Gunnison Trout Part II

The Gunnison River was very good to my buddy Trevor and I on our most recent trip out west. Recall that day one involved figuring out the hot pattern and lots of good brown trout. Day two started out with a trip down to the river. While at the Gunnison, it was a guarantee that I'd be down at the river fishing at every opportunity. Great fishing will do that to me...everything else becomes unimportant including heading back to camp for the occasional snack or water break.

The real draw here was the constant possibility of a monster fish. By some point on the second morning, I had already stuck 3 fish that were easily over 20 inches and at least one of those would have cleared 24 inches. The most frustrating of these was one that towed me all over the river before throwing the hook. The other two fights were much more brief but still disappointing. During the afternoon and evening of the second day we headed back out to water. A quick trip to the fly shop in town had added to the supply and diversity of materials for the hot pattern. One hour after returning to camp I was armed with 20 new midge patterns tied up in a variety of colors to match the prevailing bugs on the water.

It took awhile to get going again and strangely the first fish took a bright orange scud. I had been creeping ever so slowly down the bank when I looked down. Nearly at my feet was a nice rainbow facing downstream into a small back eddy up against the bank. After gently backing up so the cast wouldn't spook the fish, I made a couple casts. The fourth cast was perfect but I was surprised to see the fish move towards the scud instead of my new magical midge pattern. Arguing with a fish that wants to eat your fly is useless so I set the hook and quickly played the fish to the net for a quick picture. Later on it would take much longer to land my best rainbow of the day.

I had been nymphing in my favorite run in the East Portal vicinity when the indicator dove under. Gently lifting the rod brought an explosion from the depths as the big rainbow took the the air. After gaining a bit of control I figured the fight might not be too bad. These hopes were soon dashed as the brute tore out into the main current with another spectacular leap. I gave chase and soon found myself a around 200 feet downstream from where I originally hooked the fish. With a huge midstream boulder blocking downstream progress if the fish went on the far side of it, I decided to make my stand regardless of what happened. Thankfully all the knots held and I soon released a gorgeous 19 inch Gunnison rainbow.

As evening approached we returned to the best two runs on the river and continued to slay the fish. The strange part about day two was that the frequency at which we caught brown trout was plummeting while the percentage of rainbows was up sharply. This would be the pattern for the rest of the trip. We still caught browns on the Gunny but the majority of the fish were rainbows after the first day. As darkness fell, we stumbled wearily back to camp, exhausted from catching fish in the hot canyon all afternoon. Oh what a tough life...

Headwater Streams and the Perfect Fly Store

James Marsh is at it again. In addition to many updates for his sites on fly fishing in the Smokies and Yellowstone, he has started an online store to sell the patterns that are demonstrated in his "Perfect Fly" series on tying. Those that have checked out the DVDs on tying the "Perfect" fly know that he has developed a system of tying that allows one to learn a few basic fly patterns and adapt them to any specific species by just altering the color and size. His new site will allow those that don't tie their own to purchase these patterns for the first time.

In addition to the new store, updates to the "Headwater Streams" portion of his site continue to roll out frequently. The most recent is an interesting one on Enloe Creek. I've never fished this stream but have been close while fishing Raven Fork. This is one of the most beautiful places I've been in the park and the grueling hike up and over a ridge to get there insures that you won't have huge crowds to contend with once you arrive. The hike in makes this a better overnight option although I have done it as a day trip. If you want to look for larger than average brookies, this is one of the better places to try. Beware though that the area is extremely rugged and if you run into trouble you can't count on help any time soon...

A Quiet Pool On Raven Fork

School Is Now In Session

Student teaching has been going well so far with my one complaint involving how ridiculously early schools start these days. Despite enjoying being in the classroom, I still enjoy my weekends and would not want to spend them at school. The exception to this is when I decide to school some fish.

This weekend was a blur of driving, visiting friends and family, cutting down a couple trees, and just when I thought that was enough, I decided that I better throw in some fishing. Spending the weekend at Nashville has advantages and disadvantages. The main disadvantage being that it is a bit farther then I really like to drive on a weekend but that mainly stems from pure laziness. The most obvious advantage is that I can swing by the Caney Fork on the way back to Chattanooga and only be going slightly out of my way.

