Jackson River, DH
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I fished the DH segment yesterday. mostly cloudy, warmed to the mid 50’s, but water temp still cool in the mid 40’s. no significant hatches noted, but trout were found in almost every good run, responding mostly to a small wooly bugger, and a few to a soft hackle nymph.
I took a new acquaintance, Lawrence Newhook, to the Jackson yesterday. He’s a PA steelhead fisherman who will be spending some time in Va, and wanted to explore trout fishing here. I thought the bigger fish of the Jackson would be more appealing than native brookies.
Va had a hard rain several days ago, raising the river’s CFS to 2000. By yesterday, it had fallen to 400, still a bit high, but definitely fishable. I thought the fish would be ravenous, but the water temp was low, high 40’s, and the fish were few and far between.
A modest caddis hatch occurred in the afternoon, a mix of tan and black flies. A few stoneflies were also noted. Neither drew the attention of the fish. I suspect that it will be another few weeks before the Jackson hits its springtime form.
Fished the Jackson today. The day started out with clouds, but became sunny around 1 pm. There were scattered tan caddis flies, but no visible surface feeding. Temperatures were mild, in the mid 60’s; the water temperature was in the forties.
I caught half a dozen good fish, 12-16 inches, in 2-3 hours of fishing. Four were rainbows, and two were browns. All but one were caught on a tan wooly bugger, hook size #8.
I returned to the Jackson today. It’s been a warm December, and today it reached 60 degrees. I planned my day per winter fishing, after all it is the middle of December.
I arrived at noon, and the water temp was in the mid 40’s. The fishing was good for about an hour, then tapered right off, even though the water was still warming up, into the low 50’s. A rare midge was noted, but no hatch to speak of.
If you go, time your outing like a spring or fall day, rather than winter, provided that the weather continues to be so warm.
otherwise, i saw a number of ruffed grouse, an owl, bald eagle, deer, and ducks. not a bad day to be out!
fished the Jackson yesterday.
water levels had dropped to 200 cfs, but the water was still colored. ambient temp was nearly 70, and the water warmed into the low 50’s.
a rare tan caddis came off, and a few olives were present as well, but no surface action to be seen.
subsurface action was steady, but slow.
probably 2-3 days away from being ideal!Went to the Jackson today. Beautiful weather; after dropping to the the 30’s overnight, it warmed into the 60’s today. The water is starting to warm, and a robust caddis hatches started at 11 (tan and black), followed by a large, #12 tan mayfly (couldn’t catch one to identify), followed by another mayfly hatch, #16. The hatches stopped around 3 pm.
Despite the excellent bug activity, only small guys were coming to the surface. Caught some good fish using rising pupae during the caddis hatch, and a few more later on a copper John.
I should have noted that the Forest Service has worked on the road, and also ran a brush hog through the “rose trail”, making access to the special reg area much easier!
Returned to the DH section this morning. Water flow has dropped to 250 cfs, down from 600 cfs a few days ago. While wading was ok, the water was still colored, with visibility reduced to 12-18 inches.
there were no significant hatches, so the action was subsurface. there was a strong preference for “big and meaty”.
due to our wet spring, there is a bumper crop of gnats, black flies and mosquitos. bug repellent kept them from biting, but a I had a cloud of bugs buzzing around my head at all times. if you go, DON’T FORGET YOUR BUG REPELLENT!
