North Carolina Fly Fishing

Hello fellow anglers,
I'll be in Badin NC for a while and I should have weekends off. Tell me where there is some decent trout fishing fairly close by.

Thanks,
Rich

Just so you know Badin is about an hour east of Charlotte.

I Googled as much as I could about the area, but all I could come up with was bass fishing. Not a bad thing in itself.

The trout streams in NC are all north and west of Charlotte, that I am aware of. The mountains of western NC are loaded with fantastic trout streams, but I'd guess you'd be looking at 2.5 or 3 hours drive to trout water.
Hope this helps some.

Rich;
Darrin is correct. But is a 4 hour + drive for you to Cherokee. Myself and Kaboom1 plan to fish in Cherokee before the start of Trout Fest over in Townsend, TN
http://www.fishcherokee.com/

Jack,
I will be in and out of here for possibly close to a year and a half. I should be off weekends most of the time. 4 hours is not real bad I suppose. What type of gear does a guy need to fish the smokies? I have a 3 and 4 Wt. BIIT Winston. Do I need waders and is felt OK??

As far as states that have banned the use of felt soles goes, here is the most recent info I've been able to find.
http://www.stopans.org/Felt_Bans.htm

Rich;
The rocks can be a bit slippery so definatly felt. I'd add a 5 wt to the quiver and a short (7') rod. A member (Stream) is in the Cherokee area and has been a big help with information on our trip. He comes in the Chat Room often around 8 pm CDT and weve been exchanging info.
Also there is a fly fishing contest the week end of Trout Fest, be a good weekend to go up in the park.

OK guys, I will be headed back to MO for a couple of weeks so I'll bring my gear back with me. I have a BIIIX also so I'll bring all three rods. When I get back here I'll do more research and talk to others in the chat about the area.
Thanks,
Rich

If you are in badin you are at the uwharrie mountains,now these are ancient mountains with the tallest 936 so don't expect trout here,what you can find though is smallmouth bass in the lake and river,most are 8-12" long so no lunkers.The closetest trout would be in mitchell river to you a hour and a half at the most,you also have south mountain state park and stone mountain state park,but these will be hammered now with the weather the way it is,stay clear on weekends...
Your biggest problem in NC now is people who fish in the flyfish only streams and delayed harvest streams,they are going to keep what they catch,period.We have had alot of problems with mexicans spearing trout,setting nets out and gaffing them with large treble hooks,and we don't have enough game wardens to make a dent in the problem.Because of this and long drive times for me i have basically given up on trout except 3-4 times a year and like it better in the cold months because of little to no people out.

So Thomas are you saying not to waste my time??

Thomas said something that would excite me more than trout, smallmouth. You also have a pretty nice lake there if you can come up with some kind of a boat or canoe. Assuming you are not a total pagan, go to services at the Baptist or Methodist church, there will be a local there who fishes. There could be other blessing as well.

There for a minute I thought Thomas as talking about Tennessee!! For sure the state fish and game agencys are understaffed and the Laws can be somewhat vague. I heard a shout one day on the Elk "Hey I've got my 7 so I can Catch & Release!". Not!!
Anyway it seams that the fish over in Cherokee seem to like yellow in the fly's they eat! Yellow sally's, sulphers, etc.

Just a note on NC trout/fly fishing.. On April 11th-12th on our way to Charlotte from SW Pennsylvania we stopped over at a B&B near Sparta, NC which is just below the Virginia/North Carolina border and in the Blue Ridge Mountains.. Pre trip I Googled the area for trout fishing and came up with Stone Mountain State Park and what appeared to be some decent fly fishing streams within the park (C&R only prior to June).. WOW... Had my pick of any number of pools and riffles with very few other anglers... Obviously all stockies but they were there in good numbers... Water somewhat low and crystal clear but did well below the surface on ANYTHING black and mid sized.. Could only fish for two hours but would have loved to check out the other streams designated as "wild" and requiring a hike upstream... I will defenitely go back again and next time for more than a few hours..

Stone Mountain is about 1/2 hr off I-77 at Elkin, NC heading NW on SR 21 toward Roaring Gap and Sparta... It was about 2 hrs plus to Charlotte from Stone Mountain...

FAS

Thanks guys for all the help. It looks like I'll be around there off and on for over the next couple of years. Do the streams around the smokies get too warm to fish in the heat of the summer.

Not to rain on your parade again,but the streams in delayed harvest do get a little warm,but after a couple of weeks after the delay harvest has ended,the streams will be basically void of trout through catch and keep practices anyways.Another problem in the heat of summer in larger streams is swimmers and tubers,god in some of them you'd think you're in a waterpark with slides and lazy rivers!Hence the reason i have started staying on lakes,ponds catching sunfish no a days,more room and plenty of panfish that rarely see a fly.