Al Kittredge did a presentation on Trout fishing in the tail waters of Smith River for our January meeting which is roughly one hour north of Winston Salem.Al went over a history of the fishery which can be reviewed from his presentation on our website but the bottom line is that the involved parties have initiated some recent changes aimed at improving the fishery and based on comments at the meeting the quality of the Brown trout caught on the river improved slightly last year.  Al indicated that despite recent troubles the Smith does provide some good trout water with lots of fish but not a lot of big ones that is available all year since it is tail water fishing.  The Smith is a combination of Special regulation section and hatchery supported sections and your fishing license requirements depend on the section you are fishing.  If you go get a Va fishing license, check the generation schedule (276-629-2432), don’t even try to wade if they are generating and keep an eye on flows and get out when they start to rise.  The water is typically very clear and the trout are wary so carefully wading, long casts, long small diameter tippets, and small nymphs and soft hackles are most productive. The entire presentation along with Maps he provided and more detailed explanation of the sections and the license requirements can be viewed by clicking the highlighted text and going to the bottom of the page.  Al’s  email is aakitt@earthlink.net and his number is 910-868-6235.

Click the highlighted text to veiw the presentation of the Ararat Stream Presentation