Tennessee Tarpon

The Skipjack are running now and fishing for them is a blast. I tried it out for the first time today and had a great time! They hit like a freight train and jump like a rainbow trout...can't get any better than that. On the down side, my cheap 6 wt rod seems to be cracking. I can't tell if it's just the finish or not but regardless, I'll probably have to switch over to my 5 wt for warmwater fishing. Should be interesting...

Caught a few other fish as well...

New Video

Check out the new video I posted below from this past Friday. The white bass were hitting well although it took me awhile to figure things out. The key was a VERY slow retrieve or else they wouldn't touch it. They were feeding heavily on shad and other minnows (see photo below). In addition to the bass, I also caught a nice thick bluegill.

I went again for a little while yesterday and things were slow. The one hit I had was big though. My fly was drifting along nicely when my line stopped and shot forward. I quickly set the hook to find what felt like a swimming rock attached. It bolted downstream ripping line until I was very near to be in my backing. After what seemed like an eternity, I had a large (estimated at around 10 pounds) drum up almost to the bank but couldn't get it to budge any further. Finally, it threw the hook right at my feet. It was a sad moment but then, I wasn't too upset because I've already caught them and I was really wanting to hook a striper. Maybe next time...

Cloudy Day Bass

Hitting the River

I had a couple of hours free this afternoon and made a quick run over to the Tennessee River here in Chattanooga. The fishing is good right now with lots of active fish. I managed a nice largemouth to go along with the usual yellow bass. Unfortunately I had a problem with the camera so no pictures to share...

The largemouth hit a #4 Simi Seal Streamer stripped fairly fast in shallow water and the yellow bass liked a smaller #8 white woolly bugger fished a bit slower. The exciting news is that the stripers are being caught the last few days. According to another fisherman I talked to, there was at one guy that caught nice stripers on 3 consecutive casts at one point. I'm guessing they were probably schooling and chasing baitfish. That is my goal for fishing the river, to catch a striper. Hopefully I'll accomplish that one soon...

I'll be going back to fishing for trout, probably sometime next week, but until then I might make another trip over to the river to look for those stripers. Wish me luck!

Foolish Fish

April Fools should obviously be spent playing a joke on someone or fooling them in some way. I decided that the best way to spend the day would be fooling some fish. Besides, I've been missing the Park a lot lately so I headed up towards Townsend.

After a stop at Little River Outfitters, I was soon on my way into the park to see how the fish were doing. My goal for the spring is to catch a big brown. I didn't get off to a great start yesterday in that category but had fun nevertheless. Oddly, I never even saw any large fish which is unusual, even when I stopped at the pool where I ALWAYS see a big fish or two.

Other than the lack of big fish (at least to my limited searching abilities), it was a beautiful day in the park. The fish were acting a bit strange and not rising as much as I thought they should. Still, I was able to catch a few on a dry fly for the first time in awhile up there. Sadly, the dry fly action has supposedly been awesome recently but it was a little off for me yesterday, not to mention the fact that I needed to shake the rust off of my reflexes. Those wild fish are just a completely different ballgame than what I've fished for over the winter.

The low point of the day for me was watching a nice brown of 13-14 inches take my dropper (a softhackle at that point of the day), and I didn't set the hook in time...only fast enough to feel a brief resistance as the hook pulled free. I even got the fish interested twice more but couldn't get it to commit again. The day had high points as well including a nice rainbow that was a bit larger than the other small fish I was catching. All the rainbows were extremely colorful...

The interesting discovery I made was that the drought really seems to have been good for the browns. I was catching a lot more browns and in places that have always held rainbows in the past. Hopefully we'll see more quality browns for the next couple of years as a benefit of the otherwise bad drought we experienced but time will only tell. Overall I had a great day and can't wait to go again, hopefully in another week or so...

Still Fishing

That's what all, or at least most, of you seem to be doing (according to our recent poll) despite the rising gas prices. Apparently a few are stuck in my boat and limiting both trips and fishing-related purchases/spending. However the majority haven't been affected by the high price for a gallon of gas right now. Perhaps I should open a fund so all of you more fortunate people can donate to poor college students like myself... The Help a Student Go Fishing Trust Fund...I like it!!!

Trout!!!

Spring break was the last time I fished for trout and that was almost a month ago now. This was a problem that needed to be corrected so I finally made it up to the Hiwassee. The river should be turning on really well with big hatches of Hendricksons and a few BWOs along with the usual caddis and I wanted to see how things were coming. The desire to fish dry flies was strong, so strong in fact that when I arrived and only saw a few stray bugs, I tied on a Neversink Caddis in dark brown with a caddis-olive softhackle as a dropper.

The first few casts gave me a rise to the softhackle, but after several more I knew that the fish wouldn't be tearing up the dry. Accordingly, I tied on my early season go-to fly on the Hiwassee, a #16 beadhead black simi seal leech pattern which apparently does a good job imitating all the small dark stonefly nymphs that are active this time of year. This proved to be the ticket and I started hooking fish. Not tearing them up mind you but catching one here and one there at a decent pace.

