Clay Dyer - The Most Inspirational Fisherman

New Feature

I've added a slide show of some of my favorite fishing pictures on the right. To see a larger image, just click on the picture and it will open a new window. Let me know what you think and if you have any trouble seeing it...

How Much Do You Fish?

Our most recent poll closed this evening with some intriguing final results. It turns out that the majority of you fish enough to stay sane at the very least. I personally fall into the category of 50-100 days a year with my average probably right around 70 for the past 3 years or so. I am fortunate to spend a lot of time on the water but it could always be more. A majority of the votes were for the two categories running from 21-100 days on the water so it appears that many of you fish approximately the same number of days that I do.

A few lucky readers apparently get out a LOT more than I do. A total of 8 people said they fish over 100 days a year. I guess I need to find a house on a trout stream so I can do likewise, or perhaps we could return to the days of cheap gasoline although I'm not counting on it.

Those of you that fell into the first two categories, my deepest sympathies go out to you, particularly to those that fish less than 10 days a year. Of course, I could rub it in and remind you how I eclipsed that number on just one trip, but I'll try to be nice about it instead. So, if you don't get out too often, set yourself a goal next year to increase the number of days you spend on the water.

New Links

I've added some new links over on the sidebar for you to check out. I know you're probably sitting at the office bored out of your mind because it is a Monday. Thankfully there's the Internet and the Trout Zone continues to find the best in fly fishing on the web. Our newest link is to the good people over at the Fly Fish Magazine blog and E-zine. Check 'em out, just don't let the boss catch you doing it when you're supposed to be working...

Last Time

Today was the last chance I have to fish for a couple of weeks now. Semester finals are rapidly approaching and I'll be spending any free time I have trying to study. The last day was nothing exciting unfortunately. I drove over to the Hiwassee and explored a bit before hitting a couple of spots that always produce. Only 5 or so fish were inclined to eat my flies so it was a slow time on the water. All the fish were the usual stocker 'bows, hence the lack of pictures. I assume you all know what those look like by now...

Thankfully, my next time fishing should be somewhere other than the HI. Most likely it will be the SoHo but it is possible that I will be on the Caney for a few hours before that. Regardless, the quality of fishing (well, at least the catching) should be much higher. I'm going for one of those big browns on the SoHo over Christmas break and will be fishing at least a couple of days over there. If things go well, I may have to schedule a bit more time to fish in East Tennessee. I can't wait!!!

Better Than Nothing

Everyone has those days when you're catching fish but they just can't compare with the fish in another location. After being spoiled on my home waters over Thanksgiving break, the rubber trout of the Hiwassee didn't give the same thrill that they sometimes do. For example, if I haven't fished in a few weeks, the Hiwassee is great, and usually I'll catch a few colorful fish that make up for the rest of the dumb stockers. This last weekend wasn't one of those days. All the fish were cookie cutter stockers that looked like this:

When you compare this guy to the fish I regularly catch on my home waters, there's just no comparison.

The day wasn't completely useless as I discovered some very nice browns that should give me a great challenge this winter. If I'm lucky, perhaps I'll eventually catch one of the big boys. Thankfully, Christmas break will be here soon and I'll be back on the Caney and will probably even get some time in on the South Holston. Not a bad way to spend the holidays... Until then, you'll find me at the vise preparing for the festivities.

December 2006, SoHo

The Poll is Back!!!

Let us know how much you fish on average each year! Just respond to the poll on the right...

Black Friday

While the rest of the world was patronizing the shopping centers and malls in search of a great bargain on Christmas gifts, I was off to fish my favorite river yet again. Standing knee-deep in the quiet waters of the Caney was a great alternative to the hustle and bustle of racing from store to store in a continual search for the ultimate deal. The fishing was perfect and the catching was just a nice bonus.

The cool weather was the only downside but I was able to beat it by touching very few fish. That's another great bonus of fishing tiny barbless flies. When you get the fish in, if you are quick with your hands you can just gently grab the hook and with a flick of the wrist remove the hook. The fish is happy to not be touched and you still get the enjoyment of the catch. Of course, I had to take an occasional picture which generally required picking the fish up one way or another.


