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A change of plans

Started by hcrum87hc, March 19, 2018, 08:15:41 AM

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hcrum87hc


My friend's first child is due at the end of April, so we wanted to get out before his free time is largely taken over by dirty diapers, bottles, and loving on his son.  He has never caught a brown trout or a wild brookie, so we were hoping to change that this trip.  He also wanted to break in his new lightweight set up.

We had planned on hitting a brookie stream I've had success with in the past, but due to this winter's weather and hooligans tearing up gates and closed forest service roads, the FS road to get there is currently closed.  We had to change plans and decided to hit a trib on one of the larger wild rivers in Pisgah.  We had never fished any of its tribs, but we were dedicated to hitting some smaller water, even though the main flow usually produces.  After checking the map, we headed up stream.  We came to the first trib, and it looked a little narrow, but we gave it a shot.  Thankfully it widened up before too long. There was no trail, so we had to walk through the water and bushwhack in places.  In one of the first holes, my friend hooked up on his largest wild fish to date.

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We proceeded to catch a decent number of wild bows, but no browns or brookies yet.

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Before hooking this little guy on the dropper, his big brother took a swipe at the dry, coming completely out of the water.  That really got the heart pumping.
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We came across a nice looking hole, and I let him have the first crack at it.  He didn't have any luck, so I took a couple of casts.  Much to his dismay, this is what I pulled out of that spot. 

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That fish was so small he almost fell through the holes of the net.

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After continuing up stream and catching a couple more rainbows, I noticed this small waterfall in the distance.  Little did I know the hole in front of it appeared to be at least 10' deep.  We had to scramble up the rock on the right side and go around.  I was hoping we might get into some brookies above there, but the first hole I tried proved me wrong.

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The gradient started to get a little steeper, so the fishable holes were getting fewer, but we continued to have a bit of success as the day warmed up.

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My last fish of the day nailed my dry fly and took off downstream.  When I got him to hand, I realized I'd just caught my best looking and largest wild brown to date.  This picture does not do it justice. 

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We continued up stream a ways, but had no more luck and decided to call it a day, grab a sandwich, and head home.  It was definitely one of the better, if not the best fishing days we've had.  The weather was perfect, the scenery was great, and best of all we didn't see a person or signs of other people anywhere on the water.
Jeremiah 17:7

Dougfish

Sweet.

Sent from my SM-G920R4 using Tapatalk

"Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here?
 Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change? "
Kelly's Heroes,1970

"I don't wanna go to hell,
But if I do,
It'll be 'cause of you..."
Strange Desire, The Black Keys, 2006

Phil

Every one of those wild fish are beauties. Thumbs Up!  y;

Dee-Vo


Yallerhammer

Looks like a great day of fishing!
Women want me, doughbellies fear me. - Little Debbie Prostaff

BrookieHunter

Those are some beautiful trouts, especially digging the brown.