A Very Busy April!

Ray Sugg
May 14
4 min read

Not coaching soccer this season has really freed me up to fish more, and I packed a lot into one month. I got ten new creeks, including four from my bucket list! I was also invited to the Rocky River Trout Unlimited Alarka camping trip and got to share some of my old favorite streams with some new fishing buddies.

April 7 - Noland Creek

I went to old favorite Noland Creek to fish some of its tributaries. I had tried Laurel Branch a couple of times before with no success, but this time the little rainbows were willing. From there I headed up the trail towards Mill Creek. The first creek you cross is Bearpen Branch, which has a backcountry campsite about 100 yards from the trail. I have camped there before, and never even considered fishing it, but recently read that it has trout. I caught rainbows in two of the four spots open enough to get a fly to the water (one was right in the trail crossing). I then hiked up to Mill Creek and caught rainbows in it. It would be a fun stream to fish if there wasn't so much rhododendron and deadfall! I had read that there are rainbows in Springhouse Branch, but I couldn't even find one place to get a fly to the water. On the walk back, I tried Indian Creek with no luck. I have never heard of it containing trout, but it is definitely big enough.

**Laurel Branch, new creek number 1117**

**Bearpen Branch, new creek number 1118**

**Although not my main destination, I couldn't resist fishing Noland Creek at the bridge crossings!**

April 10 - Wilkes County

I timed this trip with the stocking schedule so I could get Pike Creek and Middle Prong Roaring River off of my bucket list, and I also caught wild trout in a couple of bonus streams. I started with Pike Creek on Thurmond Chatham Game Lands, and when I reached the parking area there was another fisherman there putting his boots on. We started talking, and it turned out to be Scott Plaster, a fly fisherman I have exchanged emails with through this blog. Scott gave me a tip on an unregulated stream in the county, then we went off in opposite directions to fish. I had fished Pike Creek a long time ago when you could drive straight up the creek, and I caught one small wild brown. I did not catch any wild browns in Pike this time, but I came upon a hole that was full of stocked rainbows and proceeded to catch most of them - on dry flies! From there I walked upstream to the unnamed tributary that I am calling Left Fork Pike Creek, and I did catch wild browns in it. I next drove down to the first hatchery-supported sign I came across on Middle Prong Roaring River and caught stocked rainbows in it, including a pretty big one. Finally, I acted on Scott's tip and found a place to fish unregulated Mulberry Creek. I had heard there were a few trout in it, compared to lots of rough fish, and the reports were correct. I caught a nice trout on the first cast, but he refused to be photographed. The next 15 fish I caught were not trout, but I finally caught another small wild rainbow to make it official. Thank you, Scott!

**Pike Creek - bucket list and new creek number 1120**

**The stockers wanted the Thunderhead!**

**Left Fork Pike Creek - new creek number 1121**

**Middle Prong Roaring River - bucket list and new creek number 1122**

**Mulberry Creek - new creek number 1123**

April 17-18 Rocky River Trout Unlimited Alarka camping trip

The Rocky River Chapter of Trout Unlimited is based in Charlotte, and these guys know how to do TU! Greg Norman does a great job as president and Bill Carney runs their excellent website - http://www.rockyrivertu.org/. I did a presentation at one of their meetings last year on streams with good populations of wild trout within a two hour drive of Charlotte. They graciously invited me to attend their Spring camping trip in Bryson City in exchange for sharing information on wild trout opportunities in the area. I really enjoyed the fellowship around the evening meals and fishing with members of their chapter.

**Josh Shriver euro-nymphs the Nantahala**

**Hatchery supported, but full of wild rainbows around Andrews**

**Josh fights a Valley River wild rainbow**

**Alarka Creek - just up the road from our cabins**

**Alarka Creek is hatchery supported . . .**

**but is full of healthy wild rainbows!**

**Panther Creek is another old favorite of mine**

**John Woodcock, Gary Page and Bill Carney at Panther Creek**

**Gary caught this nice stocked brown in tiny Stecoah Creek**

**When will this guy shut up about wild trout?**

April 20 - Surry County with Bobby Kilby

I also timed my trip to Mount Airy around the hatchery truck to get Lovills Creek and Pauls Creek off my bucket list. I was pleasantly surprised to also catch wild rainbows in Pauls Creek! Then Bobby showed me a tiny tributary of Little River in Alleghany County that I had not fished, where I caught wild browns in a new creek.