Trout weather drought

Better water flow, effective stocking give anglers hope that fishing will be better this year

After seeing some of their favorite streams reduced to a trickle during the drought of 2007, anglers are optimistic that 2008 will mark a comeback for trout fishing in the Southeast. So far, the year has brought good reason for hope: Rainfall is close to normal in many parts of the Southeast, and water flows, which approached historic lows in 2007, are much improved.

"We're seeing a big change from last year," said Byron Begley, a fly-fishing instructor and owner of Little River Outfitters in Townsend, Tenn., about 30 miles from the North Carolina border. The Little River is a premier destination for trout anglers, including those from North Carolina.

"The past few months, we've had double the rain of last year," he said. "The Little River is excellent. We recently were at the 40-year normal rate of water flow." Rainfall is only about an inch below normal for the year [at Knoxville, Tenn.]," he said.

That is a big change from the drought- and heat-stressed days of 2007.

"Fishing in the Little River was terrible last summer," Begley said. "The river was the lowest I'd ever seen it."

From his fly-fishing shop on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Begley monitors the advance of spring. He provides a daily fishing report on his Web site.

Trout streams in the Smokies are just beginning to emerge from their slower winter phase, he said. Water temperatures are still in the mid-40s, which keeps trout sluggish, but that will soon change.

"As water temperatures get close to 50 degrees, we will see the trout turn on," he said.

Until then, Begley said, anglers in the Smokies should concentrate on lower-elevation, warmer waters such as the Little River near the Elkmont area; the spring-fed Abrams River; and lower portions of the Little Pigeon and Oconaluftee rivers.

At the Davidson River, one of the top-rated trout streams in North Carolina, water flow also is increasing, and fishing reports are good. The Davidson, situated south of Asheville, suffered from extreme drought during the late summer but is much improved.

"Low water is not an issue anymore," said Walker Parrott, a fishing guide and manager of Davidson River Outfitters in Brevard.

"We had five inches of rain last week, and the river is flowing good. Fishing is in full swing," he said.

Parrot said that in addition to the Davidson, he expects good spring fishing at the Watauga, North Mills and other rivers in western North Carolina.

"It is all looking good right now," he said. "It's going to get very busy real soon."

Stocked trout

Just as wild trout streams were stressed by heat and drought last year, anglers also saw an impact at their fishing spots stocked with trout by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Some streams were so low last fall that wildlife officials held back on stocking until conditions improved. Conditions did improve by year's end, and the state was able to fulfill its plan to stock 777,000 catchable-sized trout.

This year, wildlife officials plan to stock in slightly larger numbers and on an accelerated schedule. They plan to release more fish in the spring, holding fewer during the summer. This decision was prompted by a fish kill in August at the Armstrong State Fish Hatchery near Marion. About 100,000 trout died as a result of heat- and drought-induced stress.

Conditions are much improved over last year, wildlife officials said.

"Water flows are looking much better," said Kyle Briggs, fish production coordinator with the commission. "We were still below normal rainfall in January and February, but now we're getting closer to normal."