The Trout Zone: Redington Butterstick

Showing posts with label Redington Butterstick. Show all posts

Saturday, May 16, 2026

Short Rods

Enough has been written and argued about the best fly rods for the Smokies that I won't rehash everything here. My opinions on the subject are well documented, so check out that link for an old blog post if you're interested. For this post, I'm going to head in a different direction. While not exactly advocating for short rods, I am going to talk about how much fun they can be.

I've had a 6' 3 weight Redington Butterstick for a while now. It has produced some very memorable fishing experiences over the last few years. With time, it is becoming a rod I reach for more often than not. While not the effective tool for high sticking that a long rod is, it is a rod that pushes my skillset in positive ways and helps me to become a better fly angler. Having a ton of fun along the way is just a bonus, but it never hurts to fish a rod that doubles up on a nice mountain trout. The only downside to this slower rod is that some hook sets are missed due to not getting tight on the fish fast enough. A quicker rod fixes that problem, but isn't as much fun after you've hooked the fish and quite frankly isn't as fun to cast either. That probably is one of the main drivers of my long time affection for old Orvis Superfine rods (not the new ones with the ugly "label" above the handle).

Recently, we took a short family camping trip to the Smokies. These trips are all about getting the kids outside and enjoying camping, with any fishing fairly limited. I still try to sneak in 30 minutes or an hour here and there if I'm able to. We spent most of our time enjoying Cades Cove, looking at bears, roasting marshmallows for S'mores and all the other things that make camping fun. I did manage a quick session just after lunch one day and just before lunch another day.

Wild blackberry blossoms on a Smoky Mountain stream

One of the best parts of these excursions was taking my little ones and showing them some wild trout. They are still young enough that they won't stick to fishing for very long. Instead, splashing in the creek and getting completely soaked and dirty was more fun, but that's okay. They'll get around to fishing more seriously eventually if they decide it is something they want to do in life. The Butterstick turned out to be the perfect rod for my Little One to enjoy as well. Being small and relatively light was helpful. The price point was also good enough that I didn't mind if it got scratched or otherwise beat up a little. The slower action made it easy for a kid to feel the casting rhythm as well.

I kept things simple with a single dry fly for most of my (and the kids) fishing. The short rod is phenomenal for casting under and around structure and obstacles on smaller water. The trick is casting across many conflicting currents and getting the correct drift via timely mends and other line management tricks and tactics. Fish were willing, and one of the obvious advantages of the shorter rod was simple: it made me stay back further from my target and attempt things I wouldn't try if I was simply high sticking. Fish weren't getting spooked from me approaching too closely. Eats were frequent, but the downside was also obvious. The fiberglass rod flexed so far down the blank that I missed quite a few fish in addition to the ones I landed.

Wild Smoky Mountain rainbow and Redington Butterstick

After seeing so many bears in Cades Cove, I was a little on edge. As I was fishing up a section with more rhododendron than most, I was stopped in my tracks by heavy rustling in the bushes. I finally spotted a deer in heavy shadows that soon spooked and disappeared, but my heart didn't stop racing until I got back to casting. The relaxing pace of the fiberglass rod was the perfect way to destress from almost being eaten by a bear, or deer in this case.

In addition to plenty of willing wild rainbow trout, I found another native gem as well. While I'm not out there trying to catch them, the warpaint shiners always make their presence known in the summer. If they grew as large as trout, I'm convinced they would be a prime game fish due to their willingness to rise to a dry fly. As it is, they are just an annoyance when the water warms up too much.

Warpaint shiner aka Smoky Mountain cutthroat

If you haven't fished short rods much, do yourself a favor and find one to try out. They aren't always the most effective fishing tool, but they might just be the most fun.

Sunday, August 31, 2025

Summer Adventures Way Up High in the Smoky Mountains

Summer is my least favorite season. This is primarily due to the heat and humidity that seems a little worse every year. Maybe I'm just getting older and less tolerant of a variety of weather conditions, but either way, summer isn't my favorite. There are a few redeeming features of the season, however.

First, the long days are fantastic. More light usually equals more energy, at least for me. Need to leave home by 5:00 am for a long day of fishing or guiding? No problem. When I get home later, say 6 pm or after, there is still plenty of light to enjoy a family walk through our neighborhood after eating supper. In the middle of winter, with sunset at 4:30 pm, that just isn't an option. Oh, and the fishing adventures in summer are always a joy. Smallmouth wade trips on the Cumberland Plateau, brook trout excursions in the Great Smoky Mountains, and of course tailwater float trips for large trout.

