It's the experience and challenge Jay. It's the peace and quiet of standing alone in a stream. No cell service. And nobody else around. These trout are smart. Real smart. They will not hit anything in the water that is not supposed to be there. There are whole websites devoted to North Carolina entomology, specifically what is hatching on this exact day or week. A green back copper john fly is usually a big hit in early November, but last year.... they wouldnt touch it. It had to be a green back red john.
vs
These fish freaking know that if that is a bug that is only there in April.... then it's fake and they aint touching it. You have to bring an arsenal of flies with you and be able to switch them off your line, standing in 2 feet of water, dealing with line that is about as thick as a pubic hair, and without dropping your beer. Traditional fishing knots dont work on line that thin. And you are handling extreme light weight equipment... so a 1lb or 2lb trout feels like a damn sailfish on the end.
Anyway, it's a trip that I love to take every year.