I don’t believe I said
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On The Fly Freshwater
October 2024
Article and photos by Steve Hudson
It’s one of those days when the outdoors is in the air.
I feel it. My wife feels it too.
“I think,” she says, “that we should go hiking…maybe to a waterfall…and we should fish!”
But where? Somewhere new would be nice.
I randomly pull a guidebook from the shelf. I’m reaching for a fishing book, but I grab a waterfall guide instead. It falls open to a page describing a beautiful waterfall up near Ellijay and Blue Ridge, a cascade on a creek that’s paralleled for more than a mile by the Appalachian Trail.
Hmmm.
“We were near it a while ago,” I say, “that day we went up to Noontootla Creek. The Appalachian Trail crosses the road there, remember?”
Sure enough, the AT follows this creek upstream to a blue-blazed spur trail which swings left to the falls. There are actually two other falls along that section of creek, though the star of them all is the 60-foot-high third cascade at trail’s end.
“Let’s do it,” she says.
And that’s how, the next day, we find ourselves lacing up the hiking boots only yards from the Appalachian Trail.
The hike in, though in places rocky and rooty, is not difficult. As we go, we hear the creek singing unseen somewhere off to our left. At a couple of points, an increase in volume tips us off to one of those intermediate cascades.
Eventually we reach the spur trail leading to the falls. We turn left. Soon the lower tier of the waterfall comes into view. A well-worn path around the right side promises a look at what hides above, should you feel adventuresome, but be careful climbing around waterfalls. Not feeling daring, we stay safe and secure on the ground floor.
But then, having scratched the waterfall itch, we start to consider some fishing. How’s it going to be? To find out, I’ll use my favorite tiny-stream rod, a 6.5-foot 2-weight. She’ll use a Dragontail multi-length tenkara rod.
Here, as on many small mountain streams, the challenge is finding places with room to cast. My wife spots a good one, eases within range, and drops the Elk Hair Caddis near some fast water. The strike is immediate, and a moment later she brings a trout to hand – the first of the day.
How about that! Wild trout on a new-to-us creek, and a waterfalls guide helped us find them!
But wait. What creek is it?
No matter its name, I hope the story of how we found it will inspire you to look beyond traditional fishing literature in your search for “new” water. Sure, there are no truly “secret” streams. But there is almost certainly water that’s not known to you (or to me).
Make no mistake: there are many such waters.
But what about this one? What’s its name? Inquiring minds want to know.
How about this? How about we do what my buddy Jeff does and call it Idbis Creek, an acronym for “I Don’t Believe I Said.”
What? Yeah, that’s right. He’s not going to tell. I’m not going to either.
Don’t take it personally.
If you’ve been around trout fishing very long, you may have figured out that many serious fly fishers are that way when it comes to naming lesser-known trout streams. They’ll cheerfully show ‘em to you privately, usually, but publicly spilling the beans is frowned upon. In some circles, it can even lead to tarring and feathering. That’s just the way it is, and who wants to go head-to-head with feathers and tar?
The fact is that there’s plenty of info right here to let you figure out what stream I’m talking about. That’s half the fun, that reading-between-the-lines and solving the puzzle of “which” and “where.” I’ll bet you could figure out in ten minutes if you set your mind to it.
In fact, with just a little effort you can find all sorts of secret streams on your own. It’s easy to do. Just follow your rod tip, perhaps to some back-country waterfall – and be sure to stop and cast along the way.
Then drop me a note and tell me all about it. And if you hedge and become evasive when I ask the stream’s name, please know that I understand.
But you can tell me. Really you can. It’ll stay between us. I won’t tell a soul.
