Latest / The Articulate Fly / S6, Ep 102: Casting Angles: Seasonal Shifts and Strategies with Mac Brown

Transcript

S6, Ep 102: Casting Angles: Seasonal Shifts and Strategies with Mac Brown · The Articulate Fly

• 0:03
  Marvin: Hey folks it's marvin cash the host of the articulate fly we're back with another
• 0:07
  Marvin: casting angles with mac brown mac how are you i'm.
• 0:11
  Mac: Doing great how are you doing marvin.
• 0:13
  Marvin: As always just trying to stay out of trouble and you know it's kind of funny
• 0:16
  Marvin: we were talking before we started recording that uh you know we're kind of in
• 0:19
  Marvin: this transition period uh kind of particularly if you're fly fishing for trout, right?
• 0:26
  Mac: Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's starting to cool down the last few days,
• 0:30
  Mac: which is we finally got a little rainfall yesterday, and then we got winds out
• 0:34
  Mac: of the northeast today, and that's bringing in some cool air.
• 0:39
  Mac: And I think we're like low 70s right now, which is nice for this time of year.
• 0:44
  Marvin: Yeah, but, you know, as we said, you know, it's been so hot for so long,
• 0:47
  Marvin: it's going to take a while for the trout streams to kind of come back into shape, right?
• 0:52
  Mac: Oh yeah yeah they were low and we definitely got
• 0:55
  Mac: a lot more up in the park um but yeah
• 0:58
  Mac: just the levels on the creeks i was on the
• 1:01
  Mac: lake today and went up and uh checked out forney creek and hazel creek and eagle
• 1:06
  Mac: creek and um yeah the flows you can see the water coloration from the rain it
• 1:11
  Mac: rained a lot harder up high yesterday i think because it had a lot more tea
• 1:14
  Mac: color and it was It was a lot higher elevation than what it's been, so that's a good sign.
• 1:19
  Mac: But it'll take several days. I mean, we had about a week and a half,
• 1:24
  Mac: I think, of record, like close to record highs, you know, for this part of the country.
• 1:29
  Mac: So the water will take, it'll take at least a week with this cool,
• 1:31
  Mac: cooler temps to cool it back where it should be.
• 1:36
  Mac: But we're looking forward to that.
• 1:38
  Marvin: Yeah, and I guess folks should remember, too, it's going to get cool up high
• 1:40
  Marvin: before it gets cool down low because the tuck is a big body of water,
• 1:43
  Marvin: holds a lot of thermal energy, right?
• 1:47
  Mac: Oh, yeah. Like, on the Tuckasege, it'll take till October for that to cool down.
• 1:52
  Mac: It's still too hot down there, so it's about to get cool.
• 1:58
  Mac: It'll take a little while, though, for that.
• 2:00
  Marvin: Yeah, and so we were saying that, you know, the smart thing to do is we're waiting
• 2:04
  Marvin: for kind of trout fishing to come back.
• 2:05
  Marvin: As you know, we're also at the tail end of, you know, kind of the best kind
• 2:09
  Marvin: of warm water, top water fishing we've got going, right?
• 2:14
  Mac: Yeah on the lake the lake definitely like we met it around on fontana about
• 2:18
  Mac: three hours a day and i stopped and fished a few key spots and uh two terrestrials
• 2:24
  Mac: and you know panfish bass,
• 2:27
  Mac: we got we got some uh bluegill some nice crappie just throwing the same kind
• 2:33
  Mac: of thing that i'd be throwing for trout you know just beetles and i threw some
• 2:36
  Mac: i threw a couple of uh inch worms,
• 2:40
  Mac: like the, you know, the mops.
• 2:43
  Mac: I threw some of those unweighted and all that worked.
• 2:47
  Mac: I thought, yeah, this is pretty, pretty happening down here.
• 2:50
  Mac: So that was a lot of fun. Went down with the, with the family and just kind
• 2:54
  Mac: of motored around for three hours after that and looked around at the national park.
