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WNC backpacking trip
Post 05 Oct 2021, 07:40 • #1 
Master Guide
Joined: 07/26/21
Posts: 383
Location: North West Georgia
Hi Guys! I took a solo backpacking trip into the mountains of western North Carolina on a locally famous stream known for browns at the bottom and brook trout at the top protected by several barrier falls. Inspite of getting more or less totally rained out Sunday, it was an excellent trip.

At the bottom near the trail head the valley still looks of Summer


A high pass allows you to avoid many creek crossings which I dont enjoy with a loaded pack. wildflowers abound. can anyone identify them?



Six miles and a fair bit of elevation later, it looks much more like fall.



I donned my waders and crossed the creek to get to a small grassy campsite that can only be reached by crossing. By noon camp was made and lunch was eaten. I noticed two huge Sulphur duns that looked like they could fly away with you while I was eating. I was surprised to see them so late.

on my last trip to this creek it was one 7-8" brook trout after another, never 5 minutes between fish. I carried my SFG 2wt up the hill for nearly the sole purpose of getting to catch such large ( :lol ) and feisty trout on it. I tied on one of my tried and true confidence dries, a Mercers Missing Link in size 16, and commenced to fishing. The trout were unimpressed, I was amazed. I watched one 7-8" fish in the bottom of a crystal clear run reject the fly half a dozen times. that one always works.. no matter, I changed through a palate of dries in the 14-18 range with no improvement.

I decided I needed a dropper fly, dries weren't working. The SFG2 is certainly capable of throwing a small dry dropper rig, but its not as much fun as a single dry. I elected to set up the FF70-4 and tied on a size 10 royal Wulff with a size 16 pheasant tail as a dropper. very soon I was into half a dozen fish, but on the royal Wulff, not the pheasant tail! it made the choice to cut the dropper off easy.


I was Lucky to hook into the prettiest Brook trout I have ever caught. Pumpkin on Blue steel.


After catching my fill (and losing my Lucky Royal Wulff that has caught no less than 100 brookies this year with multiple re-ties) I decided to climb out of the creek and just enjoy a short walk before dinner. This didnt last long as I came to one of the barrier falls and noticed a very deep pool. after some though I decided to float a streamer through the pool just to see what would happen. I cut my 7' 5x leader back to 3x and dug through the tiny plastic box of streamers I never seem to fish but cant leave at home. Mickey finns, mickey finn bead chain clousers, crayfish, a wooley bugger or two, muddlers, a tiny zoo cougar, they were all left in the box in favor of a rusty brown Slumpbuster, size 8 with no weight beyond the cone head.

I was shocked by how well the FF70-4 cast this streamer, I have always thought of it as being a delicate dry fly rod, nearly defying its nature as a six weight. with a little bit of a Belgian back cast, the rod effortlessly propelled the streamer to 45 feet where it landed just upstream of the deep hole. As the streamer washed over the rock ledge into the 8ft deep hole, I gave it a little tug, then another, then BOOM! An absolutely savage take from a brookie a little over 9", the largest Ive ever caught in a small wild stream like this.



After releasing the first fish I made another cast to the pool and had a second large fish come up and flash at the fly twice before deciding something wasnt right and descending back to the bottom of the hole. Maybe they thought it was a crayfish crushed by the waterfall? I dont know. I did notice crayfish about the same size and color the next morning. I wont be leaving the little box of streamers at home.

The remainder of the evening was spent in a state of euphoria at the largest and prettiest trout of the day. it seems around here you have to be either a fan of Gin, Scotch or Bourbon. Im a bourbon drinker myself, and a small lab grade nalgene weighs only an ounce empty.

the rain started around 4 am sunday morning, and didnt really stop until I got to the truck 12 hours later. I briefly attempted to fish a lower stretch of the creek with my newly acquired FF856-5, but the trout just didnt want to cooperate no matter what I tried. I decided to break camp and head out early. about the time I got the rainfly off the tent, down came a real gully washer. Everything I had was soaked bringing up many "fond memories" of backpacking trips with the BSA and many of my best friends spread across my high school years.

on the hike out I found a bit of "trail magic". I dont carry beer into the woods, but Ill happily carry out steel cans for the privilege of enjoying the contents!


