One of my favorite waterfalls in Transylvania County is the 70-foot Looking Glass Falls near Brevard off Hwy. 276, but it is also one of the more dangerous for tourists. Every year or so somebody slips or stumbles or trips over a rock at the top and falls to the bottom, usually fatally.
A couple weeks ago, a visitor from Florida did it. Friends said he was an avid waterfall diver and had been doing such for most of his adult life, but he should have checked the depth in the drought-shrunken creek where just 6 feet of water remained to cushion any fall or dive.
I would rather fly fish for little wild trout in Looking Glass Creek, where the fish may not be trophy sized but are still wild and beautiful and fun to catch amid beautiful surroundings.
The water gets hammered pretty good. There are a gazillion pulloff spots, and a fisherman runs the risk of battling family picnics and smooching lovers for a spot of solitude.
I have never caught a lot of fish, but I always catch at least one. Last week I had errands in town and the trip home included stops along Looking Glass Creek as well as the Pigeon River on the other side of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
I had hopes of making a slam - catching rainbow, brook and brown trout in the same outing. I caught the rainbow and nailed a little brookie just before the clouds opened like a broken faucet. By the time I made it to the troutmobile parked a half mile away, I was wet as a drowned rat.
I never got the chance to try for that brown, but the day had to be considered a success - I caught trout and didn't fall off the top of any waterfalls.
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