As the day progressed, I saw a few stray mayflies that looked like they might have been Hendricksons but no large hatch yet. The highlight of the day was catching a fish on the dry. A good hatch of tiny (think #34-#40) yellowish midges was in progress and the fish were taking pupa just under the surface. A small midge dropped under a dry seemed like a good option so I tied on the caddis again for the dry. After completing the new rig, I started working the current tongues just above a hole that usually produces a few rainbows. Suddenly, a shadow floated up off the bottom. I fully expected it to reject my fly but it just kept coming. Suddenly it broke the surface as it inhaled the dry fly. A nice smooth hookset later I had a fish on. It wasn't a monster but it sure was fun...

The river is fishing okay right now but that's it. I caught 14 or 15 fish over the course of the day but it could have been much better if the bugs were hatching. One big guy bumped my fly but couldn't find the hook apparently. The fly of the day was the black simi seal pattern and the water was right around 50 degrees. I'm willing to bet that in another 1-2 weeks, the river will be on fire as far as the hatches are concerned. Rainy or at least cloudy days will be best... Be there...

Big Fish

Since I don't have any great stories to tell, I'm going to send you over to Hugh Hartsell's page. Hugh is an excellent East Tennessee guide and recently posted a report about catching a very nice brown trout over on the South Holston...pictures included... Check it out!

Nothin' Much

That's basically what's been going on with me in the realm of fishing. I've been swamped with school-related stuff for the last several days and it looks like things aren't going to get any better until late Wednesday (big test that afternoon). Thursday looks to be a good day to fish though so I'll probably be heading out to either the HI or maybe the Tennessee River again. The next couple of weekends WILL include some type of fishing and most likely trout unless it rains a lot and the rivers/streams are all blown out.

I've been so busy that I haven't even taken the time to tie any flies for awhile. This warm weather has me thinking about fishing dry flies, and I need to tie a lot of those before I fish anymore. Hopefully that will start happening soon...

Anyway, check back soon in the next few days as spring has arrived in East Tennessee, and I'll be out there trying to make the most of it.

Keeping Fish

While fishing on Thursday, I was able to enlighten a kid that stopped by to watch my buddy and me fish. When he first came up, he asked if I had caught any fish. I replied in the affirmative and added that I had caught several.

What happened next cracked me up but also showed me the general mentality that people have about fishing. The poor kid looked all over for those fish and then asked, "Where are they?" If you can imagine the confusion on his face when he didn't see any fish laying around, then double that confusion to imagine his face when I said, "I let them all go."

I wanted to have a good chuckle, but since this was a good teaching opportunity I resisted. Three or four minutes later, I hooked up on one of my better fish of the day. He watched me fight the fish and then land it and quickly asked if he could have it. I reminded him that I let all my fish go and he seemed fine with that but wanted to hold the fish. Of course this was okay and so he spent a little while admiring the fish and my buddy snapped a quick picture for me and we let it go.

Hopefully that kid will remember that you don't have to keep 'em all.

Heating Up

Things have been heating up here in the Tennessee Valley, both the weather and the fishing. This past Thursday brought on the best fishing I've head yet on the Tennessee River for the bass (white, hybrid, yellow). Right now, large schools of baitfish are finally showing up and the fish are having a heyday feasting on them.

Most fish seem to have a preference for smaller flies right now. I've been fishing a tandem rig with a larger streamer (#4-#6) trailed by a smaller #8 (anything white is good). On Thursday, all but one fish hit the #8. A few stripers are being caught but haven't I hung into one myself, YET... A few larger flies will probably need to be added to my arsenal to try and trick one of these fish so tomorrow, instead of fishing, I'll probably do homework and tie a few flies. This week should see the fishing continue to improve. Hopefully next weekend will allow me to return to the trout streams in the Smokies but until then, I'll continue my quest for a big striper...

Junk and Shame

In fly fishing, there is the purist approach where you fish upstream and with dries only. Often you don't wade but instead walk the stream banks looking for that rising fish to cast to. Then there's that other approach, the one where you use flies that are gaudy and often quite ugly. Of course, there is a lot of middle ground here that one can comfortably negotiate without going all out one way or the other. I fall somewhere between the two extremes but occasionally resort to somewhat questionable methods that always leave me feeling a little guilty.

Most if not all of the "junk" flies actually imitate something the fish might be able to eat. Then why the guilty conscience? As do many fly fisherman, I prefer to fish dry flies but when they aren't rising enough to keep me happy, I'll tie on something else in a heartbeat. In fact, I sometimes get annoyed fishing dries because if the fishing is too good, then I must constantly(or so it seems) be drying the fly or tying on another.

The recent poll suggested that many of you would not want to fish an egg pattern or a SJ worm. I'm guessing that those are probably the ones that are much closer to mastering the art of fly fishing than I am. It is easy and enlightening to view junk flies as a crutch and in my opinion they are (and yet I still use them). That is probably why I feel guilty using them.

The majority are in the same boat as I am and admitted to using these flies on occasion. A few of you disagreed with my assessment of what is and what isn't a junk fly. I'm curious which ones and why if you care to respond. Just hit the comment button and let me know what you think....

Finally, much thanks to the purist out there!!! I was beginning to think that no one that fit that category was going to vote...I applaud you for maintaining the purity of tradition in this fine sport... Hopefully I'll be coming closer to your side of the debate by weaning myself from the use of junk flies although I doubt you'll see me giving up wet flies any time soon...

New poll is up by the way...check it out!

