I’ve been reading, reading, and then doing some more reading.
Word on the street down here is that a small creek out in Western NC has “steelhead”. We’re not talking about West Coast size steelhead, let alone Great Lakes size steelhead. These are, shall we say, lake run rainbows. Which, some will argue, are steelhead.
Anyways, I am in the planning stages, tying stage, and recon stage of trying to figure out the best plan of attack. The creek in question will not be mentioned, but I will take pictures when I venture there. Hey, I had to do research and find out for myself, so you should be inclined to do the same if you wish to venture there.
The Smoky Mountains are known to boast a large population of wild brook trout, that are known as specks. To trick these very hungry and vicious trout, you must hike up to a certain elevation. The body of water I will be visiting will require a long hike in to get to the specks, so the first trip may just be for the rainbows and browns down lower in the system since I wont have ample time to hike in.
If you have never experienced, let alone fished, the Great Smoky Mountains, I highly encourage you to do so. I was fortunate enough to get invited on a two week trip down to the Smokys for some sight seeing and fishing. Most of the waters down here are either artificials only, or flyfishing only. So, if you do visit down here, be sure to check the regulations. Most of the hatchery supported waters are open to anything. Once you start fishing the wild trout waters the rules and regulations can get a bit tricky.
Well, I’m off to get some more reasearch in and tie some flies for the up coming excursion.
Ready or not...here I CHUM!! 