The paved Tellico River road becomes a gravel road at the North Carolina line, and within two miles it becomes an off-road-vehicle trail (a footpath), which follows the Tellico into its remote wild-trout headwaters. All of the Tellico in North Carolina is exclusively wild-trout water, with rainbows dominating the lower sections; Peckerwood Creek and Fain's Ford in North Carolina mark the beginning of the brook-trout territory. I've had excellent days fishing the wild-trout section of the Tellico, including one golden fall afternoon when 69 rainbows and brookies jumped on my #16 caddis and #18 Wulff flies.

Two prime wild-trout rivers, the North and Bald rivers, both major tributaries to the Tellico, flow down from the Tennessee mountains in the vicinity of Haw Knob (elevation: 5,472 feet) and Beaverdam Bald. While the lower portions of these rivers offer easy access, the headwaters often require as much mountaineering as fishing expertise. The rewards, however, are proportional to the amount of effort you expend.

Deeply-marked, strong-swimming wild trout occupy all reaches of the two streams. Both the introduced rainbow and brown trout of the area are known for their spectacular coloration. The rainbow trout have "cat eye" markings and a strong red band on each side. The genetically distinct native Southern brook trout and the introduced Northern brook trout are also known for their beautiful cryptic coloration. On these waters, you can catch wild brown, rainbow, and brook trout in one day while enjoying a respite from the corn-chucking crowds on the lower Tellico.

Bald River is the largest of the wild-trout rivers, draining both the Bald River Gorge Wilderness and the Upper Bald River Primitive Area, a total of 14,181 acres. With only one mile of road access along its length, it is also the major backcountry river in the Tellico basin. For the first 4.8 miles above the 120-foot-high Bald River Falls along Tellico River Road, the Bald flows through a gorge and is accessible only by foot. The gorge section of the river is a federal wilderness area and is, predictably, the home for some of the area's largest wild rainbow trout. But the Bald River Trail, which runs the length of the gorge, is heavily traveled, especially in the summer and during hunting season.

The middle portion of Bald River is accessible via Forest Service Road 126, which leads to Holly Flats Campground on the banks of the Bald River. The river becomes increasingly smaller as it passes two small wild rainbow- and brown-trout feeder streams, Kirkland Creek and Henderson Branch. At .8 miles from Holly Flats, the river leaves the road for good, and only the Brookshire Creek trail and an old logging road provide access. The upper section of the Bald River offers excellent, if somewhat cramped, backcountry fishing.

The North and Bald (above) rivers provide backcountry wild-trout fishing. A portion of the Bald flows through a gorge that is accessible only by foot. The North River has easy road access, and consequently is fished more heavily.

The North River, on the other hand, offers easy road access via North River Road from the Tellico to its remote headwaters. Consequently, it suffers from greater fishing pressure than the Bald River, but it still has some of the best wild-trout fishing in the Southeast. The North River's lower reaches, from the Tellico to the confluence of Sugar Cove and Meadow branches, about six miles of water, have both rainbow and brown trout, mostly in the 6- to 12-inch range, with browns being more numerous in the lowest reaches of the river. Browns of more than seven pounds have been pulled from the North River. This is my favorite stretch of water in the basin, and it is no great feat for an angler to catch and release 40 or more wild trout on a good day.

The native brookies are there, too, but just barely. A moratorium has been in effect on brook-trout fishing in Great Smoky Mountains National Park since 1975. The brook trout in the Tellico basin are only now coming back from the edge of extinction, largely because of an admirable restoration program overseen by state and federal agencies. A recent study funded by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Division found the state's brookie population to be 57 percent Southern strain fish, 15 percent Northern strain fish, and 28 percent hybrids. All brook trout should be released unharmed.