# Gettin' High and Chasin' Chars



## NCHillbilly (Aug 28, 2016)

Went yesterday morning and fished a small high-elevation creek that I haven't fished in awhile. This is over 5,000' elevation and rough as a cob, so it doesn't get fished too much. Fishing parts of this creek is almost an alternation between swimming and rock climbing. 

It's a young man's creek, but it is beautiful up there, much, much cooler than down in the valleys. At that elevation, you are for all intents and purposes in Canada. Same vegetation, climate, and critters for the most part. 

I love it up on the mountain tops, it's just a whole different world up there. There are no pine and oak trees. The canopy is mostly red spruce, fir, and yellow birch underlain with dense thickets of rhododendron, highbush blueberry, witch hobble, and bush honeysuckle.





































The specks are there. Fat ones. These colorful little char have been swimming around in this creek since back in the Pleistocene.






















Lots of plants up there that don't grow at lower elevations, like this Roan Mountain goldenrod, and the mountain ash. 













More chars:









10" speck. Biggest one I've caught this year.





Byt the time I got back to the truck, I was sore, exhausted, and very ready for a big tailgate burger.









Thanks for following along, see you next trip.


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## sasmojoe (Aug 28, 2016)

Man I always enjoy reading your posts and admiring the great pictures you take. Thanks for sharing


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## Nicodemus (Aug 28, 2016)

I`m gonna get up there next year and go with you, even if I have to crawl to get back in there, bad knee or not. 

Mighty fine pictures.


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## NCHillbilly (Aug 28, 2016)

Nicodemus said:


> I`m gonna get up there next year and go with you, even if I have to crawl to get back in there, bad knee or not.
> 
> Mighty fine pictures.



Nic, any time. I know a couple speck creeks that aren't hard at all to get to.


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## swampstalker24 (Aug 28, 2016)

Perfect way to spend a day in my book!  Thanks for sharing


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## Unicoidawg (Aug 28, 2016)

Dang Hillbilly mighty good looking creek and those are some BIG specks.........


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## flyrod444 (Aug 28, 2016)

A beautiful creek and some awesome specs.


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## Paymaster (Aug 28, 2016)

Nicodemus said:


> I`m gonna get up there next year and go with you, even if I have to crawl to get back in there, bad knee or not.
> 
> Mighty fine pictures.





NCHillbilly said:


> Nic, any time. I know a couple speck creeks that aren't hard at all to get to.



When Y'all do, I want to come along!!!!!!!
Beautiful place NCH!!!!


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## Bream Pole (Aug 28, 2016)

Thanks for the post.  Too old for that.  Have to keep to the flat lands, but sure appreciate seeing it.


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## blood on the ground (Aug 28, 2016)

Beautiful pictures Hillbilly! Are you on national forest ground or private?


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## TheTroutWhisperer (Aug 29, 2016)

There goes NCH making me jealous again... sounds like an awesome trip. Wish we had that kind of elevation in Georgia maybe over in Rabun we do? I found out this weekend that small stream backcountry flyfishing is hard on your flyrod. I cringed several times hanging the tip of my rod in bushes.


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## NCHillbilly (Aug 29, 2016)

blood on the ground said:


> Beautiful pictures Hillbilly! Are you on national forest ground or private?



NF.



TheTroutWhisperer said:


> There goes NCH making me jealous again... sounds like an awesome trip. Wish we had that kind of elevation in Georgia maybe over in Rabun we do? I found out this weekend that small stream backcountry flyfishing is hard on your flyrod. I cringed several times hanging the tip of my rod in bushes.



Where I started fishing was  a couple hundred feet higher elevation than Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia (4,784 ft. )

I gained several hundred feet elevation while fishing, and still had a peak topping out at about 1200' above me.  

The county I live in has the highest average elevation of any county in the eastern US. We have 16 peaks over 6,000'. Also, one of the few counties in the US that no water runs in to, as the county lines follow high dividing ridges most of the way around. All the water in the county originates inside the county.

