The fishing I enjoy the most is in small mountain trout streams. Boulder hopping and short casts to small pools. Close up fishing and fish you have to work hard to not spook. While mountain trout in these small streams don’t grow large, they are always hungry. It was not uncommon to catch and release 30 Brook Trout in an afternoon on the Rapidan.

This is my mountain trout rig. An Orvis Battenkill Mark III by Hardy and an Orvis 7 ½ ‘ graphite Tippet model 3 weight rod. It appears I could have cleaned it up better, there are trout scales on the handle.

I learned mountain trout fishing from my mentor, Harry Murray, on the Rapidan River located in the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. What I learned there transfers well to the small, fast, mountain streams of the Smokey Mountains. The places author Harry Middleton explored in his book “On the Spine of Time”.

Tonight’s razor is a 5/8ths Trident Cutlery Barber’s King by Wusthof.