Many streams in Western NC cannot support a naturally reproducing population of trout for a variety of reasons. The water might get too warm in summer for most species of trout, there may not be enough prey species in the stream, the bottom might be too silty to allow nesting, or it just might get too much fishing pressure to allow trout to effectively reproduce. However, trout can live in the streams just fine, so the state takes a hand. Our state has three trout hatcheries that produce a half a million fish a year, and I for one think we need more, as the fisherman population has grown, and the hatcheries have not grown to keep up. These hatcheries stock the Hatchery Supported waters of the state with catchable sized trout all summer, giving fishermen (and women) the chance to catch pan sized trout all summer. Unfortunately, there are people I call "game hogs" who follow hatchery trucks and fish every fish out as soon as they are placed. I have heard these people bragging of catching 40, 50, up to 100 fish as soon as the truck has moved. I only wish there were a Game Warden nearby. The limit on Hatchery Supported water is 7 per day.
There are other types of water, particularly the "Wild Trout" water, that has naturally reproducing trout, and generally has a smaller limit. There is also what is called "Catch and Release" water, where no trout can be kept. But enough of regulations. They can be found at the Nc Wildlife Fishing Page, which will tell you all aboout the hatcheries, seasons, regulations and all that. I want to talk about the trout!
We have three species of trout here in Western NC, only one of which is a true Trout, and only one of which is a native of this area. The true trout is the Brown Trout, Salmo trutta, and is from Europe. It is, as are all trout, a member of the Salmon family (Salmonidae), and in the right waters can grow quite large. It breeds quite well here in our waters, and can take over a stream, pushing the native Brook Trout out and up into the headwaters. They are also tolerant to higher water temperatures than are the Brook Trout and Rainbow Trout, and can exist in streams where these others would be stressed.
A small Brown Trout, Swannanoa River, probably "native"Browns are very wary, even the newly stocked ones, and can be spooked very easily. On a stream containing stream raised (called "native", simply meaning hatched in the stream) Browns, any motion of the fisherman will cause the fish to go into hiding. I worked a whole summer to catch one on a small stream near Boone NC one year. This caused them to be called "more sporting" than the native Brook, thus causing anglers to import them.
Another small Brown from the Swannanoa. Pretty. Also likely a "Native"
Browns eat a variety of food in the streams, insects being one of the most common foods. This allows them to be caught by fly fishermen using a variety of dry and wet flies. They also are known to eat small fish such as dace, sculpins and darters, and crayfish, making them susceptible to streamer flies. Of course they will eat earthworms, making them prey for the "country boy" fisherman using live or natural bait. They are also known to take bits of bread balled up on a hook, small balls of cheese, and even whole kernel yellow corn, a very popular bait on Hatchery Supported streams.
Browns breed in fall and early winter, laying eggs in scooped out areas called "redds" in gravel pools. They, as do all trout, require gravel runs and pools to breed, so in many of our streams they have limited areas for breeding due to farm runoff and construction.
Browns are a close relative of the Atlantic Salmon, sharing many characteristics with them, and Brown Trout in coastal areas can be anadromous, spawning in the fresh water and living in the sea as adults, just like Salmon.
Another famous trout that seems to get a lot of attention in local restaurants is the Rainbow (Onchorynchus mykiss), where you will see advertised on the menus "Mountain Rainbow Trout". Interesting, in that they are not native to this area, being from west of the Rockies, and are not really a trout at all, but a Pacific Salmon. Also a member of the Salmonidae, they are common in our streams, being in the middle of the tolerance range as far as water temperature goes, being less tolerant than the Brown, but more so than the Brook.
A young Rainbow from the Swannanoa. Note the "parr marks"
Rainbows are a colorful introduction from California, and are sought after by many anglers due to their tendency to jump when hooked - Browns head for the bottom and Brooks head downstream - so were also considered more "sporting" than the native Brooks, and were in demand by anglers. Rainbows eat much the same foods as Browns, though may not eat so many fish or crustaceans. They also push out Brook Trout, and can take over streams that historically held native Brook Trout. They can grow rather large, and are generally colorful (see photo), especially when small. Rainbows are also wary, but are not in a league with Browns; moderate skill will get a Rainbow to bite, and a few mistakes can be made without spooking them.
Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are my favorite. They are considered by many to be the Jewel of the Southern Appalachians. An item of controversy for many, the Southern Appalachian form is called by many Mountaineers "Speckled Trout", and held as a different creature from other trout; many fights have erupted over whether the "Speck" is a separate species. The current wisdom is that it is a separate subspecies of the Brook Trout, though I had a friend growing up that would get angry enough to fight when told this.
