Fall Browns

Here is a short collection of some of the better browns I encountered over the last few months.  Some photos have been altered slightly to protect my favorite fishing spots although if you're familiar with the rivers and streams represented you can probably still figure it out. Right now, I'm preparing to venture into the wilderness of east Tennessee in search of big rainbows and browns.  Hopefully I'll return with lots of good stories and maybe a few pictures as well...

Memories: Part 1

A thread started today on the Little River Outfitters Message Board started me thinking about fly fishing memories.  I'm going to start sharing some of my favorite fishing related memories.  For starters, here's one about a brown trout and a boy with a fly rod. 

Before I even understood how to go about catching any trout, I dreamed of catching big browns. Early in my fly fishing career, I was doing good to scare up a small rainbow or two, but that didn't stop me from hoping for something more special.

One day, my dad (who usually drove me to the park to fish) had taken me fishing. He never actually fished but was the first one to take me fishing when I was 4 or 5 and almost the only one who ever took me before I was able to drive myself. This particular day was a beautiful early June day. We had explored several areas, but I was not having particularly good luck with just a few small rainbows to hand (from Tremont if I remember correctly).

As sunset was approaching, we stopped at one last pullout, this time on Little River. My dad was tired and decided to stay in the car. When I started driving myself, I came to understand why people would be tired late in the day, but at this point I was blissfully unaware. I trekked down a dim but short path to the stream and began tossing a yellow Stimulator.

I worked my way to the head of the pool and was casting in the pocket immediately above the main hole when I first saw the flash of gold. A nice brown came out and circled furiously around my fly before disappearing back under the white froth. Two more casts produced similar results and then the brown seemed to have vanished for good. Desperate measures would be needed.

Recalling how I had enticed a big Abrams Creek rainbow by dancing the fly on the surface during a hatch, I contemplated a similar trick. The big Stimulator was soon skittering across the surface and almost immediately the brown reappeared, charging through the water towards my now tantalizing fly. One last mighty twitch brought the intended result. I was now attached to what I then viewed as a monster.

Carefully battling the fish down through the pool, I finally brought it close enough to land. The 14 inch brown was heavier than many similar sized fish I have since caught. I will always remember that first nice brown even though I now dream of fish measured in pounds and reaching well over twenty inches. That fish was a major accomplishment to me as I am mostly self-taught, and at this point in my fishing career wondered if I would ever catch anything over 10 inches.

I have many other amazing memories from the Park. In fact, that is one thing that I love so much about it. Every trip gives me a special memory, and that is the way it should be. As soon as it becomes common or everyday, then it will no longer be the magical place that it should. I still get excited the night before a fishing trip and hope that will never change...

Drive Through Fishing

While perusing random local news stories, I came across a new method for fishing Little River, drive through fishing.  The main benefit is in never having to go to the effort to get out of your vehicle.  This idea, of course, was quickly discarded as I read the rest of the article.  Apparently the benefits don't outweigh the costs...  The driver of the vehicle probably was not testing out this novice idea by the way as the crash apparently occurred around 11:00 p.m.

The Little River road is no joke and I'm always at least a little surprised that things like this don't happen more often.  I have carefully maneuvered my way around curves in the Park many times only to discover an oncoming vehicle whose driver apparently feels it is necessary to use part of both lanes.  This and the poor folk who apparently don't know what a curve is and thus are terrified to drive above 15 mph always leads me to suspect that more accidents of this type should be occurring but thankfully that impression is not founded on facts.
Regardless, be careful out there on the way to the stream and be even more careful while on the stream.  Just imagine if it had been daylight and a fisherman was working up that bank picking the pockets...

Musky!!!

I joined David from Southeastern Fly out on the river today along with Brent for a day chasing musky! Brent ended up having the magic touch and we all enjoyed getting to see one of these awesome fish up close.  For a little more on our trip, read David's report here...

Great Article on Winter Fishing

I just enjoyed an excellent article on one of my favorite subjects, winter fly fishing.  The Hopper Juan is one of the blogs I frequent the most and always has great information.  Check out the story and get inspired to head out in the cold months ahead.  Most people don't realize that with the proper flies and techniques, the fish will still respond well even in very cold water.  Those fish still have to eat!!!

