Friday afternoon I arranged my affairs to leave work just early enough to stop at a stream before heading home without being late to the boss and kids. It had been a while since I had made it up to the Blue Ridge, and I was anxious to go before all the leaves were gone. I drove to one of the half-dozen or so wild trout streams in my area and accessed it from the lower end. After rigging up my 8' 4wt rod and loading my gear into my backpack, I had just under 30 minutes before I had to leave and make it home on time. I parked at the end of a county road right next to some trees with National Forest boundary markings on them, and right across the creek from a house guarded by a dilapidated bridge and knocked-down gate with a No Tresspassing sign still attached. The bank I was on was public property however, and that is where I intended to stay.

I rigged a size 10 self-tied comparadun onto a brand-new 7.5' 5x leader and cast to several pools, catching this guy on the 3rd or 4th pool. The red boundary marking on the far bank indicates that I may have briefly wandered on to private property. The water was up from last time I visited one of these streams, due to recent rain and lower temperatures. I did not see any spawning fish, and the one I caught looked to be alone in the pool.

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After releasing him, I stopped to take another few pictures of the surroundings before heading back home to my regularly scheduled evening of diaper changes, dishwashing, and picking up toys.

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