Early November was the last time I fished. The long "trout drought" finally ended today on a wild stream in WNC. I continuously asked myself if I still knew how to fish. It's been awhile! The tippet is the end of the leader, right?


My initial plan was to fish for wild brookies. The Park Service closed the gates (and likely won't open them until spring), so I marked brook trout off of my list and resorted to fishing a nearby wild rainbow stream. Wild streams can be hard to fish in the winter, as wild fish tend to be much more lethargic and secretive than stockers. The stream I fished—a small, 10ft wide tributary—looked fishy, but only gave up 1 vibrantly colorful wild rainbow and several misses. In my book, 1 wild trout in the winter, equals about 10 in the summer. Great day to be out on the water!