A Hard Rain Was Gonna Fall

But it didn't...thank God.  It did rain a bit at the end of the day.  I fished the Smokies today and as always it was beautiful.  I got 5 fish on and one little brown trout to hand.  One of the 5 was around 12-13 inches, which is good for the mountains.  Too bad I didn't land him.  I also stopped and bought some new boots, hackle, hooks and floatant.  I didn't really have the money but I had let things go for too long.  A few pics and a video:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chub Creek

I took a trip to a beautiful little creek in Cherokee National Forest.  It's name wasn't really Chub Creek but it should have been.  My friend Hans invited me and a friend of his to fish this little creek.  We got turned around as Hans hadn't been there in about a year but we managed to find it without too much trouble.  We started leap frogging up stream and fished for a couple of hours or so.  Then we moved down low and started over.  Hans caught two small bows right away and that was it for all of us.  I caught about a dozen chubs.  We saw some prolific hatches of yellow sallies and yellow drakes, among others, but we didn't see any fish rising,  With the amount of chubs we saw, Hans suspects that the stocking hasn't been done or that the creek has been hit hard by the locals.  It's a well known creek now as it has been mentioned several times on the internet.  It could be that it has been over fished.  Anyway, here are a few pics of the trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts From Paradise

I had a few days off.  I work a crazy swing shift of 3 days on then 3 days off, then I switch to 3 nights on and three days off, then back again.  But, hey, I have a good job that may end up going from temp to permanent, so I'm not complaining.  After putting in a 60 then a 70 plus hour week I wanted to head to the mountains.  I loaded up my dog "Mama" in the Jeep and headed out...without checking the flow for the rivers and streams of the mountains...it was about 3 times the normal flow and was apparent as soon as I arrived.  My heart wasn't in it or I would have tossed streamers for a few hours.  The drive up took an hour and I stayed for about an hour to fish.  I drove around a bit and took in some scenery too.  I spent my 3-4 hours driving and fishing and thinking about my life and my divorce and all of the mistakes I made that led to it.  I finally came to realize that it had to happen in order for me to grow and become and reasonable human being.  It is sad that I lost the person that I cared the most for but it is nice to know that I have learned something valuable from it.  I've learned a lot about myself, about the golden rule and about what is truly important in life.  Thankfully I still have a great family that I can lean on.  I have a few of solid rocks that are my foundation these days and without my aunts and my sisters I don't know what I would do.  They have always been there for me.  I have a brother in law that is really more like a real brother than anything and nieces and nephews that I enjoy watching grow.  I have a great, sweet little female mountain cur.  I have a decent Jeep to drive and a good skill set that usually lands me a good job.  I have plenty to be thankful for.  One day I'll look back and wish I could have made things work with my wife.  Hell, I do right now, but these things can't be forced.  It takes two.  Life, for some, can meander like a river.  It can start off in a raging torrent and end up with a gentle flow.  For others it never settles to fishable levels.  We all have our troubles in life.  Some will have the water to fish dries, some streamers, others inbetween.  We all have to fish the water we are given.  Well, enough of my ramblings.  I didn't catch any fish, but I did take some decent pics.

Smoky Mountain Spring Saftey Tips 2013.

I hit one of my favorite runs.  It's not really a good spot to fish if you want numbers and there are a lot of tourists around but boy is it beautiful.  I fished about an hour and a half and only got one to hand but what a handsome Smoky Mountain brown.  I saw a few hatches of smaller flies but didn't stop to look to see what as I have two flies that I fish the mountains with at all times.  Every once in a while I'll stop and look at a hatch if it's a nice one.  Spring is a great time to come to the Smokies.  The fish are eager and the hatches can be wonderful on the warmer days.  The water can get up really high quickly when it rains so be certain to get out of the water if you are wading and it starts raining.  It doesn't take much as the rivers and streams of the Smokies are narrow.  Always be mindful of snakes as you step over logs on the sunny days.  There are some large copper heads in the mountains that can do a lot of damage.  I've almost stepped on one or two myself.   Of course there are bears as well.  I like to wear a bell or two on my gear so that the bears hear my coming and leave as I fish the river from spot to spot.  If you are on a secluded stream, an extra bit of food and water is always a good idea to bring along.  I bring along rain gear and an emergency blanket as well.  If you are alone, at least try and leave a note at the ranger station or let a family member know the general area you plan on fishing.  I carry a whistel with me as I fish alone and don't want to get stuck if I break a leg or something and can't hike out.  The water is very loud as it is rushing off of the mountain and even when the trail is close by, people may not hear  you, if you just yell.  A whistle is much better.  Here are a few pics of my trip today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodbye Home Waters

Finished up my temp job in Nashville...decided to hit the former home waters. I thought that during the middle of the week we would have had the river mostly to ourselves but as usual, I was wrong. I didn't get to hit nearly as many runs and undercut banks as I would have liked and only got one decent fish to hand between me and my friend but still managed to stay positive and have fun. I'm back in East TN now and about to head to the mountains to hit some streams outside of the park.

 

 

 

 

 

Mark catches an 18" bow.

 

 

 

 

Goodbye home waters