Chillin’ in the Whee
by Mike Holleman, a.k.a. "Spanky"

The soft spring sunlight glittered and flashed off the brightly colored sides of the little trout.  He wiggled and squirmed frantically as my son held his first trout up for Dad to admire.  Admiration was quickly replaced by a sense of awe at the significance of the young man’s accomplishment.  Not only had he caught his first trout but he had done so on a fly rod with a dry fly.  And while I was far from being an expert, slight differences in the little rainbow’s appearance from those that we would catch later led me to believe that it was a wild trout.  The tiny, clear creek had yielded a treasure that my son and I would treasure for years to come.  As he gently slid the miniature trophy back into the shallow riffle from which he had been drawn, I momentarily wished that I had my camera in hand.  I quickly realized that no photograph would ever compare to the perfect picture that I would keep in my memory.

This brief moment had given special meaning to this visit with my son in his first year at college.  Over the next few days we would explore this tiny creek and a “delayed harvest” section of the Tuckaseegee River.  The good Lord definitely smiled down on us as we enjoyed near perfect weather and some spectacular fishing.  My son’s roommate and a good friend of mine were along for the adventure in the waters between Cullowhee and Sylva.  We later dubbed the trip “Chillin’ in the ‘Whee” when we compiled the photos of our excursion.  For my son Ryan, my friend Jesse, and myself, the thrill of our first trout on a fly rod made the trip all the more memorable. With the help of Lucas, Ryan’s roommate, we explored these beautiful waters that were all within a few minutes of the campus of Western Carolina University.

Our little excursion was, from the start, a throw-together affair.  The primary function of the trip had been to spend time with Ryan as he neared the completion of his freshman year at WCU. My brother, Tony, had given Ryan a nice six-weight fly-fishing outfit when he graduated from Havelock High School.  Ryan’s choice to attend WCU had prompted his uncle to order the matched outfit with an instructional video.  Tony had previously fished the area and his insight and generosity helped ensure a positive experience for my son.  Lucas had grown up in the area and thus held the edge in local knowledge of the water and proven equipment.  Fortunately for the rookies in our group, he was more than happy to share both.  I, on the other hand, had acquired the fly-fishing habit as a teenager, some three decades earlier.  The funny part was that I still had the same rod and reel that I had thrashed the waters of local farm ponds with as a kid.  My rod seemed like a telephone pole next to the light graphite composite whips the youngsters were wielding.  Here I was, twice their age with an outfit that had been around longer than they had been living.

We were also fortunate that Tony and Lucas had clued us in on some effective flies for the area.  We had very few of any single fly pattern, so we were lucky that the stocked rainbows and browns were not particular about what they took.  We had good luck on Elk Hair Caddis, Royal Wulffs, bead-head Hare’s Ear Nymphs, and Olive Woolly Buggers.  Ryan, Jesse, and myself all caught our first trout on a fly rod on this trip.  For Jesse, it was his first experience with any fly-fishing.  We hooked numerous fish and brought quite a few to hand.  The scrappy little trout quickly taught us the value of a landing net.  Ryan and Lucas, both with nets, were able to land a greater percentage of their fish.  We released all of the fish safely; I just felt that there was less stress on those we brought to net.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission’s “Delayed Harvest” areas provide excellent areas to experience the thrill of trout on the fly.  The “Delayed Harvest” area’s restriction to single hook lures does not dictate the use of a fly rod but the majority of the fishermen we met were working fly rods.  Fish may only be harvested between early June and October in these waters.  Other areas allowed the harvest of trout year 'round if you were looking to put a few in the pan.  With beautiful scenery and plentiful trout, it was easy to imagine that a good number of the local college students might get hooked on fishing. I am certainly glad that my son was one of those who made that choice.  The fish were healthy, fat, and often acrobatic on the end of the line.  I had grown up tempting bream and bass with poppers and foam spiders.  The desire to catch a trout on fly tackle had been with me since I was a teenager.  Now that I had fulfilled that desire, I was addicted. 

Our lack of inventory and the frequency with which we lost flies was an inspiration to pursue another long time goal.  I had often wished that I had the patience and skill required to tie flies.  My newly discovered infatuation motivated me to purchase a tool kit and start collecting materials the year following this trip.  I finally gave it a try this past November.  My first attempts were humble affairs but I was encouraged at every turn by new friends discovered through the Fly-Tying Forum.  Fly-fishing and fly-tying have now become great ways to spend time with my sons.

The power of a flimsy rod, light leaders, feathers, hair, and thread to bond a father and his sons is truly amazing.