• 3:00
  Marvin: Yeah. And it's interesting, right? Cause I mean, you know, the real trick,
• 3:03
  Marvin: if you're a fly angler and you don't have a boat or you don't have a float tube
• 3:06
  Marvin: is, you know, as it starts to cool off those fish are just not going to be up
• 3:10
  Marvin: on the edges where it's easy.
• 3:11
  Mac: For us to get to them right yeah yeah I mean we saw them in a lot of places
• 3:17
  Mac: I mean there was places with debris like I fished a trash pile up on the Anaheva,
• 3:22
  Mac: and the trash pile is just all the debris you know how it gets all collected
• 3:26
  Mac: with logs and things from floods and there's shade up underneath all that so,
• 3:31
  Mac: you can throw in a little pocket,
• 3:33
  Mac: and then let it sink underneath the trash pile just like they do in the salt water when there's
• 3:38
  Mac: you know i mean debris floating on top there's a lot of fish
• 3:41
  Mac: and bait fish that hang right underneath it because it's shaded and um
• 3:45
  Mac: that produced some nice fish today for us too so yeah you
• 3:48
  Mac: can find those kind of places i mean on on the little tennessee has it the tucasegee
• 3:52
  Mac: has it i mean any of the rivers that feed the main body of water has you know
• 3:58
  Mac: a trash pile of stuff and mostly logs and debris floating so that's a good tactic this time of year.
• 4:07
  Marvin: Yeah it reminds me of fishing the foam pools in the back eddies out west.
• 4:13
  Mac: Kind of similar, yeah. We didn't have the moving water as much like on the lake today.
• 4:19
  Mac: But, yeah, that's the next best friend. And the other thing is the bridges.
• 4:22
  Mac: Of course, we fished under the trestle, the railroad trestle,
• 4:25
  Mac: you know, out by Almond, the 28 Bridge.
• 4:29
  Mac: Like any of those bridges, you know, there's a huge shade area where the highway goes across the top.
• 4:34
  Mac: So that's also always really effective, like when it's really bright because
• 4:38
  Mac: the day was really sunny and bright. right so anyway you get shade like that
• 4:42
  Mac: you'll also get fish congregate in there so that was good fun for a change yeah.
• 4:49
  Marvin: Always nice to get out on the water i know you know as we kind of move into
• 4:52
  Marvin: fall that you know you've still got the guide stuff going on you know uh even
• 4:57
  Marvin: before i guess they start stocking dh in early october but you've got you've
• 5:02
  Marvin: got a casting school and i know you've got some travel and some other stuff going on too right.
• 5:06
  Mac: Yeah september the weekends through september,
• 5:11
  Mac: yeah pretty slammed with with mainly revolving all around casting there's a
• 5:16
  Mac: the school the 14th and 15th and there's a lot of float trips out on the nana
• 5:21
  Mac: hala still during that time and,
• 5:23
  Mac: yeah it's it's busy september's busy for that transition time and the tailwaters
• 5:28
  Mac: are still in pretty good shape too i mean there's people call last week i had
• 5:33
  Mac: four or five calls people asking me about going to the upper i'm like why would
• 5:36
  Mac: you go to the upper when you got the lower or right below you know with 54 degree
• 5:40
  Mac: water and go fish 70 degree water on the upper so it's just,
• 5:44
  Mac: bad strategy you know so then they ask well where would you go exactly i'm like
• 5:47
  Mac: doesn't matter where i'd go exactly there's seven miles wherever you can park
• 5:50
  Mac: you know what i mean because the nanny's fishing really well right now so so
• 5:55
  Mac: for the people that are wondering like maybe i'll go to north carolina and,
• 6:00
  Mac: you know try the smart thing to do would be go to the tailwater i'm positive
• 6:04
  Mac: there's not anything in our state that's running colder than the halo right
• 6:08
  Mac: now so if you wanted to trout fish that's kind of a no-brainer for living in
• 6:12
  Mac: this area that's one of the better places yeah.
• 6:16
  Marvin: And i would say if you wanted to go over the hill probably go fish the watauga right.
