Featured Photo: Streamer Eater on the Clinch

Featured Photo: Streamer Eater on the Clinch

Monday, March 16, 2015

South Carolina Trout Fishing: Day One


Ever since my cousin moved to Greenville, SC, he has been trying to convince me to visit and experience some South Carolina trout fishing.


Not that I needed much arm twisting when fishing was involved, but you know how life gets in the way and things get busy. Last week, with the memory of the ice storm of 2015 still fresh in my memory, the thought of a warmer climate and spring hatches had me thinking about a road trip.

Most people probably don't even realize that South Carolina trout fishing even exists. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical about the quality of fishing that I would find, but then part of the charm of fishing new water is in the exploration as much as in the catching. After doing a fair amount of research, I discovered that, yes, South Carolina does have some trout fishing although it remained to be seen whether it would be worth a second trip.

A few weeks back, when the Cumberland Plateau was stuck in winter's icy grip, I called my cousin and made plans to visit during his spring break. When last week turned out to be one continuous rain shower here in Tennessee, I knew I had picked the right time to travel. While my local waters were all high and blown out, the streams in South Carolina were almost perfect or at least the ones we were experiencing were.


All of our fishing was on the same stream although on different sections. This particular stream had an interesting catch and release section that is apparently only open 3 days a week. At some point in the past it appears that the fish received supplemental feedings, but we could not find any current evidence of such taking place. The fish were your average mountain freestone stream trout with a heavy dose of fingerlings and small fish up to about 5 inches. The occasional nice trout kept things interesting though.


Photograph by Nathan Stanaway.


Photograph by Nathan Stanaway.

On our first day out fishing, we noticed little black caddis, little black winter stoneflies, and early brown stoneflies in addition to the usual collection of assorted midges. A stray mayfly or two was spotted as well but not in enough numbers to get the fish keyed in. the good thing about this stream is that the fish did not seem to be very selective and we caught them on a variety of both dry fly and nymph patterns.


By the end of the first day, it was clear that the stream had potential and we were excited to get back for round two fishing higher up the drainage. So far, South Carolina trout fishing was pretty good!


10 comments:

  1. David, that's beautiful.
    The first rainbow is a work of art.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. I was really impressed with how beautiful some of the fish were. Definitely a treat to see!

      Delete
  2. Beautiful fish David. I'm hoping to get out to S. Carolina some day to meet up with Cameron. Maybe time for another road trip for you by then.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That sounds like a good road trip Howard.

      Delete
  3. I lived in SC for 5 yrs and never knew about the great trout fishery. Still have friends in the area and some moving that way in Aug...road trip!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Road trip for sure! I was impressed with the streams. Definitely some high quality small stream fishing!

      Delete
  4. David
    Beautiful trout in a place as you said I would have never guess there would be trout. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Bill. I learned that I have some more exploring to do on this trip.

      Delete
  5. Wow! Those are gorgeous little trout. The coloration on each is so remarkably different.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That variation in coloring was one of the most interesting aspects of fishing there. Some of the fish were almost golden in color. Sometimes you have to wonder what genetics are in a fish to produce the colors you see.

      Delete