Nantahala!

The Cherokees named the river "Land of the Noonday Sun" because of the steep-sided gorge that embraces the flow for most of its course through Swain County, NC. But, I'm officially changing the interpretation to "Land of Trophy-Size Brookies" after my last trip there on March 16th. I have NEVER seen such healthy specimens of Salvelinus Fontinalis in my life. The ones we usually catch a glimpse of in GA are a mere 6" on average. These guys were bruisers, and there was a mob of them around every bend and behind every rock. Chris, Stephen and I got into a sampling of Brook Trout, ranging from a respectable 12 to an incredible 18 inches! Gotta go back ASAP. Chris got his first grand slam, a Rainbow, Brown, and Brook Trout in the same day on one river. Here's a sampling of the fishporn. If you have not fished the Nanty, stop reading and go... now!