This Month’s Fly Box
THE October FLY BOX
October fly boxes are incomplete without Blue Winged Olives
Jeff Wilkins photo
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These Patterns will catch fish this month—
Small Streams ( A few really small bugs….!)
#16 Blue Quill #18 Blue Winged Olive
#22-24 Tiny Olive/Pseudocloeon #18 Dun Caddis
#6-8 Large Ginger Caddis
#14-16 Mottled Tan/Brown/Yellow Caddis #18-20 Black Flying Ants
Terrestrials: Ants 12-18, Beetles 10-14, Crickets, Hoppers (small), Yellow Jackets, etc.
#18-22 Black Fly Larva #20-24 Blackfly Adult #18-22 Midges Gray, Black
#18-20 Tungsten Zebra Midge blacks/browns
*Entomological credit to Ken Snelling, Professor of Zoology, University of Tennessee
Additional Patterns:
#18-22 Copper John
Griffith’s Gnat #20-24
Midges #20-24 Grizzly, Cream
#16-20 Black or Red Bead Head Copper John /Bob
#18-24 Jeff’s Superhair Mayfly Nymph, or 8/0 Baetis Nymph
#16-20 Red Copper John/Bob #18-20 Jeff’s Copper Rojo
click here for a FREE Printable October 2021 Small Stream Hatch Chart
*Entomological credit to Ken Snelling, Professor of Zoology, University of Tennessee
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Delayed Harvest & Hatchery Supported Waters
.North Carolina…Delayed Harvest (Black and white signs) waters will receive the first October 2021 stocking starting Friday Oct 1 and will continue over the next 2 weeks until all waters have been stocked. DH water is stocked Oct, Nov, March, April, May….and Last stocking will be May 2022….and the please refer to NC Wildlife listing for exact dates here . NC DELAYED HARVEST WATERS opened to harvest on Saturday June 4, 2021. FALL DH STOCKING WILL RESUME Friday OCT 1, 2021…. Coldwater stocking by county here . Weekly coldwater stocking update here . ALL DH Waters opened for catch and keep fishing first Sat in June, 2020, and regs switched to Hatchery Supported . Refer to NC Wildlife website here for details . HATCHERY SUPPORTED WATERS (GREEN SIGNS) OPENING DAY is Saturday April 2, 2021. Hatchery Supported Waters and Delayed Harvest are not the same thing. The only time period Hatchery Supported waters can’t be fished is from Mar 1 through the first Friday in April.
NOTE: Harvest Season opens the first Saturday in June every year to harvesting fish, and most waters will not receive more fish til October. Some streams in higher elevation areas continue to receive more fish over the summer but not all of them. Refer to the NC Wildlife site listing for those waters.
DELAYED HARVEST WATERS (DH WATER IS OPEN ALL YEAR, INCLUDING MARCH) AND HATCHERY SUPPORTED WATERS (CLOSED IN MARCH)
-Same Flies as Above plus:
After the DH opening to harvest and all Hatchery Supported waters…. after the initial stocking use bright and gaudy stuff, then transition to smaller flies as the fish acclimate to their surroundings.
#14 Jeff’s White Maggot #10 Y2K all colors #12-14 Squirminators #10-12 Mop flies
Big Attractor Dry flies #12-16 Wulffs, Humpies, etc. Bead Head Rubberleg Nymph patterns…pick a pattern sizes 14-18
#14-16 Bead Head Fresh Prince
#14-16 Bead Head Banana
#18-20 Jeff’s Copper Rojo #20 Zebra Midge #20 Golden Hare
#16-20 Copper John /Bob all Colors
#8-12 Conehead Black Krystal Bugger
#8-12 Bead Head Tri Color Bugger
#10-12 Egg Patterns all colors
#10 San Juan Worms Brn, Red, etc.
