2005 Bowen - Upper Creek, North Carolina

June 2005 Mark Bowen - Upper Creek in North Carolina

From Mark:
[The first photo] is where I dropped in on Upper Creek, below the cable and began to try to catch a trout. I geared up at the last camping area around 9:00 AM and it took me about 45 min. to hike the trail to this point. Had the stream to myself, as most folks in this area are communing with their gods in concrete, steel, and wooden structures.

I made the journey, this morning, primarily to see if the floods last year had changed the stream significantly beyond the cable crossing. Many large boulders--the size of a VW Beetle and a bit larger--had been displace from their previous locations, below the cable crossing. Also the trail in is was washed out on several places, as the ridge side trail is very narrow and the ridge gradient is about a 60 degree slope or better in most sections. The water was running harder than normal, as we have had a great deal of rain lately. I just beat a serious thunder and lightning storm out this eve. As you can see from the pic below, the Sun was shining brightly, when I began my fish. This lasted up until I decided that it was time to make my way back out, and the storm clouds didn't hit till I was three quarters the way back to my car.

I began fishin' with a Joe's Hopper, and had several hook-ups early on, but was unable to bring a trout to hand? I switched over to a traditional Adams and had several more hook-ups, but once again I was unable to keep the trout hooked. I checked the hooks and saw no problems. I did notice that my flyline was sinking, and thought that in the strong currents that I was not able to set the hook because of the excessive drag. I saw most of the fish take the fly and could feel them tuggin' as I attempted to set the hook, but each time I lost 'em? Anyway, I decided to change flylines and reels. So I went to my Hardy Featherlight. I don't recall the brand of line on this reel, but it didn't seem to suck up water at the flyline/leader connection. Ok, that problem solved, I figured that I would begin CATCHING fish. Unfortunately, the fish weren't strikin' my flyz like I would have expected them to on such a beautiful day? I have had days on Upper Creek when I couldn't do anything wrong and daze like today, when I couldn't do anything right. Oh well, I was intent on fishing beyond the cable crossing, regardless of catch. It's a good thing that I wasn't out just to fish, 'cause I only caught one trout all day and it was caught beyond the cable crossing! It was a nice healthy rainbow about 13 or so inches.

I don't know, but my lack of fish brought to hand may have been as much due to my apprehension about fishin' this stretch of Uppers by myself, as my piss-poor fishin' abilities. The floods had changed the stream enough that usual stream crossing points were no longer available. I had to cross in areas that I wasn't too certain of, and bedrock granite formations that used to be covered in mosses were scoured clean, which made climbing up and over many sections more treacherous than normal.

I finally made it to the cable crossing and my apprehension turned to fear, as I made my way around the rock with the cable. In the past, it was a simple matter of climbin' a cliff side and droppin' down to a ledge, that is about 25 feet above a very deep plunge pool, then you would step over to a large rock on the other side of a 20 feet deep crevice, and voila, you are on the other side and ready to fish again. Unfortunately, the large rock is no longer their. So, I had to work my way around the rock formation that the cable winds around to another ledge. Not a simple matter on the best of days. The next ledge is wet and slick, and I have my rod in my mouth, a fanny pack around my waist, and a backpack on. Once I inched my way around the rock formation--with a death grip on the cable--I was able to reach another large rock across the crevice.

I'm on the other side of the cable crossin' now and the landscape is totally different than it was the last time I was there. What used to be a sandy beach like area was now a boulder strewn section of the stream, with water coursing over, around, and beneath the boulders. I decided to cast a fly, in celebration of not falling from the cable and drowning in the deep pool below. I tied on a parachute Adams and cast it to a seam of water cutting around a large rock in the middle of the stream. As the fly came around the point in the rock I had a strike. Determined not to miss another trout I set the hook quickly and kept pressure on by strippin' in line with my left-hand. Sure enough, I finally, brought to hand my first and only trout of the day!

-- Mark

Clicking on an image will open the full-sized photo.

Dropping in on Upper Creek
This is a shot facing up stream from the same location as the first pic.
On the way to the cable crossing.
This is normally a fantastic pool to catch several nice browns, but to day I got skunked here? The cable crossing is just ahead--its below the downed tree, in the upper center of the pic. The large rock formation, on the other side of this pool doesn't look all that difficult to climb in this pic, but it is a bitch, now that the mosses have disappeared. You have to climb up that area under the tree branches, just before the shaded section ends, as the bright area is almost straight up and there are no hand/foot holds to grip. Not to mention that the rock slopes off into the water at a sharp angle and the water is fairly deep below the shiny rock.

