WHITEWATER RIVER
Mention of the Whitewater River offers a good beginning point. You reach it via a short trail that begins at Duke Power’s Bad Creek Project and connects with the Foothills Trail. When you come to the stream, a footbridge crosses it and provides a ready access point to work either upstream or down. Alternatively, and the same holds true for the Thompson River, Howard Creek and Laurel Fork Creek, you can travel by boat to the mouth of these streams, all of which empty into Lake Jocassee. One problem with that approach, although the nimble-footed can overcome it, is that most empty into the lake in precipitous fashion and you generally find the stream becoming your trail.

By Palmetto State standards, the Whitewater River is pretty big water. Only a couple of miles of the stream’s flow are in South Carolina -- a mile below Lower Whitewater Falls and a mile above to where you reach the North Carolina line. Not much farther upstream, in North Carolina, you come to the Upper Falls.

There are both browns and ‘bows in the Whitewater, and in the past it has gotten some stockings with fingerlings. Of course, these are very different from keeper-sized trout planted straight from a hatchery. However, the heart of the Whitewater’s offerings focuses on wild brown trout, and its mixture of deep plunge pools and runs and riffles form ideal habitat for them.

Incidentally, despite being home to two truly impressive waterfalls, the rest of the river’s drainage is not overly rough or precipitous.

THOMPSON RIVER
Without much question, this stream is South Carolina’s most remote “big” water. Actually, it is only a medium to medium-large trout stream by southern Appalachian standards, but it is so rugged and so remote that somehow it seems larger and more impressive. Almost strictly a brown trout stream, in its lower reaches this is a classic plunge pool water with numerous deep holes.

To get to it, you have to take a lengthy hike along the Foothills Trail (hence, overnight camping is advised) or else do your best imitation of a mountain goat and come in from the lake. Either way, the lower reaches are a classic gorge-type drainage, and a high level of fitness, along with considerable caution, is required. Personally, I wouldn’t fish this area alone and wouldn’t recommend that others do it either.

Not much more than a mile of the Thompson River lies in South Carolina, but if you have a North Carolina license, you can continue upstream. The depth of many of the Thompson’s pools suggests the need to get deep. You may want some split shot with spin-casting offerings, and flyfishermen would be well advised to consider weighted streamers. One other thought -- camping lets you be astream at dawn or dusk, and it is well worth remembering that brown trout are most active in low-light conditions.

HOWARD CREEK
Emptying into Lake Jocassee’s west shore not too far up the reservoir from Devil’s Fork State Park, Howard Creek can be reached by boat, trail, or, in its upper reaches, off Highway 130 (locally known as the Whitewater Falls Road). It forks not far upstream from its confluence with Lake Jocassee, and has two feeders, Corbin Creek and Limberpole Creek, which are also noteworthy.