All About Trout 

     The Book Trout, and its hybrid cousin the Speckled trout, are widely considered to be western North Carolina's most beautiful trout species and are the only species known to be native to North America. The origins of Rainbow trout, on the other hand, are more obscure. Some biologists believe that because they are salmonoids, they migrated from the sea while others believe that they are an endemic freshwater species like the Book trout. The Brown trout however, is known to be native to Europe and Asia and was first imported to the U.S. from Germany for the 1883 World's Fair and their first release in U.S. waters took place in the Baldwin River the following year.

     However, when fly fishing in North Carolina, there are four species of trout that you may encounter: the Brook trout, the Speckled trout, the Brown trout, and the Rainbow trout and each species has its own particular  preferences for suitable habitat. Thus, although a fly angler may encounter all four species in the same stream, they will not encounter them in the same places. Therefore, it is helpful to think of, and then mentally divide, the different sections of the stream into Brook, Brown, or Rainbow trout water. Also, understanding the trout's world as a trout sees it, as well as understanding the many dangers that they face on a daily basis, will help you to comprehend their mentality which you can then exploit to catch more of them!