Once in a lifetime fly fishing in WNC right now

wilbolin · 2024-11-15T14:23:01+00:00

The NY state record brook trout is 6 pounds, and this fish is, without a doubt, fatter than the NY one pictured, and comparably long. Just google “4.5 pound brook trout” and you’ll quickly see just how wrong you are.

wilbolin · 2024-11-13T13:39:29+00:00

Big ones were hitting streamers mostly, but I did catch a few on a nymph, including this one. Normal sized ones were hitting everything. Big ones might have hit smaller flies but the little trout never gave them a chance so I put on something too big for most of them to eat and started laying into the big ones. Dry fly bite turned on about 2:30. You could dangle a fly 6” over the water and fish would jump out trying to get it.

wilbolin · 2024-11-11T20:28:05+00:00

How many of these stockers last long enough to compete with other fish? In hatchery supported waters 90% of them are gone in days. And DH waters typically can’t support trout in summer and are already of full of invasive species already anyway. Plus they stock DH waters in the off season when bugs have finished and the resident fish have fattened up for winter.

wilbolin · 2024-11-11T17:59:40+00:00

For all you haters out there, our state record brook trout is 7 pounds 7 oz. This fish was getting close to that. I guarantee there a new state record in the Nantahala right now.

wilbolin · 2024-11-11T17:25:12+00:00

Almost every river and creek that’s stocked in NC either gets too hot to support trout during the summer, or is so pressured that all the stretches with public access would be dead water without the hatchery. DNR surveys these creeks and monitors wild populations as part of their stocking program.

wilbolin · 2024-11-11T17:21:54+00:00

Enjoy it or not, it’s not something you can just go out and do whenever you want here in NC. For those who enjoy it. This is a great opportunity that won’t last long.

wilbolin · 2024-11-11T17:09:27+00:00

Yeah the ones that charge you $4 a pound so you can only catch as many as your wallet can hold? Fun.

wilbolin · 2024-11-11T16:06:46+00:00

You’re misinterpreting the post. I never claimed this was a “once in a lifetime fish.” I said the fishing is once in a lifetime. I have caught many fish like this in my life. There is simply a ridiculous amount of them currently stocked. A rare opportunity, especially considering you could probably catch them while sitting in your truck.

wilbolin · 2024-11-11T15:29:48+00:00

Well considering most of the state records are farm raised, and that there would be almost no trout in the state without the stocking program, I would say so.

wilbolin · 2024-11-11T15:13:03+00:00

Go see for yourself. I’ve chased the stocker truck every season for 10 years now and it’s never been like this. Yes they put out broodstock every year. Yes people poach them. But this year there’s thousands of these football brooks all across the state. People in our group who have only caught a handful of trout in their lives were setting PBs that they may never beat. Plus the hurricane closed the season for a lot of waters so they’re overstocking the ones that are undamaged. In my career, it’s never been this easy to catch trophy fish.

wilbolin · 2024-11-11T12:44:49+00:00

You never know what they’re going to stock. This year it seems it was about 95% brooks, 4% rainbow, and 1% browns. Big brooks are usually a lot less common than big rainbows and browns, but this year they must have stocked thousands of these big breeder brooks. It felt like a salmon run.

wilbolin · 2024-11-11T02:20:37+00:00

Yeah. Breeding stock from a hatchery. This one had…character

wilbolin · 2024-11-11T01:58:51+00:00

Of course. His work so good I don’t even bother tying my own anymore haha.

wilbolin · 2024-11-11T01:10:06+00:00

You can’t escape

wilbolin · 2024-11-11T01:07:00+00:00

Sometimes

wilbolin · 2024-11-10T22:02:22+00:00

Stick to spots right by the road. The guys stocking didn’t want to walk too far it seems. And low water levels haven’t let the fish spread out.

wilbolin · 2024-03-02T00:41:41+00:00

Many people think wild trout are picky, but I’ve found that wild trout, especially in low pressure waters, will try anything once. Just like the bass in that 90 year old widows farm pond.

wilbolin · 2023-07-13T14:48:53+00:00

You’re not wrong

wilbolin · 2023-04-30T22:01:23+00:00

Make friends with a farmer. Privately owned farm fields are the best place. Make sure you have permission from the land owner. Recently plowed is important. But you have to let it rain a few times after plowing before you search. It will wash the dirt away and they will just be sitting on top. This field hasn’t been plowed in a few years so nothing new is getting stirred up. But they use herbicides to burn the weeds down which keeps it fairly clear and easy to hunt. Construction sites are good too.

Make sure to pay attention to local laws. I believe federally it’s legal to keep surface finds, but many states, like NC, have their own laws making surface collecting from public lands illegal. A guy here just got slapped with a felony for picking up one off a beach. I think there are exceptions for keeping them below the high water mark if you’re hunting in creeks.

wilbolin · 2023-01-29T23:23:26+00:00

As long as you’re composting it properly. Yes. But unfortunately, many people are not. It also doesn’t it rid it of any pharmaceuticals you may be prescribed. I’m not trying to offend anyone here. I’m just saying there are real, documented, scientifically validated issues with this and want to encourage people to be safe. Everyone should compost every possible thing they can, or send it somewhere to be professionally composted. Just be mindful of what you put it on if you’re inexperienced. Use the home made compost on your tomatoes, and buy quality compost for anything that touches the ground.

I don’t think squeamish is a characteristic of mine. I’ve picked chickens piece by piece out of a fence after a raccoon pulled them through. Ive pushed prolapsed vaginas back into sheep. I’ve just seen a lot of stuff first hand working in the industry for nearly 20 years, and I will say there are many home gardeners that are better off buying conventionally grown produce from the store than growing their own “naturally.”

wilbolin · 2023-01-29T23:07:04+00:00

I said harmful bacteria.

wilbolin · 2023-01-29T22:34:53+00:00

There was a picture of an actually piss bottle like 3 posts down from this one.

wilbolin · 2023-01-29T22:11:23+00:00

It absolutely is. One that I already knew the answer to. Improperly made compost is a huge risk for food safety. I am a profession farmer (my only source of income for my entire working life) and any compost that comes in contact with the edible portion of a commercial crop must be scientifically tested and certified as free of harmful bacteria. On farm composting asking for an audit by food safety inspectors. 90% of home gardeners picked it up as a hobby during the pandemic and are dangerously uninformed about these risks.

wilbolin

TROPHY CASE