Snow!!!

Today we had snow for the second time this year, although some people wouldn't condescend to label the dusting we got as snow.  Still, for this part of the country, the first snow of the year is a welcome sight as we never know how much will actually fall any given winter.  After the snow tapered off, I hurried out with the new camera to have a little fun.  Here are some of the results...

Another Good Water Year?

Next summer is shaping up as another great water year out west and in particular for the northern Rockies.  Obviously there is really no way of accurately predicting the amount of snow but all indications are pointing towards another good water year.  La Nina is back which was one of the main reasons for last year's great snowpack.  Current long range climate outlooks from the Climate Prediction Center are forecasting the likelihood of above average precipitation across large portions of the west.  Unfortunately, along with that is a good chance that the south central and southwestern states' drought will continue. 

In Yellowstone this past summer, there were still numerous snow banks on the higher north-facing slopes into August and the Tetons still had plenty of snow at that late date. 

A second consecutive year with better than normal water will mean lots of big healthy trout in the future and as a good fisherman, I'm hoping for another epic snowpack.  Start planning your trips west now but stay flexible as a heavy snowpack could again seriously delay the start of the best fishing...

 

Out Shooting Again

A new Canon 550D (Rebel T2i) found its way to my house this week, and I'm ready to start taking pictures again.  Naturally I plan on being very careful with the new toy and to not flip any canoes while it is on board.  Hopefully I will be out shooting in the next day or two, and with a bit of luck I'll be out fishing soon as well...

First Striper!

I have been out chasing stripers several times this fall as you all have probably noticed.  In between catching a few for myself, I have also had the pleasure of putting some people on their first striper on the fly rod ever and have another trip or two lined up.  One of the best trips was with my buddy Joe and his brother Ethan.  Joe catches a lot of big fish, especially browns up in the Smokies but can hold his own on other species as well.  He wanted to put his brother Ethan on a striper so we agreed on a time and place.  Ethan is an excellent fisherman himself and tied into a nice striper after just a little coaching.  The big grin says it all...

Not So Big

Stripers still continue to feed heavily in anticipation of continued cold weather.  I made it to a favorite striper spot earlier this week and did ok, catching two stripers in the 10-15 pound range plus a walleye and a white bass.  These stripers are not as large as some of the 20+ pound fish I have tied into, but I think they are just about the perfect size.  They still pull hard but your arm doesn't feel like falling off when you land one.  Hopefully the fishing for stripers will continue good for another week or two...

Winter!

Winter has blown in with a convincing dusting of snow and frigid winds.  This morning I woke up to a beautiful dusting of wet snow that stuck to all the trees.  The ground itself was largely too warm still for anything to stick to it resulting in a beautiful sight:  lush green grass still carpets my yard while the trees wear a frosty coating. 

High Water

High water is the theme across middle Tennessee today.  Rivers like the Caney Fork are high and look to remain that way for an extended amount of time.  Upstream, Great Falls Reservoir is dumping a lot of water right now, like 59,398 cfs and still rising.  All that water will end up downstream in Center Hill Lake which means it will eventually will come on down through the tailwater section. 

The Cumberland Plateau region and much of east Tennessee is under a flood warning as many small streams have burst their banks.  Needless to say, fishing will be on the back burner for a while as water levels return to normal.  The exception to this will be with the anglers chasing large fish.  For those in the know, this might be one of the best times to chase a trophy.

If you can, get out there and throw streamers!  You just might tie into the fish of a lifetime...

Mountain Water

Epic Campfire

Last week, I got out for a one night camping trip that was supposed to be the start of a several day adventure.  Well, plans change and I ended up cancelling the backpacking portion of the trip due to some unexpected extenuating circumstances.  The campfire was epic enough to count for 3 nights worth of camping though.

Evening on the River

Stripers Everywhere!!!

