Sunday, June 28, 2009

Fish Camp Prong

I met up with a buddy from LRO's internet message board today. We met at the trailhead at Elkmont right at 6:30 am. We hiked for about 4 miles before we decided to drop in the stream. The water was at a good flow and very cool, 57 degrees. We instantly began to pick up small bows on Yellow Stimulators size 14. We fished upstream for the better part of five hours and picked up numerous rainbow trout with a few specs mixed in. I even managed to catch a small brown trout. We ended our fishing about a mile below campsite #23. We ended up fishing a short while down on the main stream of Little Rivera at Huskey Gap. Caught a handful of fish there before we decided to call it a day. The whole trip ended up being about 12 miles of hiking. I'm wore out to say the least. One good thing about the high elevation is the fact that it was only 78 degrees in the afternoon. Very nice!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Drag me to Hell

The wife had another birthday. Her birthday fell on a Wednesday so we just went out for dinner. We decided to go out to a movie on Sunday afternoon instead, so it wouldn't be so stressful. Lisa is an avid fan of horror movies and spoofs of ditto. I on the other hand don't care much for them. However, this one had awakened my interest after all the buzz. Sad to say it was more like Draaaaaaaag me to hell.. I guess I'm not the right person to review horror movies. The most important thing was the fact that my wife liked it and that is all that matters.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Hiwassee in the morning, North River in the evening

Did a double header today. I left Knoxville real early and got to the "Stairsteps" at about 7 am. Began to catch fish on top immediately. My EHC size 14 in a tan color seemed to attract a lot of fish when I kind of stripped it in the current. The fish were definitely feasting on drifting caddis. The water temp was ideal at 60 degrees. I quit at 11 am in order to stop for lunch and head up to North River for the afternoon. I lost a nice sized fish on my first cast about half a mile above the main campground. The water on North River was beginning to warm. I took the temp and it came in at 66 degrees. I caught a baker's dozen on Hiwassee and nine on N. River. All were rainbows between 8-10 inches on the HI and 7 inches or so each on N. River. Got home at about 6 pm, wore out but happy after seeing two of my old haunts again.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Little River Trip Sat June 13th, 2009

Did go for a short trip to fish the "evening hatch" on Little River today. Stopped at LRO for some tying material and then on to Dollar General and Pizza Hut next door. After my shopping spree in downtown Townsend, TN I made it in to the park at about 4 PM. I rigged up and fished nymphs for a couple of hours with no luck. An afternoon thundershower came through and I had to escape to the car. The water got stained a little but it didn't really come up much. Switched to an EHC yellow size 14 and got some takes. At about 8:30 a very heavy Yellow Sally egg laying flight took place. I caught one brown and two bows and missed a couple more. No real size to them today but it was nice to be out in the park again. I stopped and talked to a guy from NC who was vacationing with his family in Pigeon Forge, TN. He slipped away for a few hours of fishing. He said he caught one pushing ten inches. Water temp was 62 so it was ideal.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Camping trip which wasn't that good

I went on a short camping trip to meet my friend Neal at camp site #60 on Deep Creek, NC this Saturday. I knew as soon as I began hiking several hours late that I should have stayed home. I had no energy and felt fatigued immediately. I was kind of nauseated the night before and suspect some kind of stomach bug. I got to the camp site and didn't really want to do anything. I fished for about an hour while Neal rested, since he had been out since Thursday. We spent the night and decided to hike back out first thing in the morning. I don't regret the trip but it could have been better. Oh well, maybe next time. I at least got my exercise in.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Clinch River Sunday May 31, 2009

Went to the Clinch at the church yesterday. I have not felt good for at least a week and when Neal wanted to go fishing I almost declined. I felt alright while on the river and we kind of fished our separate runs. I struggled while a couple of other fishermen did very well around me. I finally began picking up some fish on a black midge size 22. I caught maybe four fish in a short stretch of water. I still didn't feel all that great and was getting hungry. I walked downstream to Neal and he had done much better. I blame it on my crummy state of health this time. The weather was beautiful and I managed to get my arms sunburned due to leaving my sun screen at home. Not my day that's for sure.