The Surgeons Knot with Kevin Howell

The Uni-Knot with Kevin Howell

The Blood Knot with Kevin Howell

This past Saturday I had finally been issued a day off from all fly shop and guide duties. Like any other guide, I found myself replacing worn leaders, cleaning the truck, and of course dropping the boat in the water for another day of fishing. This time no clients just my wife and her little brother. Scattered thunderstorm have been the norm most every day here in Asheville and of course the French Broad was riding dirty as usual. The water had began to clear just enough to visualize where the bigger rocks were so i figured what the heck………………………lets go for it! 

 After 3 hours of stripping flies and only landing a few small fish I decided to break out the hardware. Within minutes we had landed our two biggest fish of the day. Full of excitement I turned the oars over to my lovely wife so that I could particiapte in the action………(It was my day off of course!)  I was able to make a few cast and land 3 fish just in time to begin banging  off the largest rocks in the river and coming to a dead stop on the only sand bar in the river. Being the good husband that I am, I took over the oars with a smile so that she could catch all the fish. The bite continued pretty consistantly until we ran out of a special soft plastic jig which seamed to be the only thing they could see.  Once we made it back to the truck the clouds started to darken and soon after the thunder began once again. If you are looking to get on the water for the smallmouth bite your are going to have to learn where to find the fish on dirty water. If you need help give us a call or check out Kevin Howell’s fishing report on our website www.davidsonflyfishing.com . Good luck on the water and take your wife fishing.

Congratulations to Raz Reid

Sage rep. Raz Reid won the Fish of the Month Challenge for July by catching this monster Jack off of Hilton Head Island, SC.

Think you have caught the best fish of the month? Well submit your photos to us and lets see! From April 2009 through December 2009 we want to challenge you for the best catch each month. To enter, just submit your photo to bstrickland@davidsonflyfishing.com  Please include the photo of your catch, particular species, where it was caught, and your address so that we can contact you. Each photo will be judged by 4 of our top guides and the winner will be announced each month on our website. Each photo will be judged on clarity of photo, species caught, quality of fish, and creativity of photo. The winner will receive a dozen guide choice flies FREE! Strut your stuff and submit your photo today. ONLY ONE PHOTO CAN BE SUBMITTED PER ANLGER EACH MONTH

If you have been sitting around the house waiting for
the summertime thunderstorms to pass and the water to clear then you are missing the bite. So far the smallmouth bite has been as expected this summer “HOT”. Although afternoon thundershowers have been dropping massive amounts of rain around the Asheville & Hendersonville areas, the river seems to clear up just enough within a day or two to allow the smallies to resume their usual attack on the fly. Last week I guided two anglers from Charleston, SC in their pursuit of some nice smallmouth bass they had been hearing about. Evening storms the day before had the water clarity off a bit from the week before but these two gentleman were bombing clousers, estaz zonkers, and crayfish patterns like professionals.

If you have fished the French Broad River with any regularity this year you would agree that we have had an excellent spawn this year with vast amounts of fish ranging in the 12-13 inch category. For most anglers boating 10-12 of these guys on the fly equals a good day but for two anglers who are used to fighting 6lb Redfish all the time, this can pose for a bit of a dilemma for us guides. None the less, patience and persistence paid off for these guys and they were able to hook up on several nice fish by the end of the day. If you are sitting around your vise still tying your clear water patterns, get off your rear and get on the water because there is only two more months left before the this bite slows down and the local Delayed Harvest Waters open back up!

Tight Lines!

Hook: Mustad 79580 #8
Tail: Hackle fiber (Brown)
Body: Sheep fly dubbing finished with brown hackle
Wing: Grizzly hackle tips

To order these materials go to:
www.davidsonflyfishing.com!