Two Days, Two Rivers and a 24 Incher!!!

This past weekend I was home visiting the family so I had to fish the Caney on Sunday. I arrived at the river and noticed that there was not a lot of activity, at least where I first took a gander. However, upriver there seemed to be a few fish working. The dry with a zebra midge came out and I was soon casting, covering the usual places without any results. "The fish must be holding in deeper water" I thought. As low as the water levels were, this made perfect sense. I moved up to some deeper holes and soon hooked up...and then again, and again, and again....it was one of those days where it seems you can't do any wrong. Lots of very healthy 12-16 inch fish were attacking my fly consistently, often as soon as it hit the water. I moved 3-4 large fish (18-20 inches) but couldn't get a solid hookup. Later in the day, the generation pulse caught up with me and I decided to try my hand at ripping streamers (something I never do). This proved to be the ticket as the brownies all wanted to play. One monster swirled on my fly but wouldn't hit again. I called it a day soon after having lost caught how many fish I hooked. Hopefully I will find the time to return sometime soon with my canoe. I can only imagine how many good fish could be caught floating the pulse and flinging heavy stuff.

Yesterday, I woke up and wasn't feeling good enough to attend classes. Thankfully, I wasn't so sick that I couldn't fish so I drove up to the Hiwassee for a couple of hours. Things were fairly active here as well with lots of Hendricksons hatching the whole time I was there. The fish were responding enthusiastically but unfortunately I didn't have a good match with me. This WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN!!! Thankfully, a small red copper John seemed to do the trick for the nymphs and I caught several nice fish. My best catch came when I saw the 24 incher swimming slowly across a large pool. Hooked up on the third cast but it turned out to be foul hooked.... After a surprisingly short battle I brought the nice snake to hand and released it. Hopefully it will be able to grow larger, providing someone else with some entertainment....

In other more exciting news, I have a new camera on the way. It is waterproof and will hopefully allow some excellent underwater pictures to be available for use on this blog. I should have it in a couple of weeks at most so stay tuned for some great new pictures!!!

Late Smokies Report

I have been swamped with homework and other things that needed doing so this is a few days late. Over the weekend I went up to camp at Elkmont CG and fish in the park. There were supposed to be a lot of other fisherman in for the weekend from everything I had heard, so I decided that it would be a good time to do a backcountry day trip.

I woke up and ate a leisurely breakfast of pancakes, fruit, and hot chocolate. Afterwards I filled my water pack and threw some items in to eat over the course of the day. I started up Little River Trail around 11:00 and by noon was just over 4 miles from the trailhead where a nice tributary enters Little River. I hiked a few hundred yards and finally couldn't stand it any longer and got in the water and began casting. Nothing hit my beadhead Tellico in the first few casts and then I saw fish rising just above me. Of course, who can resist casting to rising trout? After checking the water temp (50.5 degrees), I quickly tied on a Quill Gordon spundun and soon had my first small trout. Ten minutes and 5 fish later, my dry fly was struggling to stay afloat and I didn't feel like constantly changing flies so I tied a double nymph rig on. The fish still approved and I worked up the stream catching fish out of almost every "fishy" spot that I came to.

I eventually tied another dry on though. After fishing nymphs a lot all winter, it is just too much fun to watch the fish do cartwheels trying to hit my dry. The fishing was so ridiculous that I even caught fish when I lowered my rod, looked around for awhile, finally returned my focus to fishing and discovered fish had found the hook and were still on the line. This happened several times over the course of the day. Man I love spring!!!

One of my favorite parts of the whole day was when I found a nice plunge pool. I just knew that a fish had to be sitting at the bottom waiting for stuff to come drift by. After a couple experimental casts to figure out how my flies were drifting, I got the proper angle of presentation figured out and the fun began. A fat 8 inch rainbow took the Tellico and fought like a twelve incher. I figured, "what the heck..." and cast back in. This time a 9 inch rainbow took my fly. "No way another one is going to hit" I thought. Next cast, another 9 inch+ rainbow hit. That must have been the last of the nicer rainbows though because the next cast only yielded a 6 inch fish. 4 fish in about 5 minutes.....Absolutely crazy....

