Freshwater Fishing

Not ‘Tuck-ed’ away

A multifaceted stream, the Tuckasegee River begins at the junction of Panthertown and Greenland creeks in southeastern Jackson County and flows northwest through Jackson into Swain County, where it eventually flows into Fontana Reservoir. […]

Freshwater Fishing

Time travel: weir wonder

I fantasize about time travel, being able to go back in the time before Europeans came to this country, when it was populated by indigenous people, when forests were full, game was abundant and streams were clean and full of fish. […]

Freshwater Fishing

Don’t ‘spare’ the rod

Jim Mills has been plying his trade for more than 40 years, meticulously handcrafting one-of-a-kind fly rods from graphite and bamboo, using only the best materials available to create what many of his customers describe as works of art. […]

Freshwater Fishing

Take time to study a stream

Before stepping into a stream and making my first cast, I pause for a minute or two and study the stream, looking for breaks in the stream flow, pockets of slow water next to rushing water, plunge pools, and other places where trout are likely to be. It’s called reading the water, something every good trout fisher does. […]

Freshwater Fishing

It’s time to go small

More than 3,000 miles of trout waters flow through the North Carolina mountains, an intricate web of rivers, creeks, forks, branches and springlets — some hundreds of feet wide, some only a few feet wide. […]

Freshwater Fishing

Cherokee waters on mend

About midnight on July 15, 2011, a flash-flood sent a 10-foot wall of water through the Cherokee Indian Tribal Hatchery, washing away or killing 435,000 trout and leaving raceways buried in silt. […]