Trouble for TWRA

For those that fish in Tennessee, you know that your license comes from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). It has been brought to my attention via the Little River Outfitter Message Board that Rep. Sherry Jones (D - Nashville) is sponsoring a bill (House Bill 2856) that would abolish TWRA and also would deposit all funds from license sales into the general fund instead of directly back towards enhancing and protecting our waterways and wild areas. Additionally, the state would lose millions of dollars in federal funding that are currently going to TWRA.

This plan is a disaster and I would strongly encourage you to email or call your representative and let them know that you are against it. You can find your representative here. This bill is currently nowhere near a general vote and probably won't get that far as it must go through committees first. Regardless, this is an important issue so let your voice be heard.

New Links

Once again, I have added some links so check them out when you get a chance. The two most recent are the Key West Tarpon Fishing Guide and the Fly Fishing Community.

Good Water Year

The most recent water supply forecasts are out from the National Water and Climate Center and across the west, snowfall has been generally near to well-above average. This year should be great for fishing throughout the Rockies. I'm starting to work on figuring out how to have another trip to Colorado this year...wish me luck!

Tough Days

Days where you seem to catch fish every cast are a lot of fun albeit unrealistic. Yes, it usually takes at least some type of skill to have great days even when the fish are "on." However, it is the slow days that really show you where you are at. March has started out tough for me. On Monday, the 3rd, I took a quick trip to the Smokies.

I had a tough time bringing a couple of fish to hand on nymphs. One of my problems seems to have been that I fished Abrams creek for awhile in the afternoon. It probably would have been better to stick to Little River. The water I covered on Abrams apparently had already been fished through earlier in the day (which I naturally didn't find out until after the fact) which made things very tough. Then again, it just seemed like one of those days where things aren't working well for me.

It happened again yesterday. A buddy and I went up to Upper East Tennessee to fish the South Holston and Watauga. Unfortunately, both rivers were still suffering the effects of the recent heavy rains and where anywhere from stained to muddy depending on where you were fishing in relation to the dams. On the South Holston, the fish were feeding heavily but it didn't seem to make any difference. I only managed a couple fish over the course of the day, a small 'bow and a small brown.

Knowledge and observation is the key to succeeding on the water. Both of my recent fishing trips I was lacking in both categories. Unfortunately, it was more in the knowledge than the observation. If I had brought the appropriate fly patterns, I believe that I could have been catching plenty of fish on the SoHo. Blackflies were hatching in large numbers and at least one riffle had good numbers of rusty spinners hovering over it but not many fish were in that particular water. The blackflies were my main trouble. I had some good larva patterns and they produced several takes throughout the afternoon but I was having trouble hooking up. Late in the day, I believe the fish switched mainly to taking the adults and this is where my troubles began. No patterns equals no fish. It was fairly obvious what was hatching and what the fish wanted but I didn't have anything even close to a good match. That won't happen again. Next time I'll have some appropriate patterns ready and the fish will be more willing. Until then, I'll be at the vise getting ready...

Tricked

Well, it was so cold yesterday that I lost a fish...a really nice fish as in a big 18-20 inch trout. Mother nature tricked me though, making me think it was nice out. Seriously, it wasn't all that cold when I started fishing. To celebrate the start of spring break (should be called winter break), I went down to check out the Caney Fork river for a couple of hours. I started out up near the dam with a shad pattern. Despite the dead and dying shad floating lazily along, the fish didn't really seem interested. Oh, and did I mention that it wasn't that cold? In fact, it felt much nicer than I expected.

Finally I decided to head downriver and make the switch to smaller flies. The midge hatch seemed to be an all day event. That probably had to do with the cool (not cold, YET) air temps and clouds not to mention that occasional rain and drizzle. The fish were feeding heavily on the small bugs which seemed odd with all the giant meals floating along.

Anyway, I made the transition on down the river. After tying on a new leader more suited to fishing midges, I soon made my way down to the water and was soon caught up in the business of landing fish. The fish acted like they were starving. Oh, and it was starting to feel cold out.

Then IT happened, the worst thing when your hands start getting cold. My tippet, fly and indicator became horribly tangled. There's only one solution for this disaster and I bravely began the long and tedious process of retying. My left hand was so cold at this point that I couldn't use my thumb and index finger to grasp things much at all. Knot tying became an incredible adventure taking closer to 20 minutes instead of the usual 20 seconds it takes to tie on new tippet AND a fly.

My effort was not in vain though. I soon was catching even more fish than before. I worked my way slowly upriver and then back down. Then I saw the fish. It was feeding in 3-4 feet of water and the flashing side gave it away as a really nice one. I made the cast upstream of this fish a bit farther than I normally would because I knew these big fish tend to cruise instead of staying in one spot. Indeed, my indicator sunk almost immediately and the fight was on. My poor numb hands just couldn't compete with the muscle and grace of the nice fish. It was pulling a lot of line and I was having a hard time operating the fly reel. With these larger fish, the smallest bit of slack means the end of the fight and my quick fight was no different. I was left only with a memory and slight irritation. A perfectly good chemical handwarmer was sitting up in the car but I had been too lazy to go retrieve it. There were gloves in the trunk but, yeah, too lazy....

Too add insult to injury, I worked back upstream and on the return trip down, I hooked either the same fish or one very similar again! This battle was even more brief...I finally realized that it wasn't healthy for my hands to get that cold and I called it a day around sunset...

