Fly Tying Related to Golf?

Back in January, I wrote a short article about the link between fly tying searches on Google and cabin fever. Alert Trout Zone reader Alex contacted me with another interesting graph shortly after the article was published that demonstrated a connection between fly tying and golf. His thinking was that golf was another sport that required good weather. Thus, golfers were also probably starting to get cabin fever pretty bad.

You can see in the graph below that the correlation is pretty strong. As a side note, it is also interesting to me that in both graphs, overall search numbers decreased with time. I'm going to hypothesize that the decrease is a reflection of Google's decrease in search engine market share but of course I don't know that for a fact. Just in case you can't see very well, the red line represents the number of searches for "golf florida," while the blue line represents the number of searches for "fly tying." Pretty interesting huh?

People are definitely getting some cabin fever. With frigid cold weather looming here in Tennessee, I probably won't be getting out as much for at least a week or so, but maybe I'll get out there and suffer in the cold for the sake of catching a few fish.

Also check out today's post, Xboundary: Wild Alaska is Threatened by Canadian Mines.

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Xboundary: Wild Alaska is Threatened by Canadian Mines

This new film from Salmon Beyond Borders tells the story of the disaster at the Mt. Polley Mine in British Columbia while making a call to action to prevent further open pit mine development throughout the region. 

Unfortunately, it seems like money usually wins out in these cases. Looking back in history we can see numerous examples of huge environmental disasters that have affected broad geographic areas, but ultimately companies keep using the same dangerous practices because they are getting rich from them.

Watch this film to see the threats facing southeast Alaska and the pristine environment there.


Xboundary from Salmon Beyond Borders on Vimeo.

Alaska is on my bucket list of places to fish as well as British Columbia. Unfortunately the Canadian government is choosing to risk the future of these fisheries as well as the beautiful landscapes that contain them.

Having lived in Colorado and seen the landscapes there that are affected by mining, not to mention the effects we still experience here in Tennessee due to coal mining, I am skeptical about just about any mining. Retaining dams with earth fills fail more often than most people probably care to acknowledge. Here in Tennessee, we had a coal ash spill near the Kingston coal fired power plant that caused a lot of damage. Unfortunately, in the name of progress we go right on destroying the world around us.

More from the Trout Zone:

• Why I Love Winter Fishing
• Frosting on the Trees
• Master Fisherman
• Country Evenings

Why I Love Winter Fishing

Winter is one of my favorite times to fish. Those that know me well know that I claim fall as my favorite season, with spring close behind. However there is something special about winter. Here is a great video that explains why in a post I wrote over at Wide Open Spaces. Of course, winter is not the only way to obtain solitude, but it definitely helps!

Frosting on the Trees

Yesterday, I had some business to attend to at the Park Headquarters for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After finishing that up and also spending some time chatting with the Park fisheries guys (thanks again Matt and Caleb for taking the time to talk with me!), I headed up into the Park to see if anything was going on. Let's just say that I never even got my waders out. That had a fair amount to do with the fact that I was feeling lazy from getting up super early. However, it was still a fantastic day to be out and my camera captured a few images. Here is one of my favorites from the day.

I'll share some more later, but right now I'm heading out to float on the Caney Fork. Today we got a surprise low water day that coincided with the last "warm" day for a while (think 50s for highs). From here on out, it looks like the great arctic chill is on the way. In fact, this might be the two weeks of really cold air that we need to get the shad kill kicked into high gear. More on that later as it develops.

If you are interested in a guided fly fishing trip on the Caney Fork or in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, please visit my guide site for more information. The fishing is about to take off so don't delay in setting up your day of guided fly fishing!

Missing Big Fish

Lost any big fish lately? I have, and I can tell you that they are still fresh in my memory. The last two streamer floats I've done have resulted in losing nice fish. One was two weeks ago, and the other was this past Sunday. At least I'm still getting out and catching a few fish though.

On Sunday, my buddy Dan Munger from Little River Outfitters, and I had planned on doing a float. Going back and forth between trout and musky, we finally decided to hit the Caney Fork. Putting in on low water, we stirred up a few fish with nymphs as we waited for the rising water from the power generation to catch up. Once the water hit, we drifted and threw streamers.

Overall, the fishing was slow, but I did have that one moment with a big brown trout. We were well along in our day at this point. I was in the front of the boat and was working a good fishy looking bank. Suddenly I saw the dark shadow take a swing at my fly and miss. Pausing just briefly for the fish to find the fly again, I continued my retrieve. The second time the fish nailed it, but somehow I just missed the hook set plain and simple.

On my previous trip, I had the fish on long enough for a couple of jumps before the fly shook loose. Clearly I'm in some sort of a rut, and one where the main feature is loosing or missing big browns is depressing indeed. The only solution I can think of is to get out and fish some more. So for the next two days, I'll suffer and get out some more in search of more fish. Someone's got to do it...

Master Fisherman

Have you ever been humbled by another fisherman while out on the water? I have, and I've noticed that there is something in common with each of those masters, well at least most of them that is. They are all birds.

One of my all-time favorite stories of this happening is from at least 10 years ago and probably a little more. I was fishing a high mountain lake in Arizona's White Mountains in the hopes of catching my first apache trout. The fishing was slow to the point that I started to wonder if there were even any fish in the lake.

Right about that time, a large bald eagle came soaring overhead. Soon the bird spotted a large trout. I watched in awe as it dove and snatched what looked to be a 24" trout, give or take a couple of inches. I never did catch a fish on that particular fishing trip, or at least not on that lake. That much I clearly remember, almost as clearly as I can still see the bird struggling to fly away with its heavy catch.

I've seen herons take fish on many occasions as well. In fact, When they are around, they generally seem to be doing better than I am on the catching scene.

Have you ever been humbled by a master fisherman?

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Country Evenings

There is nothing like watching the sun slowly sink out of sight while surrounded by the sights and sounds of the country. The past two evenings have been a tremendous blessing to me.

Last evening, at the end of jogging four miles, I got back home just as the sky exploded with color. As I had been running, I noticed the high clouds streaming in and thought that we had the perfect setup for a good sunset. Thankfully, the best was saved until I was home and could grab my camera.

This evening I enjoyed a short one mile walk instead of more vigorous exercise. Instead of the aerial display in the sky, the rich evening light was a treat to watch as it lit up the barns, fences, and even cows, especially since I had brought my camera on this walk.

I'm so glad that I live out in the country. It just doesn't get much better!

Visiting Cataloochee With Someone Who Used To Live There

Cataloochee Valley is one of my favorite places in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The out of the way valley sees plenty of visitors who mostly come to see the elk that the National Park Service has reintroduced there, but the history of the valley is fascinating as well. As in many other parts of the Park, Cataloochee was a thriving community before the Park was created and those living within the boundaries of the newly created Park were forced to move.

This video is of someone who lived in the valley early in life. Hattie Caldwell Davis shares her memories from the valley and this video from www.smokiesinformation.org will help you look at Cataloochee in a whole different way next time you visit. For anyone who loves the Smokies, this is a must watch!

© GSMA 2012. All rights reserved.

Next time I'm camping there, I'll have to make the hike up the Rough Fork trail. The house up there is one I have not visited yet. If you have never visited Cataloochee, don't forget your fly rod. The fishing there is pretty good also!