The recent heavy rain across Tennessee (at least by normal fall standards) has increased generation releases on area tailwaters.  That means that the rivers that host stripers are killer right now if you want to chase the big fish.  I have seen nice fish on several rivers but the action won't last too long.  Once the water temperatures drop enough the stripers will migrate downstream to calmer waters for the winter.  At that point, varous steam plants across the state will come into focus as striper hot spots. 

All the fish I've caught lately have come on my PB&J shad streamer.  This fly continues to produce well for stripers and also pulls in walleye, largemouth bass, catfish, white bass, hybrids, drum, and just about anything else I throw it at.  The following striper was caught fairly recently and ran about 130 feet before slowing down.  After the initial run, it turned around and ran straight at me all the way to my feet!  Talk about a smart fish...thankfully the hookset was solid, and after a good fight, I was able to get a couple of pictures of the nice fish. 

Joe Mcgroom Photograph 

Joe Mcgroom Photograph

Having Fun

I never realized how much I enjoy having a nice DSLR around, but ever since the mishap a couple of months ago, it has become much more apparent that I really enjoy taking pictures.  Recently, a friend loaned me their camera for an afternoon, and I had a blast just messing around outside my house.  Here are a couple of the results. 

Ever Fish Lees Ferry?

Or anywhere on the Colorado for that matter?  If you have every fished Lees Ferry or the Colorado River downstream, the National Park Service is currently drafting its Glen Canyon Dam Long Term Experimental and Management Environmental Impact Statement.

Over the past few years, the Park Service has been working more and more to restore native species wherever possible.  In the Colorado River, this means trying to reverse the decline of the humpback chub to the detriment of the rainbow and brown trout in this amazing fishery.  Unfortunately, the problem with using means to remove the trout is that it completely ignores the fact that the Colorado River is an environment forever altered by Glen Canyon Dam. These fish would be struggling regardless of whether or not trout are in the river, because they are not used to the water chemistry and temperature now constantly flowing through the Grand Canyon.

As the EIS is being formulated, the public is encouraged to send in comments to help shape the document.  I have already sent in mine, obviously in support of the wild trout.  If Glen Canyon Dam was going to be removed, then I would not have a problem with managing the river for native species.  However, the fish that are flourishing are perfectly adapted to the new conditions.  Killing all the wild fish won't alter the fact that they are best suited to the cold clean water now flowing through the Canyon.

If you have ever enjoyed fishing or hope to fish Lees Ferry or the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon someday, I hope you will take a minute to send in your comments on this to the NPS.  Just let them know that you care about wild trout and that the environment is the problem for the native species, not the trout.

North Carolina Gold

While out walking a stream this weekend, I came across a slab of gold in a nice run.  The fish was actively feeding, but I ended up spooking it without a hookup.  Yesterday was a different story.  The fish fell for a caddis pupa...

Tyson Musgrave Photograph

Tyson Musgrave Photograph

Heading Out

This weekend is dedicated to fishing the Smokies.  I'll be camping with a bunch of friends and doing a fair amount of fishing over the next couple of days.  Stay tuned for an update on how the fishing is in the mountains...

Fall Is For...

...aggressive browns...

Fickle Caney

The Caney continues to be its fickle self.  Most anglers are experiencing slow to decent fishing although those with the right bugs are still catching plenty of fish.  Nice rainbows are continuing to impress me each trip.  There are lots of little stockers in the river to play with but enough nice holdover fish in the 14-18 inch range are out there as well to keep things entertaining.  The fish that have been in the river a while are beautifully colored. 

A few nice browns are being caught as well.  As we head towards the colder months, I expect fishing to pick up, especially for those out drifting.  Nymphs will be top producers but daily midge hatches will get trout looking towards the surface.  On high water (and on low water too but shhhhh!), streamers will take some nice trout and not just the larger browns either.  I've taken a good number of chunky rainbows and feisty brookies on streamers over the last couple of months.  Once December and January roll around, grab the streamer rods and take a float for some great streamer fishing.

The water visibility is slowly increasing which is a good thing.  However the water temperatures are still a little warmer than I would like, at least up near the dam.  The cold nights are helping the water temperatures down river a lot. 

Here are a couple rainbows and a brown we have taken in the last week or so. 

