Jadon on Chasteen Creek

Categories: Fly Fishing Cherokee, Fly Fishing near Sylva, Fly Fishing near the Blue Ridge Parkway, Fly Fishing near the Smokies, Fly Fishing the Smokies, Uncategorized | Comments Off

New Hookers Fly Shop Logo Merchandise

Posted on September 29, 2011 by cbdebnam

Just an update! We have received in a fresh new batch of Hookers Logo gear! We have dozens of logo tees in all your favorite colors.

Chuck in a Trucker Hat

New in for fall we have heavy weight Hookers zip front sweatshirts in blue and olive. We will also be getting in a shipment of half zip logo fleece next week and a brand new selection of mesh back trucker hats.

If you have been waiting for a reason to come pick up some cool Hookers Gear now you have one! Remember, WCU and SCC students always get 10% off! We also ship anywhere in the world. Feel free to email us to find out about how we can send some cool gear right to your door!

Rainshower tote

Ladies! We also have a new shipment of Lilypond in for fall. If you haven’t seen what Fishpond’s sister company has to offer you are missing out. We have had a hard time keeping these bags and totes on our walls.

Categories: Fly Shop, Gear | Comments Off

Upper West Fork and Middle Prong of the Pigeon with Hookers Fly Shop guides Jason and Clint

Posted on September 29, 2011 by jasoncole

Beautiful Brookie on the Upper West Fork of the Pigeon

Yesterday, Hookers Fly Shop guide Clint Holcomb and I fished the Upper West Fork and the Middle Prong of the Pigeon. We came in on the Blue Ridge Parkway down to 215 and began on the Upper West Fork. On a side note, the color along the parkway is really beginning to show and should be peaking in the next week or two. We fished about half a mile of stream with only a few brookies brought to the net. The water levels were good and crystal clear, so 6x and 7x leader and tippet was a must. I had one nice brookie come up to a #12 Tan Caddis and another smaller brookie on a #14 Red Lucent Lightning Bug. We decided to drive on down to fish the lower section of the Middle Prong just off of 215. There we brought close to a dozen fish to the net, including the nice brown pictured below. Most fish were taken on #12 Tan Caddis or #12 Yellow PMX. Another fine day on the water with Hookers Fly Shop.

Nice Brown on the Middle Prong of the Pigeon

Categories: Fly Fishing near Sylva North Carolina, Fly Fishing near the Blue Ridge Parkway, Fly Fishing near the Smokies, Pigeon River Area | Comments Off