Despite my losses, I still caught plenty of nice fish. Also, over the course of the afternoon, I did see one huge brown crashing the dead/dying shad on the surface. I guess I'll just have to get back soon to try again. This next week is going to provide some unsettled weather. This time, I'll be better prepared to stay warm. Just because it doesn't feel to cold at first doesn't mean it won't get colder...

New Poll

There is yet another poll...I'm wondering how many purists are out there... Do you use "junk" flies or not? Or maybe you don't agree with my definition of junk flies...if not, let me know where I went wrong...or let me know about the evils of using these flies...

Too Cold

A front was pushing through the area today. This morning it actually felt quite warm out and I was hoping that it would turn out to be a nice day. By the middle of the afternoon, the front had passed and left us with a brisk northwest wind and mostly cloudy skies. I knew right away that no one else would be out fishing today so I headed over to my new fishin' hole to catch some more fish.

After an hour fishing, I'd had enough but not before catching two fish. The wind was a pain to cast in but even worse because it made it feel much colder than it really was. Earlier this winter I fished when it was in the 20's out and my guides were icing up. I actually felt warmer then than I did today. It was all the sweeter because I caught fish on a new pattern I dreamed up the other day. Basically it was a red tag off the back end, wrap orange egg yarn for the body, and then a sparse wing of brown over white bucktail. Of course, I also suspect that warmwater fish are a lot dumber than trout and will eat just about anything so it has yet to be seen if it is a good fish producer. Today could have been a coincidence.


Thankfully, I won't be heading back much more for a couple weeks. That's because I'll be out chasing TROUT which is really my favorite...ahhhhh, spring break!!!

Back on the Water

My intentions have been good all along. I've been planning on going back to the Smokies to check for lake run fish and to just enjoy fishing for those wild trout. This weekend it finally happened. On Sunday I drove up to the park and hit a small stream and also checked a larger stream for lake run fish. I finished off the day with my first time on the Hiwassee this year.

The first stream I checked out was fairly slow but I still carefully worked the water, hitting every likely hole, pocket and run. Finally, as I was working upstream in full stealth mode, I saw the light gray color in the water ahead of me that looked like a feeding 'bow. As soon as it moved from side to side, I knew for sure it was a fish. Apparently it was hungry and I got more than one opportunity. My first try should have spooked the fish since I felt the strike and gave a solid hook set. The fish was set on continuing the feast though and soon I got another good drift and it ate. After a quick fight, I brought a beautiful rainbow to hand. I was struck by how skinny this fish was, maybe it was a post-spawn fish. After admiring it and snapping 2 quick pictures, I slipped the fish back into the water and watched it dart away.

So much better than a stocked trout...

My day would have been perfect with just that one fish. A stop at lower Abrams Creek was in order however. On the drive in, at least 5 Blount County Sheriff cars passed me. Later at the parking lot in the park, two more drove in in a hurry and after consulting, left again. I don't know what was going on but it was odd to say the least.

I didn't even end up fishing on Abrams. My rod came out of the car and I was thoroughly prepared but a slow walk along the banks of the stream yielded no fish sightings. This part of the stream won't have many if any trout except perhaps in the colder months when fish may move up from the lake. Also, it is a bit early for smallmouth. I was hoping to find lake run fish but it wasn't to be on this day.

It was only the middle of the afternoon when I left Abrams so I headed back down highway 411 on my way back to the Chattanooga area. The Hiwassee was conveniently located on the way back so I decided I should check it out. The first stop was at the powerhouse where one small rainbow was curious enough to check out my fly. Later on I moved down to the Big Bend area and picked up two more rainbows. I'm giving this river 2 more weeks before things bust loose. For superb spring dry fly action, this is the place to be if you want somewhere relatively close to Chattanooga and other points south.


As far as the bugs I saw, in the mountains there were midges of course along with a few stray stoneflies and maybe a couple caddis. On the HI, it was about the same but probably even fewer bugs (except for midges, there were good numbers of those). Like I said, this should all change very soon, no more than 3 weeks unless we enter an ice age. Once the hatches start, I'll try to keep you up to date on what is happening where.

I'm more excited for the spring hatches than I can ever remember being and I'll try to get to the Smokies as often as possible. Hopefully this will be the spring of a big brown for me. I've yet to break 20 inches in the Park so that is my goal. There may be a few big rainbows left as well. Most of those didn't do so well in the drought last year but the few that are left provide some nice surprises this spring. Last spring, I broke off on a rainbow that was at least 18 inches which is a monster for the park. I'm afraid it probably didn't survive the summer but I'll be back to find out.

A Full Moon, An Eclipse, and Good Fishing

Last night was the last lunar eclipse until 2010. Naturally I wondered if the fish would be at all affected by the phenomena but was too busy trying to take pictures of the eclipse to go fishing. Unfortunately I still don't have a good zoom lens for my DSLR but still had fun trying to get some pictures.

Today was supposed to be one of the top fishing days of the month based on the solunar fishing tables so at the last minute I decided to run down to my new fishing hole and try my luck. The fishing was solid, not great but definitely worth the trip. Here's a few pictures from the afternoon...

Coming Up...

I've been slacking off a little lately but there's plenty of good stuff coming. James Marsh from Fly Fishing the Great Smoky Mountains sent me some DVDs to check out so expect a review on those coming up as I have time. I've already watched a large portion of the DVD on fishing dry flies in the Smokies. So far it has been great and has made me want to go hit up some trout streams. I might have to scratch that itch sometime soon...

