So much more than trout
It’s so much more than trout. Some of my friends that have joined me on past trips to the mountains were so intent on catching trout that if they went fishless they felt as if they wasted a trip.
Everyone must remember that a fishing trip can be so much more than trout.
My father loved to fish the mountains of North Georgia for trout with his brother and brother-in-law, Leonard Diprima and Robert Evans. As a result, our families would follow along on some of the weekends bringing lunch and refreshments. I got to hear stories as varied as a snake dropping off a limb into his friend’s waders to hearing about the muffler being torn off the Rambler station wagon driving the original road to Bear Creek. It all sounded like fun to me.
I was very young when I first played on the banks of Jacks River and the Holly and Noontootla creeks, to mention a few. Whether I was panning for gold, hunting wild plants or fishing for 2-inch sculpins on the tiniest hook, I always enjoyed everything that the mountains had to offer, a feast for the eyes.
Creek fishing and fishing any moving water gives me so much more pleasure than lakes and ponds. Fishing for trout in a mountain stream is probably my favorite.
Mountain streams have more to offer than just trout, so much more. Just keep your eyes open and see more than fish.
In March I was fishing my favorite tributary of Noontootla and about 20 feet from the stream I found an ammo box with a 30 caliber machine gun belt next to it.
They were “blank cartridges” and about as tarnished and rusty as imaginable. The old ammo belt was surely left by Rangers on maneuvers from Camp Merrill, which is only a few miles away. That day I was more intent on catching fish than messing with bullets, so I said, “I’ll get them later.”
This past weekend I returned to Noontootla to recover the ammo and box. From the parking area, I headed upstream with my 7-foot rod in hand. Staying out of this tiny stream, I cast mostly from shore and was rewarded with a beautiful 6-inch brook trout.
I went farther upstream and crossed a small tributary. I then started hunting the ammo can. When I finally found the ammo box, nothing had changed. It was lying below a dense canopy of huge mountain laurel. There was a wild ginger plant a few inches from the cartridge belt, and a beautiful pipsissewa was blooming nearby. I am amazed that no one else had found it and maybe they just focused on fish. I stuffed the belt into the box and carried it out.
Walking the half mile back to the car I passed nodding trilliums, lady slipper and downy rattlesnake orchids as well as a unique five-trunk hemlock that may not live another 10 years. There was so much more there than trout.
On many of my winter trips to the National Forest streams I carried a 35mm Minolta SLR, a couple of wide angle zoom lenses and a small collapsible tripod. I would wade upstream fishing the pools. If I spotted a section of creek or waterfall that was especially photogenic I would set up the camera just above the water to capture an image. That image was only there at that time but would never be seen again except in the prints that I have.
There are many photos of near frozen streams and waterfalls covered with snow. There’s always more on a mountain stream than trout.
♦ Veterans Fishing and Ladies Fishing Day returns to Cave Spring on Saturday, July 16, at Rolater Park. This is a chance for veterans and ladies to catch some trout and to be introduced to fly fishing.
Veterans of all ages will access the pond to fish with fly rods for trout that morning. If the vet does not have his own fly rod, a loner will be provided. The women anglers will have the same chance that afternoon. Members of the Coosa Valley Trout Unlimited Chapter are accomplished fly casters and are willing to share their skills.
Our TU members will be there to instruct the novice anglers and some door prizes will be given out. Pond fishing is fly rod only, with the creek open to all types of fishing. Details will come in future columns. TU memberships for veterans and first responders will be available at no cost to those who have never been a TU member in the past.
I hope that some of these folks will become avid anglers and travel to the mountain streams for trout. While they are there, maybe they will not focus exclusively on trout, but open their eyes to see all that nature has to offer.