Yes, summer isn't all bad. However, by sometime in July, I'm usually trying to figure out how to escape the heat and humidity even if for a little while. I can do one or the other, but the combination of both is just miserable. Some years, that escape comes in the form of a trip out west. In other years, my only escape is to the high elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

This year, by mid July, I noticed that a particular week of August still had no trips booked. Normally, I would sit tight with the knowledge that eventually some work will come through. That is part of the guide business after all. This summer had been unusually hot, however, and I was ready for a break. After a quick consultation with my wife, we made camping reservations for a favorite campground way up high in the Smokies. Even in the hottest summer months, it is always nice and cool. The humidity would probably be fairly high, but that is the nature of spending time in the temperate rainforest otherwise known as the Great Smoky Mountains.

As our scheduled trip got closer and closer, the weather pattern trended wetter and wetter. It became apparent that at minimum we would see a lot of rain. Such is life in the Smokies in summer where you can expect pop up showers and storms nearly every day at the higher elevations. Thankfully, we had an awning for our picnic table and a large roomy tent that I've had seemingly forever now and is still mostly waterproof.

We arrived at the campground during a lull in the rain chances and got everything set up quickly. After eating supper, some rain showers started to move in and we quickly made tracks for the inside of the tent. The little ones were super excited to get inside the tent and play. Thus, it took longer than usual to calm down for bedtime. Eventually, we all fell asleep to occasional rain showers whispering on the top of the tent.

The next morning started out wet. We had to dry the benches and table top before preparing breakfast. Eventually we got everything dry enough to fix breakfast. By some miracle, the weather cleared a little while we ate, meaning the clouds lifted enough to see more than a few feet. The fog up high in the Smokies is some of the thickest that I've ever seen, but on this morning it lifted enough that we had a window to enjoy what the mountain offered. A nearby trail beckoned with the chance to get a short hike and some fishing in. We hit the trail and all started down the hill. I was carrying a fly rod, hoping for some native brook trout.

Quickly, we began to find interesting wildflowers. I took more pictures than I should share here, at least some of which were firsts for me or at least the first time I bothered to identify them. One of the more interesting is commonly referred to as fly poison (Amianthium muscitoxicum). It is poisonous and affects livestock that consume it to varying degrees including death if large amounts are ingested. Early pioneers would grind the bulb into a powder, mix it with sugar, and set out the potion to kill flies, hence the common name.

Fly Poison wildflower in the Great Smoky Mountains

There were plenty of other interesting wildflowers, but I had my sight set on brook trout fishing. After a few quick pictures on the way by, I kept trekking down the hill to the stream. Running through a very high elevation valley, this particular stream contains pure southern strain brook trout. When you first see the little trickle, you have doubts as to weather it will contain fish, but sure enough, there are plenty of them swimming these cold waters.

I helped one of the little ones fish and we caught a brook trout. That gave us the opportunity to practice how to hold a trout carefully and respectfully. A few pictures were taken and then we sent the beautiful fish back to its watery home. That routine became the plan for the next thirty minutes or so. Wander and explore further downstream, catching the occasional fish and teaching the little one how to gently handle and release our catch.

High elevation native brook trout in the Great Smoky Mountains

As we hiked, other interesting things stood out to us. The usual wildflowers kept me looking around, of course, but we also found neat reflections in a forest pool on the trail. The ongoing wet spell had water everything, both flowing and standing. In another spot, the muddy trail had captured the track of a good sized bear that must have wandered through that morning. Anything earlier and the rain would have washed the track away. One section of trail had some beautiful fall colors where an early turning maple had showered the ground with color.

Autumn colors in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

About this time, we realized that lunch time was sneaking up on us. The little ones in particular would need to eat soon, so we reluctantly turned around. I wanted to sample a longer piece of water than I could with them in tow, so I told Mama that I would meet them at the first crossing upstream and started creek walking fast. Several fish later, including one particularly nice one, and I was more and more amazed at how many fish this stream held. Eventually, however, the stream appeared to be running out of a solid wall of rhododendron. Instead of plowing on through, I figured that I better catch up with everyone and jumped back up on the trail.

When I found them, the kids were getting soaked in the stream having the best time of their lives. Water was splashing and flying everywhere. After a quick cleanup and partial drying, we got everyone moving up the trail again. Upon arriving back at the trailhead, Mama and the littles decided to walk the road back while I took the truck back to the campsite. Wild blackberries were abundant and they wanted a pre lunch snack. I quickly got back, parked, and headed back down the road to find them. They were just about to the campground entrance when I found them. While looking for some blackberries for myself, I found another interesting wildflower and got some pictures.

