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Tyler Legg
Charlotte, NC, United States
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Welcome to THFF.com! Kick your wading boots off and stick around for a while. You'll find content ranging from NC fishing reports, videos, pictures, fly fishing news from around the state/country/world, humor, and even some irrelevant, yet interesting posts.
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Saturday, July 24, 2010
All of the tying and map studying paid off today. Today I fished a wild stream in Yancey County. It's one of the highest perennial streams in the Appalachian Mountains. I was given strange looks and questions such as "where ya goin' fishing around here?" as I began the strenuous hike down to the stream. 20 minutes into the hike, I quickly found myself alone. The 2 hikers in front of me diverted to another trail. Other than my bulky wading boots clunking around and my lanyard clinking upon every step, the only sound I could hear was the Frasier Firs and Red Spruce swaying in the breeze. Eventually the distant sound of rushing water began to intermingle with the ambient noises of this ancient Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir forest. Now, this particular stream is unusual. In some parts it looks more like a stream you would expect to see in Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park. Not a bad looking stream at all! The fishing wasn't bad either!


Immediately upon stepping into the stream, I saw a nice fish sitting in the pool (seen in the picture below). As he turned, I saw the white leading edges on his fins. Jackpot. We've got brook trout. Problem was, he was facing downstream (looking at me). Most normal trout face upstream. There was a little flow in the water, but he still wanted to face downstream for whatever reason. Hey, whatever floats his boat. Knowing that any wrong movement, or jerky motions would send this wild brookie fleeing for his life, I stopped and slowly crouched into position. He was still sitting there. I made the cast and he rose to my dry. I set the hook and in a quick splash he was off. I shrugged it off and scouted for more specks. Not every pool contained fish, but most did. You could see them at the bottom of each pool, given how clear the water is. A #14 Elk Hair Caddis tossed into these crystal clear pools brought dark torpedo shaped shadows to the surface. A #12 Green Weenie sent the fish into a feeding frenzy. Every fly I tied on caught fish. You have one shot per fish with dries, but they would repeatedly attack a nymph. I hooked one fish 2 or 3 times before getting a hook set. He ate my fly, got off, came back, ate my fly, got off, ate my fly again and I managed to get a hook set. I watched him swim back to his spot after I released him. I'll let the pictures serve for themselves...










This high altitude stream has earned it's place in my top places to fish in western North Carolina. Simply fantastic. I'll be back for sure.

5 comments:

David Knapp said...

Beautiful specs! Looks like you had a nice trip...I'm envious of the cooler temps I'm sure you enjoyed...

Michael Agneta said...

WOW - Simply beautiful fish. It's got to be a great feeling to fish a run that's relatively unpressured. What a gem.

Brk Trt said...

A beautiful place.

I love it when brook touut do everything trout are not supposed to do.

Thanks for sharing your trip.

Tyler Legg said...

David,

Despite the cooler temps, the sun was still strong! My red skin tells the tale!


Mike,

I didn't run into another fisherman on the trail. In some places, these fish have never seen a fly. Pretty cool knowing that you may be the first person to fish a section of the stream. It gets remote once you veture away from the trail.


BT,

I love it too! They're extraordinary fish. I've grown to love them!

Mark said...

That's the kind of places I look for. I have a few of those I like to keep in my back pocket, and usually only try to fish them once a year.

Wish I were there now. Sure is hot down here in the coastal plain.

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