Linville Gorge Not for Me!

This is the time of year that I fondly recall my trip down the Linville Gorge to do some winter trout fishing. We arrived at the trail head early in the morning with the frost still on the grass. As we started down the trail, I soon discovered that I was in "over my head" so to speak. There were ledges that were about five feet high, with no way around them, but straight down. I scraped my middle section (tummy) as I shimmied down the largest ledges. Then, I realized that, as I descended, it was so steep that my toes were constantly jammed against my boots. As a result, my toes were in great pain by the time I began to fish. At that point, I forgot about fishing, and began to concentrate on survival; and I promised the Lord that I would never return if he would graciously allow me to somehow survive.

After I reached the top, I surveyed the damage to my large toes and they were pitch black, darker that a hundred midnights in a cypress swamp. Needless to say, my toe nails did not survive, but later came off as I grew new ones. Now, to this day, whenever I go wear those trout fishing boots my toe nails turn black. What a reason to remember my trip to Linville Gorge! Later, I learned that there is a trail somewhat less severe, however, I do remember my covenant with the Lord as I sit by the fireplace.

Rhododendron are great for Trout

We took a little trip to Pigeon Forge, Tenn. this last weekend. primarily for the ladies to do some shopping, and we took our poles along as well. We fished the Little River on the Tennessee side of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. (I don't know why there is so much duplication in the spelling of Tennessee; I could eliminate 3 letters)

Winter fishing is not my best talent, however, we were not blanked. Of course, I could not help but notice the rhododendrons. God made rhododendrons and placed them near mountain streams to preserve the trout population. I discovered that the branches are just the right size to entrap the hooks, and the leaves are just strong enough to hold the hook from tearing out!

C'MON COUCH POTATO BOOMERS

C'mon you baby boomers retired or about to retire! Get up off that couch and take up a wholesome, outdoor, sport like trout fishing. When IBM did a study about their retired employees, they found that the average person only collected 18 monthly checks after retirement; and it was due to inactivity. See how

The North Mills River

The North Mills River is located in Henderson County NC, and is a delayed harvest river. This is a river often overlooked by fishermen, but it offers opportunities to fish different types of water; and if offers some of the best scenery.
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BAIT FAVORED BY LARGE TROUT

The Dobson fly is a large insect that can get as large as 1” in length. Dobson flies spend most of their lives, up to 4 years, in the larval stage. While in this stage, they are called HELLGRAMMITES. The hellgrammites live under rocks in swift streams or rivers, and indeed, are the bait that is preferred by large trout. For more information on locating, collecting and handling these Hellgrammites, please click on Class 103 Bait & Lures .

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WEB SITE CREATION

We at TROUTU have started a web site for the purpose of promoting catch and release trout fishing as a family sport. It will be an on-line university offering a series of relatively short classes that will take individuals from freshmen level, through senior level, and even Graduate level, dealing with aquatic insects, world wide fishing locations, and advanced techniques, etc. It will take a good deal of time to complete the construction of the site, so please check back frequently, making suggestions, and attending any of the classes as they become available.

STONE MOUNTAIN NORTH CAROLINA

Probably you have heard of Stone Mountain, Ga, but did you know that there is a Stone Mountain North Carolina. located in Wilkes and Alleghany counties, seven miles southwest of Roaring Gap. Park Info In addition to the magnificant views, there are 20 miles of streams within the park. These include Big Sandy Creek, Stone Mountain Creek, Widows Creek, and Garden Creek, which are designated wild trout waters and can be fished all year. The East Prong Roaring River is delayed harvest from the first day of October through the first Friday in June. No trout may be harvested or possessed during this time. HOWEVER, this is an excellent time for catch and release of the stocked trout. Stocking Schedule The park also supports fish for fun on Bullhead and Rich Mountain creeks. Where for a fee, a portion of the stream is designated exclusively for you to fish for the day. Before you go, check out the fishing regs and rules.

Park Rules On our recent trip we used dry flies and spinners and hiked up the Big Sandy to the falls approximately 4 miles upstream to the waterfalls. Along the way, we caught and relesed several trout in the 8 to 12 inch size. Next year promises to be even better since this was a good year weatherwise. PS Take the family along as there are other beautiful falls and some awesome areas to camp, picnic and hike. For those brave and strong enough you can hike over the entire stone!

TROUT SPECIES

Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). The brook trout, or speckled trout as it is called locally, is the only trout native to North Carolina. This member of the char family is found only in coldwater streams of the mountains. Often a brilliantly colored fish, it is readily identifiable by the white leading edge, backed by black, on its lower fins. Today they are scarce except in relatively remote headwater streams. Rainbow and brown trout are not stocked into streams which contain only wild brook trout. The brook trout is easy to catch and their numbers can be reduced by fishing, or eliminated by accompanying habitat changes. The typical brook trout caught today is eight inches or less in length. A 12-inch or longer fish is a rarity.
Rainbow Trout (Oncorhychus mykiss). Rainbow trout, native to the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada range in the western United States, were introduced into North Carolina as early as the 1880s. Since then they have been stocked in most trout waters in the state, and have become the backbone of our trout fishery. Rainbows are distinguished by the presence of a pinkish to red longitudinal band, varying numbers of black spots, and a frequently pink or red gill cover. Fish up to 12-inches long are common, and occasionally larger specimens are taken. Rainbow trout do best in clear, cool, cascading type streams, but can survive in waters too warm or too silt-laden for brook trout. In streams where both rainbow and brook trout occur, rainbow usually dominate. Rainbow trout are known as spectacular fighters, and frequently jump from the water when hooked.

