Marabou Madness on the Nantahala

With the Nantahala running fairly hard today, I decided I'd fish with a bigger than normal jig, figuring I might get less action but that I also might find larger fish. As it turned out, fish of all sizes gladly attacked a Road Runner Marabou Pro 2.0, which is about 2 inches long, and I managed to catch brook trout, brown trout and rainbows in a few hours of fishing. At one point, I caught three trout on three consecutive casts. I didn't catch any giants, but I did land a couple of good-sized brook trout and rainbows.

The Pro 2.0 has a long marabou skirt, which causes a slow fall and subtle action. Therefore, I was able to fish a 1/16-ounce jig as slowly as I normally fish a 1/32-ounce jig, and the larger hook in that bait actually did a great job of hooking and holding the trout. I caught most fish by casting upstream, letting the bait sink almost to the bottom and working it just a little bit faster than the current with quick little lifts or twitches of the rod tip.

After a great day on the river, we're settled into the lodge at Fontana Village Resort and are looking forward to fishing lake tomorrow. I'm not sure what we're going to be fishing for, but I'm going to bring my Road Runner Marabous -- just in case.