What a great way to spend post-thanksgiving! My son, Lewis and I took off to the mountains of North Carolina for a couple of days. We both had a small backpack, a flyrod and waders. Our goal was to find trout. We headed to the NC Trout capital, Bryson City, NC. Chasing the NC Wildlife map, we happened on Alarka Creek. Alarka is a hatchery-supported creek that begins in the Big Laurel area of the US Forest Service land and meanders it’s way thru rocky knolls, farms and woods finally ending at Fontana Lake. This classic NC mountain community is beautiful. We found a pull-off, wader-ed up and got right to
“work” in the stream. Lewis quickly connected with a brown trout using an Elk haired caddis. The Elk Hair Caddis imitates an adult caddis fly or a small stonefly which is right down a trout’s alley! We fished a couple spots along the Alarka and then decided to go to the Deep Creek which flows through Bryson City.
Celebrated not only for its fishing, Deep Creek has several hiking loops for hikers and bikers alike. It was obvious we were in a pandemic as the parking lot was stacked. Everyone was socially distancing and wearing masks, especially us guys waist deep in the water….sans masks. Once again, it didn’t take Lewis long. Using what anglers call a Dry Dropper, he pulled out yet another brown trout. A
Dry Dropper rig consists of a dry fly, in this case, the Elk Hair Caddis, with a nymph or wet fly attached to it via a piece of tippet. The dry fly acts not only as an attractant with a hook, but also as an indicator for the nymph. As the fly floats, if it quickly goes underwater, you just might have a fish on the line. In this case, ole brownie chose the fly, not the underwater nymph. Having lost his fishing net, I watched him use is hat as a net. It was funny yet also a classically industrious use of his lid.
Dry Dropper rig consists of a dry fly, in this case, the Elk Hair Caddis, with a nymph or wet fly attached to it via a piece of tippet. The dry fly acts not only as an attractant with a hook, but also as an indicator for the nymph. As the fly floats, if it quickly goes underwater, you just might have a fish on the line. In this case, ole brownie chose the fly, not the underwater nymph. Having lost his fishing net, I watched him use is hat as a net. It was funny yet also a classically industrious use of his lid.
After we hiked about three miles and fished Deep Creek, we headed into Bryson City for supper. The Smokey Mountain Train was in town and the Christmas lights lit up making downtown look like a Hallmark movie. We ate at The Everett Hotel & Bistro, which I will say was an excellent choice. We topped off the meal with a fudge brownie in celebration of the brown landings Lewis had that day. I enjoyed what is probably the best double shot expresso I’ve ever had. Getting dark, we headed to the Super 8 in Cherokee, NC. It had been years since I had visited the Cherokee Reservation.
The next morning, we headed to what is called the “Trophy Waters” of Raven Fork Creek. We Fished about four hours. I finally got on the board with a beautiful Rainbow Trout; nothing huge, but as always, some of the best fighting pound for pound.
I told Lewis I wanted to take him on a quick trip down memory lane, so we exited the water. As a child, I remember my parents taking my brother and I to Cherokee, staying at one of those side of the river hotels. I remember seeing the outdoor drama “Unto these hills”. A road that was always etched in my memory was the Tsali Blvd. which turned into 441 North. This is probably the most incredible representation of the Smokey Mountains you can drive on. We peaked the mountains at Newfoundland Gap, near Clingman’s Dome. Lewis, like me as a child saw the wonder of God’s handy work. Pretty amazing views. We drove on toward Sugarland Visitors Center and turned left to another amazing memory of my childhood… Cades Cove.
My memory as a child was the family camping and riding bicycles around the 11 mile loop road looking at the hundreds of deer, occasional bear and wild turkey. Cades Cove, Tennessee is an isolated valley in the heart of the Great Smokey Mountains. The valley was home to numerous settlers before the formation of the national park. Some of their homes are still there today. Today Cades Cove, the single most popular destination for visitors to the park, attracts more than two million visitors. It felt like 500,000 were there on this day! It was much more crowded than I remembered. I’m sure COVID had something to do with that. As I expected, we saw bear and deer. We also saw people violating the signs that said do not approach the bear. I had my iPhone ready to capture the stupidity on video if necessary.
Thru traffic, we made our way out of the park to Gatlinburg. Evidence of the forest fires were still on the sloped hill sides. We ate at Big Daddy's Pizzeria, which I would recommend (great crust & perfect marinara sauce).
As mentioned, our goal was trout finding, but what I found was a 26 year old who not only has perfected the art of fishing, but who has become a man I am very proud to call my son.