In fact, this weekend or early next week should see me having enough time to make a Smokies trip, probably to look some more for lake run fish. When I find the fish, you'll be the first to find out so check back often for those reports...

Also, I'm hoping to do a review of an excellent article on the water problems out West. That one will take a bit longer probably although I might get it done this weekend. In between all these other things, I still have to at least pretend to study occasionally and also get in some fishing locally as well...

Finally, I want to apologize for any spelling problems in my recent and current posts. The spell-check feature is on the blink for Blogger and I've been too lazy to resort to other methods. I don't really have the time to do a thorough job proof reading so my apologies to everyone that hates reading something full of spelling and grammatical errors...

The Last Few Days

A tough weekend for fishing purposes meant that I didn't have any good updates for this week. My problem was a big exam I had on Monday that I needed to study for. I had been hoping to float the Caney and throw shad patterns for monster fish but that didn't happen (I have heard that the shad are coming through the turbines though so if you've got a boat, go float the Caney NOW!). Thankfully, I was able to get away Tuesday afternoon this week and again today to try out my skills on fish other than trout some more. Both trips had some great highlights...

On Tuesday, I caught one of the ugliest fish I've ever caught. It was my first Freshwater Drum which was definitely fun to catch at least once. Now that I've caught one, I don't really care to catch many more though. Both trips, I've also caught several Yellow Bass and Hybrids.

Tuesday's trip was interesting because the shad were coming through the dam in large numbers. The fish were absolutely gorging themselves and the first Hybrid I caught started coughing up shad (see picture below). Later in the day, I saw at least one very nice striper rolling down below me, and a guy with a Spey rod showed up and eventually caught what looked like a 6-7 pound fish from the same general area. Today I tried that area to no avail but did "catch" an interesting fish.

I had been casting downstream to where several fish appeared to be feeding when I looked off to my side in the slack water and saw a fish just sitting there. It appeared to be some type of gar or perhaps a pickerel. Carefully, I reached back and unfastened my net and slipped it into the water behind the fish. The fish appeared lethargic, maybe because the water was cold or maybe because it was sick. Regardless, I was able to net it and we got a quick picture of what appears to be a gar. Anyone here know much about these fish? I'd be interested in hearing exactly what type of gar you think this is...

Something New

Trout are easily my favorite fish to target on the fly. Unfortunately, the nearest trout water is around 50 miles away regardless of whether I'm at home or at school. This reality combined with high gas prices has me looking at alternative fishing trips. Today I checked out a new spot for cool- and warm-water species such as bass and panfish. The fishing turned out slow but it was fun to get out and try something new. I even caught my first white bass ever!!! Hopefully I'll be back to try again soon and maybe I'll find some smallies or largemouth or even some stripers. The best thing is, it is close enough that I can literally go any day I want to now. That means fishing in the morning before class and in the late afternoon after class is a distinct possibility. Of course, I'll have to keep a little time free to study, but who needs to do that when you could be fishing...???

Exploring Gone Wrong, Very Very Wrong

First stream where I caught a few

My recent urge to explore finally got me into trouble. I've had my eye on a remote tributary stream somewhere in East Tennessee that is hard to get to and finally got around to looking for it. When I say "looking for it," that is because there is no trail to the stream making the job much harder (at least, not by the most direct route). There's a very good reason for that however. There are two options for a trail, up and over a towering mountain (that's what it seemed like anyway) or along a steep sidehill where falling means ending up in a lake. Yeah, that's the hint of the day by the way but trust me, you don't want to go to this stream even if you figure out where it is.

I wandered the backroads to where I was planning to start hiking and parked the car. Another stream had already been visited and I was still in my wading attire. That was mistake #1, and #2 followed closely behind as I didn't switch to hiking shoes. Then again, I had yet to learn what I was getting myself into. As most of you are undoubtedly aware of, steep hills and felt wading boots don't mix well, especially when those hills are covered in leaves and pine needles.

My cheerful hike was soon in progress and I was making good time for about 100 feet when I made mistake #3. It stands to reason that it would be easier to just follow the contours instead of hustling up and over the ridge right? Wrong...and boy did I pay for it. Things started out pretty well as I found myself walking gingerly along a game trail that angled down towards the water's edge but then it just faded out. Of course, I knew better than to trust a "trail" like that, but hey, hope springs eternal.

Things began deteriorating a bit more rapidly from this point on. The sidehill got worse and worse and I was reduced to falling on my butt every 5-10 steps or so, sometimes much more. This continued for about a half a mile as I more and more cautiously worked my way around the mountain looming above me, always towards the promised land of fish that have never seen a fly. "It can't get any worse," I kept telling myself. It should be obvious by now that this was mistake #4 and things did indeed get worse.

About this time I realized that the extreme exertion it was taking to make any headway at all had resulted in an extreme case of thirst. I just knew that death from a lack of water (which I should have brought with me) was now stalking me if I didn't fall off the side of the mountain into the lake and drown first. This was mistake #5 and almost #6. Yet another game trail had presented itself and I was creeping along a mere 10-15 feet above the water which was quite deep at this point. Falling in would have resulted in swimming and probably for a long ways. Wearing waders and my vest meant this would be a huge problem. The goal then was clearly to NOT fall in. Did I mention mistake #5? The game trail literally shrank down to about 1 inch wide for a few feet before regaining the 4-5 inches that allowed slow progress. I was pretty sure I could make it because the other side was so close. Just one step on dangerous sidehill and then my other foot would be across and gaining traction on solid ground. I made the lunge and my foot flew out from under me.

