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Fisherboy0301

Second trout trip. Maggie Valley NC.

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Heading up to Maggie Valley NC July 24-27. Girlfriends parents own a house in the mountains there on about 15 acres of land. Planning to fish Johnathon Creek, maybe Cataloochee Creek or Little Cataloochee Creek as well.

 

 

Stocked up with EHC, Adams, buggers, stimulators, stonefly nymphs, Hares Ear Nymphs and PT Nymphs. Not to mention San Juan worms and terrestrials. Just picked up an inexpensive 4wt setup at Cabelas and an ultralight rod with some spinners for my girlfriend. Also tying her some nymphs and buggers on small jig heads to fish under an "indicator" (cork, float, BOBBER, whatever?!)

 

 

Can I fish a regular foam panfish float as an "indicator" on my fly rod? Will it work?

 

Anyone in this area willing to help a couple newbies catch some trout? Anyone know any good places to fish other than what I've mentioned?

 

Also I have what seems like a dumb question. Do trout congregate in a run? Like with bass and break when I catch one I fish the spot for about 20 or more min and often catch a few fish in the exact same place. Do trout stay together or should I try a new run when I catch a fish in one.

 

 

Hoping for browns and rainbows as well as some possible brookies in Little Cataloochee Creek.

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Hey, I hope you have fun and catch a few too.

 

Of course you can use a foam panfish float as an indicator, you just need to be able to adjust it's depth, cast it without difficulty, and see it without spooking the fish. After all an indicator is just a fancy name for a bobber.

 

I don't know about the water you're fishing, but generally speaking trout don't congregate in a run unless there's a big hatch going on. They usually establish a feeding station where they can hold without expending much energy and where they feel safe while waiting for food to drft within range. When I fish for trout I am on the move, picking out what I think are the most likely lies to hold a feeding trout, drift a fly through those lies then move on to find other feeding trout. Sometimes you'll find a run that's full of feeding trout, but even then they're usually each holding in their own chosen lie. Of course there are exceptions, when you find pods of feeding trout moving about, but that's not too common. Cover the water, show your flies to lots of trout, and you'll find a few that'll be willing to eat.

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Back in the 80's, while I was stationed in North Carolina, I made a couple of trips to the Maggie Valley area. I was fishing top water poppers, almost exclusively, back then.

It wasn't trout I was catching ... it was Small Mouth Bass. I would wade upstream when possible, and hit every rock eddy I could see. Catch a Small Mouth on nearly every one. Had a couple 30+ days up there.

 

Good luck.

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Back in the 80's, while I was stationed in North Carolina, I made a couple of trips to the Maggie Valley area. I was fishing top water poppers, almost exclusively, back then.

It wasn't trout I was catching ... it was Small Mouth Bass. I would wade upstream when possible, and hit every rock eddy I could see. Catch a Small Mouth on nearly every one. Had a couple 30+ days up there.

 

Good luck.

 

What streams were you bass fishing in?

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I can't remember the names of the streams I hit in Hawaii, last month.

I sure can't remember the places I fished 37 years ago.

 

Maggie Valley used to be the site of an annual Motorcycle Rally. If it still runs, it's now in Cherokee. That was how I even knew about the place. I would ride around and stop at any stream I could get to. I caught Small Mouth and sunfish in almost every one. Never caught a trout.

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Alright thank you. I know the streams there have trout and I haven't heard about the others. I will look into it. Would love to get some smallies. Never caught one before.

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Here ya go: https://ncpaws.org/wrcmapbook/FishingAreas.aspx

Every public access in the state is listed. Just make sure you only click on only one type of access at a time. It also breaks down by type of fish you want to catch. You can even get directions as to how to get to the access point. Nothing is sacred.

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Thanks phg!

 

 

Mike, looks like there are smallies in the Pigeon River in Waynesville.

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I would assume trout fishing in the NC July sweltering heat would be some pretty lousy fishing. SMB on the other hand should be eating everything in sight.

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I would assume trout fishing in the NC July sweltering heat would be some pretty lousy fishing. SMB on the other hand should be eating everything in sight.

Talking to a guide friend, he said they should be hitting terrestrials, caddises, and stoneflies. My biggest worry is high, fast, muddy blown out creeks.

 

SM would be a nice backup plan though...

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As a kid growing up, we went to Cherokee every summer with our pop-up camper for two weeks. Pretty much every year till I was 17. Our camper was stream-side and for those two weeks I fished all day, most everyday. The stream was stocked with bows once a week, and the trout were pretty cooperative with several browns mixed in. I used whatever the bait shop suggested along with my fly rod. Some years it was wax worms and powerbait, some roostertails and spinners. I haven't been back since then,(16 years ago ),so I probably can't help much. For some reason a royal coachmen was always my favorite fly and would work most of the time.

 

I couldn't tell you about small mouth.. never seen one in person.

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July isn't as bad as August. Water levels are still pretty good, and the NCWRC provides regular stocking in the streams marked in green on the map. Personally, I prefer the wild streams, but they generally require a bit of hiking (hence, why they aren't stocked.) SM Bass are, indeed, a viable option. I'd plan for both.

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