I finished up the day having fished close to a mile of stream and also got the Smokies slam with 1 brown and 1 brookie in addition to all the rainbows. This was definitely the best day of fishing I've had since last fall and I can't wait to do it again!!!

Late Fishing Report

Last Thursday I decided to go up to the Smokies for the day and it turned out to be an excellent decision. The fishing was very good with lots of insect activity and the water temperature was in the low to mid 50's. My best fish of the day came from a pocket that I had spotted good fish in before but hadn't hooked any out of it yet. Thursday turned out to be the day though. I was fishing a double nymph rig with a large stonefly on top and a Tellico dropped off of that. As usual, I was fishing without indicators using the highstick tightline method that is so productive in the Smokies streams. I lobbed my heavy rig up into the pocket that had a nice little eddy and watched as the line drifted around. Suddenly it seemed to hesitate and I quickly set the hook. You never know if it is snagging the bottom or if it is a fish so it was nice to feel something move on the other end. At first, I thought it was a nice rainbow of perhaps 12 inches or so. It didn't feel particularly heavy at first but as it ran downstream, I tried to stop it and met firm resistance. "Maybe it is a nice rainbow" I thought. Of course, I had been hoping for a brown but the glimpse I got lead me to believe it was a rainbow. Once it started bulldogging though, I realized it was probably a brown. I pressured it more than I should have been on the 5X tippet but everything held and soon I had a nice brown to hand for a quick shot.

The rest of the day continued to produce very good fishing with lots of rainbows and one more brown. All but one fish came on the Tellico nymph and the other one hit a softhackle I had tied up the night before. The average size of fish was particularly good also with most of the rainbows in the 9-12 inch range which is good for the Smokies.

Later in the day, I had a "situation" which proved disastrous for my camera so I won't be able to post pictures for at least a week or two as I shop for a new one. I fortunately was able to recover the pictures from Thursdays trip from the memory but otherwise, the camera is dead.

Rust and Spring Hatches

The long hoped for spring hatches have arrived in the Smokies!!! They will only get better over the next few days. I fished Abrams Creek today and spent a bit of time on Little River as well. The caddis hatches on Abrams were spectacular. It was definitely the closest I'll ever be in the Smokies to a blizzard hatch of caddis. There were thousands of the bugs filling the air along with Blue Quills, BWOs, and a few Quill Gordons. The fish are still a bit slow to respond to the feeding opportunities however. I think they need another few days possibly before they start keying on the dries consistently. There were plenty of risers to keep me occupied but I had to search them out instead of just picking any spot I wanted. I picked up a few fish on nymphs and a few on dries today.

Luckily for the fish though, I didn't catch nearly as many as I should have considering the excellent conditions. As happens every year, it appears I have some rust I need to get off. The stocked fish of the tailwaters I fish through the winter have made me lazy yet again and I have slowed down a lot. That's fine as long as I stay on the tailwaters, but when I start trying for wild fish in the mountain freestone streams, I must be on top of my game to succeed.

By the end of the day I was getting disgusted with myself for my lack of ability in the catching department. Despite catching several fish in the middle of the day, I couldn't buy a fish later in the day. I even found all the BWO's that Tom Chandler of the Trout Underground has been looking for all winter on his home waters, the Upper Sacramento in California. They apparently all came clear across the country just to grace us with their presence and the fish were rising enthusiastically to the little rusty spinners. I tried to catch the risers but failed miserably. Things looked much better when I tied my nymphs back on and I started sticking fish left and right but still could not bring one to hand. It was probably just as well as I was getting quite frustrated. I know it was in the fishes best interest.

Really, I can't complain at all. It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the 60's and the water is warming enough to get the spring hatches rolling. However, I DO still have a bit of rust to get off so I'll be heading back to the park as soon as possible which will probably be next weekend but I may sneak off one day this next week.

Footballs

Today I decided to not go to the Smokies. I've had a bad cold and wasn't feeling that well but by afternoon, I was feeling good enough to make the short drive down to the Caney Fork. I arrived and immediately noticed that a lot of gulls were flying around below the dam and on downriver. The first thing I thought of was a shad kill.