I arrived on the stream somewhere around 2:00 pm Central time and quickly got into some brookies. Quickly growing tired of these easy targets, I decided to take the game into some technical slow moving water where nice browns like to sit and feed just above the lush weedbeds. My Legend Ultra 7'6" 3 weight was the perfect tool for stalking these wary fish, and in the end they proved to be no match for the deadly zebra midge. I caught several nice browns to about 15" or 16". Strangely all were females and as fat as they were, I strongly suspect they are full of eggs or at least getting there as the spawn is most likely just around the corner.

Several of the fish buried themselves in the thick weeds on the bottom of the river and it was only through a lot of effort that I wrestled them back up and to the surface. As a side note, I am extremely impressed with Rio Fluoroflex Plus tippet material. It is cheaper than the Seaguar Grand Max that I like so much and is also exceptionally strong. I didn't lose a single fish today and I believe that a lot of that is because of the quality of the tippet.

Days like this are fun, because for every day where I catch plenty, there are lots of other days where I work hard for just a handful of fish at best. Eventually all good things must come to an end. I had to hit the road on towards Chattanooga, but it had been a great day! Next weekend may include some more adventures. This time of year I really like to go camping so I may try to do that. Of course, some fishing is a given and it will most likely be an east Tennessee freestone stream in the mountains...

Sunset Beats the Fishing

Monday evening was spent down on the river somewhere below Chickamauga dam. The fishing was great although the catching was slow. Sometimes what makes a trip is unrelated to the actual fishing though...

Where Should I Go Fishing?

Our latest poll will allow you to decide what kind of fishing report you want to see. My October break is just around the corner and I'll have a week off to do whatever I want. I'll probably try to fish at least two different locations over this break. Help me decide at least one of those locations from the options provided or reply here to suggest another that is not far from East Tennessee. Just vote in the new poll to let me know where I should go...

Colorado Sampler Part 2

Now that everyone has probably forgotten all about my glorious trip (yes I am gloating), I'm going to bring it back up. I promised some more stories from Colorado so here's part 2. Recall that our first stop was at the Taylor River and while we caught fish, things were not quite as good as last year. Last year there was one river we didn't get to fish. I was quite disappointed because the Gunnison is probably one of my favorites. This made up for last year and then some.

Our first day on the Gunnison consisted largely of moving and setting up camp, but in the evening we got in a few hours of fishing. We made our way downriver from the campground as the shadows crept up the towering canyon walls. When we started fishing, it took a little time to get things figured out, but it was worth the effort.

We were camping at East Portal which is as far upriver as you can go in the Black Canyon National Park and the only place in the park where you can drive to the river. The fishing here is generally considered technical with small midge patterns accounting for a lot of the success. As you go downriver, hopper/dropper rigs begin to work better. The river has a large biomass which supports one of the designated Gold Medal waters in the state of Colorado. Rainbows and browns grow quickly and average an honest 16-17" at least in the East Portal area. Finding the fish is easy since the large fish often feed high in the water column and in the riffles in only 18-24" of water. Figuring out what they are eating can be a little more tricky.

I started out fishing a Copper John that has produced well on the Gunnison in years past. The fish didn't seem particularly impressed though and I started thinking about trying something else. Fate decided to intervene on our behalf and my fly snagged the bottom of the river bringing up a large clump of weeds. Instead of throwing the mess away in disgust, I did a quick bug check in the mass of green. Our problem became obvious since there were a ton of tiny midge larva throughout the weeds and not much else.

A hurried check of the fly boxes turned up some of east Tennessee guide Hugh Hartsell's blackfly larva pattern in black and brown. With just a little surgery to cut off the poly yarn sticking off the front, I soon had a decent larva pattern and was into fish right away. Several fish later in just a matter of a few minutes had us both convinced that we didn't have nearly enough larva patterns.

I stuck 2 or 3 large fish and even saw one before it ran into the heavy current that would have approached 24". All the fish I brought to hand were in the 16-18" range and interesting were mainly browns. That's the perfect size for having a lot of fun if you ask me and I was having a blast. Unfortunately our small supply of midges was quickly drying up so we planned on a quick trip to town for more tying supplies. I only had 2 colors of the proper material for these magical larva and wanted a better match. The next day would prove the flies capabilities even further...

