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Two sister creeks, born high on the same mountain, splitting ways in the stillness of winter — one running shallow and bright with wild brookies, the other deeper and shadowed, holding vivid browns beneath root and stone. No shortcuts here — just thin winter air, empty forest, and wild water moving like it always has.

****And just like these fleeting winter days, time is running out — LAST CALL FOR OUR HALF TRIP GIVEAWAY. *****

Tag up to three friends on this post for three entries. If you entered on the previous giveaway post, you’re already counted. Don’t miss your shot to walk these waters with me. ✌️ 🌎 ⛰️ 🌳

#backcountryfishing #wildtrout #bluelines #flyfishinglife #wncfishing taken in GSMNP by @trouttrailsnc

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5 months ago

🎣 GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENT 🎣

I’m excited to announce Trout Trails is officially authorized by the DoI/NPS to lead guided fly fishing trips in Great Smoky Mountains National Park 🌲🏔️
I’ll be guiding on the quiet side of the park in Cataloochee Valley and its tributaries beginning in March.

From first casts to backcountry missions, we offer Tenkara and traditional fly fishing trips for beginners and experienced anglers alike. I’ve had a ton of folks reach out about getting on the 2026 schedule for a GSMNP trip, and I’m beyond grateful for the support. I’ll be donating a portion of each trip and Trout Trails gear sales this year to the protection of our native brook trout.

If you’re looking to unplug 📵, slow down, and chase wild trout in some of the most storied waters in the Smokies—this is your invitation.

To say thanks, I’m giving away a HALF-DAY guided trip 🎁

🎯 Experience level doesn’t matter.

To enter:
✅ Follow
❤️ Like this post
👥 Tag a friend who’d fish this with you.
Up to 3 entries (tags) per person.

Entries close on 1/31/26. I will draw/tag the winner during the first week of February.

You can also DM me or visit Trout-Trails.com for booking info.

🔗 Link in bio.

#GSMNP #GreatSmokyMountains #FlyFishing #WildTrout #TroutFishing taken in Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Cataloochee by @trouttrailsnc

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7 months ago

I captured an epic video of 2 beautiful wild rainbows exhibiting pre-spawn behavior deep in Nantahala National Forest. I recorded these 2 for the better part of 5 minutes. They were so focused on harassing each other that I was able to sneak up from the lower pool and observe this unique behavior. This was an unforgettable moment for me!

I’ll post a few other snippets of this interaction in the coming weeks. Enjoy!

Trout-trails.com
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#nature #trout #spawn #rainbowtrout #naturevideos #natureview #wildtrout #naturephotography #underwater #underwaterphotography taken in Nantahala National Forest by @trouttrailsnc

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3 years ago

Flows are up and life is good in the Smokies. The storms these past few weeks have been a real gift to our area creeks, and there’s another 1.5–3” coming over the next several days. Good shape for the foreseeable, and rain now is insurance against the dry spell that comes every fall like it’s owed to us.

This is the part of the year that gets me twisted up. I’m already longing for the cool mornings and woodsmoke, but I know better than to trust how long that lasts. Fall around here is more like a short conversation. Then it’s winter, and you’re back to looking for spring.

For now, I’ll soak up these warm, wet days for what they are, the ones that keep these mountains breathing.

#GreatSmokyMountains #FlyFishing #NativeTrout #BrookTrout #TroutTrails taken in GSMNP by @trouttrailsnc

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4 days ago

Another wellness check in the devastated Pisgah backcountry. This one didn’t go well.

The lower stretch gave me a little hope. A fair number of young rainbows, holding where they could. Then I hit a slide—150 feet of raw earth crashed into the creek. Above it, I never saw another fish. Not one.

The canopy is gone. This water runs off the mountain in full sun now, and it gets cooked the whole way down. By the time I made it back to the trailhead, the thermometer read 71°. Trout can’t live in that. Not through a southern summer.

The sad reality in these areas is trout that held on through the storm are now being taken by warming summers.

#brooktrout #wnc #helenerecovery #flyfishing #troutconservation taken in Pisgah National Forest by @trouttrailsnc

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10 days ago

Felt good to get back out after last week’s heat. Rare day I was hoping for storms, almost chasing them.

Started early figuring rain would move in around lunch. Packed the rain gear but honestly, after several days pushing 90+, getting soaked to the bone sounded like a reward.

The morning stayed cool. Water temps never topped 63 before I heard thunder rolling in from the distance. Air temps dropped back into the upper 60s. Found some nice, aggressive brookies active right up until I decided the water was moving a little too swiftly. Happy to see it.