I started fishing below the dam and soon caught a brown. After working the run thoroughly, I finally decided to go up to just below the dam where I saw numerous fish rising. I waded out and started casting. This area is somewhat like a shallow lake with almost no current. Fishing here is a waiting game. You try and cast in the vicinity of where the fish are working but then you just let the dry and dropper sit until a fish discovers it. Usually a take is fairly obvious with the dry sucking under. After a few minutes of casting, I finally had a hit and immediately had a strong fish on. After a nice battle on the three weight, I brought to hand a VERY chunky football shaped fish.

The rest of the time continued in much the same way. I caught several fish including a few more footballs. The last one I caught was spitting up half-digested shad in large quantities, losing a lot of girth in the process. There were plenty of dead shad in the shallows as well. The fish that are eating the shad are extremely fat and should put on a lot of weight quickly which is good news for those of us that fish this river. I have seen some pictures of very large browns caught in the last few days so this is an excellent time to be on the river.

If I am feeling well in the morning, it is off for the Smokies so hopefully I'll have another report tomorrow afternoon or evening!!!

HI Day

Today was the time for yet another trip to the Hiwassee. I've enjoyed my time on that river but I'm really getting the itch for small wild trout in the Smokies. The good news is that the fish are looking up now on the big HI. I fished with my buddy Trevor today and stuck to subsurface flies for awhile. In the meantime, he was showing me up by using an assortment of dries which the fish took with gusto. The fish were still taking the Simi Seal but it was obvious that what they really wanted was something on top. I eventually fished a dry for awhile and picked up a few fish that way.

Lots of bugs were on the water today with the stoneflies and midges making up the majority. I also saw a larger MAYFLY, not one of the common cool weather BWOs. The midges were fairly large, probably a #20 or #22. Late in the day the fish began taking them and provided some fast-paced action on Zebra Midges with the odd fish taking the parachute Adams.

As I said, it was a good day but it is time for some WILD fish... Thursday I'll be working on scratching that itch so check back soon...

Going Out On a Limb

I'm going to stick my neck out a bit here and make a prediction: The good fishing in the Smokies will start next week!!! Several factors influence my thoughts on this. First and perhaps the most obvious, it has to happen eventually and we are moving into the time that the big spring hatches have started historically. Second, this week is my spring break and I NEVER have good fishing conditions during spring break, it is a curse I guess.

Of course, the curse usually means that the week before and especially after (next week) break will be epic... This curse is real, honest to goodness. The last big rain event we had brought up the water level in Center Hill Lake to the extent that they have been generating 24/7. Before my break, it was fishable all day every day and I was making plans to hit it hard this week. Instead, I'm forced to go fish the Hiwassee...be sure and check back tomorrow night for a report.

Back to the more important great fishing looming just around the corner, the third reason is that the weather pattern is forecast to progress so we will be seeing warmer weather by next week. Will it be warm enough to kick off the hatches? Here at the Trout Zone we think so and are already planning to be in the Smokies at some point that week and perhaps that weekend. Bring your Quill Gordons and Blue Quills and be ready for some fast-paced action!!!

Getting Reacquainted

New streams are always fun. You never know what you will find on new water. Old streams are nice also though...the ones that you could fish in your sleep. Some places I can tell approximately the size of fish that will be caught beside a certain rock. Today was a day for getting reacquainted with a favorite river. It has been altogether too long since I had fished the Caney Fork. I knew that with all the rain over the last 24 hours, most of the river would probably be discolored at best and most likely just plain old muddy. However, a short section up near the dam is unaffected by tributaries and after briefly trying farther downriver, I started fishing immediately below Center Hill Dam.

