Unreel Fly Fishing

I really do.  I love all the incredible creatures that occupy our streams but these guys are just cool.  Properly known as a River Chub, this little fish plays a vital role in many of the same streams where we find trout.  The “Hornyhead”, as it is affectionately known, builds a spawning nest by collecting and piling up pebbles.  It lays its eggs in these pebble mounds where they gestate, protected from hungry predators.  A number of other native fish take advantage of the Hornyhead’s hard work and use the same pebble mounds for the same purpose.  If anything ever happened to the Hornyheads, it would decimate a number of species and mean the end of an entire tier of the aquatic food chain.  They will take a fly, so if you are ever lucky enough to catch one, make sure to release it unharmed to continue its vital role in our beautiful Appalachian streams.

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I am always honored when someone makes a trip with Unreel Fly Fishing a gift to friend or  loved one.  Today that honor was bestowed on me by the proud dad you see in these pictures when he and his wonderful daughter started off her birthday celebration with some action-packed tenkara fishing.  The weather was beautiful, the stream-gods were in a “gift-giving” mood and we had a blast.   Everybody caught fish, good fish and plenty of them.  I’m not sure but I’m hoping we started a birthday tradition!

There are a lot of reasons to go tenkara fishing…It’s fun, it’s a great way to catch fish but perhaps the greatest benefit is that it puts us out in the midst of nature’s beauty.  We came across this cluster of Tiger Swallow Tails sipping from a puddle the other day and had to stop and admire them.  Summer is coming and the Appalachian forest is alive with an amazing variety of creatures big and small.  Most of them need water, so always keep your eyes out for a special treat like this the next time you’re on the stream.

This time of year, the hits really do keep coming.  In spring we fish a lot on North Carolina “Delayed Harvest” waters.  Through the end of May, these waters are stocked by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission and are under Catch-and-Release regulation.  That means great angling opportunity and a perfect environment for folks new to fly fishing, new to tenkara angling or just looking to have an action packed day. Come June things get considerably tougher so lets get out now and hone those skills!