Photo courtesy LUCKY CRAFT Big brown trout are available for anglers during drift fishing at the South Holston and Watauga rivers.

With a lack of rainfall in the western N.C. mountains, anglers chasing rainbows, browns and brook trout are able to find fish stacked up in pools at wild-trout streams.

“Any place where you can find a hole or at the base of a waterfall is a good place to try,” said Clay Benfield of Foscoe Fishing Company (828-963-6556).

Fly anglers are finding hatches of yellowstone and sulphur flies and using yellow stimulators and yellow Humphries flies.

“Most of the trout will be in the smaller stream headquarters, such as ones off the Pisgah, North Toe and Elk River at Banner Elk,” Benfield said. “The delayed harvest streams have mostly been fished out by now, so anglers should try any of the wild (trout) waters.”

Best rigs include beadhead nymphs on dropper rigs.

“People can catch smaller brook trout in the headwaters of the Elk River and browns and rainbows on the North Toe,” he said.

Rods in 7 to 8 1/2-foot-long sizes and 3 or 4 weight are best.

“Waterfall pools are probably good places right now because the water’s so low,” Benfield said.

Anglers wishing to go for bigger rainbows and browns should try drift-fishing at the Watauga and South Holston rivers in Tennessee.