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Tyler

@wncwaters

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Appalachian.

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Over the past few weeks I’ve been continuing a mission of mine to fish every creek on this particular tract of public land. I fished several of them last year, but I’ve checked off 3 more recently. None of which have trails and are all a hellacious, rhododendron and nettle filled hike in. But, there are fish. Despite the tough terrain and small water, they all hold Brook trout.

I didn’t catch many, mostly due to the fact that by the time I got to fishable water, I was almost to private property boundaries. The only downside was the last fish I caught was a rainbow at 4,200’.. He did not go back in the water.

I still have a couple more headwaters to cross off up here, but it’s been great so far.

#brooktrout #flyfishing #appalachian #bluelining #southernappalachianbrooktrout taken in Western North Carolina by @wncwaters

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a year ago

A lovely afternoon in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

I fished this creek last year, about two weeks before Helene hit. It produced some nice brook trout then and I’m pleased to say that it’s looking better than ever up here. You can’t really tell Helene hit other than the fact that a dam, which sat just before the creek starts to cascade, is completely gone. Absolutely no evidence that it was ever even there. See my post on Sep 13, 2024 if you want to see what it looked like before.

The section that the dam used to occupy appears to be better trout habitat than it was before. However, the downside seems to be that the rainbows, which occupy the lower portions of this creek, are making their way up with nothing to stop them. I caught 4 bows in the section where the damn used to be. I caught 0 that far up last year. Who knows, maybe they were there before the dam, but it’s a shame either way.

P.S. Shoutout to the fisherman who dropped a cup of parachute Adam’s beside the creek. I made good use of them 🤝 taken in Jefferson National Forest by @wncwaters

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a year ago

Finally got back to fishing for some natives today. Decided to try a stream I’d never been to before; I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn’t super confident when I first got to the creek, the upper portions were a wreck. You could tell Helene hit hard up here as the headwaters had created a completely new run, cutting straight down the slopes of the mountain. Its banks were 3-4’ sheer drops offs in sections.

But! The further down I got, the better it looked. You could tell the hurricane wrecked havoc, but nature endures because it had a great population of Brookies. I missed several but still managed to net a few.

Anyways, it was a great afternoon in the trout woods.

#trout #brooktrout #appalachia taken in Western North Carolina by @wncwaters

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a year ago

North Carolina maple syrup 🍁 taken in North Carolina by @wncwaters

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2 years ago

I have barely fished since hurricane Helene came through, so today was the first time in 3 months I’ve set aside a whole afternoon to fish… and I only caught 2. This creek was hit pretty damn hard from the storm so I guess that the low numbers shouldn’t be surprising. Still a bit depressing though.

In the last picture you can actually see where the force from a tributary pushed a ton of rocks to the middle of the main creek. It looked nothing like that before the storm.

To add insult to injury the rainbow in the first picture was caught at almost 4,500’; It was actually caught well above the scrawny Brook trout in pic 3. I often grapple with the idea of culling non natives that occupy Brook Trout streams. I probably should have thrown it up on the bank, but for some reason I let him go.

Anyways, I have hope that these streams will rebound in the coming years. After all, these fish have been around a lot longer than us and have been through many a storm. taken in Southwest Virginia by @wncwaters

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2 years ago

Wilderness (with a capital W).

#appalacianflyfishing #brooktrout #wilderness #nationalforest #flyfishing #nativebrooketrout taken in Appalachian Mountains by @wncwaters

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2 years ago

I didn’t catch many fish today, but the views on this hike made up for it. It was a surprise to find a dam/wetland at ~4,000’. I was hoping it would hold trout in the pond that had been created, but unfortunately it was a bit too silty for good Brook trout habitat. Even with the lack of trout in the pond, the sections above and below held some beautiful, albeit small, Bookies. All of which were beginning to show their fall colors. In summary; National Forest never disappoints.

P.S. The rainbow was caught on my way home, far from this particular native stream.

#troutfishing #flyfishing #appalachia #jeffersonnationalforest #brooktrout taken in Jefferson National Forest by @wncwaters

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2 years ago

Even with the warmer temps this week, the upper portion of this stream was in the low 60°s. That combined with the rain, made the Brookies eager to bite. I was surprised at just how many were in this stretch. I can’t wait to come back this direction in the fall.

#brooktrout #appalachia #nativebrooketrout #pisgahnationalforest #flyfishingnc #pisgah #trout taken in Mitchell County by @wncwaters

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2 years ago

Finally got to hit up some wild water today. The rain we’ve had combined with the cooler temps, it’s prime summer fishing. I explored 3 new creeks in Pisgah National Forest hoping to find Brookies, but had to settle for some nice browns and bows. I even got stopped by a game warden for the first time in my life. Got to ask him some stream access questions and get some clarifications on what anglers can and can’t do. Much respect for @ncwildlife and all their officers do for wildlife and conservation. A great day overall. taken in Avery County by @wncwaters

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2 years ago

It’s hikes like these that really make me reflect on how I want to live my life. Those that came before us lived a in a simpler time and place, but was it better or worse than how we live today? Life was harder, that’s for certain, but maybe it was more fulfilling; Living closer to the land, growing and raising what you ate, starting a family that would do the same, and so on. Todays world has gotten too busy, in my opinion at least, and I often think about living a simpler life as our ancestors did. However, for now, all I can do is ponder some more until the opportunity arises.

https://docsouth.unc.edu/blueridgeparkway/overlooks/caudill_cabin/

#appalachia #northcarolina taken in Blue Ridge Parkway by @wncwaters

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2 years ago

It’s been a good couple weeks. I don’t necessarily target big fish, but I’ve managed to get my PB brown and rainbow in the past few weeks. Along with some pretty natives and quite a few wild browns. As always, it’s a great spring in the mountains. #flyfishing #browntrout #rainbowtrout #brooktrout #northcarolina taken in Mountains Of North Carolina by @wncwaters

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2 years ago

Always a good day in Pisgah. #nationalforest #browntrout #rainbowtrout #flyfishing #pisgahnationalforest taken in Pisgah National Forest by @wncwaters

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2 years ago