As I tossed my fly rod up the hill away from danger, I glanced down and was reminded that there was NOTHING below me to stop me from falling into the water ...just a nice drop into oblivion. I flung my hand towards my last remaining hope and found myself hanging over the precipice by one arm and wondering how in the world I got myself into this predicament. The tree I was hanging onto was only about 2 inches in diameter, and I was hoping that it wouldn't pull out of the hill. With my other hand, I reached up and pushed my fly rod farther up the hill to avoid having it fall in the lake. Next, I put my rock climbing skills to good use, slowly and painfully pulling myself back up to my starting point. And I kept going... I was done inching along over the lake with every step taken in danger of falling in. Onward, ever onward I climbed until I found the remains of an old trail part way up the hill and foolishly pressed on towards my goal. This was mistake #6. I was exhausted and every step seemed to take the last bit of energy I had left. Nevertheless I pressed on until I found myself staring down towards my goal far below me. When I saw that the deep water continued on back even further and to reach the actual stream, I would have to climb down (and of course back up) an extremely steep hill, I decided that enough is enough. Disillusioned, I turned away and faced the mountain that was now between me and my car.

Incredibly I began to climb up, higher and higher until I felt completely exhausted. My thirst had reached an all new high and I felt the beginnings of heat exhaustain setting in. I started to feel naseauted and realized that I had to take a rest. Sitting down never felt so good and then I just reclined against the side of the mountain, glad to have a moment of peace in this torturous journey. After about 20 minutes, I felt able to keep moving and began inching on up the side of the mountain. Never in my life has reaching the top of a mountain felt so good. While I wasn't back to my car, I knew the worst part of the ordeal was over. If you're going downhill, at least you can just enter a half-crouch and slide down when the going gets too steep. When I stumbled back onto the road where I had left my car, I used my little remaining energy to unlock my car and latch onto a Nalgene that was full of life-giving water. Several minutes and a liter of water later, things were looking up and already I was plotting how to return. That will most likely be mistake #7 but on the other hand, I could find a hidden jewel of a trout stream.

This trek into the untamed wilds of Tennessee was the worst part of the day but it literally added insult AND injury TO injury. While fishing the previous stream that I had actually made it to, I stepped on a large flat rock that looked solid. It was covered with leaves and was basically level leading me into the dangerously incorrect assumption that it was fine to walk on. What I didn't notice was the spring on the upper end of the rock which had soaked the whole rock under the leaves and several steps into crossing, the whole mass of leaves decided to slide at once and I took The Fall. The resulting crash probably registered as an earthquake on one of the USGS seismographs and left me sore all over.

Rock where I took "The Fall"

Closeup of the slide zone from The Fall. Where you now see bare rock used to be completely covered in a blanket of leaves before I took the tumble...

And then the journey of agony happened, first around the mountain and almost into the lake and then back over the mountain...

When I woke up today, I felt like I had been hit by a freight train which is probably what it feels like to be a professional football player. This was one thing I never expected from the quiet sport... Yet, I still plan on going back...hopefully it will be worth my time!!!

Lake-run Rainbows

Today, I officially began my quest for lake-run rainbows. I've been hearing plenty of stories about the great fishing opportunities they present and while we may not have salmon and steelhead runs like the West Coast or the tributaries of the Great Lakes, there are still some decent possibilities to explore. Many of the streams take some effort to get to and I'm hoping to get in some backpacking trips soon to check those out. Even the ones that don't require an overnight trip take a bit of effort to get to. Today I drove for what seemed like eternity through the winding backroads of the Appalachians. The drive was nice though a bit too winding for it to be a quick trip...

The end result proved worth the wait. I found just a few large fish in the stream of choice but they were actively feeding making my job easier. Only one (of the big guys anyway) was gracious enough to let me land it but one of the ones I hooked was almost as memorable. I was drifting a copper john with a midge dropper through a run where I had spotted an actively feeding fish when my line stopped dead and shot upstream. My feeble attempts at putting on the breaks did absolutely nothing as the fish muscled its way on upstream before shortly throwing the tiny midge. The fish I did land was gorgeous but was missing a chunk of tail from some past brush with danger...

Hopefully there will be a lot more fish in this creek in the near future. There's only one way to find out though so I'll make the sacrifice and check back soon so everyone can know that someone is out there having fun...

Whirling Disease Conquered?

The Colorado DOW has been working on the problem of whirling disease for awhile now and may finally have a breakthrough. For the past few years, they've been developing and subsequently stocking a new strain of rainbow that appears resistant to the disease. Now they have announced the discovery of natural reproduction of the disease-resistant fish. The fish were found in the Gunnison River and also in ponds along the Frying Pan River while doing the annual electroshocking surveys.

"They were plump, colorful fish, they looked good," said Barry Nehring, an aquatic researcher for the DOW in Montrose who has been working on whirling disease since 1994. "This is indicative that we've had successful reproduction."

