‘Blue Line’ Fly Fishing

As I sit in my apartment after a day of walking to class in the winter weather and cold, I crave the warm weather being out fly fishing in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Being in college, I’ve found that having healthy hobbies that interest you are very important to keep your life healthy and your mind clear. I grew up fishing, and I became interested in fly fishing when I moved to Boone from Raleigh. People where I’m from don’t really fly fish, but its very popular in the higher elevations where trout streams are found. Catching a fish on the fly is regarded as more difficult, and I became hooked on the sport last summer. No matter what stress I faced at work or in school, was able to forget everything when I was out on the water. Learning what patterns and techniques fooled the fish, learning stream ecosystem dynamics, what locations trout prefer all captured my interest. Even when I am unsuccessful, I’ve spent a day outside surrounded by beautiful mountains and wildlife.

‘Blue line’ trout fishing refers to the blue lines that denote wild trout streams on a map. Some trout streams are stocked with hatchery-raised fish multiple times a year in order to support the demand for recreational fishing. Other trout steams hold wild fish that reproduce and have naturally sustaining populations. They also have stricter regulations in place in order to protect the precarious wild trout populations, such as requiring barbless hooks and catch and release fishing only. Hatchery-raised trout streams have loose regulations, and many of them allow anglers to keep fish. Wild fish are generally more colorful and much smarter that fish raised on hatchery pellets, and for that reason, and more prized by most fly fishing anglers targeting trout. Wild trout locations are held very closely by fisherman, and most are insulted by the idea of sharing them to random fishermen. This meant that one of the biggest parts of starting out fly fishing was using Gazettes and Google Maps to find potential spots to scout. Fly Fishing is a fantastic hobby that I’d encourage anyone that enjoys nature to try if given the chance. In the future I think other big posts about specific fly fishing things would be great to put on my page.