Carrying Your Gear: A New Perspective

For many years in this sport, a vest was the only way to carry your gear. There were very few fly fisherman that even considered any alternative. Things are different now of course but I had not realized how different until this poll closed. Nearly 50% of you are apparently using a chest or lumbar pack of some type. That doesn't mean that people aren't using vests, just not as much.

Personally I still have a vest and where it some of the time. If I can get away with a lanyard I prefer to go light. There are times though when you are on a new stream or perhaps a challenging spring creek or tailwater where you don't want to be caught unprepared. In those circumstances a vest is still very beneficial. My vest is organized carefully and I always know where everything is when I carry it.

The beginning of this summer brought about some big changes in how I carried gear. Up until that point I had always used a vest. Then I got a lanyard and everything changed. Now I usually like to wear a fishing shirt with the large pockets so I have a place to stow a couple fly boxes. The vest holds pretty much everything else I need. I can always throw an extra pack of leaders and a couple strike indicators in a pocket and I'm good to go.

The benefits far outweigh any negatives for me. When I carry the vest, I'm prone to carrying too much. This seems to be a common problem for most fly fisherman since we always like to be prepared. When you have a lanyard, there just is not anywhere to put more gear so you are forced to cut back. A heavy vest can pull on your shoulders all day leading to tightness in your neck and consequently tension headaches. Once you get used to a lanyard, you almost forget that it is there.

I haven't tried any chestpacks. Honestly I was planning on getting one before I found an excellent deal on the lanyard. I am guessing that the benefits of a small chest or lumbar pack are very similar to that of the lanyard. If anything it might be better because you can carry slightly more stuff without overloading.

The final word for the day...my recommendation: If you haven't tried something other than a vest yet, try a chest or lumbar pack or a lanyard...I think you'll be pleasantly surprised...

New Endeavors

Redeye caught by my cousin, Nathan Stanaway

As implied in the name of this blog, I prefer to catch trout most of the time. Other game fish have demanded my attention from time to time, and with the recent high gas prices, I've taken to fishing for more warm water species. The one thing I haven't done much of is fishing for smallmouth. Sure, I've intended to target them for awhile now but just haven't gotten around to it...until now that is.

This past Sunday I decided to try something different. Small stream fishing will always be special to me since that is how I learned to fish. Here in Chattanooga, there are lots of small streams around the area and I finally tried one out. The results were good and the potential was unreal. I'm not going to name any names so you can put your atlas up, but let's just say that for the size of this stream there are some BIG smallies present.

According to rumor, the fishing only gets better the higher you go up the creek so you'll probably be hearing more on this location soon. In the meantime, here are a couple pictures from the day. All my fish came on beadhead Simi Seal Leech patterns in crawdad colors. The best fish of the day was a smallie of around 12 inches that escaped at my feet before a picture could be taken. Even that fish would have been bait for some of the ones that never got stuck in the first place...but they will soon...

More Tropical Moisture for Tennessee?

The last hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast temporarily sent oil prices back up and set into motion a huge evacuation. The powers that be clearly don't want a repeat of the fiasco that was Katrina. Now another threat is looming. Hurricane Ike is still well out to sea and the forecast path is still somewhat uncertain. Some of the computer models are now hinting at the possibility of a landfall along the Gulf Coast somewhere near the Alabama/Mississippi border. Of course others show a possible landfall as far west as Texas. Forecasting a hurricane so many days out is an uncertain science at best, but if the remnants come any where close to us, Tennessee stands to get another tropical soaking.

Our current drought situation has improved somewhat thanks to the rainfall from what was left of tropical storm Fay. Another big rain event could just get us out of the woods. While the landfall of a major hurricane is not something to be wished for, it may have some hidden benefits. The most recent drought forecast from the Climate Prediction Center is showing improvement in the southeast. I don't really care how that happens just so long as it does. Our streams have been low for too long...

Late Caney Report

Student teaching is keeping me fairly busy. Probably the hardest part is getting up at what to me seems an unearthly hour. I was quite spoiled this summer while working at Little River Outfitters. Since the store didn't open until 9:00 each morning, I didn't have to get up until the sun was clearing the ridge above the cabin I was staying at. Now I'm up well before first light which leaves me tired in the evenings when I should be spending time tying...priorities you know... Anyway, the one good thing about this new schedule is that we actually get holidays off. The prospect of a long weekend sent me home as soon as I could get away last Friday with visions of Caney Fork monsters in my head.

