A cancelled trip to Western North Carolina left me with a day off and a warm weekend with no place to fish. The trout we stocked last month have never left my mind so I headed down, once again, to the Red River Gorge.
2 days spent hopping from hollow to hollow to see what the watershed at the bottoms held was hard work but well worth the labor. Spring is in the air and the signs were all around me as I trudged up and down from ridgeline to runoff and back. Wildflowers and budding trees stretched toward the sun as warm winds whipped the bare canopy overhead.
I came to chase trout but Swift Camp, where we had dumped 500 fish a few weeks ago held nothing as far as I could tell. Not even chub or crawfish. I did see several spawning pairs of brook lamprey. A first for me and a bit creepy not having ever seen them before or even realizing they existed. Apparently filter-feeding scavengers and not parasitic, they are native and common.
Parched Corn is another stocked creek, one that holds brown trout, I’m told. Deep in the bottom of a hollow, the creek was overgrown and shallow if not scenic and secluded. I found a nice pool sheltered under a large rock that appeared empty and I stopped for lunch. Munching a PB&J and prepping my rod, I peered into the water through polarized lenses and saw no movement or signs of life until I tossed a small piece of bread onto the surface. The bottom of the pool instantly erupted with dozens of chub that savagely attacked the crumb until it was devoured. I smiled as I tied on a small egg fly and cast onto the surface to see a repeat performance. Only the largest of the little fish was able to swallow the fly and eventually I snagged what appeared to be the biggest chub in the waters. Fun enough, but I was looking for trout so I trudged back out to see what Chimney Top Creek held.
I moved downstream on Chimney Top after making the long, muddy descent to the valley floor. Small creek chub darted in every shallow pool as I worked any rocks or logs that might hold a waiting trout. No luck on that front, but I did draw out a monster chub from under a rock. My first time catching one of this size and coloration on a tenkara rod. Such a beautiful little fish. The video shows my catch and release. Catching it was the highlight of my trip.
The Red River was running decently and I worked the riffles for a while but never even got a nibble. I’ve not had much luck in the stretch of river along the road but it looks so perfect that I always stop to try. Maybe when it warms, I’ll snag a smallmouth. But today, it was just soul rinsing and no fish for the net. Enough for me on any day, though a fish would be nice.