Thinking of heading up to the Davidson/Mills area in a couple weeks to dust the webs off the 3wt. Anybody seen/heard any news from this area? I assume the water is running well with all the rain we had in the winter.
Just got back from Cataloochee. Tough weekend. Water is high and flowing. FYI, Upper Mills is closed of due to the road being unpassable. Might want to call ahead and check status. You can fish the lower section at the campground with the 100 other folks if you want though. My suggestion would be to look for new water. Good luck.
ALL of the delayed harvest streams will be fishing well in a couple weeks. Take your pick. Call Davidson River Outfitters (828) 877-4181, or log onto www.HunterBanks.com for a report a few days before you go…
CC, what’s considered upper mills? i haven’t been up there in about 3 yrs. we used to fish the mills from the turkey pen entrance up. What part of the mills is this? we normally fish the davidson a couple miles from the hatchery up.
Fished the D two weeks ago, soon as we arrived the rain gave way to hail, lightning, and heavier rain. We sat under the awning next to the hatchery for a while then went and got wet. The water was milkshake mud by the time we got to casting, and not dingy in a good way, but dingy to point of no visibility. Had a few fish chase down a streamer, and one eat but i had trouble adjusting my strip strike to match 5X and popped him off, i suck i know. Hopefully the rain will calm down soon.
Colt you da man. heard youre at the wa ca. when you comin disaway for my next schoolin. im thinking about hitting the reservation in the smokeys in a few weeks. anybody doin that? any good?
he’s pretty white for a fly guy
TRS, I consider it the Mills but it is actually the tributaries of the mills closer to the Hwy 11 side. I tip my hat to anyone who fishes the upper sections of the Davidson above the hatchery. It’s tough, but I’ve caught some big fish up there. Dangerous too.
Fished the Davidson and the Mills on Saturday 3/20, both were holding plenty of fish. Davidson…small red midges were the ticket, the Mills had a bunch of people swimming/wading as it was the first warm day of the year. Anything buggy looking up front with a small tailing nymph to lots of fish.
20’ Maritime Skiff
“Reel-Fly”
Reelfly - good information. I can’t believe folks were getting in the water. That water still must be in the mid 40’s for temp. no thank you. Looking forward to heading up there for some campin/fishin on the clear water. some sections of the upper davidson can get a little steep. Defintely don’t go alone and make sure you’re felt is in good order. Also helps to have good warranty on your rod when you slip and destroy it.
TRS- I fished the Mills yesterday with a buddy that is just trying to get started. We spent about an hour getting him up to speed, then fished the DH section through the campground area. Every run that looked good had fish. Good amount of surface activity from about 4pm on. Before that, any 2-fly nymph set-up worked. Standard hare’s ears, prince nymphs, etc… up top, same simple deal- parachute adams, 14-16. Have fun. By the way, there were 8-10 trucks along the river, and probably that many rods fishing on a WEDNESDAY afternoon. Might get a bit crowded on the weekend …
upstate - good information. my go to is the 14-16 elk hair caddis and small bead head prince nymph dropper. never had issues with crowds in the past. may require a 1000’ vertical feet rhododendron bush hog session to get some virgin floats in some tight pools. i love that stuff…back when i was in shape. now the only exercise i get is poling around a flat down here and 12 oz curls. pitiful.
Lots of fish in both rivers right now. Water looks good, good flows if you give it a day or two after a big rain. Really different rivers to fish, though. Fishing the Mills is alot more ego-friendly, they aren’t near as finicky as the monsters in the D. Never stopped me though…heading up there next weekend for a few days of camping and self-abuse. BTW, good call on the red thread midges. Need to use a good bit of lead, so casting isn’t much fun, but a #18-22 red midge has been working all winter.
Steve