Unfortunately this trip wouldn't turn out to produce another 20 inch plus trout. Still, I can't really complain about a day where I easily lost count of the number of fish brought to hand. The browns and brookies are really starting to color up nicely as we approach fall.




A highlight of the day was spending a bit of time instructing a young man that is fairly new to fly fishing. My buddy had the idea of inviting him along and helping out a bit. Late in the day he had caught several fish including rainbows and brookies but was still looking for that brown to complete the Caney Fork slam.

We were all lined up working a section of bank that sometimes holds large fish. I moved down and told him that we would finish the slam. After just a little instruction he was putting the cast precisely where I asked him to, and within 5 minutes or less we were admiring the third member of his slam for the day. Catching fish is a lot of fun, but helping other people catch fish can often be just as much fun if not more.

The fishing was a little strange last Sunday but not too unusually for a hot late summer day. When we arrived at the river we immediately were into fish. As the sun climbed higher in the sky the fish sought refuge in deeper water right on the bottom. Later on as the sun crept closer to the western horizon, the fish started feeding again. By approximately one hour from sunset, the fishing was just silly. I experimented with several rigs over the course of the day but the old faithful of a dry and Zebra Midge dropper proved to be best. The river continues to be a zoo on the weekends and I really don't recommend fishing it except midweek until the weather cools off a bit. My next fishing target date for the Caney is early October but we'll see if I can actually wait that long. Until then I'll be checking out some wild streams in East Tennessee.

We're Back!!!

Finally...the long awaited moment is here. I have Internet again and that means that the Trout Zone is back on a regular basis. There are still lots of stories from my trip to Colorado last month along with current fishing reports to give. Additionally, I'll be have information soon about some great new patterns that might be of interest. In Colorado, the fish have seen just about every pattern available in the fly shops and so we were forced to make some adjustments. The result was nothing less than spectacular. I'll get things kicked off shortly with a late (and brief) trip report from the Caney last Sunday. Coming over the next few days will be more recent fishing stories along with the best of the Colorado 2008 trip. Stay tuned for that and much more...

Gear Poll

Many of you have already noticed our new poll that has been up for the last week or so. For those that haven't voted yet, please take a minute to vote and let me know how you generally haul all your gear. I've changed things around just a bit this time and allowed people to choose more than one option. For example, I've largely switched over to a lanyard and cram a fly box into my pocket. When I vote, I pick those two options since they go together. If you use a landard and a backpack or some other combination, you can vote for both at the same time... The middle of this week is the long awaited day for getting connected to the Internet so expect an end to the recent down time.

Change of Season

Despite the warm weather that remains for at least a couple more weeks, fall is lurking just around the corner. The drought has continued to worsen with several weeks passing since the last area-wide rain event. That is likely about to change though as the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay are forecast to move across East Tennessee. Moisture should begin increasing from south to north beginning tonight into tomorrow. The details are not perfectly clear yet, but according to the National Weather Service in Morristown, 2 day rainfall totals may approach 3-4 inches over parts of East Tennessee. With the bad luck we've had this year, I'll believe it when I see it but at least things are looking up.

The upcoming season is my favorite of the year. Typically our freestone streams are low and clear making the sight fishing opportunities better than average. The fall colors are always great. The browns will start becoming more aggressive in the upcoming weeks as they feed heavily before the spawn. Best of all, the warm weather crowds will start dwindling leaving me with a lot more water to myself. As winter sets in, I'll be able to sleep in and hit the water in the middle of the day and probably see no more than 1 or 2 other people out on the colder days. That's my kind of fishing...

Busy

To all of you that have been checking back daily for updates and reports from my trip to Colorado a couple of weeks ago, please be patient. I moved back down to Chattanooga late last week and started student teaching this week. Unfortunately we haven't got Internet access yet at my apartment but I promise it will happen soon. When it does, I'll be back with regular posting including stories from my trip and current fishing reports. This next weekend is looking like a possible Caney Fork trip. Chickamauga will need to be visited quite a bit again as well. So keep checking back and I should be back up and running within a few days...

