Fly Fishing in the High Country
T
his wonderful region in and around Boone is known for a lot of things, especially on the nature’s wonders side of the equation. With a slew of impressive mountains surrounding us, including some of the highest peaks found east of the Rockies, many rivers, streams and creeks originate and flow off of these summits. As a result, due to the natural conditions found in our waterways, trout fishing is of a very high quality here in the High Country. In fact, the trout fishing sport and industry
has become one of the biggest businesses in the area. Fly fishing is a different method of fishing compared to the usual rod and reel and can of worms type of angling that many of us learned to do as kids. With many breeds of freshwater fish such as bass, bluegrass, crappie, catfish and more, a spinning reel or bait caster reel is used to throw out either live bait or artificial lures to fool them, catch them and bring them in, depending on the species and natural fishing conditions. Fly fishing, however, is not necessarily a more
refined approach to fishing, yet it is a more precise form of angling due to the nature of the species of choice, the trout. As a result, trout fishing requires a different kind of fishing system that is both easy to learn and fascinating to experience. The trout found here in the High Country represent a unique species of fish that have to live in certain natural conditions to survive. First, trout is a fish that likes to live in cooler waters. They are a species that does not do well in water that gets too hot in the summertime. Even
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PHOTO BY DEREK HALSEY Due to the natural conditions found in our waterways, trout fishing is of a very high quality here in the High Country.
though the state of North Carolina is located in the South, it is the higher mountainous altitudes that create the cooler waters needed for trout to live in. As a result, brown trout, rainbow trout and native brook trout, the three species of trout found in North Carolina, thrive in the lower temperatures found in our rivers, creeks and streams, most of which have their origins on the top of the surrounding mountains. The optimum water temperatures for trout is found within the 45 to 70-degree range. The rainbow trout is a species that is native to the Pacific Northwest, yet it was successfully introduced into North Carolina waters many years ago. That is also true with the brown trout, which is a species that was brought in from Europe and Asia.
Brook trout, however, is the smaller trout species that is native to the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada. Because this is their original home, they are appreciated and prized by anglers. What is also unique about trout is what they eat and how they eat it. Smaller trout feed on insects found in the water as well as similar critters found on land and in the air that happen to fall into the water. Older trout still feed on those same terrestrial and aquatic insects, only they add small fish, crawdads and other smaller vertebrate animals to the menu. Brown trout, being the big brutes of the North Carolina trout world, also eat bigger fish than the other species. All trout, for instance, love a good hatch of flying insects, which will undoubt-
edly hit the water at some point and that is where the trout will ambush them from below. So, because of the trout’s idiosyncratic traits when it comes to eating, fly fishing rods, reels and baits are what are needed to fish for these wonderful waterborne animals. At the heart of the trout fishing system is the artificial lure, all of which are designed to mimic the aquatic, land-based and flying creatures that trout love to eat. Known overall as trout flies, many of these artificial lures are small and hand-crafted, using various materials to make a furry fly that will land on the top of the water just right, so it will trigger a strike by a waiting trout. To get a floating artificial fly lure to land just right on the top of the water — that is where the distinctive design of the fly rod and reel comes in. Using a large rod, the fly fishing angler learns to cast it back and forth in the air forcibly but smoothly, with the goal of releasing enough fishing line to get to the spot where the trout are hiding. Many of us have seen fly fish anglers in action, either live or on video. What is fun about the sport is that you can learn how to use fly fishing rods, reels and baits in less than SEE FISHING ON PAGE 108
SUMMER TIMES 2021
