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Tyler Legg
Charlotte, NC, United States
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Tuesday, August 24, 2010
I can't get enough wild brook trout. I'm a speckoholic. I seem to always find a new favorite stream, thinking it can't get any better. Then I find another favorite. I'm not a big fish junky, or even a numbers junky for that matter. Call me crazy, but I would much rather chase wild 7" brook trout in the middle of nowhere than 25" browns on a river that's a stones throw from civilization. If you're suffering from Speck Fever you know what I'm talking about. The scenery and the things you come across on a wild brookie excursion simply cannot be seen on a tailwater or a popular DH stream.

I wasn't expecting to get the opportunity to fish before the expo in November. I had the mindset that the last trip was going to have to hold me over until November. School starts back up tomorrow, so I jumped on the opportunity to explore some new and unfamiliar brook trout water before the dreaded fishing lull sets in for me. Mount Mitchell was the destination of choice. Pulled into the parking area at 9:45, greeted by chilly temperatures rebounding from a night in the upper 40's to low 50's. Mt. Mitchell was deserted at 9:45 in the morning. Compared to a Saturday in mid July, NC's first state park wasn't busy at all. Passed only 4 hikers on the trail.

With my great grandad's old fiberglass 6'9" fly rod, I began the day. This particular creek, (name shall not be named!) usually produces fish. They're all brookies too. Today was an outlier from those fantastic days where you catch fish out of every pool. The fishing was OK at best. Low water is to blame. Fish are being forced to move to other pools. I did manage to hook several fish, but unfortunately they wiggled off before I was given the chance to take a picture. I threw in the towel once I got to one of the waterfalls. I hiked back out of the valley and hopped over to the next stream.

The next stream was the reciprocate of the last one. It was loaded with wild brookies. They were abundant in almost every pool and would rise to anything you offered them. The Extended Body Inchworm did it again yesterday. It enticed fish from every direction. Instead of that infamous one shot per fish rule, it was multiple tries per fish. they would rise to the EBI over and over again. It was truly incredible. I had a field day from the first pool I fished to the last. I lost count of the numbers. Missed literally 60 or 70 fish. This particular stream is my new favorite.

After about an hour of fishing, I came across a deep pool below a small waterfall. I was sure there was a fish that exceeded the average size of the fish in this stream. With high expectations, I made a short cast into the pool. At first there wasn't any action. Nonetheless, I decided to keep the fly in the water for a few more seconds. I'm glad I did. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a wake charging at my fly. A moment later that wake transformed into an splashy attack. It reminded me of Shark Week. You know, where the seal is annihilated by a breaching Great White. This fish took some line off of the reel.

So, what stream will beat the current favorite? Time and map studying will tell...





Saw plenty of these.

The Extended Body Inchworm does it again!

Decent male brookie. Spawning season is right around the corner. you can tell by the colors.


Up close view of the myriad of colors displayed by this Appalachian jewels.







Fish of the day. 9 inches. A trophy brook trout in these waters!

Tight quarters!

7 comments:

Mark said...

Spoken like a true Speckoholic. The exact things that infected me with an incurable habit. Hope to make it to some of my favorite streams this weekend. Looks like the weather should be great for some flypacking. Got to try those extended body inchworms myself.

Brk Trt said...

My good man, I'm also one of the same. Wild brook trout have me addicted too.

Thanks

Tyler Legg said...

Mark,

Good luck! You should get into some fantastic fishing. Looking forward to the report over on your blog.


BT,

I've been bitten by the bug! Something about finding and then catching these little jewels captivates me. To me, it's a new type of fly fishing.

Lance Milks said...

Nice trip Tyler,

I would love to tag along next time you head to Mitchell. I know that area well and would love to bust out the Tenkara rod on those slopes.

Tyler Legg said...

Ya man! You would love it. Perfect Tenkara rod streams in the area.

Bill Trussell said...

Tyler
That is the kind of trip we all dream about. having everything to yourself is worth it all. Beautiful brook trout. Great Post!

Tyler Legg said...

Bill,

You said it. It truly is a great experience.

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