Jonathan Creek, Maggie Valley NC

My awesome part-time summer job involves leading fishing expeditions for people who have completed the Haywood County Recreation and Parks Fly Fishing Course. Here is a link to an article in the Waynesville Mountaineer about the program, written by program developer Ian Smith - https://www.themountaineer.com/life/outdoor/learn-to-fly-fish-from-an-expert-for-free/article_19f07c00-a14b-11ea-afe7-f3ab6b6e2873.html. What better place to take them than Jonathan Creek. I consider it my home water, and I don't mind sharing it with others. Here is a link to an article that Jim Casada did on urban trout fishing in North Carolina Game and Fish Magazine - https://www.gameandfishmag.com/editorial/fishing_trout-fishing_nc_0407_02/241784 - in which he speaks highly of Jonathan Creek. The water has been unusually high this year, so last week I field checked some of the water I intended to use for the expedition program, mainly to divide the valley into easily accessible sections that can be fished in around two hours. I fished from 9-12 on three different mornings, hence the green sleeves, tan sleeves, and short sleeves. The creek had been stocked earlier in the week, so I caught mostly stockers, but it was full of fish! Most of them fell to a bead-head hare's ear, but I did catch a few on a pink nymph and a few on a parachute dry fly - all were released unharmed. I caught a few more fish each day that just refused to be photographed. The water snake below was just chillin' under a bridge. Click on the arrow in the snake picture to see the rest of the slideshow.