The water was very cool as I waded to where it was about waist deep just below the dam and began casting. Some fish had been sporadically rising so I knew they were there. Despite the windy conditions, I was soon slinging my line out in the vicinity of the occasional rises. My offering....the usual rig I start with on the Caney, a dry with a zebra midge dropper. I had been casting for probably 10 minutes when a fish discovered the zebra suspended under the dry and quickly inhaled it. I raised my rod and had an energetic rainbow dancing on the other end. As usual on the Caney, I immediately overestimated the size of the fish I had on. It was pulling like a freight train and I just knew I had hooked a solid 16 inch fish. After several nerve wracking runs that had me fretting about the 6X tippet, I finally brought a 13 inch rainbow to hand. I quickly slipped the hook out of its jaw and watched as the fish darted away. Another 20 minutes and I had another fish on, comparable to the first.

I was enjoying myself but curiosity overcame the fact that fish were there and biting and I decided to wander downstream a bit. After an hour of looking around and missing a couple of fish, I worked my way back upstream to just below the dam. A good midge hatch was underway and the trout were reacting by feeding a bit more. I was soon working a good run that I knew had some nice fish in it and quickly had a fish on. The 10 inch rainbow was released and I started working the head of the run.

My cast landed as soft as a feather and I intently watched for signs of a take. Suddenly, a couple of feet downstream from my flies I thought I saw the flash from the side of a nice fish. "Steady," I told myself, "wait for it." Just as my dry floated over the spot, it vanished as the fish took the zebra midge dropper. I gently raised the rod and knew immediately that I was into a fish a bit better than the 12-13 inch fish I had been catching. The first hard run was capped with a spectacular leap as the fish sought freedom. It was soon followed by a second and third leap and I was getting nervous. Would the tippet hold against so many strong runs? I kept turning the fish as it tried to run and slowly worked it towards shallow water. The vivid colors were incredible and all I wanted was to snap a couple of quick pictures of this beautiful fish. Finally, the stars aligned and I brought the fish to hand. It was colored up nicely, probably because it is the spawning season. After getting a couple of pictures, I eased the fish back into the water and was glad to see it rocket away back to its hole. I tried fishing for a few more minutes but knew that I should be getting home. This fish was enough and I decided to quit bothering the other fish for the day. I think I'm going to have to continue getting reacquainted again soon though!!!

Its On!!!

The Hiwassee is fishing well again finally! After a few outings where only a few fish were caught, today was a great day!!! I stuck to fishing nymphs all day, trying to get back the magic in time for spring break. The water temp was right around 50 degrees all day which I'm sure helped a lot. The fish were feeding very actively. I caught fish mainly on a black simi seal leech and a bead head pheasant tail nymph. Since spring break is approaching, I'll soon be doing a lot more fishing so stay tuned for much more excitement, hopefully including the start of SPRING HATCHES IN THE SMOKIES!!!!

Is it Spring Yet?

As spring break approaches, I have been hoping that the spring hatches would start and be in full swing by the first week in March. Despite some promising trends, it appears that the water temperatures are just not quite going to make it to the magical 50 degree mark just yet. However, we will have some rain moving in over the weekend here in East Tennessee and if we are lucky, it will be a warm rain and boost the water temps into the "good" zone. Will it be enough to get the bugs going? We can only hope...

Thankfully, the lack of strong hatches doesn't mean that fish cannot be caught. I made yet another trip up to the Hiwassee yesterday, this time only for a couple of hours. Once again, the generation pulse made for some fine dry fly fishing. There were more of the little stoneflies coming off than before so that is a good sign. The water from upriver has warmed a bit also which definitely can't hurt. The fish feasted heavily on the stoneflies for the first part of the pulse and then as the water slowly dropped back out, they started keying on a good hatch of TINY midges. Anyone that enjoys fishing very tiny flies to picky risers should try fishing the midge hatch on the Hiwassee. Of course, as always, evening on the Hiwassee is awesome!!!

A Fly Fishermans Best Friend and Worst Nemesis

The weather. It can make or break a fishing trip. For that matter it can make or break an entire season or year of fishing. For example, in the west, the winter snowpack is crucial in providing plenty of water for the rivers in the summer. A low snowpack and a hot summer can spell disaster for a trout stream. Lately, I have been anxiously watching the winter snowpack reports for the western US. A quick glance at the maps that display the mountain snowpack as a percent of the norm is disturbing. (Additional snowpack products may be obtained here)In the map above, reds, oranges, and yellows represent below normal snowpack. Much of the western US is having a below average to much below average winter for precipitation. With the trip I hope to make to Yellowstone and surrounding areas, I have been nervously watching as the drought monitor continues to indicate abnormally dry conditions throughout much of the west including the greater Yellowstone area.

