notevenanibble

there's a seller on Ebay called Crystal River Flyshop and also Leland Fly Company that have some great deals if you follow them closely. I bought some Rio Gold WF4W for $60 a few weeks ago.

yeah, i was just pointing out they are two totally different trout. they are tough to catch, and i'm a bit jealous. i've never been able to catch one and i googled that picture. another interesting bit is they tend to feed higher in the water column than other trout(also means they spend more time in the faster current and are considered stronger swimmers) that combined with their color makes them easy to spot. about the only way you can catch the ones we have in NC is when they are hitting dry flies and terrestrials.

The Golden is a little different. We call the ones like in the OP a Palomino. I think they were all hatchery bred from rainbows with a particular genetic anomaly. kind of like two dark haired people having a kid with blond hair. They are stocked in a few North Carolina streams, but they are easily poached by birds and anglers so many don't last. Feeling like a smart alec making this post, but this is what happens when you spend your friday nights in a wikipedia rabbit hole reading about trout varieties.

i picked up some rig spools from Loon the other day. I've prerigged a few setups so I could change my setup quickly.

I slipped on some rocks fly fishing in Cherokee, nc a few weeks ago. The air temp was 25 degrees. It was not fun at all. Had to leave early.

I'm going out there in early April and looking at guides now. If you have any recs let me know.

i'd suggest getting some tippet rings, it makes connecting the tippet and leader so easy and keeps you from having to cut pieces from your leader off

Idk what you're supposed to do, but I mix and match leader and tippet all the time. I'll use different tippet sizes together as well. I've read that you should use a lighter leader/tippet(6 or 7) for dries, little stronger for nymphs(4 or 5), and heaviest for streamers( 3 or 4). Of course there are half sizes and length of leader/tippet varies greatly depending on depth, rod weight, fly pattern, and skill level. Lately I've gotten into the Trout Hunter brand of tippet and leaders. It's pretty tough stuff. I also tend to use fluorocarbon.

You have the South Fork of the New River and the Watauga River starts in Boone on Grandfather Mountain. The closest large body of water is probably Either Watauga lake(in TN) or Kerr Reservoir (near Wilkesboro). Wilson Creek is not far away and holds one of NC's trophy water trout sections.

the Tuckasegee and French Broad rivers have good smallmouth in them

Carl is a good guy. gives good info on those rivers. i've been flyfishing in western nc and soon in east tennessee, so I don't get to head that way much.

not totally related, but here is another huge ice fishing tournament. seems to be more about having a party, but i like it. http://www.eelpoutfestival.com/

check this tournament out. saw this a few weeks ago

I was in Mountain Rest just last week. There is a nice fly shop there. Missed a chance to go to Savannah and Buford a few times recently. Hoping to spend a few weekends out there this coming spring. dividing my priorities between, trout, bass, and inshore will not be easy.

Most of the good fly-lines are in the $70 range and some more. You can find a few deals online though. I'd guess paying almost as much for the line as your rod/reel combo would sound funny. I agree with Frank at least get some new leader and tippet. those are fairly inexpensive.