First Day, Big Fish

The first day of my trip to Colorado this summer started off fairly slow. Our first destination was the Taylor River just north of Gunnison Colorado. Over the course of the first day, I only managed 2-3 fish and nothing really worth bragging about although one of the rainbows was a nice fish approaching 17 or 18 inches.



The fishing this year seemed strange with many of the areas that were stacked with fish last year appearing barren in comparison. There were still some fish but not the same numbers as last year. During our time on the Taylor, we found many more fish but they tended to be stacked up in deeper water and not up feeding in the shallow runs. When we could find fish up feeding, the fishing was not too bad. Finding the correct fly was often a tedious process but once tied on, the proper fly would immediately hook a fish.

Before ever leaving for Colorado, my buddy Trevor and I had discussed the possibility of night fishing. This year we were determined to give it a shot. As darkness set in, we each stuck some fish on small spinner patterns and other dries and then switched to nymph rigs. The reason I switched to subsurface flies was that I could fish them on a tight line and theoretically feel the strikes. This type of fishing can be frustrating and I finally switched on my head lamp to look for fish feeding along the banks. As I walked up the stream, I finally spotted what appeared to be a large rainbow feeding on the edge of the faster flow. I switched off the light and waited a couple of minutes before beginning to cast to where I thought the fish was. After what seemed an eternity and many casts, I felt a bump and quickly set the hook. The fish raced off into the blackness with me frantically running up and down the river as the large rainbow ran at will. Finally, after what probably was 15 or 20 minutes, I finally led the big fish into the shallows where Trevor netted it for me.

The first thing we noticed where the apparent wounds on top of the fish above its head and also near the tail. Large chunks of skin were missing without any apparent puncture wounds which seems to rule out a heron. I don't know if there are any otters in this area but have never seen any. If anyone has any ideas I would be glad to hear them.



After a couple of "hero" shots, I carefully let the big fish go, cradling it gently in the current until it swam off to be caught again another day (or night). The surprising thing about night fishing was that there were several other people doing it as well. The poor fish in the C&R section of the Taylor get hammered day and night all summer long and probably a good bit of the cold season as well. After this trip, I told Trevor that I had some serious doubts about fishing the "famous" Colorado streams during the summer ever again. This was brought on by another incident but that's a story for another day...

Ants Revisited

Fishing in the park nearly every evening this summer was a blast. I found plenty of willing trout but often they would want a terrestrial before they were interested. You'll remember that time and again I mentioned ants as being one of my top producing flies. Normally I'll fish a sunken ant pattern tandem with a standard nymph or a Green Weenie, but I've finally found a dry that I like enough to give a shot. Ian Rutter has shared one of his killer ant patterns over on his site and it is well worth a look. Ants should continue to be effective in the park for a few more weeks. Also, when you're tying this winter, don't neglect to tie plenty of terrestrials for your boxes including some ant patterns. They'll save the day time and again...trust me...

Home is Best

Every year I enjoy fishing my home water here in Tennessee, and if I'm lucky I make a trip out west to fish somewhere. Today I wrapped up my summer fishing with a trip to the Caney Fork river to see how it was faring. The results were excellent with plenty of opportunities to sight fish to nice trout.

My first fish was a solid 14 inch brown that bulldogged for awhile. After subduing that fish I continued walking slowly up the bank looking for larger fish feeding in the shallows. Not more than 20 feet above where I landed the first fish, I saw what I was looking for. A dark shadow flashed in a depression behind a weedbed betraying a good fish. I tried casting from a couple different spots before positioning myself slightly up and across from the fish. Fifteen minutes later, everything came together and I watched my dry fly indicator dive under. Gently raising the rod tip produced a violent commotion as the fish realized that all was not well. The big brown quickly went airborn causing me to hold my breath until it was back in the water and all the knots had held. Several scorching runs and another jump later, I finally guided the large trout into the shallows where I netted it. Another fisherman was kind enough to snap a couple pictures for me and then I released the nice fish to catch again in a few months.


This was the perfect end to a great summer. I couldn't have asked for anything better...