Big Rainbows on Small Dry Flies

This past weekend, I was able to get away for a float trip with David Perry.  We wanted to check on how the Caney was fairing.  While some people were looking for spawning browns, we took a different approach and looked for big fish chasing streamers early while the water was high.  Rainbows are really feeding heavily right now in preparation for the colder months ahead. 

Early in the float, I had just switched to one of my favorite streamers, a Stacked Blond (super easy to tie as well), when a nice little brown of about 16 inches slammed the streamer about two strips into the retrieve.  After a brief fight in which the fish was no match for my 7 weight rod and 12 lb. tippet, we quickly netted him, took a couple of pictures, and watched the first score of the day swim off into the now receding flows. 

Continuing down the river, we eventually started fishing the nymph rods, picking up the odd brookie or rainbow.  However, the best fishing was still to come.  As it got later in the day, the fish started to look to the surface for the increasingly heavy midge hatch that also had a few caddis thrown in.  Lots of fish started to rise as the sun drifted lower in the sky.

Finally, that moment all good fly fisherman are looking for arrived.  A pod of big risers was located.  The drift boat was maneuvered ever so carefully into position, and we began probing the water and switching patterns until the magic fly was discovered.  I didn't have the pattern I wanted as I haven't been tying midge dries lately.  Now is the time to change that problem because David Perry did have the right pattern and his reward was large!  A big rainbow sipped the fly ever so gently.  The next few moments were tense as the big fish ran straight for a big log, veering up and over it at the last second into open water.  Finally the beautiful fish was in open water, and I backed the drifter over to the shallows for a couple of pictures.

 

After releasing the beast, we continued through the deepening shadows, picking up another fish or two on the dry patterns.  I got back on the streamer rod, missing a couple of half-hearted hits.  Finally we got off the water just as night was conquering the last gleams of light.  This was definitely one of the best days on the water since the cicada hatch last spring.  These are the types of days that keep bringing us back in search of that next big fish...

A Foggy Encounter

Deteriorating weather always makes me excited to go fishing.  Bad weather keeps the crowds at bay, and also tends to get the fish excited about eating.  Foggy weather can sometimes make for spooky fishing though.  At those times, its just you, the water, and the fish.  The memories can be a little surreal, especially when the fish you catch turns out to be a big striper that runs you a hundred yards down the river.  A cold combined with exhaustion compounds the problem, leaving behind only a hazy recollection of the events leading up to catching such a fish...

Fall On Little River

Fall break has arrived and with it I now have time to go fishing. Yesterday I kicked off the break with a trip to Little River to chase the browns. The water was up just enough to get the bugs hatching and the fish feeding.

I was not as interested in hatches of BWOs and Yellow Quills though. My main objective was big brown trout and with that in mind, I promised myself that I would give streamers a fair chance before changing my rig.

The sun was just rising as I arrived and rigged up. My first choice was a small streamer that has been effective on small stream smallmouth the last couple of years. After thoroughly working the first pool, I was just about to try another spot when I made one last cast. Immediately a little brown nailed it and the day was off and running.

For the next few hours, I caught several browns up to around 12 inches. The big ones eluded me though and in fact, I never really spotted any true giants. The largest fish I definitely saw was around 17-18 inches at most.  Sometimes it seems the river is devoid of large trout, and then you go another time and you spot big fish everywhere.  That's just part of the game.  Putting in your time on the water is the surest way to start finding these elusive fish and maybe even catching one.

Despite the lack of big trout, it was still a perfect day to be out, and I took full advantage of the overcast skies and feeding trout. The rainbows were on the feed as well, and when I changed to a double nymph rig later in the day, my catch quickly diversified.  A beautiful 12 inch rainbow came out of water where I was honestly expecting a large brown.  I can't complain though because a twelve in rainbow in the Park is not too common.

 
This time of year is my favorite, and not just for the fishing. The colors were awesome, and I took a few pictures to remind myself later of how beautiful the day was.  Once winter arrives with its grey skies and dreary days, I will look back and remember these perfect fall days and the great fishing they provided.