This pool is normally not this wide, but the recent rains have filled it up pretty well. This is the pool that I caught my only fish of the day in. My blood pressure and level of anxiety level increased about 5 fold, once I got to this pool. I had a feeling that crossing was going to be a pain in the ass.
I have crossed over at this point, and am lookin' at the ledges to the left of the rock and cable. You can just make out the cable to the right of the ledges and slightly above the ledges.
If you follow down form the small pointy rock in the center of the pic, the cable runs diagonal from the rock to the left corner of the pic, and cuts diagonally across that white just left of and below center of the pic. The other end is secured, with u-bolt clamps, to a sapling that grows out of the rock ledge. Thankfully, it held my fat ass. The scary part about the cable crossing used to be wondering whether or not the cable was still secured around the rock, as you can't get a look see until you have already committed all of your wait to the cable, and whether or not sapling was going to hold fast to the rock formation it grows out of? Now the scary part includes having to shimmy around the rock formation to a third ledge that you can't access without stepping around the point in the rock formation, while leaning back with all of your weight on the cable--which is awkward at best and dangerous to say the least.
He/she/it was a beautiful rainbow about 13 or so inches and a strong healthy fighter. I was surprised to have caught this 'bow where I did. I figured a big brown would have occupied it's hold. Nevertheless, I was pleased to not have been skunked for the day.

I cast my fly--parachute Adams--into the current, on the left center of the pic, and let it drift down to and just beyond the point of the rock. The 'bow struck and I finally set a hook properly, enabling me to bring a trout to hand.
I cast my fly--parachute Adams--into the current, on the left center of the pic, and let it drift down to and just beyond the point of the rock. The 'bow struck and I finally set a hook properly, enabling me to bring a trout to hand.
This is as far as I decided to proceed to day. I have posted this pic and the one before it in the past, but this place is so beautiful, I didn't figure it would hurt to repost them from today's excursion.
I climbed up the rock face on the left, to above the tree that is growin' out of the rocks. You can see the ledges of the rock formation that I dropped down to grab the cable and climb on around. The pool beneath the rock formation is about 20 to 25 feet deep. I have seen some really nice trout come out of this hole--over twenty inches. However, as I am not much on streamer/nymphing, I haven't caught anything over 16 inches out of this pool.

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Dropping in on Upper Creek	This is a shot facing up stream from the same location as the first pic.	On the way to the cable crossing.	This is normally a fantastic pool to catch several nice browns, but to day I got skunked here? The cable crossing is just ahead--its below the downed tree, in the upper center of the pic. The large rock formation, on the other side of this pool doesn't look all that difficult to climb in this pic, but it is a bitch, now that the mosses have disappeared. You have to climb up that area under the tree branches, just before the shaded section ends, as the bright area is almost straight up and there are no hand/foot holds to grip. Not to mention that the rock slopes off into the water at a sharp angle and the water is fairly deep below the shiny rock.
This pool is normally not this wide, but the recent rains have filled it up pretty well. This is the pool that I caught my only fish of the day in. My blood pressure and level of anxiety level increased about 5 fold, once I got to this pool. I had a feeling that crossing was going to be a pain in the ass.	I have crossed over at this point, and am lookin' at the ledges to the left of the rock and cable. You can just make out the cable to the right of the ledges and slightly above the ledges.	If you follow down form the small pointy rock in the center of the pic, the cable runs diagonal from the rock to the left corner of the pic, and cuts diagonally across that white just left of and below center of the pic. The other end is secured, with u-bolt clamps, to a sapling that grows out of the rock ledge. Thankfully, it held my fat ass. The scary part about the cable crossing used to be wondering whether or not the cable was still secured around the rock, as you can't get a look see until you have already committed all of your wait to the cable, and whether or not sapling was going to hold fast to the rock formation it grows out of? Now the scary part includes having to shimmy around the rock formation to a third ledge that you can't access without stepping around the point in the rock formation, while leaning back with all of your weight on the cable--which is awkward at best and dangerous to say the least.	He/she/it was a beautiful rainbow about 13 or so inches and a strong healthy fighter. I was surprised to have caught this 'bow where I did. I figured a big brown would have occupied it's hold. Nevertheless, I was pleased to not have been skunked for the day.
I cast my fly--parachute Adams--into the current, on the left center of the pic, and let it drift down to and just beyond the point of the rock. The 'bow struck and I finally set a hook properly, enabling me to bring a trout to hand.	I cast my fly--parachute Adams--into the current, on the left center of the pic, and let it drift down to and just beyond the point of the rock. The 'bow struck and I finally set a hook properly, enabling me to bring a trout to hand.	This is as far as I decided to proceed to day. I have posted this pic and the one before it in the past, but this place is so beautiful, I didn't figure it would hurt to repost them from today's excursion.	I climbed up the rock face on the left, to above the tree that is growin' out of the rocks. You can see the ledges of the rock formation that I dropped down to grab the cable and climb on around. The pool beneath the rock formation is about 20 to 25 feet deep. I have seen some really nice trout come out of this hole--over twenty inches. However, as I am not much on streamer/nymphing, I haven't caught anything over 16 inches out of this pool.