This is great news since I love fishing the Gunnison. The last time I was there, I caught lots of browns up to 18 or 19 inches which is fun and all, but the lone rainbow I caught was a reminder of the river's heyday when lots of big rainbows were the norm. Hopefully the good news will continue as they do more research...

Continual Lack of Fishing

Benton Falls

I'm officially sick of school, mainly just because it cuts into my fishing time though. I had planned on fishing this last Sunday but my responsible side kicked in and made me study instead. Thankfully I was able to get out and hike a bit on Saturday so the weekend wasn't a complete disaster.

Hiking

The result of a 4.5 mile hike...

The most recent poll here at the Trout Zone closed last night and I was actually surprised at the results. By far, the most popular response (right at 50%) was that you would hike up to about 5 miles roundtrip on a daytrip into the backcountry. Good thing for me because a lot of my shorter daytrips are just beyond that range. Still, a quarter of the votes were cast for the 6-10 mile roundtrip category and a few of you even voted for the type of trips I like to do, roundtrip of over 10 miles.

Now, that isn't the norm but it does produce some of the most spectacular results short of doing an overnight type trip. Those of you that stay within a couple of miles of the trailhead are missing out on some excellent opportunities. I understand that some people may be limited for various reasons but the rest of you who are just lazy, I want to say thanks for leaving the best fishing for me...

Standard pack for a daytrip

Getting Behind

On average, I fish at least once a week and often more. This new year has seen a slow start for me on the fishing scene though and I'm definitely behind compared to past years. Generally I get in a few extra days in early January before I head back to school but this year, unfavorable generation schedules really limited my time on the water. Fortunately, things seem to be looking better. Last Sunday I had a great trip to the Caney Fork and this coming Sunday, I'm hoping to spend some time on the water as well. In keeping with my hopes of more small stream action this year, I'm thinking about hitting some small streams. My other option of course is the Hiwassee which I haven't visited for awhile. The one good thing about going there is that it is close, just about the closest trout water in fact.

Also in what I hope is the near future, I'll be starting on my late winter and spring backpacking and camping trips. I'm looking to check out some new water this year and the best way to do this is on a weekend trip since most of the streams are at minimum a two hour drive.

Perhaps this Sunday I'll check out a stream for some lake-run fish. That sounds like a lot of fun...I think I'll do it!!!

Glad to NOT be in Yellowstone

Temperatures across Wyoming were bitterly cold this morning. For once I'm glad to NOT be in Yellowstone. It was -39 at the Canyon Ranger Station compared to a relatively balmy -17 at Mammoth. On the plus side, the water supply in Yellowstone is looking great for next summer with current predictions stating that

The Upper Yellowstone, Snake, Shoshone, Clarks Fork, Little Snake, and Laramie Watersheds are expected to see normal to above normal snowmelt stream volumes this spring and summer.

After the low flows and warm water temperatures last summer, this is some of the best news in awhile...

Fishin' When it is Cold

Fishing has long been a year-round hobby for me but many people prefer to stay inside and keep warm when the temperature plummets in the middle of winter. That's too bad because they are missing out on some fantastic fishing, especially in the tailwaters where the steady water temperature insures a year long supply of bugs for the trout to munch on. Even the mountain streams can provide a good time because those fish still have to eat even when it is cold although probably not as much.

My biggest challenge when fishing during cold weather has always been staying warm. I don't really like fishing with gloves because I feel it really limits my dexterity for casting and also for playing the fish. For awhile I used half-finger gloves while fishing when it was cold but when I lost one of the gloves, I started searching for a better solution. This past weekend, I found a very reasonable solution to the glove problem. Recently, I bought a nice cheap pair of warm gloves (Thinsulate) to try out for cold weather fishing and Sunday was my second time trying them out on the water. The first time I didn't like them very much but it was much colder this past Sunday and I knew that without gloves of some type, I wouldn't be on the water very long.

Starting out, I wore them on both hands but was still having a bit of a difficult time controlling my line. It was after a couple fish (when I naturally had to remove a glove anyway) that I decided to go without on my left hand glove for awhile. This worked out great since the glove on my right hand was collecting all the water off of the line as I stripped it in. As long as you keep your hands thoroughly dry, they will stay warm longer. Best of all, I was out there catching fish and not freezing in the process.

Two other suggestions on keeping your hands warm are to take something to dry your hands on and to take and use hand warmers. I did both and the hand warmer in particular worked wonders. It is always difficult to tie knots in cold weather. The hand warmer not only kept my hands warm but in so doing also contributed significantly to my ability to change flies comfortably.

Another suggestion on fishing in cold weather is to rig up at home. This option isn't for everyone and by doing this you will be guessing blindly what the fish will want. If you guess wrong, you won't be catching fish until you change flies. It worked out great for me though on Sunday. Knowing the river you will be fishing definitely helps in making this a viable option.

I'm still working on solutions to the fly reel freezing up everytime you catch a fish but I suspect the only solutions either include not going fishing in the first place or not catching fish. Ice in the guides and reel are just part of the game when the weather gets cold...

Ice Fishing

Going home for the weekend always has the bonus of being able to fish the Caney and this last weekend was no exception. I didn't get as much time as usual due to other obligations but it was still a great opportunity to be on the water. I headed down Sunday morning and arrived on the river around 11:00. The first thing I noticed was that the fish were feeding heavily on or very near the surface. The surface of the river was covered with small midges and the fish were having a feast. The cold temperatures (air temperature in the 20's) made it difficult for the bugs to get off the surface once they hatched and the fish were taking advantage of the banquet presented to them.

