Harpers Creek, near Collettsville NC and south of Mortimer.

Lat / Long:  35.977597  -81.778265

Background:

This was my first attempt at an overnight back country hiking and fishing in decades.  It was a short 3 miles but after a winter of health issues, this was a plan with several options.  I drove on Friday night to the Comfort Inn at Lenoir NC and got up at 3 hours before dawn to grab a big breakfast and drive into Wilson Creek recreational area.  I reached the trail head just after first light, parked the car and hiked to Harper’s Creek.  I was amazed at the number of people camping back in Harper’s Creek.  Caught a couple of trout that day.  Missed one very big one.   The next morning, the sky opened up at 0300 so I packed up in the dark and made my way out at first light.  My best decision was not to pack in wadders.  The water was not as cold as I expected.

I selected Harper’s Creek after a lot of study of trails, maps, travel time and alternative sites.  Internet searches provided some good background on alternatives.  Wilson Creek was the plan B, but because of Brown Mountain Beach road, it gets a lot of fishing pressure.

 

Description:

Harpers Creek is a tributary of Wilson Creek.  Both are in Pisgah National Forest.  This is a beautiful mountain stream that has native brook trout.  Although its off the beaten path, there are plenty of people who pack into this area to enjoy the creek and nature.  Harper’s Creek is too far from a road to find stocked fish but not too far to find a Boy Scout Troop camping and exploring the creek.  Hiking to the Falls is easy if you are fit.  Going past the falls requires ropes so consider your ability before you find yourself in a sticky position far from help.  Lenoir NC is the closest town that has a Walmart and hotels.

https://bluecordfishermen.com/planning-considerations-for-a-back-country-fishing-trip/

Access:

From Lenoir, use a GPS or careful map work to navigate to Brown Mountain Beach road intersection with Adako road (35.899060  -81.715200).  Head North on Brown Mountain Beach road which parallels Wilson Creek.  The only lawful access to Harpers Creek involves climbing a 400 foot ridge to drop down into Harpers Creek Valley. (Private land lies between Brown Mountain Beach road and where Harpers Creek meets Wilson Creek.)   The trail head is marked by a sign and located at Lat/Long 35.977557  -81.76636.  The trail

head has parking for a few vehicles but these fill up rapidly on Friday nights.  Additional parking is available a mile north on the other side of the bridge over the creek.  The hike to the creek from the trail head is about 40 minutes.  The initial climb is only 10 minutes to get over the saddle.   The decent is easy on a well defined trail.  Along the creek are numerous camp sites.  The trail branches to the Harper’s Creek Falls and is the site of a great location for a base camp.  When the fishing slows, continue to the falls.  Negotiating the trail over the falls requires the use of ropes.  At 57 and going solo, I elected to turn around and get back to fishing.  https://www.hikewnc.info/trailheads/wilson-creek/

Point #1   Brown Mountain Beach road intersection with Adako road (Lat/Long 35.899060  -81.715200)

Point #2: Harper’s Creek Trail Head Lat/Long 35.977557  -81.76636

Point #3: Trail Junction and great spot for base camp.

 

Point #4:  Harper’s Creek Falls

Point #5:  Parking near Mortimer Camp Ground

 

 

 

 

 

Harpers Creek Trail

Fishing Harper’s Creek:

This is a catch and release area.  No live bait.  A 4 weight fly rod is more than enough.  7’6” fly rod would be well suited for this type of fishing.  Big boulders and elevation drop make for some great fall pools.  Water is cool enough for trout but warm enough to wade with sneakers in April.  Leave the wadders at the trail head;  no need for wadders.  Climbing on the boulders will wear you out faster than the hike.  Carry water in for drinking or carry certified method to purify water for drinking.  Carry trail snacks to eat as you fish.  Don’t get paranoid, but be aware of snakes.  I saw a copperhead, but he was quick to get out of sight.  Check with local fishing websites for hatches to expect and flies that are good for the area and time of year.

http://www.flyfishingsmokymountains.com/journalmplr949.html

http://wilsoncreekoutfitters.com/blog/?page_id=780

Timing:

Early mornings are best just to avoid the backpackers who are waking up and the non-backpackers who hike in for the day.  Nymph fishing is good all day.  As the temperature warms up, expect swimmers and splashing by folks enjoying the pools.  You are sharing the creek with a lot of people south of the falls.  If you can get beyond the falls, the non-fishing folks drop off.   I do not have first hand experience of Summer and Fall fishing on Harper’s Creek but reports are that the Fall fishing is great.

Editor’s Opinion:

There is a very good reason that there are so many people found this deep in Pisgah National Forest.  Its simply that beautiful.  The trail is tough for 10 minutes.  After that, it’s just a walk down hill to the creek.  This is a small creek that can be crossed by carefully picking the route.  Wilson creek offers more fish since it is stocked, but it gets a lot of pressure.  When I got to the truck during the rain storm, Wilson Creek had fly fishermen in every fourth stretch.  I can only imagine how much pressure it gets on a dry Sunday morning in the Spring.

LOGISTICS:

Lodging:  Lenoir has several chain hotels and some mom and pop ones as well that are not on the internet.  Mortimer Camp Ground has facilities.  The National Park allows camping anywhere but no facilities.

Food:  Lenoir has a Waffle House is adjacent to the Comfort Inn.  There are plenty of options in Lenoir.  Plan for backing in portable water or obtain a filtration system.

Tackle: Lenoir has a Walmart as well as other stores to include sporting goods.  Betsey’s Ole Country Store 8395 North Carolina 90  Collettsville, NC

Emergency Planning:

1. Do not expect Cell Phone coverage beyond the Wilson Creek Visitor Center.
2. Carry basic emergency kit and signal whistle.
3. Watch the weather for extremes.
4. Store food at camp sites accounting for bears.
5. Basically, think things through because help is no where near by.
6. Take a buddy. Do as I say not as I do.