Back Home

The last week and a half was a blur of driving, fishing, and camping every night. I was fortunate to experience some of the finest rivers that Colorado has to offer. This year's trip did not produce as many large fish as the trip we took last year but still had some great moments. I'll miss all the good times I had this summer but it will be good to get back to school to finish up and graduate.

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll make reports and tell stories about the different rivers we fished in Colorado including the Taylor, Gunnison, Frying Pan, Roaring Fork, South Platte, and Arkansas rivers. So without any further rambling, here's some pictures to get things started...

Taylor River Brown

Gunnison River Brown

19" Gunnison Rainbow

Almost Over

Incredibly the summer is almost over. I’ve had a blast working at Little River Outfitters this summer. The staff here is top notch and great to work with. Getting to fish every day (or almost) was not a bad way to spend a summer. Wapsi Hell was a recurring theme that is simply part of keeping all you fly tiers in materials (me too come to think about it). Speaking of the customers, that has been one of the greatest parts of the summer. Thanks to everyone that has stopped by to see me and to those that I was able to meet for the first time. I’ve met some great people from across the country including folks from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky, Nevada, and California (and others that I’m forgetting). I want to thank all the great people I’ve met who invited me to join them on their home waters in the future. If you’re one of those people be careful, very, very careful…I might actually take you up on the invitation sometime. Most of all I want to thank the great people at Little River Outfitters for giving me one of the best summers I could ask for. The opportunity to work for one of the top fly shops in the country was an honor and much appreciated.

Despite the fact that my time at Little River Outfitters is drawing to a close, the summer is not quite over yet. Yes, that’s right, West Trip 2008 has been in the works for awhile, and soon I’ll be touring the finest water that Colorado has to offer. Sadly this year’s trip will be a fast trip (fast as in one week instead of the epic trip that I took last year). I’ll literally be driving west, stopping at home just long enough to drop off all my stuff I’ve had in Townsend this summer and then continuing to Colorado. Just over one week later we’ll be back, and I will nearly drive straight to Chattanooga to begin school. At that point I should have some exciting stories and pictures to share. Until then, take a day off and go fishing instead of checking here for updates that you won‘t find. I’m taking the next week off…

Getting More Dangerous

At the rate things are going, my cabin would probably become a den for the numerous dangerous snakes in the area if I stayed much longer. Nearly every evening following a good rainstorm has produced a copperhead sighting. The entire summer I’ve been hoping to see something a little more rare and was down to the last strike in the bottom of the ninth inning. Mother nature conspired to provide the opportunity I’ve been hoping for. On the drive home last evening I rounded a bend on the road and came face to face with what had only become a shadow of a dream at this point.

In the end, I came up with not one but two rattlesnakes to wrap up the past two weeks of snake sightings. In that short time I’ve seen 5 or 6 copperheads and of course the two rattlers.

The Last Weekend

This summer has flown by and I can’t believe it is almost over. For my last weekend here in Townsend, my cousin and his girlfriend came up to visit. They spent Friday night backpacking above Elkmont and got pounded by the storm that came through early Saturday morning. We had agreed to meet at the trailhead to go sightseeing and/or hiking on Saturday so at the appointed time I drove up to find them soaked but in good spirits. The drenching the park received did wonders for the streams. First on the agenda for the day was a drive up to Clingman's Dome.

We stopped off at Sugarlands and left one of the vehicles there before heading on up the hill. On the way it became apparent just how much rain had fallen. The West Prong of the Little Pigeon River was rolling and the water was stained. Fog still enveloped the highest peaks providing a perfect example of how the park got its name. Shortly after passing the Chimney Tops trailhead I stopped the car and we piled out for a brief photo session.

As you can see, the stream had plenty of water to go around. All the little tributaries pouring off of Mt. Leconte were near bankfull. The clouds had been lifting steadily all morning as the atmosphere slowly warmed but the higher elevations were still socked in. At Clingman's Dome we were treated to something different than what we had come for but still provided some interesting photo opportunities.

The clouds were rolling up over the mountain sometimes cutting visibility to 100 feet or less. On the walk up we found some wildflowers that were just now reaching their peak at this high elevation. At the summit we enjoyed the cool moist air that felt more like fall than summer. After walking back down to the car we decided to drive over to Cataloochee and check out the elk.

