Three generations of the Trout Pro team visited Stone Mountain State Park in North Carolina on Saturday, to fish the Delayed Harvest streams. With a perfect day weather-wise shaping up, we arrived early to stake out our claim. While the fish were sluggish to start the day, we eventually started getting some hits late morning. The afternoon fishing was superb, as the trout were hitting with gusto.
The creek was stocked with an ample supply of fiesty trout, averaging 11-12". While the big pools nearest easy stocking areas held the most fish, we found trout throughout the portions of the stream we fished. Most were brook trout, with a couple rainbows and browns. Early morning saw no interest from the trout on flies or the bright green squirmy wormy. With a couple of hatches later during the day, dry flies performed well. Additionally, we caught several trout on spinners. All 12 were caught and released per the regulations.
When fishing popular Delayed Harvest streams, remember to get there early, visit during the middle of the week, fish the out of the way stretches of the stream or areas of the pools, and handle the fish gently for release.