Brooks are the only "trout" native to the Southern Appalachians, though they are not a trout at all, but a Char, genus Salvelinus, related to the Arctic Char, the Lake Trout, and the Dolly Varden of the West. They require clear cold streams, and cannot tolerate warm temperatures as well as Browns and rainbows, limiting them to higher elevations and colder water.
A Brook Trout, hatchery origin, probably Miane variety. Swannanoa River
The Southern Appalachian Brook Trout, or "Speck" is designated as the State Freshwater Fish of North Carolina. They are more colorful than their stocked brethren, and are called the "Jewel of the Southern Appalachians" as shown here in the Land o' Sky Trout Unlimited page.
Brooks here in Western NC are of two different origins. The hatchery strains were taken from Maine in the 1800's and transported here, as the Maine strains seemed to do well in hatcheries. The Appalachian strains did not do well at all. Maine Brooks were transplanted into almost all the streams here, and soon became the prevalent type in almost all the local streams. The Appalachian types, the only native trout to this area, were pushed by all these introductions into the tiny headwaters of streams, and almost all of them have some growth stunting because of this. They hang on except where the local authorities take out all the introductions and provide some way to protect the natives from them.
Brooks in general are not as wary as Rainbows or Browns, allowing the fisherman to make some mistakes and still catch them, and do not feed quite so discriminately (eating just one kind of fly at a time) as do Browns and Rainbows, allowing the fisherman to throw in most any kind of fly and catch Brooks. This led the "purists" of the last century and the one before to look down on brooks and want something more "challenging", thus the call for Brown Trout and Rainbows.
Catching trout can be easy as baiting a hook and tossing it in a Hatchery Supported stream the day after the hatching truck has passed, or as difficult as a multi mile hike into a high mountain "Catch and Release" stream and "matching the hatch" in order to catch the wary fish of these remote waters. Of course there are places in between, where you can drive up Davidson River, park, and be on a famous NC catch and Release stream with very wary fish (due to fishing pressure, these guys are smart), or go up a nice small stream and fish in Wild Trout waters with natural bait. Fly fishing is a subject in itself, one which I am not terribly familiar with, but I have done the "country boy" fishing for years. I usually use red worms or night crawlers from the bait store or that I have dug myself, and fished without sinkers, just drifted. I have discovered that hook size can make a difference in whether a fish can swallow the hook or not; smaller hooks lead to gut or gill hooking, and I do not like that, as I like to be able to release the fish if I am not wanting a fish fry. Many trout fishermen recommend a size 8 or 10 hook, but a trout's mouth is bigger than that; I use a 6 or even a 4.
Bait that is often used for trout include:
- Corn, particularly Green Giant "niblets". This is the most popular bait on the Cherokee Indian Reservation.
- Bread, moistened slightly and rolled up into balls and placed on the hook.
- Cheese. Go figure.
- Berkeley's Powerbait. I do not endorse it, but a lot is sold. Some swear by it, some at it.
- Worms, both "Red Worms" and "Night Crawlers", which are simply types of Earthworm.
- "Stick Bait", the larvae of the Caddis Fly taken out of their shell and placed on the hook. Just remember when collecting them that it is illegal to collect fish bait or bait fish from a designated trout stream.
- Minnows can work, especially on Brown Trout, as can crayfish.
- Though not a bait, many brands and variety of spinner and other artificial lures are used.
Sounds great, but city boys like me, beware. I tried to do the right thing and bought a fishing license. I also bought some worms when I bought the license. I just wanted my kids to be able to fish, and none of us would know a trout unless it was written on the menu. We stop by the aide of the road in Pisgah, the kids put a worm on a hook, and it on. 5 minutes later, an officer who really couldn't have been nicer if he tried, came and asked if I had a license. Boy, am I glad I got that license. He looks at it and asks for picture ID. No problem. He asks what kind of bait I'm using. OK, no problem, worms and white bread. Well, guess what? These are trout waters, and you need a special trout license (kaching), and using something actually edible ( bread, worms) is against the rules (kaching). $196 by mail or appear before the judge. Tourists beware.
ReplyDeleteYep. You have to look at the signs along the river that describe the regulations for that particular water. I think the officer was being a bit over the top here, but it after all is the law. My cousin, a Mountain boy, got caught the same way, not looking at the signs on the trees. Got so mad he broke a $100 rod. Had you been downstream a bit, you would have been safe, as Davidson River is 'Catch and Release" only part way down.
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