Fifty Streams.

Summer is in its peak in South Korea … it’s extremely hot & humid, and monsoon rain has not yet completely passed. The freeways are packed with vacation seeking families, and this year, the vacation spots in domestic Korea is supposed to be more packed than normal. Still, this wasn’t going to deter my friend and I, from going on our 2 day fishing trip to the NE mountains of Korea, a valley called Fifty Streams. A typhoon named “Seagull” has just recently passed and most of the rivers were still high. There’s been some reports of damage from the heavy rains, and so we were taking a risk, travelling 5+ hours. Plus there was supposed to be more rain the days we planned to fish, but after some quick research, we were able to locate a section of the valley, that seemed to be out of the rain’s path. We were relying on data from the national weather center and some phone calls to the local stores in the area, but this was a wild bet. We had the best information we can gather, and with that, we were off. There’s only a few other (regular) occasions in life that’s as pleasing & exciting, as the start of a good fishing trip. We were not going to let chances of rain ruin that. Good trips are composed of a few important elements – cooperating weather, good waters, and most importantly good company. The first two are desirable, the third is critical. Especially if there was that chance that river will be too high, and we would have to spend the day drinking and talking about how good fishing “could have” been.





The road to the river valley is a slow, steep, and winding one. This is the road that is often closed earliest in the winter and remains closed at times, even into spring. This time of the year, the pines are thick, and life is everywhere. As we drove above the clouds, and then back into the deep valleys, we can feel the changes in temperature with what seemed like every turn. Our conversation spanned across different subjects of our lives, but as we got closer to the destination, the topic was squarely about our angle of attack. As we see the river, our hearts race with excitement, and I cannot recall that last 15min of that ride. In no time, we were in gear and stading at the bank. The place is composed of fifty or so streams & creeks, and gets its name because of that.















We had plans for two main points to fish during this trip. The first spot was a river just past the rice paddies, near the monument dedicated in the spirit of respecting the elders. This was a common spot, but one that is supposed to hold larger fish. I’ve never fished this part of the country, and my friend has only been here once. The “common” appearance of this spot kept it hidden from most anglers, and those who knew of this spot had a unspoken code to enjoy it quietly. (there’s more than fifty streams and almost all of them have some monument or another, so my description isn’t giving much away). We decided to fish this spot the afternoon we arrived. The water was cool, but not cold. My friend told me the river was running higher than normal. Still it was good, standing out there in the water, just soaking in the part of country we were in, and the sense of being close with meeting that fish. We split up at the bridge, and fished till it got dark. We didn’t have much luck the first day, plus we were only able to squeeze in a couple of hours of fishing. The sun sets quicker in this part of the country, with steep hills & mountains that casts long shadows. We found a nice inn to stay for the night, and hung up the gear for the night. We barbecued some meat and soju soon followed. We had the alarms set for 4am.







The second spot was the stream near the railroad bridge, and the section of the river bends around the valley. The drinking from the previous day wasn’t going to let us off easy, and so things moved slower in the morning. We got some kimchi chigai to relax the stomach, and that did the trick. The kimchi chigae was one of the best we had, and very affordable. See, Kangwon region of Korea is famous for the mountains and the herbal food that it produces. This is the best place to come for fresh herbs & great Korean beef. With good food in, we set off for the bridge. We fished it slow, and with dry flies in the early morning. There were some fish rising, but we could not find the larger ones. As the morning started to head into mid day, we switched and added on a nymph trailer to the fly. That seems to have been the right combination, as smaller fish began to hit more frequently. Occasionally a nice medium fish would come and take the nymph, but we missed the larger fish that was supposed to live here. We walked up and down the valley, taking in the scenery and fishing in a relaxed style.













We know it was a good trip, because we discussed the possibility of just buying some property here, and building a small fishing lodge for use between our buddies. We planned our next trip, a trip called surf & turf (1 day of freshwater & 1 day of saltwater fishing). It’s amazing what you can accomplish in 2 days, complete freedom.