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  • Writer's pictureRay Sugg

New Adventures and a New Creek

Davidson River

The first week in June, Mike Morgan and Tom Palmer, two of the Georgia guys we went to Hazel Creek with, were going camping at Davidson River. I drove over and fished with them one day, and we covered three of the Davidson's five sections (we skipped Rattlesnake Gorge and the Headwaters). The fishing was good, the catching not so much, but we all caught fish. Tom celebrated his 72nd birthday by fishing a Top 100 stream!

Colonel Tom Palmer on the Davidson River C&R water past Cove Creek

and trying to catch a spec in Long Branch. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Henry Fork

A few days later, I went with Jason Jefferies to try to fish Henry Fork above the old Morganton watershed lake. I think the hike to the dam is just a little over a mile, with a few wet crossings. The hardest part was getting around the lake, because there is no trail and the slopes are very steep. The creek above the lake is beautiful, cold and crystal clear, and it does contain wild browns . . . and copperheads!

Henry Fork at the dam - removing this dam would greatly improve the trout fishing downstream.

Henry Fork above the dam - very similar to Jacob Fork above the falls, except no trail access!

Jason Jefferies

A rare picture of me fishing. (Jason Jefferies photo)



Jason saw this - right after I stepped right over it! (Jason Jefferies photo)

Mission Accomplished! (Jason Jefferies photo)

Rock Creek - New Creek #1040

On June 13 I went to Yancey County to fish a South Toe tributary, Rock Creek. I walked in to the National Forest Land, and hoped to fish far enough upstream to reach a couple of named tributaries. I fished a dry fly upstream and caught rainbows - until I reached a deep plunge pool with house-sized rocks, steep banks, and thick woods on either side. At 16, I would not even have slowed down - at 61, I decided that was as far as I needed to go by myself. I sat down on a rock and ate lunch, enjoyed the scenery and a Swisher Sweet, and then fished my way back down with a nymph and caught browns.


Rock Creek - appropriately named!


This beautiful rainbow attacked a dry fly in the pool above, making Rock Creek new creek #1040!

This was as far as I cared to go by myself. There are at least three named tributaries upstream.

The little browns wanted the hare's ear.

Snowbird! - coming soon

My plan was to include my annual Snowbird Camping trip in this post, but my wife convinced me that a tradition like that deserves it's own post - even if it did rain on us the whole week, so I will post about Snowbird in a couple of weeks.

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