The fact that the fish were feeding high in the water column was exciting because I had done something that I've never done before; tie on flies at home (where it was warm of course) and I had gambled on a midge hatch where Zebra Midges would work well. The fish approved and I was soon catching fish after fish. There were several large fish cruising and making quite a ruckus every time they broke the surface in their pursuit of the tiny bugs. The funny thing was, I had probably 6-7 fish that I thought were large when I first set the hook. Caney Fork fish seem to pull as hard or harder than any other trout I've ever fished for and yesterday they were in fine form. Several fish were landed in the 14-15 inch range and each time I was ready to proclaim that I had a bruiser on before I actually saw them. The one brown I landed I honestly thought was at LEAST 18 inches. Despite the fact that none of the fish turned out to be more than 15 inches (or maybe 16 if I stretched them out a little), it was still a great day on the water.


I even learned a few things. Later on I'll share some more of the cold weather wisdom I gained, but most importantly you should know that your reel WILL freeze up every time you hook an especially hard-fighting fish (this is actually a corollary to Murphy's Law). Also, your guides will generally be completely iced up just about the time a fish takes the fly (again closely related to Murphy's Law). Despite these minor annoyances, it IS possible to fish in cold weather and have a good time and even stay warm in the process.


One thing I feel it is important to point out, if you're going to take a picture of a fish when it is this cold, please leave the fish in the water until the last possible minute before you take the picture. Even better, as in the picture of the 'bow, leave the fish in the water (shallow water works great to corral the fish) to take that picture so water completely covers the eyes and gills...

Getting Ready

Spring is just around the corner and since I'm in school and unable to fish as much as I would like, I'm working on preparing for the next season by tying flies and planning trips. Just in time to help out with the preparation, James Marsh is adding some new material to his Fly Fishing the Great Smoky Mountains site.

My favorite addition is definitely the new "Hatches Made Easy" section that is still being constructed on a daily basis. Many Smokies fisherman often stick to a few standard patterns and while they may do well most of the time, there's always slow times and of course, always the chance for improvement. Paying closer attention to what the fish are really keyed on will help improve your success on the stream...

The Weekend

My weekend did not contain any fishing but hopefully next weekend will be different. While I didn't fish, I did manage to take advantage of the nice weather and get out for a bit of hiking and photography. I found some nice water (which doesn't contain trout unfortunately) but really could never do the scene justice with the camera. Here is a sample of one of my attempts...


Another nice photo opportunity presented itself and after experimenting a little with the possibilities, I had a friend snap a picture of me as well...

The sunset gave some of the nicest lighting of the day...

While I won't be able to head to any of those small streams that I'm looking forward to, next weekend I'll likely be home so another trip to the Caney Fork my be in the near future for me... Soon after that, I'll be starting to do trips to the Smokies and to some other small streams in the Cherokee NF... I can't wait!!!

Things Have Been Slow

The fishing side of life has been a little slow for me as of late and I apologize for the lack of new material. I'm getting back into the swing of things at school but I'm taking fly fishing as a class so things aren't looking entirely down. I'll even have to take a field trip to go fishing which will get me out of other regular classes...

While you're checking out my blog, please weigh in on the newest poll. I'm curious about how far everyone else out there will hike on a day trip so let me know!!!

Water Revisited

As I mentioned recently, things are looking much better as far as the water situation is concerned in the Smokies. To further bring home the severity of the drought and also the current improvement in water levels, I searched through my old photos for one of a favorite run that I took during the drought. On Christmas day, I took several more to compare. Here are the resulting pictures...first is during some of the worst part of the drought in September 2007.

The following picture contains the same section which is of course tight to the far bank. Notice the lack of flow in the above picture and the nice holding water that exists at "normal" water levels. I've caught browns up to around 12 inches in this run so it is good to see some water in it again.

Here's a closeup for easier comparison...

For yet another view of this run, it is featured as our current Photo of the Month for January.

Fishing in 2008

Following the theme of change so prevalent in the presidential primary campaigns, 2008 is going to be about change for me on the fishing scene. I'm going back to my beginnings as a fly fisherman so to speak, back to the smaller streams and eager trout. Perhaps putting it more succinctly, less fishing on the tailwaters. Sure, I'll still fish the Caney when I'm home on the weekend occasionally and probably will still try to make it up to the Cumberland if they ever quit running water. I'll probably even make a trip or two up to the upper east Tennessee tailwaters. However, more than anything I want to spend my time back in the woods and hills of east Tennessee chasing the wild jewels that inhabit our streams.

I want to try some different flies and better learn how to fish some of the more technical hatches. This of course will undoubtedly involve learning some new techniques. Also, not only will I be fishing my favorite mountain streams, I also want to explore new ones, maybe even find a new favorite. This will involve a lot of time in the backcountry, both on day trips and longer overnight type trips as well. I have plans to experience more of what the Smokies have to offer. Specifically, I plan on checking some rumors of lake run fish on the south side of the park and all those streams that drain into Fontana Lake. Of course, I've been saying that I intend to do these trips for awhile so time will only tell if I really make it. I better start planning now so it happens...