Quick Pic: Backcountry Brook Trout in the Smokies

I took this photograph of a swimming brook trout on a long hike up Lynn Camp Prong earlier this month. Water conditions were a little bit on the high side and the weather was gray and drizzly. I could have fished, but it was one of those days when I just needed to get out and move. Given the opportunity I can really cover some ground, but after a long, wet winter it had been a long time since I had walked much more than a mile or two at best.

I set off from the trailhead at Tremont and quickly passed most hikers. Charity, her mother, and the kids were out for a shorter, slower stroll to see the several cascades and waterfalls and any early blooming wildflowers. By the end of the day I had hiked far up Lynn Camp Prong and walked along the smaller Indian Flats Prong before returning to Townsend.

Even as my primary intention was to cover some ground I couldn’t resist looking into several pools. There are numerous places along the path that have a good vantage point to look down into the water. Dark conditions did little to illuminate life in the stream so I didn’t stick around long.

There is a spot in roughly the same vicinity as the old car that is not visible from the trail. A bridge crossed the stream here and only a piling on the far side hints at once was. It was the perfect spot to eat my lunch of Clif Bars and water because it’s just a beautiful spot. I kept an eye on the water out of habit and eventually saw a splashy rise. There wasn’t much to see much because of the glare. I moved to a different vantage point and made out the bright red pectoral fins of a brook trout in the current.

I ended up staying longer than expected but the trout didn’t rise again. There was no need to see him rise. It was energizing to watch the fish sway and occasionally dart in the current.