And yep, small-stream wild trout fishing is a different world, and hard on your legs and rod, but it is very addictive. Those rhododendrons have a magnetic affinity for flies, too.


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## pnome (Aug 29, 2016)

Awesome!  You are a bluelining hero.


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## NCHillbilly (Aug 29, 2016)

pnome said:


> Awesome!  You are a bluelining hero.



Naw, I just live in an area where you can't hardly throw a rock without it landing in a good trout stream.


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Aug 29, 2016)

Dang son, them's some nice 'uns.  Fantastic pics are report.


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## Buckman18 (Aug 29, 2016)

How is the deer hunting up above 5,000 ft? We don't have any mountains that high in GA. Several places over 4,000, and the hunting is pretty lonely unless acorns hit high.. Just curious.


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## baldfish (Aug 29, 2016)

Im gonna have to find you when on my many trips to Murphy. You cant be that far


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## Bucky T (Aug 29, 2016)

That's awesome!!


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## NCHillbilly (Aug 29, 2016)

northgeorgiasportsman said:


> Dang son, them's some nice 'uns.  Fantastic pics are report.



You'd like that creek. We may have to hit it some day if you bring more homemade sausage.  It's one of those that's usually either fantastic or plumb skunk one, though. 



Buckman18 said:


> How is the deer hunting up above 5,000 ft? We don't have any mountains that high in GA. Several places over 4,000, and the hunting is pretty lonely unless acorns hit high.. Just curious.



Well, there aren't any oaks or acorns at all up that high, but there can be quite a few deer in places over 5,000', depending on the season and the weather. Lots of browse up there, and some meadows and such. It gets downright brutal up there in the winter, though-temps way below zero and 50mph+ winds are common up there in the wintertime. 

Not many deer here in the mountains period compared to the Piedmont counties. My county sometimes has more bears than deer killed in the season. I've seen years with way below a hundred deer total killed in the county. 



baldfish said:


> Im gonna have to find you when on my many trips to Murphy. You cant be that far



I'm about 100 miles northeast of Murphy. Couple hours' drive.


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## GLS (Aug 29, 2016)

Every time I see your photos I get simultaneously envious and hungry.    Gil


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## mark-7mag (Aug 29, 2016)

Very cool Hillbilly!


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## gregj (Aug 29, 2016)

do  you  just catch and release or do you keep 1 or 2  and fry them up for lunch  once in awhile?  I'd be hard put not to keep 1 or 2 for lunch.


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## NCHillbilly (Aug 29, 2016)

gregj said:


> do  you  just catch and release or do you keep 1 or 2  and fry them up for lunch  once in awhile?  I'd be hard put not to keep 1 or 2 for lunch.



Sometimes I turn them all loose. Sometimes I keep a few. They're delicious.


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## Lukikus2 (Aug 29, 2016)

>>>>>>Jealous I are. Thanks for sharing.


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## MYoung (Aug 30, 2016)

man am i jealous! beautiful pics and thank you for sharing!


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## deerhuntingdawg (Aug 30, 2016)

Awesome pics NChillbilly!!! Makes me want to head back to the mountains and hunt for char!!


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## NCHillbilly (Aug 31, 2016)

deerhuntingdawg said:


> Awesome pics NChillbilly!!! Makes me want to head back to the mountains and hunt for char!!



It's too late now, you done changed your avatar from specks to deers.


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## Buckman18 (Aug 31, 2016)

NCHillbilly said:


> It's too late now, you done changed your avatar from specks to deers.



DHD has done quite well at the speck game! This year we gonna put him on his first Appalachian Buck. He used to shooting those fat, tame, slob bucks from south GA. I can't wait to see him after he shoots a lean mean chocalate colored ridge climbing machine!