• 6:19
  Mac: Yeah go up to wilbur put in at wilbur then the same deal up there it's cold
• 6:24
  Mac: up near the dam it's going to be a lot colder you know, staying up that upper
• 6:29
  Mac: sectional fish good right now.
• 6:30
  Mac: And they've got still plenty of water being released up there, just like Nana Hala.
• 6:36
  Mac: I mean, there's also a lot of power demand because he, you know,
• 6:38
  Mac: so it's not like they're holding water.
• 6:41
  Mac: They're releasing plenty of water because there's a lot of air conditioners
• 6:44
  Mac: and demand for kilowatts. So the tailwater is still putting out just the same
• 6:49
  Mac: amount of water as ever before. Now, there is a release more than the end of the month.
• 6:56
  Mac: I just found out about the other day because we have a big group,
• 6:59
  Mac: like 22 people out there on the 29th, and that's the release.
• 7:04
  Mac: Saturday and Sunday, 28th and 29th is when they're releasing from the upper.
• 7:08
  Mac: So it's going to be a lot bigger water on the lower and the upper.
• 7:12
  Mac: So when they do that release, it's several, I think, several thousand CFSX for water.
• 7:17
  Mac: So something to be aware of for those that are thinking about coming up and trying it.
• 7:22
  Mac: During that time, it's probably better to go somewhere else,
• 7:24
  Mac: because it's going to be pretty big water.
• 7:27
  Marvin: Yeah, and I know they're doing, I don't know if they've stopped this or not,
• 7:30
  Marvin: but at least during the summer, they were doing that recreational release from 1 to 6 on the Watauga 2.
• 7:37
  Mac: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that just makes it tough for people to get in and wait around.
• 7:42
  Mac: I mean, it's going to be tough because you can't really, like on the lower,
• 7:45
  Mac: you can't really stand back on the side.
• 7:47
  Mac: And when it's on like that and that much higher, it's pretty limiting.
• 7:52
  Mac: So I'm just probably better to go somewhere else.
• 7:56
  Marvin: Yeah, I mean, I would say even on the South Holston down lower,
• 7:58
  Marvin: I mean, when they're generating with one turbine, that's a lot of water.
• 8:01
  Marvin: I mean, you know, not the smartest thing in the world to try to get out and wait in that.
• 8:06
  Mac: That that's some big water yeah that
• 8:09
  Mac: can be pretty large for sure and um but yeah
• 8:12
  Mac: it's it it's it's kind of odd i've been doing a lot of hiking in the morning
• 8:15
  Mac: daylight like about 6 15 start in the dark and then do a loop it takes me about
• 8:20
  Mac: two hours and like even now it's like i've been listening to that merlin app
• 8:25
  Mac: a lot when i'm hiking you know on the phone and it's just really quiet like
• 8:30
  Mac: Like there's not a whole lot of,
• 8:31
  Mac: and there's still a lot of birds here, but like, it's weird, man.
• 8:35
  Mac: This transition time going into hot, you know, into fall season,
• 8:40
  Mac: it's been like, it's been odd, you know. You should hear all kinds of birds
• 8:45
  Mac: singing and Carolina wrens and it's just, it's strange.
• 8:50
  Mac: Like you get up there walking for two whole hours and you don't even hear a
• 8:52
  Mac: single bird song, you know.
• 8:54
  Mac: And it tells you that, yeah, we're in a transition because all the animals know
• 8:57
  Mac: it. but normally we see bear and deer and all kinds of stuff on every hike,
• 9:01
  Mac: and I haven't seen anything in two weeks up there, you know.
• 9:07
  Mac: So, there's pretty good evidence that that's a really unique ecosystem in the National Park.
• 9:12
  Mac: In the Smokies, and to walk, you know, two and three hours and not see any sign
• 9:16
  Mac: of anything tells you it's pretty dormant with a lot of animals right now,
• 9:20
  Mac: too. They're in transition.
• 9:23
  Marvin: Yeah, and one last kind of tailwater tip for folks. You know,
• 9:26
  Marvin: I would encourage you, you know, to always carry a waiting staff if you have one.