Brown Trout (Salmo trutta). Brown trout, native to northern Europe, were imported into this country from Germany and Scotland in the late 1800s. Brown trout can be distinguished by their brownish-yellow color and the scattered black, red, and orange spots on their sides. The typical brown trout taken from North Carolina water is 12 inches or less in length, but fish greater than 18-inches long are occasionally taken. Brown trout are extremely wary and are the most difficult of the trout to catch. Frequently, inexperienced anglers fishing in brown trout water will not get so much as a strike, and are convinced that there are no fish in the stream. In actuality, there may be an excellent population of wild browns. Brown trout prefer larger, slower flowing streams with large stones or fallen trees to provide cover. However, they also do well in some of the smaller, swifter streams too. Brown trout are stubborn fighters when hooked, but do not put on as spectacular an acrobatic show as the rainbow. Instead, they tend to go to the bottom and run underneath a log or into a rock crevice.

RECENT TRIP TO MAINE & NEW HAMPSHIRE

If you live in North Carolina, the State of Maine is a far distance to go fishing, but since I wanted to enjoy the scenic rocky coast as well as the fall foliage, it did not seem unreasonable to take a small spinning reel along for the ride. We holed up in the Riverside Motel in Perkins Cove, Me. The view was spectacular. To wet a line and to enjoy the leaves, we drove to the New Hampshire White Mountains via the Androscoggin River. That river was totally devoid of fish prior to 1977 when the Clean Water Act went into effect. Today the river contains large numbers of trout over 12” and some trophy browns as large as 20” to 24”. We decided to see for ourselves, so we fished the Wild River, above its confluence with the Androscoggin Rive and a small portion of the Androscoggin River up to the border of New Hampshire. In a short time we caught 13 on spinners, and 5 on dry flies, ranging in size from 8” to 12”. We then continued sightseeing by driving over the Kankamagus Highway from Conway to Lincoln NH, where we saw some beautiful views of fall leaves.

NEW PRODUCT OF THE MONTH

All Weather Fishing Journal: Don't waste another gallon of gas looking for a GPS number that you missed by 100 yards because of a smudged number. With the All-Weather Journal, 50-sheets, you can actually write under water with a regular pencil. But don't make a mistake you can't erase. MSRP. Click here

Carolina Family Fishing Getaways

If you live in North Carolina and are looking for some local fishing hotspots, either for yourself or for the kids, these areas are where it is at. Dan Kibler writing in the North Carolina Game and Fish, covers the entire state from the Outer Banks to South Mountain and Lake Fontana. With the price of gas so high, this article will guide to fishing close by your home.
Click here for the full story.

EFFECTS OF 2007 DROUGHT

During the entire year of 2007, and even a portion of 2006, the rainfall in the South was very limited; as a result the wild trout population in the smaller creeks was impacted. In recent trout fishing trips the effects were noted. There was a marked decrease in the numbers of the wild trout over 9-10 inches. However, the good news is that there were significant numbers of the smaller trout all averaging 5-6 inches. This would be an indication that next year could be a fair year for wild trout.

Mountain Heritage Trout Waters

The Mountain Heritage Trout Waters program is a cooperative effort between the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and local governments to encourage trout fishing as a heritage tourism activity in western North Carolina cities that are designated as a “Mountain Heritage Trout Water City.” North Carolina residents and non-residents who want to fish in a stream that is designated as a Mountain Heritage Trout Water may purchase a 3-day license for $5. The license is valid only for waters that are designated as Mountain Heritage Trout Waters.
Mountain Heritage Trout Cities:
Newland Spruce Pine Waynesville Bakersville Maggie Valley
Call 1(888) 248-6834. Phone lines are open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. From May to September, phone lines are open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Sunday.

NATURAL BAIT NEW DEFINITIONS

Confusion over the classification of flavored and scented baits has led to some new rules which can be found by clicking here.

TIPS FOR FISHING WITH KIDS

Over many years, I have tried to get my children and grandchildren to develop a genuine interest in fishing. When they were small from 3 to 8 years old, their interest was mainly in throwing stones. They could not maintain their attention for a long enough time to catch many fish, and when they caught them, they were afraid to touch them. However, when they were a little older, we had many memorable trips. Here are a few tips to make their fishing more enjoyable. When fishing for trout, to make it easy for them to catch fish, we followed the state trout stocking schedules. Go to your state web site and search on “stocking”. NC Regs
After the stream is stocked, the fish were somewhat easy to catch and teenagers can do very well. For bass, we would go to local ponds, where there are plenty of small bass and some pan fish. Remember, children are not as impressed with the size of the fish as they are the quantity. The action keeps them interested!

My new Blog!

Hello,

I started this blog to share my experiences with trout fishing. I plan to start a web site to assist people to become trout fishermen and fisherladies. I will update this blog frequently with new information and the results of recent trips.