Taking it In

It was nice to escape the ridiculous temperatures in Raleigh by heading to the mountains. Even there the temps were higher than normal. Every day was nearly 80 degrees which is really abnormal. My family went up to spend the weekend with the in laws. I really had no agenda. I knew I was going to get on some trout water but I wasn't positive on where exactly. My brother-in-law and I checked out an unknown stream then hit a wild section we almost always fish close to his house. It is always good and it was nice to just wet wade and leave the waders at home. The creek is very scenic and there were plenty of pools like this one.

Fly selection doesn't matter much on these streams. Don't get me wrong you can't use just anything. But any humpy, caddis, camparadun style fly in sz14 should do pretty well. I also nymph this creek which my brother-in-law thinks is crazy since the average depth is about 2ft. I find many times it is more productive that dry fishing. I have to use an indicator or my fly will get hit about 40 times before I realize it. Most of these fish average around 6-8inches and they are FAST. They have to be to survive in this tight water. I managed to catch a few up top and a lot more by nymphing. I hooked one fish that was around 11inches. It thought it was 20 and tried to go over a small spill way and into another pool. The fish have a lot of fight in them and they know how to use the current. My goal was to take a lot of scenic pictures of this creek but my camera battery died after a few pictures. This was a common theme all weekend. I figured it was gods way of telling me to stop taking pictures and just enjoy the scenery and fish. Which is exactly what I did.

The next day was a family day and on Monday I got a pass to fish in the morning. For some reason again I made my way to a wild creek. It wasn't really by plan I was going to fish a section I usually love fishing on a near by river but I wanted to check out this creek I have heard about but never fished. The creek follows the road and there were some beautiful sections but the water looked skinny. I wasn't sure if I was in the mood for stealth fishing. I like being able to cast and I'm not a huge fan of duck and cover fishing. It has its place and sometimes I'm all about that. But usually I prefer open space with room to cast and chances at really big fish. I was going to pass on this creek all together but one section really called to me. It was close to the road and I figured it had probably been hammered but it was so pretty I wanted to check it out anyway. I geared up and made my way to the creek. This was by far one of the most beautiful creeks I have seen. Just enough water to hold decent fish and nice plunge pools and cascades that seem to go on forever. There wasn't many foot tracks or trash. I only saw deer tracks which made me even happier. I finally turned the corner and got to the section I was looking for. The picture doesn't do it justice at all. Not even close. The camera is not the greatest point and shoot and it was all I had.

In the background you can see the water sliding down the rock and into the pool. I figured it was carrying bugs and fish were just waiting at the edges of the riffles. My guess was right and after missing about 10 hits I finally caught the usual wild fish from water like this.

Again the coloring of the actual fish is lost in the picture. The fish had a lot of pink and orange on its under belly. I'm not sure if the fish were spawning but many of them that I caught had a lot of orange on their belly. I did get some bigger fish but again the camera battery died. This was the second camera to do this. I had to spend the rest of the morning enjoying the creek. I could have stayed on this creek all day but I promised my wife I'd be back at a certain time.

I wanted to check out one of my favorite spots before I went back. On my way over I ran across this rat snake sunning himself.

If you're wondering how I took this picture after just saying my other two cameras had dead batteries, this was taken with my cell phone. I would use the same camera for fish but I tend to drop things in the water. Pliers, flies, weights, nets, reel.... Worried the snake was going to get run over I tapped its tail with my hand.

It wasn't really impressed by that and seeing it coiled I went from a big strong oh it's just a snake guy to a scared little wimp. It really frightened me how quick the snake went from being sprawled out to strike position. I knew the snake wasn't poisonous but in my head when I touched its tail I never thought it would defend itself, I figured it would be scared and just slither off. The unpredictable behavior had took me by surprise. I never made it to the spot I was intending to go. I got distracted by some water that looked like it might hold smallmouth. I didn't catch anything but I am blaming it on being the worst time of the day to fish. The sun was high in the sky and the weather was really hot at that point. Well hot for Boone. It is nice to have a new creek to add to my list of places I will definitely fish again. I'll also be back to test this smallie spot. I did see a silhouette of a bass but I couldn't tell if it was a largemouth or smallie.