The trail out had been covered by fallen leaves dislodged by the storm, and it felt like fall had come the the valley while I was in it.


I stopped to fish the lower reaches of the creek figuring that overcast weather and rising water in early October were the perfect conditions for Browns on streamers but had no luck.

Over all, it was an excellent weekend.


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 05 Oct 2021, 09:08 • #2 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 10/18/12
Posts: 1712
Location: Bozeman, MT
KOOL!


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 05 Oct 2021, 10:00 • #3 
Sport
Joined: 07/23/16
Posts: 43
Location: US-NJ
Great read...congrats on a successful trip. Those fish are special creatures.


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 05 Oct 2021, 10:07 • #4 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/26/14
Posts: 3578
Location: US-MN
Looks like an awesome trip! Thanks for sharing!


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 05 Oct 2021, 10:51 • #5 
Guide
Joined: 02/18/18
Posts: 276
Location: US-TX
Excellent ... lovely stream and beautiful inhabitants ! Thanks for sharing your trip and photos.
Carl


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 05 Oct 2021, 11:00 • #6 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 05/22/16
Posts: 1760
Location: SJC
Very very nice. I'm also a fan of slumpbusters. Jig leeches tied with various colors of pine squirrel have also done well for me.

Your description of the rain on the way back reminds me of my first (and thus far only) trip to the Lost Coast in May about 20 years ago. Complete drenching weather the last day and a half. But if you can send us some out here, we really need it :)


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 05 Oct 2021, 11:20 • #7 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 06/16/05
Posts: 2537
Location: Georgia
Wonderful. First flower is an aster; there are varieties, but general name is good enough for me. The white one took me to my casual field guides, and between flower, leaves, and time of year, I got nothing. Of course, now I’m curious, so if someone more skilled steps up, I’d be happy.

Congrats on those fish, any one pictured would be a day’s highlight, even for that great stream. And that’s really one of the greatest joys of the F70-4; it’s a real fun dry fly rod, but ready for pretty much anything when you want to go subsurface. And OGD 114 has always been my backpacking bourbon; if someone wants lower proof, there’s the stream, there’s the filter, but I’ll save the weight over 80 proof (yes, I realize that’s a pretty minimal weight reduction).


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 05 Oct 2021, 11:33 • #8 
Master Guide
Joined: 07/26/21
Posts: 383
Location: North West Georgia
Thanks Guys! it was a great trip and a lot of fun. it will be hard to say goodbye to this until spring. hopefully I have a few more trips left for the year.

Odonata - it used to rain on us so often in the north Ga mountains that it was essentially a given, we were soaked to our socks more often than not. it was nearly a point of pride. Those are the type of good time you don't appreciate until much later. As for the slumpbuster, its been a great fly for me. It seems to work well for early season bass and bowfin around here, and I really do think the jigging action and all of the fur looked like a struggling crayfish to that brookie. Im sure it would be good in the somewhat murky water of our local tailwater as well. I would think it could imitate sculpins, crayfish or leeches depending on how you fish it. also, its one of the easier streamers to tie, at least for me. Great stuff.

Upstream - Thanks for the ID on the wild flowers! The FF70-4 comes closer and closer every trip to being the only pack rod Ill carry, at least in the south east. its my best rod outright for many things, and certainly the over all best as a do it all trout rod where I fish.


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 05 Oct 2021, 22:23 • #9 
Master Guide
Joined: 11/04/15
Posts: 631
Location: US-FL
That was an excellent story with great pics.

When I was younger I spent a lot of time in WNC. The pics brought back memories. Thanks.