Since I have never been through the Cosby and Big Creek area of the park we decided to take the scenic route through that corner of the park. A couple of hours later we rolled into the magnificent Cataloochee Valley and quickly found the animals we were looking for. I even caught a couple of fish and the late afternoon light provided for some interesting pictures.

Nathan Stanaway Photo

By the time we reached Cataloochee we had made half of a loop so the day would not be complete without finishing. We drove around to Maggie Valley and then towards Cherokee. When we reached the top of the ridge between the two towns we caught the Blue Ridge Parkway which took us back into the Park near the Oconaluftee visitor center.

Nathan Stanaway Photo

The drive over the ridge completed the loop and after picking up the second vehicle we headed to my cabin for the night.

Sunday morning was great, mainly because I slept in for awhile and then we had a big breakfast. After my visitors left I went fishing for what will probably be the last time in the Smokies for awhile. I just had to fish a favorite section of Lynn Camp that I still had not fished yet this summer. The fishing was appropriately spectacular with plenty of fish coming to hand in the 2 or so hours I spent on the water, a perfect end to a summer of fishing in the Park.

Favorite Fly Line Results

Apparently everyone is fishing Scientific Anglers fly lines. I have to admit that I've fished them myself for several years. This summer I made the switch to a Rio Gold line for my 5 wt rod and so far I love it. My upcoming trip west should give me more opportunities to really give the line a workout so we'll wait and reserve judgement until the line has accounted for some monster trout. The results were split fairly evenly between the other line makers except I was surprised that there was only one vote for the Wulff lines. I've heard a lot of good things about there lines but haven't fished them myself. Anyone want to let us know why they particularly like the Wulff fly lines?

Bonus Shot

This isn't exactly about fishing but still interesting. As I drove back to my cabin after the Deep Creek trip I saw the second copperhead I have seen on the road not too far from the cabin within the last week. Hopefully they will all stay away from my place since stepping on one after an evening of fishing would a great way to ruin a good evening on the water. I have spotted some other suspicious looking snakes this summer on the roads after dark but this was the first one that stayed long enough for a decent picture.

The one I spotted last week crawled off the gravel road and up the bank. If you look close enough you can see it blending into the surrounding vegetation. As long as I do not see them on the water I don’t care much...I think. Last night I spotted the third on the road within the last week, and once again it was within a couple of miles of where I live. The lesson must be not to go walking on the roads after dark around here...

Deep Creek Extravaganza

With my summer in the Smokies drawing to a close, my chance for a weekend backcountry trip was quickly vanishing. I decided to take advantage of the last weekend that I had free to hike into Deep Creek. After work last Friday, I drove over the hill and hit the trail around 6:30. Two hours later I was far down the trail at campsite #54. After setting up the tent I crawled in and fell asleep, tired from the fast trip down from the ridge.

The next morning was perfect and I had a leisurely breakfast in camp before wandering down the trail to see what was in the creek. I was surprised by the condition the trail was in. Apparently it doesn’t get much traffic because the upper 6-7 miles of the Deep Creek Trail had places where it was overgrown by the surrounding vegetation. Sometimes the trail almost disappeared but if you pressed on it would always open back up. After walking downstream awhile I finally hit the water with no idea what to expect.

Things started out okay but not great with several small rainbows and browns coming to hand. One pool in particular was puzzling. The best water seemed devoid of fish. It was one of those spots where I expected a better than average fish but instead got nothing. Things made more sense as soon as I hit the pocket water above the pool. Apparently the best fish had moved up into the faster water to feed. I hooked 3-4 fish and landed a couple before reaching a nice plunge pocket a good hundred feet upstream from the pool. My first couple of casts didn’t produce anything so I maneuvered across the creek to get into a better casting position. My first cast from this new spot produced a hard hit and clean hookup. My heart leaped into my throat as what appeared to be a decent fish torpedoed past back down towards the pool.