The first half of the winter I didn't mind the unusual weather associated with El-Nino. Record warmth occurred throughout the eastern United States providing dependable fishing here in Tennessee during months that are traditionally a bit slow due to cold water. However, our fortunes have reversed and we have experienced much below average temperatures throughout the southeast for several weeks now, putting a damper on fishing. Thankfully, it looks like we are headed towards a warming trend by early next week. I'm hoping it brings on the spring hatches in the Smokies. Hopefully the west will get a lot more snow before winter is over as well....

The River

I ran up to the Hiwassee again yesterday evening. The temperature is forecast to be rather cold for the next few days and I wanted to get one last afternoon of fishing in while it was still nice out. I arrived just a little while before the generation pulse and as soon as the water came up, I started casting to rising fish.

I managed a few fish before the water went back down and things slowed again.

Evening on the river is always worth the drive, even when the fishing is a little off...

Slow Days and the Magic Touch

Yesterday I finally got out on the water again. I ran up to the Hiwassee for an afternoon of fishing, hoping that it would be as good as it was last time I fished a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't. While I did catch fish, it was slow except for when the generation pulse came through. The push of water came through right about the time that the hatch of little black stoneflies peaked. The fish went on a surface feeding binge and for the next 1/2 hour the fishing was good. The fish lost their timidity and were rising well. The best fly during this time was a parachute adams that just happened to very nearly match the stoneflies that were on the water in size and color.

An amusing incident took place later in the day that highlighted an otherwise routine fishing trip. I was fishing with my buddy Kevin and since he is thinking about getting another rod for tailwaters, I offered to let him try out my St. Croix Legend Ultra. I waded over to him while my line flyline trailed downstream and handed him the rod. He simply lifted the rod tip and had a fish on the end without having cast the rod yet (picture at right). Talk about the magic touch. Some days when the fish are feeding well I wouldn't have been as surprised but the conditions were tough yesterday. It gave us a good laugh as I threatened to take back my rod if he caught another fish...

Fishing The Zebra Midge

Hands down the best tailwater fly here in Tennessee for me over the last year and a half, the Zebra Midge is one of the easiest flies to tie and also one of the easiest to fish. I fish it quite often and mention it many of my fishing reports both here and over on the LRO board. People often ask me exactly how I fish it so I decided it was time to address this question. I'm sure different people have different preferences and many different methods will work with this fly so don't just stick to the method I'm about to share.

First, it is important to understand exactly what the Zebra Midge represents. The last section of an excellent article, "Midge Tactics for Tailwater Trout", gives an good explanation on the life cycle of midges. The Zebra Midge is designed primarily to imitate a midge pupa ascending to surface to emerge. Thus, it is most effective to use when you see fish feeding up high in the water column. You will often see rises which are actually trout taking the pupa just under the surface as the bugs drift upwards. Occasionally, fish will break the surface as they pursue the tiny insects.

Whenever you see the fish feeding like this, it is time to try the Zebra Midge. Some type of strike indicator is generally very helpful with this type of fishing. I personally use a dry fly such as a parachute Adams because I feel it gives the fish another option and I'm always surprised at how often nice fish will take the dry. After you tie on the dry, use anywhere from 6-24 inches of 6x or 7x tippet and tie it to the bend of the dry fly. The height should be determined by how near to the surface the majority of the fish seem to be feeding. It also important to remember two other things about the length of the dropper. First, fish will move upwards to take the fly so when in doubt, go shorter. Also, the longer the dropper, the more takes you will miss. I generally start with my dropper at around 12-16 inches.