#10 Pink Weenie or Jeff’s Wacky Worm
PURCHASE DELAYED HARVEST FLIES FROM US
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TN Tailwaters PURCHASE TN TAILWATER FLIES FROM US
**nearly season long Sulphurs apply to South Holston only and can/do hatch at anytime and 16’s and 18’s are recommended, and some #20s thrown in for late summer and virtually all of the fall….but #18 is the most important……late fall /cold weather sulphur activity is the 1st 4 miles below South Holston Dam and no further downstream than the Hickory Tree Rt 44 bridge ……
March/April is CADDIS time on the Watauga , Sept to Dec is BWO and Caddis time
May Thru November is sulphur time on the South Holston, can start in April in warm years
#16,18 Cranefly #16,18 Jeff’s Budding Sulphur Emerger
#16,18 Sulphur CDC Emerger Jeff’s Invaria Nymph #16,18
#16,18 Sulph Comparadun, #16-18 Jeff’s CDC Mess Emerger
#16,18 CDC Sulphur Biot Comparadun #16-18 Sulphur Biot Sparkledun
#20/22 Baetis Nymph # 20/22 CDC Biot Comparadun #20-22 Jeff’s BWO Trans Dun
#20/22 Jeff’s Budding Baetis Emerger (upper SoHo)
#16-18,20,22 Pheasant Tail Reg & Black
#16,18 Yellow Soft Hackle #16,18 Yellow Jeff’s CDC Mess
#16,18 Black Split Case Nymph (also referred to in some circles as ‘Split Back’ or ‘Split Back PMD’)
#16-18 Little Black Stonefly (Smith R, Va, also Watauga R., TN)
#16 Grannom Caddis (Watauga R)
#18-20 Black Caddis (all R’s, but especially the Wag’)
#18-24 Adult Blackfly #18-24 Jeff’s Blackfly Larva Olive
#18 Cranefly #18 Olive Scud #18 Sowbug #18 Tan Scud
#18-24 Midges Gray , Black #18-24 Midge Pupae, Olive, Black
#16-18 Jeff’s Hunchback #16-18 Hot Flash PT Nymph
#20 Henryville Special #20 Copper John Red
#18-20 Copper John #16-20 Pheasant Tail (no weight)
#16-20 Flashback Pheasant Tail (after a good rain)
#18-20 Jeff’s Superhair Mayfly Nymph
Click here for a Printable TN Tailwaters Hatch Chart
Smith River – Va
#18-22 BWO #18-22 Quasimodo PT Nymph #18-22 Lil’ Blk Stone #20-22 Mercer’s Micro May Nymph Olive
-#20-24 Black or Brown Zebra Midges #20-24 PT Nymph #20-24 Craven’s JuJu Bee and JuJu Baetis Patterns
#20-22 Quasimodo Pheasant tail/Bead Head Pheasant tail
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Largemouth Bass- ……. right now is a great time to catch fish early and late and in heat of the day in heavy cover….and begin fishing sunup to late morning and late afternoon til dark on warm days ….. Now is a good time to fish topwater early and late if you are so inclined…. this will change to be late morning through late afternoon as the weather cools.
Fish are in late winter to early spring transition mode. Fishing can be good all day but expect the prime fishing early and late when sun is lowest and when it is most pleasant to be outside
JJ Special #2,4
Clouser Minnow #2-1/0 Chartreuse/White, Black/Purple, Black n Blue
Gitzit or Tube Jig Fly #4
Foxee Clouser size 2,4 #4 -8 Jeff’s Jiggy Streamer
Poppers #2-6
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Crappie & Bluegill— A lot of Bluegill are shallow….fishing a floating line…Bluegill spawn will be spawning and wrapping that up with the full moon of this month (Sept). Larger bluegills already spawned are deeper, off deep drops and points….Crappie are deeper often on points and dropoffs and sometimes suspended over deeper water. If not near cover, they’ll be suspended in open water usually relating to dropoffs, channels, etc. Sink tips and sinking lines can helpful on crappie this time of the season. With warming weather and spring spawn over for crappie, a lot of fish will be found in deeper water. Fish will come shallow as weather cools, then deep again when cold weather sets in.
Chartreuse and white clouser minnow in sizes 4 and 6
Wilson’s Bluegill Bully #12
Olive bead head jiggy fly #10
RLD #8-12 (body colors a number of them work but I like yellow legs on all my patterns)
Conehead Bugger Black #12 JJ Special #12
Rubberleg Montana Nymph #10-12
Olive Rubberlegs #10
Prince Rubberlegs #10
#10 Black Bead Head Wooly Worm
Poppers size 8-12
Terrestrials Ants size 10-14
**Rig of the Month :
Popper Dropper …….. Popper with Bead head nymph or fur black ant trailing off the back
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Saltwater…..Fishing inshore and offshore is still good right now. Albacore have already shown up at Cape Lookout….saltwater fishing is on fire this time of year and that will continue through December
Albaclouser #2-2/0 in natural, chartreuse and clear, tan /clear, purple /clear #2-4 Bonito Bunny in White
Clouser Black /Gold #2, 2/0 (Redfish, Trout)
Clouser Minnow Gray/White/Gold #2, 2/0
Weber’s Rattle Shrimp Brown/Gold #1/0 (Reds)
1/2 n 1/2 Chart/White size #2/0 (great for Bonito)
Albaclouser #4, #2, #1/0 in Olive/White, Chartreuse/White
Chocklett’s Gummy Minnow #2, #4 (Albacore)
Lefty’s Deceiver #2, 2/0 in White, Chart/White, Red/White (all purpose)
Clouser Minnow #2, 2/0 in Chartreuse/White (catch all)
Jeff Wilkins Fly Fishing 