The next few minutes were undoubtedly the toughest battle I’ve ever had with a fish. At first glance I figured it was probably a 15 inch or so fish but it seemed awfully heavy. First it ran behind a rock as I stumbled along in pursuit. I soon brought it out before it ran downstream again with my reel singing. Soon it took up residence under another rock and this time I was sure I had lost it. The occasional shake on the end of my line assured me I still had a chance and after some serious prodding in which I almost jumped in and reached under the rock, the fish bolted again. This time it ran all the way down into the deeper water of the pool where I was sure it would break me off on some of the ledges. It must have been my day though and my equipment and nerves stood up to every challenge the fish offered up. Soon I had it corralled in the shallows for a couple quick pictures before I watched it swim back into the pool. This was most likely the fish of the summer in the Smokies for me. I estimated it at quite close to 20 inches and later found it was between 19” and 20” based on the pictures. Still not a legitimate 20 incher but still one of the best fish I’ve caught in the Smokies and definitely a high point of the summer.

Further fishing provided steady action on more average fish but no more monsters. This trip was definitely a blast and allowed me to make another visit to one of my favorite streams in the park. I hope to head back again sometime in the upcoming months, but school has a way of ruining the best of intentions so I can only keep my fingers crossed.

Besides the nice fish, this trip was worth the effort because of the great scenery. I found a lot of beautiful flowers streamside including rhododendron among other things. The stream itself was in great shape. That particular drainage doesn’t seem to be suffering as much from the drought as compared to the Tennessee side of the park. The one surprise was the lack of insect activity. There were lots of midges and other tiny bugs on the water but not much else. The fish didn’t seem to care though and were feeding well. Softhackles dropped behind a Tellico produced the best action although fish were eating dries willingly as well.

This trip was the perfect last blast of my summer in the Smokies. Next weekend will be my last one here and I have visitors coming that will curtail most fishing. I’ll still be fishing in the evenings at least some this week though so check back for more. Also, did I mention Colorado? Stay tuned for more on that as well…

Book Review: “The Fly Caster Who Tried to Make Peace with the World”

I finished reading it quite some time ago and finally made the time to write this short review on “The Fly Caster Who Tried to Make Peace with the World,” by Randy Kadish. Originally I intended to read a little each night and finish this book sometime near the end of my time here in the Smokies. The idea behind this being that it would provide some entertainment each night as I enjoy reading nearly as much as I like to fish. In the end the idea proved to be a bad one, mainly because this book held my attention more and more the farther I got. I ended up finishing it in about three evenings of staying up much later than I should have. It was just impossible to set down.

The thing that really struck me about this book was how familiar it all seemed. The leading character, Ian Mac Bride, becomes a fly fisherman because of the beauty of fly casting. I can still remember when I was very young. My family was vacationing in the Smokies and as we drove up through Townsend towards the park, I looked out the window and saw to fly fisherman making picture-perfect casts in the middle of Little River. Young as I was, I knew that someday I would fly fish

The title sums up the theme of the book. Ian uses fly fishing as an escape from the ugliness of the world around him. It was his way of getting away from everything else and enjoying the beauty of nature which soothes the soul. Fly fishing is my way of relaxing. Even when I’m at school and have an important paper or project, a few hours on the water allows me to leave it all behind and forget the stresses of everyday life.

This book is not only about one single character however. Randy Kadish intertwines the lives and stories of some of the leading pioneers in American fly fishing to produce a thoughtful and entertaining story. The title informs the reader of the struggle going on in the leading character with the sometimes ugly world that we all see. However it is often as much a struggle with the world as it is within himself. Fly fishing seems to be as much an escape from himself as from the world around. Ian desires to be the greatest distance fly caster. The book revolves around his journey from beginner to expert caster. Life brings sadness and suffering but also joy. In the end, Ian faces all his disappointment and hurt from the past and enters one last fly casting tournament. This moment is not just a chance to be the best fly caster but almost seems to be the chance to prove himself. Sometimes in life there are things we feel like we have to do even if we don’t know why. Ian Mac Bride had basically given up distance fly casting but in the end felt the need to try one last time to win a distance tournament.

This book was a great read. The only complaint I have was something that bothered me early on but not as much later on in the book. The storyline seemed to jump between two distinctly different plots. The main plot of course was about Ian Mac Bride and the other doesn’t really seem necessary to the book. However, when all was said and done it didn’t really detract from the book.

As I already mentioned, this book is very easy to relate to. The leading character goes through many of the same struggles and experiences many of the same heartaches as the rest of us. Despite the story being set in the early age of American fly fishing many years ago, it still speaks to the reader. If you enjoy a theme of fly fishing woven into fiction then this book is worth checking out.