Pushed out around 1:45 pm when the creek started climbing . Probably got a solid 3/4” of rain in 45 min. Might be the first time I’ve gotten back to the truck with a grin on my face after being soaked to the bone two miles into the backcountry. Exactly what these mountains needed. Please send more.

#brooktrout #nativetrout #flyfishing #greatsmokymountains #wildtrout taken in Great Smoky Mountains National Park by @trouttrailsnc

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17 days ago

Heat wave stacked on top of low flows now, and that combo is unforgiving. Water temps are the thing to watch over the next few days. Get out early, &/or get up high…above 3,500’ if you can. Even up there, mind the afternoon readings.

I’ve attached the popular temp guide, but use 65° as your magic number. I carry a waterproof digital meat thermometer on every trip — cheap, and gives a fast, accurate reading.

I also keep a short list of high country creeks for days like these. Good canopy, deep holes. This one’s been spitting out some of the prettiest brookies I’ve ever laid eyes on. Even so, I clocked 63° in the afternoon. Warm enough for me to move higher.

Fish smart. Fish early. Let ‘em rest when the water won’t.

#TroutTrails #SouthernAppalachianBrookies #KnowYourWaterTemp #WNCFlyFishing #ColdWaterConservation taken in Our Public Lands by @trouttrailsnc

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23 days ago

I’ve walked a lot of creeks since Helene. None looked like this.

30”+ of rain fell here.

Thirty-foot banks where the flood tore the hillside back, the creek now a trickle at the bottom of it. You can’t photograph that kind of scale, the camera flattens it. Standing in it is another thing. You look up at a wall of raw earth and torn root in total disbelief.

Then there’s the debris. Whole trees stacked and woven into piles 10-20’ high, the creek tunneling under somewhere below. Climbed onto one that felt like the size of a football field to get a view of the devastation. Would not advise it. Every log a maybe, nothing fixed.

Almost two years gone now, and we’re at dead low. Severe drought. Flows about as low as they come. Same channel that hauled off whole hillsides you can step across today.

But, the trout are still here.

Caught a slam and found good numbers of wild trout. Most ran five, six inches. That tracks. A flood like that takes so much. What’s left rebuilds from the young.

A whole creek nearly starting over, but still alive…putting itself back together slowly….but surely.

#pisgahnationalforest #wildtrout #helene #helenerecovery #flyfishing taken in Pisgah National Forest by @trouttrailsnc

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a month ago

These last few years, summer’s just been me and the high country, trying to talk a good brown into a dry.

#browntrout #dryflyfishing #wildtrout #appalachia #catchandrelease taken in High Country by @trouttrailsnc

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a month ago

Conjured up one of the most memorable slams I’ve ever pulled from the Pisgah high country.

A mink cruised past me while I worked up the creek. Looked like it’d had a good day on the water too. Only seen a handful in all my years up here. Then I stared down a timber rattler on a steep boulder stretch. Low flows meant I heard the warning before I got too close. Grateful for that.

Said it before and I’ll say it again. These trips are package deals. It’s not just the fish, and it’s not just the places. It’s all of it. The fish, the water, the critters, the flora. The whole of it is what makes these days worth chasing.

#brooktrout #pisgahnationalforest #wildtrout #appalachia #flyfishing taken in Pisgah National Forest by @trouttrailsnc

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a month ago

Backcountry GSMNP with @williamson.bryce . Knew his way around fishing but new to the fly — and hungry to learn. That’s the kind that picks it up fast.

Couple miles up the trail, found a rock beach and ran through the basics. Cast, drift, mend, set. He had the assignment figured before the first good run.

Slam done before 11:30. Chunky specks coming to hand, including a 9” buck wearing the scar of a heron or kingfisher that didn’t finish the job. Still aggressive, still healthy — wished him well on the mend and we sent him home.

He turned a few heavy ones — stars didn’t align. Those are the fish you carry out with you. The reason you walk the miles again.

Wild GSMNP slam, some real good brookies, ~25 wild trout to the net in four hours. Impressive first chapter on the fly, Bryce. Stellar day, my friend — let’s do it again.

The mountains give what they please. You just have to show up willing to earn it.

If this is your idea of a good time, let’s go walk some water.

Trout-Trails.com

#gsmnp #wildtrout #flyfishingguide #OnTheFly #troutslam taken in Great Smoky Mountains National Park by @trouttrailsnc

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a month ago

Stunner wild brown, deep in the Pisgah backcountry. A fuzz under 4,000 feet.
This one was glowing. The pretty ones usually live above where the trail ends.

#browntrout #wildtrout #flyfishing #pisgahnationalforest #wildbrowntrout taken in Backcountry by @trouttrailsnc

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a month ago