Photo by Ron Sinfelt

That great poet of the British imperial experience, Rudyard Kipling, once wrote: “Oh East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” He referred, of course, to affairs far more momentous than trout fishing, but the distinct differences of which he wrote certainly apply when one compares stream-raised wild trout with those born and bred in a hatchery. Don’t get me wrong: I have nothing against stocked fish. They have in large measure been the salvation of public trout fishing here in South Carolina and across the country, and fish that once swam in concrete pens have brought pleasure aplenty to countless anglers.

Still, the divide separating a wild trout from its “tame” cousin is wide. When I was a boy, hardy mountain fishermen actually viewed stockers with such disdain they gave them disparaging names — “dough bellies,” “soap heads” and “rubbed fin uglies.” That’s been more decades than I really want to ponder, and there’s no question that hatchery-raised trout have since improved dramatically. Today, they have better color, are far tastier than those liver-fed ones of yesteryear, and when hooked give quite a respectable account of themselves. Nonetheless, as an old-timer put it to me in pithy fashion, “They just ain’t wild, and all them fancy government boys can’t change that.”

Mind you, catching wild trout presents problems. In many cases, plenty of them. Yet, most anglers agree that the difficulties are also an integral part of the delight. You’ve met a worthy adversary on his terms in his habitat and managed to outwit him. More often than not, and certainly such is the case in South Carolina, that takes place in geographical settings that rival the loveliness of the fish you catch for sheer beauty. Add to that joys of a pan of fresh-fried trout cooked over an open fire (if you are a catch-and-release purist, fine, I just happen to enjoy the occasional release-to-grease experience), splendor of solitude, and knowledge that you are about as close to the good earth’s essence as one is likely to come, and you have the makings of truly memorable fishing. Let’s get down to the essence of the matter at hand — where to find and how to catch wild trout. We’ll begin with some thoughts on the species of fish and then turn to matters of geography and technique.

THE QUARRY
South Carolina waters carry wild trout belonging to all three types of “trout” commonly found in the eastern part of the country: namely, brookies, browns and rainbows. Only brook trout, which are also known as specks, are true natives. And if you want further confusion, they aren’t really a trout at all but a close cousin, a char. Such stuff is best left to the scientists though, and the places where you will find speckled trout are so remote, the streams and fish so small, as to be barely worthy of mention. Yet, I do so because the speck is a thing of surpassing beauty, the wildest of the wild, and to hold a little 5-incher in one’s palm, gazing at vivid red specks surrounded by bluish halos, or looking at the fascinating markings atop its back, is to know a moment of wonder.