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 05 Oct 2021, 23:44 • #10 
Guide
Joined: 05/13/20
Posts: 250
Location: Lake Junaluska, NC
Great post and pics. Thank you for sharing a great trip! Love those brookies anytime. I think the first wildflower is a blue aster. The second, I don't know, the bell shaped flowers remind me of wild lily-of-the-valley, but the leaves on that are usually a little broader. I'm stumped, guess I need to do more hiking, lol. Anyway, congrats on a great trip!


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 06 Oct 2021, 05:20 • #11 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/09/16
Posts: 746
Location: Colorado
Very nice!


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 06 Oct 2021, 07:16 • #12 
Guide
Joined: 01/10/16
Posts: 186
Location: Parkersburg, WV
Great report! I love reading backpacking reports for EBT and rain (at least in WV) is always welcome this time of year.

Chris


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 06 Oct 2021, 10:53 • #13 
Master Guide
Joined: 12/11/20
Posts: 378
Location: Dallas, TX
What a fabulous excursion all the way around.


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 06 Oct 2021, 12:35 • #14 
Sport
Joined: 08/18/21
Posts: 31
Location: Southern Maine
Nice write up! Did you flush any grouse walking through there? It looks like good bird cover.


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 06 Oct 2021, 15:10 • #15 
Master Guide
Joined: 07/26/21
Posts: 383
Location: North West Georgia
Pisgah - Thanks for the flower ID info!

DoubleHaul - I didnt see any grouse. I saw a few far off song birds and one large raptor, too big to be a hawk but the wrong colors for an osprey. perhaps it was an eagle, they are surprisingly common in the southeast now. I didnt get that good of a look, but it was hunting the creek. In general, I dont think upland birds are too prevalent throughout the southeast these days regardless of prior reputation. Maybe a southeastern bird hunter will chime in? I normally find that these high mountain riparian areas are somewhat devoid of animals larger than squirrels, they often lack good forage. a few hundred yards into the woods and things could be very different.. I do have some half baked combo turkey/trout spring plans rolling around in the back of my head.


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 06 Oct 2021, 17:46 • #16 
Guide
Joined: 02/26/15
Posts: 219
Location: US-north ga.
Very nice brookieboy.
If that's the stream I think it is,I fished it quite a bit,years ago when I was younger.
Great brown trout fishing in the lower end and fair small mouth bass fishing.
Of course I'm probably wrong about the stream. The creek I'm referring to was mark Kathy's
home waters.
Thanks for stirring up some memories.


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 06 Oct 2021, 21:17 • #17 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 06/09/05
Posts: 2524
Location: US-CO
Wonderful post and replies! Thanks!


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 06 Oct 2021, 22:05 • #18 
Guide
Joined: 01/20/16
Posts: 297
Location: Pershing, Missouri
Really enjoyed this, hoping to have a day like that if I ever get back to NC


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 12 Oct 2021, 20:17 • #19 
Sport
Joined: 08/18/21
Posts: 31
Location: Southern Maine
That’s too bad about bird populations in the southeast. I don’t hunt as much I used to but still enjoy seeing them. I have a few stocked pheasants hanging around my property at the moment and really just want a few feathers off them for tying flies. My wife says I’m getting soft but I blame it on the dog. He was practically napping with one the other day.


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 12 Oct 2021, 22:59 • #20 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 07/11/14
Posts: 1784
Location: urban Colorado
beautiful, thank you..

lived in Winston-Salem for a couple of years, every backpack trip involved at least one day of steady continuous hard rains, and usually several days.. started referring to the Appalachians in NC as the rainforest..


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 14 Oct 2021, 15:04 • #21 
New Member
Joined: 09/27/21
Posts: 8
Great trip man, those brook trout are beautiful.


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Re: WNC backpacking trip
Post 14 Oct 2021, 19:57 • #22 
Guide
Joined: 07/07/19
Posts: 221
Location: US-WI
Just gorgeous photos. Thanks for sharing. FWIW those little flowers look like bottle gentians to me.


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