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## NCHillbilly (Aug 31, 2016)

Buckman18 said:


> DHD has done quite well at the speck game! This year we gonna put him on his first Appalachian Buck. He used to shooting those fat, tame, slob bucks from south GA. I can't wait to see him after he shoots a lean mean chocalate colored ridge climbing machine!



.....and drags it two miles out of the woods through a crawl-on-your belly laurel thicket.


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## deerhuntingdawg (Aug 31, 2016)

NCHillbilly said:


> It's too late now, you done changed your avatar from specks to deers.



Lol..jumped the gun there didn't I


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## deerhuntingdawg (Aug 31, 2016)

Buckman18 said:


> DHD has done quite well at the speck game! This year we gonna put him on his first Appalachian Buck. He used to shooting those fat, tame, slob bucks from south GA. I can't wait to see him after he shoots a lean mean chocalate colored ridge climbing machine!



I can't wait!!


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## Stumper (Sep 1, 2016)

Awesome pics! Thanks for sharing.


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## burtontrout (Sep 1, 2016)

*Looking at the photos has got me wanting to fish*

Thanks for sharing. Looks like loads of fun. That creek looks peaceful. 
 Cant wait for cooler weather.


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## lonedrake (Sep 5, 2016)

Beautiful fish and landscape!   I went to the smokies for the first time in July.  Took the fly rod and caught some smallies in the lower level streams.   Those wild trout up in the mountains were too tough for me to catch.


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## EAGLE EYE 444 (Sep 9, 2016)

I just saw this thread and have looked at all of the great photos and have read all of it now and if this doesn't make you want to head up to the mountains....nothing will !!!!!  I have always loved the mountains and especially the mountain streams.

If I just had 20 percent of the "outdoor knowledge" that NCHillbilly and Nicodemis has, then I would be considered an outdoor genius for sure. 

Teresa (my Texas girlfriend) and I were fortunate enough to meet Hillbilly and his wife a few years ago and have dinner with them also.  It was one of the very best times ever as Teresa had heard me talk about Hillbilly many times before that and she and I really enjoyed their company.  The scenery in that area is fantastic and I love the Cataloochee Valley area with lots of wildlife including huge elk, turkeys, and bears etc.  All of this is located right in Hillbilly's neighborhood.  It is one of the prettiest places on earth.

I still have a visit with Nicodemis and Ms. Sheryl on my bucket-list.  I still hope that one day soon that I can slow down enough when driving through Leesburg to take some time to meet Nic and his wife personally as well.  I have been within a mile or so of them before and just didn't realize it at the time.

From time to time, I have watched several of those "Survival Shows" on television and I have always thought that if I was in that type of situation, I would want NCHillbilly and Nic to be on that excursion with me because between these two, I have this vision of being able to eat fried bream from Nic's nearby river or eating fried trout from Hillbilly's neighborhood streams......of course, along with some favorite beverages of these two gentlemen as well.


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## Dirtroad Johnson (Sep 9, 2016)

EAGLE EYE 444 said:


> I just saw this thread and have looked at all of the great photos and have read all of it now and if this doesn't make you want to head up to the mountains....nothing will !!!!!  I have always loved the mountains and especially the mountain streams.
> 
> If I just had 20 percent of the "outdoor knowledge" that NCHillbilly and Nicodemis has, then I would be considered an outdoor genius for sure.
> 
> ...



I think you made a wise decision with these 2 gentlemen if'n you were in the wilderness in survival mode.


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## NCHillbilly (Sep 9, 2016)

EAGLE EYE 444 said:


> I just saw this thread and have looked at all of the great photos and have read all of it now and if this doesn't make you want to head up to the mountains....nothing will !!!!!  I have always loved the mountains and especially the mountain streams.
> 
> If I just had 20 percent of the "outdoor knowledge" that NCHillbilly and Nicodemis has, then I would be considered an outdoor genius for sure.
> 
> ...



We certainly enjoyed spending an evening with y'all, y'all are good folks. And you give me way too much credit. I'm just an old grumpy uneducated backwoods heathern.


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