Now that you are rigged up and ready to fish, you need to find some fish. This rig will work to fish the water blind but you will be a lot more successful casting to specific fish or specific holding lies whenever possible. I like to locate a fish before casting. When you cast to the fish, you want the dropper to land up current of the dry or indicator to make it easy to detect the strike. Sometimes the take will be subtle. In fact, fish will often take the dropper without moving the indicator. This brings up my favorite method. When you find a specific fish working, cast above the fish and watch the fish closely as the indicator/dry nears the vicinity of the fish. Any side to side movement or quick darting to the side will mean that the fish likely took your fly. Often, fish will see the fly as it is passing and dart downstream. WAIT TO SET THE HOOK until the fish makes a sudden turn to face back into the current or to the side. The turn will indicate that the fish has taken the fly. This nice brown moved a couple of feet to the side to take the Zebra Midge...

Finally, once you have hooked the fish, be very gentle. When using light tippets, it is easy to break off the fish if you use too much pressure. However, don't overplay the fish. With practice, 6x tippet will take a lot more abuse than most people think, allowing you to land the fish without exhausting it.

Fishing this fly can be a lot of fun. You will quite possibly catch more and better fish, particularly on waters where midges are a predominant food source. You might even be surprised at some of the fish that will eat this fly, I know I was when this nice bass ate mine...

This is a very simple fly to tie, but if you need help on tying the Zebra Midge, check out this video that I shared on YouTube. I also go over some specifics on fishing this pattern in the video. 

Things Like This...

...............make me UPSET!!! From Tom Chandler over at the Trout Underground comes THIS frightening story. Enough said...

Big Flies = Big Fish???

We have all heard this advice on catching big fish. Most have also heard people arguing for the other extreme, and with all the pictures (just one example of many) of hogs caught on tailwaters using small flies, I've been persuaded to spend quite a bit of time exploring this method. I even caught my own 20+ inch brown on the Taylor River in Colorado on a #18 CDC BWO this past summer and hooked some even larger on other tiny patterns. However, I recently was able to spot some fish in an area rumored to benefit from a shad kill. The fish looked fat and healthy from my vantage point, but I decided it would probably be good to do a more thorough investigation. In planning for my future assault on these HOGS, I realized that my streamer selection was woefully inadequate. So, this past weekend, I spent a bit of time at the vise trying to figure out how to tie a Zonker. The results were encouraging.


Now I just wonder of the fish will like them... Of course, there is only one way to find out so as soon as possible, the Trout Zone will be making a trip in pursuit of these magnificent fish. I'll let you know how it goes...

Fishing in the Cold or Wind?

It seems that El Nino is causing problems not only here in the states but also overseas. As meteorologists are trying to determine a connection between tornadoes in Florida during El Nino, the winds are blowing fiercely in the fly fishing Mecca known as New Zealand. According to this interesting story from the New Zealand Herald, the country is

"cursed by El Nino and its accompanying winds, which until this week had delayed the good summer fishing by two months in the popular Rotorua and Taupo fisheries."

I am trying to find it in my heart to feel sorry for those that are basking in the warmth of summer. However, the continual blasts of arctic air make this extremely difficult for me. This of course brings us to the question of whether it is better to fish in the cold or in the wind? How bad is the wind you ask? Well, if someone will send me a plane ticket to New Zealand I will be glad to find out.

I have to say, I have fished in some nasty wind before but have never been stopped from fishing. This doesn't mean that the fish were biting but I was going through the motions. I recall a time when was fishing a lake in the White Mountains of Arizona where the technique of the day was basically to execute a roll cast good enough to get the line off of the water. The wind would do the rest. If you could manage to actually make a full cast, the line MIGHT end up 10 feet behind you on the backcast and this translated to a good 60 foot cast, all assuming of course that you didn't invent a new windknot. Oh yeah, I caught a nice fat 17 inch Cutthroat that day.

Of course, I've enjoyed some excellent days fishing in the cold as well. Last year I got to fish in the snow for the first time. Being from Tennessee, this was actually a novelty. I guess I can feel a bit of sympathy for the folks in New Zealand. Two months is a LONG time to go without wetting a line. At least I can fish when its cold...and it must be REALLY windy to prevent fishing... Seriously, anyone want to send me a plane ticket to New Zealand? Patagonia? Somewhere warm???

