Sam Register of Raleigh and his 14-year-old son, Alex, have spent untold numbers of hours camping and hiking the trout trails at Stone Mountain, and October is one of their favorite times of the year.

"It is the best, you can use a variety of flies. But eight times out of 10, we'll fish a Woolly Bugger, a chartreuse or black with a beadhead. The Roaring River is a Delayed Harvest water, but there are some Wild Trout waters like Garden, Widow's and Big Sandy creeks. You can fish Garden Creek -- it's quite a hike, maybe a good two miles back, but there are some pools back there that have some huge browns in them," Register said.

Bullhead Creek offers a unique trophy opportunity where you can pay to fish a particular section of the creek exclusively. Daily permits are on a first-come, first-served basis.

Check trout fishing regulations at ncwildlife.org before you go and all special regulations when you arrive at the park. In October, the park is open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. You can call (336) 957-8185 for more park information.

PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA
Kerr Lake Crappie
Jim McKinnon of Durham runs Jig Man Jim's Guide Service (919/943-1128). He puts clients on crappie in Kerr and Falls lakes and loves Kerr in October.

"The fish are going to be schooling up and fattening up for the wintertime. The shad are just pulling off their summer patterns and are heading back in the creeks, so those crappie are going to be pretty close right behind them. If you get on them and catch two or three, there will be more around them," McKinnon said.

Look for water that is a bit stained. McKinnon recommends Panhandle, Rudd's and Butcher creeks.

"The reason I like those creeks is because the water doesn't stay real clear in there and it is easier to catch them in stained water," McKinnon said.

Stained water aids in getting a reaction strike: The fish get a fast look at a bait and want to strike before it gets away, whereas in clear water, the fish can take their time and follow a bait 30 or 40 feet before they decide whether they want it or not.

McKinnon begins his search looking for baitfish with his depthfinder and fast-trolling baits around the mouths of creeks and across the main points along those creeks. "I'll start out in about 8 feet of water across the point, and then make a circle and come across in 10 feet of water and another circle in 12 feet. Once you learn the depth of them, you start adjusting your speed to get in that area.

"Fast-trolling is where you throw baits way off the back of the boat and you troll at about one mile per hour. At Kerr, some of creeks are three or four miles long and you can cover a whole lot of that creek by moving fairly fast," McKinnon said. Use a GPS unit to control your trolling speed, which keeps the bait at the correct depth.

Getting a good spread on the lines is essential to keep them from tangling while trolling and to cover the widest possible area effectively.

"What I do is run six rods, a 6-foot, 8-foot and 12-foot on each side of the boat for fast-trolling, a 6 off each side of the motor, and then I'll put an 8 out on each side and then run a 12 straight out each side," McKinnon said.