Friday 3-25 GW Nat'l Forest in VA

[Bran]

Well, took off Friday to fish a couple of my favorite spots and actually only made it to the first one. The specs were on pretty good so I stuck with it for a while. I started with a dry/ dropper rig and continued to fish several different combos through the afternoon all with a dropper but every fish I caught hit the dry, usually a EHC. These were some feisty little guys, with two of them coming completely clear of the water when they smashed the dry. I ended up catching 4 that were right at 10" and all very healthy Brookies. All in all a great day on the water although I did twist my ankle once on the foot that I broke back a couple months ago. It was pretty sore Sat. but much better today just in time to go back to work. Here's a few pics from the day from my phone, not the best, but better than nothing.

[Stana Claus]

Originally Posted by Bran

<snip> These were some feisty little guys, with two of them coming completely clear of the water when they smashed the dry. <snip>

My son had that happen to him the other day. He called it "going all Shark Week on 'em". I like that description.

Nice report. Makes me want to head up to Virginia sometime, if I ever get tired of the Smokies. At least the brookies seem to grow a bit bigger on that side of the mountains.

[Bran]

Thank you sir! I appreciate that. The Brookies are a little bigger and there is also a Brookie stocking program in VA on some rivers. There are several places I can drive within 100 yards of great Speck water and not see another person all day. That's something you do not find in the Smokies, although I love to fish there too.

[pineman19]

Nice looking water and specs Bran. Too bad Virginia's non-resident license is stout, although I would still like to try those waters someday.

Neal