Fly Fishing End of The Road..... Mongolia

For those that haven't wasted hours of their time on YouTube watching other people catch fish, this one's for you. This time of year, people's thoughts begin to drift to exotic destinations, often with a warmer climate. This video is of a trip that a group of Wyoming guides took to Mongolia...not the first place that most people think of when they start thinking "exotic locations." Anyway, these guys are after the great Taimen. For those who have not heard much about this fish, check out this video. It is a bit lengthy but a great movie. Here at the Trout Zone we are already trying to figure out a way to make the journey around the globe to Mongolia...hey, it is okay to dream!!!

Big News!!!

Well, it looks like it is final. The National Park Service is planning to eradicate the rainbow trout population in Lynn Camp Prong in the Great Smoky Mountains and will return the stream to native brook trout water. Anglers are having mixed reactions to the news. The largest concern seems to be that most people hate to see the stream closed for the length of time it is going to take for a brook trout population to stabilize. An excellent debate has been taking place on the subject on the Little River Outfitters message board which can be found here.


Around the country, it seems that the return of native fish species is becoming a major focus for fisheries biologists. Last year, anglers were saddened to learn that Bright Angel Creek in the Grand Canyon was being targeted for the removal of non-native brown trout. Being a trout-loving fly fisher, I have recieved news such as this with mixed feelings. I feel it is unfortunate to be losing some great fisheries around the country but at the same time, I support the return of native trout species. Obviously it would be a bit inconsistent to support the return of native trout but not other native fish species. Fortunately in the case of Lynn Camp, the fish species that will be returning is none other than the southern strain brook trout. Despite some of the concerns I have with this project, I believe that the return of the native brook trout will ultimately be worth any short-term inconveniences. I look forward to another great place to catch this special fish!!!

More Fish On Dries In Winter!!!

Time for a brief report. Thankfully, I was able to fish a bit this weekend and drove up to the Hiwassee for a nice afternoon on the water. I arrived up near the powerhouse just as the generation pulse was starting so I took my time getting into my waders, and rigging up. Finally the turbines were shut off so I quickly worked my way out to a favorite run. A Copper John was good for three fish but I was really looking for some action on top. After seeing a few rises in the flat water upstream, I tied on a parachute Adams that was close in size and color to the little stoneflies I had been seeing. Under this I tied on my trusty Zebra Midge dropper and was ready to catch fish. This combination proved deadly all afternoon as fish after fish succombed to either the dry or the midge. Once again, it was awesome to be catching fish on dries in the middle of winter!!!

As I was leaving to go a bit further downriver, I saw something interesting in the river. Apparently, the sun was at just the right angle to hit the sign (warning of the dangerous water below the powerhouse) across the river to create this (at right) interesting phenomena.

Late in the day, after I had moved down the river, I was treated to an aerial display put on by a rather large Osprey. I had been really hoping to see one of these today so that was a great way to finish off the day. Of course, catching fish after fish, often on consecutive casts helped also....did I mention that it is supposed to be winter? Anyway, the misconception that winter is a time to stay inside and tie flies is being proved wrong time and again here in Tennessee lately. Check back soon as I might have to make another run up to the Hiwassee in the next few days...

Heat Wave

The weather has been strange the last several weeks to say the least. Temperatures have been almost balmy quite often and across East Tennessee, people have been wondering what happened to the good old days when we actually had winter. Despite many people's frustrations with the weather, I have not complained at all because the fishing has stayed much better than normal for this time of year. The most recent heat wave brought up the water temps in the mountains to the upper 40's to low 50's. Of course, I can never pass up such a good opportunity for an excellent day of fishing. So, yesterday I made the drive up to Townsend to get in some time on the water. Remembering his success last October, my cousin decided it was time to join me again for another day honing his developing fly fishing skills.