Appalachian bellflower in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

About that time, we decided to head back to camp to eat our real lunch. The wild blackberry snacks were delicious, but not particularly filling. We still had the whole afternoon ahead of us but it was threatening rain again. After lunch, the decision was made to head down the mountain. The Oconaluftee area of the Park was a good place to possibly avoid some of the showers in the higher elevations. I was contemplating some more fishing as well, although that part of the plan soon took a back seat. There were more interesting things to see for the Little Ones.

Oconaluftee River in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Upon arrival at Oconaluftee, we decided to enjoy the old farm behind the visitors center. That proved to be a big hit with the Littles, and we took some pictures to remember the afternoon by. I particularly enjoyed a squirrel that was going crazy feasting in a tree overhanging the walkway and eventually got a good picture of the critter perched upside down, chowing away.

Gray squirrel at Oconaluftee Visitor Center

Time began to get away from us, and we realized it was time to head back up the mountain. With luck, we might get some supper before the heaviest showers commenced again. On the way back, we briefly spotted a black bear that didn't hang around long enough for pictures. I did stop and get some quick shots of some orange fringed orchids that always bloom in that vicinity.

Back in camp, we got most of our evening routines done while staying reasonably dry, but it was obvious that the rain was setting in for a while. Sleeping in a tent during a good rain is one of my favorite parts of camping, providing of course that the tent doesn't leak. On this evening, we fell asleep to the gentle pitter patter of rain on the tent.

The rain fell on again and off again throughout the night and into the next morning. Finally it broke, and we got up and had breakfast. The Little Ones didn't particularly want to spend a lot of time in their car seats, but I had an idea that might just work. The fog was so thick on the mountain that everything was damp just because of the high humidity. Another drive down the mountain seemed in order. This time, we headed the other direction, towards Cataloochee Valley.

This proved to be another excellent choice. We were on the lee side of the mountains compared to the prevailing flow at the time, so Cataloochee was dry with partly cloudy skies. We saw more sun in Cataloochee than we did the entire rest of the time during our camping trip. A picnic lunch got us all energized for the afternoon. On our drive up the valley, one of the large bull elk posed for a few pictures.

Once we parked, I headed for the stream while Mama and the Little Ones grabbed a blanket and went to play and stretch their legs. I was excited to see Cataloochee Creek, one of my favorites in the Smokies. This was my first time in the Valley after Hurricane Helene, and I was very curious how the creek would look. To all appearances, it was healthy and the fish were all happy. The biggest difference was that some pools had filled in while others had deepened. I fished a favorite piece of water for probably 45 minutes. There were fish just about everywhere I expected to find them. True to recent history, I caught at least as many brook trout as anything else. I also managed one brown trout that also happened to be both my first fish landed and the least cooperative for pictures. By the time I caught back up with the family, I had my first Smokies slam of the year, all on a fun toy. The Redington Butterstick is a favorite for when I just want to have a good time. The fiberglass rod is soft but oh so much fun to fish.

After catching back up with the family, we headed on up the valley. There, we found significant road damage from Helene, but thankfully all the historic structures were still standing. The barn across the road from the Caldwell place was in fairly rough shape but still standing. I have since heard that the Park received a private donation/grant to restore some of these structures, so hopefully we'll be able to enjoy these structures for many years to come.

The wildflowers in the upper valley were particularly vibrant. Goldenrod and ironweed were drawing pollinators of all kinds. I took a few pictures that of course couldn't do the scene justice, but captured a few of the pollinators as well which was neat.

After getting back to the truck, we decided it was probably time to head back up the mountain for our final night of camping. Sure enough, as we drove that way it began threatening rain. We had one or two more rain showers before departing the next morning. However, we were fortunate that the next morning donned bright and drier than it had been during our whole time camping. Things were dry enough to sufficiently dry a fair amount of our gear and get packed at least without doing so in the pouring rain. It had been another successful and relaxing camping trip. I noticed my back was more sore than usual, reminding me that the ground is getting harder every year, but otherwise it was a great camping trip. This might even have to be added to the yearly routine for every summer moving forward. It is nice to escape the heat, even if for just a little while.

Guide Trips

The Trout Zone

All about fly fishing! I consider the mountain streams of East Tennessee, especially those in the Great Smoky Mountains as my home waters. I spent some time living in Arizona and Colorado and have travelled extensively out west. As implied in the name of this blog, I prefer trout over all other game fish but am not opposed to catching other species from time to time including bass and other warm water species.

This blog is simply my attempt to relive some of my favorite moments on the water and share my enthusiasm for fly fishing with other people. As an avid angler and guide, sharing is one of the most enjoyable parts of the sport, and I hope you enjoy the Trout Zone!