• 9:31
  Marvin: But the other thing, too, is to pay attention, you know, particularly if you're
• 9:34
  Marvin: fishing well downstream of the release, you know, when you get in the water,
• 9:38
  Marvin: kind of mark, you know, look at a rock and look at kind of where the water is
• 9:41
  Marvin: or a stick or something and kind of pay attention to that.
• 9:45
  Marvin: Because particularly on the South Holston, you know, you can get on the wrong
• 9:49
  Marvin: side of that river and, you know, it's pretty narrow.
• 9:52
  Marvin: So you don't really kind of think about, you know, wading out too far.
• 9:55
  Marvin: And the next thing you know, you're stuck on the wrong side when the water comes up.
• 9:59
  Mac: Oh, yeah. Yeah, and another good trick, too, is looking for the white bubbles.
• 10:04
  Mac: You know, like Nantahala or the Holston, all those rivers, it'll tell you it's
• 10:09
  Mac: coming up long before you start seeing it physically rise,
• 10:13
  Mac: and it'll pick up a lot of little white, you know, like in the foam lines,
• 10:17
  Mac: you'll start seeing those white bubbles increase like a hundredfold.
• 10:21
  Mac: So you know what I'm saying? So you're fishing a run, and there's no white bubbles,
• 10:24
  Mac: and all of a sudden there's a thousand white bubbles flowing down the run you're
• 10:27
  Mac: fishing. It's time to get out.
• 10:30
  Mac: Because that's always the case.
• 10:32
  Marvin: Yeah. Also, too, when you feel that cool breeze, it's not because it's cool.
• 10:36
  Marvin: It's because the water's coming.
• 10:38
  Mac: That's right. No, it is a good point because, I mean, even the Nantahala,
• 10:42
  Mac: to be on the wrong side when it's low in the morning and be stuck on the railroad
• 10:46
  Mac: track side, it's a pretty long walk back down to the Nantahala Outdoor Center to get out.
• 10:50
  Marvin: Yeah, it kind of changes the contours of your day, shall we say.
• 10:55
  Marvin: Yeah. Before I let you go, I know you've been working really,
• 10:59
  Marvin: really hard on your show schedule.
• 11:01
  Marvin: You want to let folks know where they can find you on the road in early 2025?
• 11:06
  Mac: Yeah, we're going to do the fly fishing shows, I think, starting off up in Marlborough.
• 11:11
  Mac: And I think I'm doing all of them except Lancaster this next year.
• 11:17
  Mac: And then, of course, the one up in St.
• 11:20
  Mac: Paul, Twin Cities, there's a big show there at the end of March.
• 11:24
  Mac: I know I'm doing that one.
• 11:26
  Mac: There's a couple other ones that are in the works right now.
• 11:29
  Mac: So it's going to be pretty busy. I think after the first week in January,
• 11:32
  Mac: it'll be pretty much show season pretty much every week until the end of March.
• 11:39
  Mac: So we're looking forward to getting that started, Marvin.
• 11:41
  Marvin: Yeah, I'll see you in Denver and Atlanta. I don't know that I'm going to make
• 11:44
  Marvin: it to any of the other ones.
• 11:47
  Mac: Yeah, that'll be a good one, though. You picked a good one for sure.
• 11:50
  Mac: Both those seem to be really big attendance, and they seem like they're still
• 11:55
  Mac: growing, you know? They're really well attended.
• 11:58
  Marvin: Yeah. And so, as we always tell folks, macbrownflyfish.com is the place to find
• 12:04
  Marvin: all things Mac Brown, schools, guiding, appearances, and all that kind of good stuff.
• 12:08
  Marvin: And, you know, Mac, I'll let you get on with your evening. And,
• 12:12
  Marvin: you know, as I always say, folks, show it yourself to get out there and catch a few.
• 12:15
  Marvin: Tight lines, everybody. Tight lines, Mac.
• 12:19
  Mac: Tight lines, Marvin.