We arrived in Townsend shortly after Little River Outfitters opened and while my cousin got a license, I went searching through the bargain bin and picked up several packages of hooks. Once finished at the shop, we made our way to a small stream just a few miles inside the park and started hiking up the trail. My cousin was happily wearing my waders which I loaned him after he discovered I intended to wet wade. The look of joy on his face upon discovering he wouldn't have to wade wet himself was truly priceless. Yes, I really did wet wade today!

Arriving where we would begin fishing, I set my cousin up with the same nymph and strike indicator set-up I had him using last time and with ease of an old pro, he soon had fish numero uno. I picked up a fish rather quickly as well and things were looking up. As we moved up the creek, I began to notice lots of small bugs and then wonder of wonders, a few larger ones. The fish were noticing also. As the surface activity neared the boiling point, I quickly cut off my nymph and tied on a #16 Thunderhead which was the closest thing I had in color to the little winter stoneflies that were swarming all over. The only thing I hadn't counted on was being a little bit rusty... The fish were so joyful over this development that they continued rising, seemingly oblivious to each missed hook set, even after I started stinging a few. Finally, a fish managed to impale itself on my hook and after that it was easy. My cousin got bit by the dry fly bug after watching me yank a couple out of one run in all of three minutes so I handed him my three weight and went to work changing the nymph rig on his to a dry.

I decided to try something else just to see if the fish really cared about the fly. It turns out they didn't...a yellow Elk Hair Caddis did just as well and was a bit easier to see. Meanwhile, my cousin was rapidly become furious over all the fish that were hitting his dry without finding the hook. I casually mentioned that it takes a bit of skill and a lot of quickness. Unfortunately for the fish, this didn't seem to help matters and he began setting the hook hard enough to rip through the lips of a whale. The next fish that was dumb enough to hit his fly soon enjoyed a flying experience free of charge. It sailed gracefully 20 feet down the creek and landed at the feet of my now smiling cousin who quickly grabbed it for a quick picture. I promise, there really is a fish in this picture. Perhaps if you get out a magnifying glass and examine his left hand you will see it. Or maybe this closeup is better... Despite its small stature, this fish had the distinction of being my cousin's first trout on a dry.

Not to be outdone, as soon as I had the picture taken, I walked 20 feet up the creek with the newly tied on EHC and tossed it in a small pocket and caught another of my own. Notice it is larger than his...which isn't necessarily saying much but bragging rights are important sometimes.

After catching several more fish, we decided it is lunch time (it was actually a couple of hours past but hey, we were having fun) and walked back down the trail to the car. While the stream side lunch was cooking, I decided to catch a few more.

Fish on dries in January, it just doesn't get any better than this!!! Unless of course it is lots of fish on dries in January!!!

Pure Laziness

As Christmas break approached, I had good intentions to tie flies, lots and lots of them. I also intended to fish a lot. This goal went much better than the first as I tried two tailwaters in East Tennessee that are new to me. Unfortunately, I didn't tie up my summer supply of flies like I wanted to, probably because I'm lazy. I did manage to tie up a few dozen Zebra Midges and just last night started in on parachute Adams. These two flies are my staple for Tennessee tailwaters, the dry serving as an indicator but fish take it often enough to convince me to keep it in place of a "regular" strike indicator. Now I have to hurriedly tie as many as possible before the second semester of this school year begins. Copper Johns are high on my list as Colorado trout appear to view them as candy. Sparkle duns in various sizes and color combinations to match important western hatches need to be tied as well. With a possible trip to Yellowstone in the works, I need dry flies more than ever and lots of them at that. Stillwater flies are higher on my priority list this winter as well. My next foray into the American west will hopefully be made with a new float tube along and I intend to make the most of the opportunity. There is a lake in Arizona that is very special to me where I hope to chase its big browns. A few lakes in Colorado caught my eye last summer as well and I will hopefully be returning to these to probe the depths for trophy trout. Perhaps I'll even end up casting Callibaetis immitations to cruising fish in Montana's Hebgen lake or even Yellowstone lake. Of course, I'll have to hit some smaller backcountry stillwaters as well. Anyway, enough typing...it seems that I have a lot of ambition for my summer fishing, so I'm off to the vise...