To make the day better, I had a fishing buddy from East Tennessee that wanted to check out the river. Gerry Romer has been wanting to try out the Caney and since it was his birthday (Happy Birthday Gerry!), he figured it would be the perfect time. He couldn't have picked a better day. The fishing was just ridiculous. There were at least three times that I caught fish on back-to-back-to-back casts just to give you an idea of how crazy it was out there. Nothing huge, but we each caught some nice fish up to around 15 inches.


The big browns are up on the gravel so be extremely careful when wading. It would be nice for the fish to have a successful spawn. A little caution on the part of us fisherman can go a long ways towards making that happen.

As for the specifics on the fishing, we started out downriver from where I usually fish. The morning hours until around noon were spent nailing fish after fish on dries with the normal zebra midge dropper. I was really surprised at how many fish at our dries on Friday. The rumors of good dry fly fishing from the Resident Angler blog were quite accurate and you won't find us complaining about catching fish on top.

In the afternoon, we moved up to just below the dam. This section was not as easy as the morning but we were still catching plenty of fish. After a few extended slow spells, I started experimenting and finally started tearing them up again with a large (for the Caney) nymphs under an indicator. A beadhead Hares Ear nymph in a #16 worked well as did a #14 red Copper John. My best brown came to the BHGRHE near sunset. I was working a good run and had just missed several strikes in a row. Feeling frustrated, I refocused and when the indicator sucked under, I set the hook quickly to find this guy tugging on the other end. He bulldogged for awhile but finally came to hand for a quick picture.


Overall it was a great day on the river and I can't wait until Christmas break so I can do it again!!!

A Rainy Day

Today was the first day of Thanksgiving break. First on the agenda was a trip to the Dentist to check on my tooth I broke on the Hiwassee. As soon as that was done, I decided that I probably should go fishing. Accordingly I headed to the Caney Fork, well aware that it was supposed to rain. The fishing was decent. Not great but not bad either. I wonder how much the weather affected the fishing because it rained for several hours while I was on the water. Thankfully I remembered to bring a rain jacket so I stayed relatively dry.

The fish were a bit funny. I would tie on a new fly and quickly catch a fish but then I wouldn't catch one for awhile. The fish were actively feeding and my suspicion is that each fish in the river was keyed on something completely different.


The browns appear to be spawning (or at least trying to) now which makes for some interesting viewing opportunities. It isn't everyday you can watch big browns role around in skinny water. The rainbows were all healthy and had a lot of fight. More than once I thought I had finally hooked a good 18+ inch fish but it always turned out to be just the usual 12-15 inch fish. For their size, Caney Fork fish are some of the strongest fighting fish I've ever hooked.

Of special interest is that I caught another rainbow with a vivid red stripe. These look much different from the usual rainbows I catch and its always nice to catch something a little unusual. The picture quality is not good as the lens was fogging up but you can get the idea....


I have plans to be on the river again Friday despite the forecast cold temperatures so check back for more in a couple of days...

The Hiwassee Recently

School has finally started to slow down a bit. The bulk of my semester projects and papers have already been finished and turned in. This has freed up a little time for more important things like fishing and catching up on some fly tying. This weekend I tied several dozen flies and today I got in a few hours today on the Hiwassee. The fishing is decent, but not great. The fish are transitioning into cool weather mode where midges become one of the more important bugs to match.

Dry flies are still working fairly well though. Fish were rising well when I arrived on the river in the early afternoon. I tied on a Neversink Caddis for an indicator and the trusty Zebra midge underneath. My first fish soon came to hand thanks to the midge but then I proceeded to nail several on the dry. I also spotted some larger fish so at least a few made it through the summer (and I'd be willing to bet there are quite a few). Until we get a bunch of rain the river should be wadeable most of the time and will continue to provide consistent action. The midge fishing will only get better as we move into winter. Some of my favorite memories on the HI are of cool January or February afternoons where I'm the only one on a river full of fish gorging themselves on the massive hatches of tiny bugs.

I should be able to fish some this upcoming week and will hopefully get in a float on the Caney. Stay tuned for more on that...