Chasing Smallmouth

As the Plateau streams drop and clear, the smallmouth action is heating up with the weather.  Low clear water means spooky fish but if you are willing to throw topwater bugs (who am I kidding, who wouldn't want to throw topwater bugs) then you can get onto some nice fish.  Recently I made it back out to one of my favorite new streams that I've started to explore.

The bass were eating well once we tied on the topwater stuff.  

The overall size was pretty decent on top as well although I saw a few monsters that spooked well before I ever got a cast on them.  Those are the fish that keep me coming back though.  The stream was beautiful and at a good level for throwing the topwater bugs.  

I'll be heading back soon to sample some more of the bronze fish...

If you are interested in a guided wade trip in some of the rugged Plateau creeks, please contact me at TroutZoneAnglers@gmail.com or check out my good site, www.troutzoneanglers.com.  

Miles From Anywhere

I got out for a few hours again today.  These smallmouth are starting to get addicting.  More to come later on a trip from Sunday as well as today's trip, but here is a stream shot from where I fished...

Plateau Creeks

Here on the Cumberland Plateau, we are blessed with a wide variety of fishing options, but the best are the remote smallmouth bass streams.  Many of these almost remind me of fishing in the Smokies, and if it wasn't for our very different geology resulting in different rocks on the stream bottoms, you would be hard pressed to find any differences between the two.  Last week, I got to thinking about a little creek that I've crossed many times on my way to smallmouth fish on a larger stream.  This is one of those little streams that you often wonder about but rarely ever get around to actually fishing.  So instead of continuing to wonder, I decided to do something about it.

Friday morning I ate a quick breakfast, filled a couple of water bottles, and headed out the door.  Arriving at the stream and rigging up, I noticed the clouds were lowering and looking pretty solid.  Sure enough, a quick downpour was soon soaking everything making me glad I had put on a rain jacket.

It didn't take long for a little fish to hit.  Thinking I had found my first smallmouth, I was soon looking at a Coosa bass.  Well, that makes sense.  The creek I was fishing emptied into a large stream where I have caught a lot of Coosa bass over the years.  What was strange was that I kept catching the Coosas and never once caught a smallmouth.

The fish were all small, reminding me even more of fishing in the Smokies on some of the brook trout streams I frequent.  Catching small fish is just as much fun as catching big fish, just without the adrenaline rush you get with the larger specimens.  Best of all, these fish acted like no one had ever tried to catch them before.  I'm fairly confident that none of them had ever seen a fly at the very least.

Continuing downstream, I stopped periodically to take pictures of my surroundings.  Every now and again I could hear a truck go by out on the nearby road but otherwise I might as well have been 50 miles in the backcountry.  This was one of those pristine streams where you can fish all day and catch more fish then anyone probably has a right to expect.  Continually changing in character, the creek would sing happily over the rocks one minute, going from shadows to sun and back to shadows again, only to drift lazily into long pools the next.  The pools were often mysterious, stretching on for what seemed like an eternity on such a small stream and often merging with the forest so that you could never be sure where the end of the pool was and whether it flowed into the surrounding jungle or merely under the overhead canopy.

There were a few surprises like the rock bass that came out from under a rock to slam the wooly bugger.  The chubs were surprisingly beautiful and impressed me with their prominent dorsal fins.

Eventually I got hungry of course, and decided to take one last picture before cutting up through the woods to find the unmaintained trail back.

While I had a lot of fun and will probably fish this stream again just because I like exploring, I'll probably put a lot more time in on some of the smallmouth streams that are known to put out some larger fish.  When I want to scratch the creek itch though, I'll know where to go!

Scouting

As we move closer to summer, our warm water streams here on the Cumberland Plateau are beginning to wake up.  On Sunday afternoon, I headed out with a friend to check a new spot off the list.  Most of these streams on the Plateau are remote and often much more rugged than anything I've ever encountered in the Smokies.  The hike in can often be brutal, but if you put in your time and do your homework, there are places with better access that can be found.  In fact, we never fished more than 1/3 of a mile from the car.

The best water is usually much tougher to get to though so I'm planning a return trip that will involve a bit more hiking.  While these streams are full of small bass and sunfish, some nicer fish can be found as well as evidenced by this nice smallmouth I found.

Photograph by Seth Arnold

Fishing was still a bit slow and will heat up over the next 3 weeks as waters warm and flows drop.  By June, things should be moving right along and will continue to be good through September most likely.  By late in the season, the fish in these streams are spooky as flows drop to a fraction of what they are now.  Long clear pools interspersed with gentle riffles and pockets make long casts a necessity as well as smaller flies.

But now, for the next few weeks at least, I'll be out there tossing larger flies like my PB&J streamer.  Bright colors worked best and the PB&J in Firetiger got the most looks.  Soon they'll be taking bugs on top as well.  The smaller fish were working the hatching Hendricksons pretty well, but soon we'll be tossing Stealth Bombers, Wiggle Minnows, and hopper patterns at the bass and panfish.  If you live in the area, Plateau streams and creeks are a worthy target in lieu of driving somewhere further to trout fish.

A Late Winter Hike

In amongst all my fishing adventures, the hiking often takes a backseat.  That is unfortunate because I love hiking almost as much as I love fishing.  Of course, combining those two can be even better!  One of my recent hiking adventures was in the Virgin Falls area on the Cumberland Plateau.  Here, in the Scott's Gulf area, the upper Caney Fork has carved a dramatic canyon on it's tumbling journey off of the Plateau.  Numerous waterfalls add a scenic touch to many hikes.

The objective on this hike was not Virgin Falls but rather Upper Polly Branch Falls.  Having done the Virgin Falls hike a couple of weeks earlier and wanting something shorter, we opted for this less travelled but significantly shorter option.  Once we arrived at our destination, my camera was soon busy.  Here are some of the pictures I took.