Friday, November 5, 2010

Date Night

This movie has two actors/entertainers I usually like and respect. Tina Fey and Steve Carell. They just don't pull it off in this dud. It has it' funny parts but most of the time I found myself thinking, it's overdone or it's not funny when it was supposed to. I think your evening could be spent better on a real date instead of this dreadful movie. 2 out of 5.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Sand Cave, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Revisited

Sand Cave, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, October 30, 2010.

Fern Lake, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, KY, October 30, 2010

Sand Cave, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, KY. October 30, 2010.

Did an eight mile round trip hike today with a coworker and her husband. We started out bright and early and I really felt it in my body. I wasn't as out of shape as I feared though. The weather was great and the park was peaceful. We stopped at the visitor center as my friend had never been to this park before. I really love this park, and it is so much less crowded than the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

I did squeeze in one more day of fishing. Did Metcalf Bottoms this afternoon, (Sunday). Winter is soon coming to the mountains. The water temp is barely 50 and the leaves are off the trees for the most part. I probably will hang up my gear for a while. I might do a Hiwassee trip now and then if the weather cooperate. Time to do housework, maintenance around the house and some hiking.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Little River, TN


13 " Brown from above the sinks on Little River



Went back to the Great Smoky Mountains national park after a very long hiatus. I just don't fish it as often as I used to. Too much water and not enough time if you know what I mean. This brown took on a gray czech nymph in a deep run. I fished for about four hours above the sinks area on Little River and it was a very nice afternoon. The water was very cold and I managed to fall in twice. Luckily I didn't loose or brake anything. Talked to Paula, Byron and Daniel plus a gentleman at the counter, who was a new face to me. All in all a very nice day, winter is fast approaching in the mountains and dark comes early though.

Friday, October 22, 2010

9th Annual Elton John Aids Foundation Auction and Gala Dinner, NYC Oct 18, 2010

Lisa Ahlstedt, Elton John and myself (Hans Ahlstedt) at the 9th annual Elton John Aids Foundation dinner and auction event. Cipriani at wall street New York City October 18th, 2010.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Hiwassee and Newbie day with TU


I had decided to donate a few things to Athens TU, and I thought the monthly newbie day they conduct on the second Saturday of each month was a good way to get down there to hand the stuff over. I fished a couple of hours in the morning above Big Bend and caught three small bows. Went to the event at 10 and had a nice visit with some old and new friends. Ate a hot dog lunch with the TU folks and then I headed upstream with Buzz McManus, for some fishing above the powerhouse. It is mainly small mouth and sunfish, perch, etc water up there, but in the cooler months trout do move up there when the water temp from the flume gets marginal for trout. It was 62 up on the river and 68 from the discharge. Buzz and I fished for an hour or more and I caught two rainbows and he did about the same. The obligatory shiners and horny heads were also present. Buzz even landed a bluegill. I saw some perch that I spooked and Buzz had a small mouth attacking his fly at one time. The river is very nice up that way, and I will definitely revisit at a later date.

Saturday, October 2, 2010


I haven't fished for two weekends since I got back from NM. I stopped at Tellico DH yesterday and caught three rainbows in the 11" bracket. Lost one somewhat larger. The flow was pretty good bu the fish has not spread out yet.

Decided to go to South Holston to see Neal White who was camping up there. We fished the morning and in to the afternoon. I was a quarter a mile downstream of him most of the day. The sulphurs were coming off fairly heavy around 1 pm to 3 pm. The morning was all midges. I caught two 14' browns and many smaller ones. Only a handful of rainbows came to hand today. A gorgeous day on a gorgeous river. Oh I almost forgot, I ran in to Mr. Hugh Hartsell today. I was glad to see him on the river again.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Den Orolige Mannen by Henning Mankell

This book is probably not out in the U.S yet, but it's the final installment (so he says) of Henning Mankell's Inspector Wallander series. Let me begin and say that I has always been a fan of Henning Mankell and was so even before his fame with Wallander. I have to say that lately he has become an old and bitter man. It's all about how awful everything is and Wallander will soon fade in to the darkness of Alzheimer's and then death. Yes I know it's reality but it gets too much doom and gloom and the Swedish environment and landscape along with the Swedish sullen mood, can get you suicidal. If you was a fan like I you probably would like to read it just to be complete. If you were not a fan don't start now. Mankell is of course left leaning and its no surprise to anyone, but why begin to preach. I guess when you have made your money and don't have to worry anymore you can begin the preaching. I for one think it's ridiculous and frankly I have been turned off by the leftist agenda in his later books. 2 out of 5 in my book.

Monday, September 20, 2010

That Evening Sun

Hal Holbrook in "That Evening Sun" was a nice little independent movie shot in Tennessee. I had some anticipation about this move since it has been talked about and reviewed favorably quite a bit. I have to say it is not a bad movie but did not grab me as hard as I had expected. It is somewhat slow moving and leave you with a somewhat unsettled ending. 3 out of 5 in my book.

Kinesen by Henning Mankell

Kinesen, or The Man From Beijing as it is known in English is a crime novel written by the famous Swedish author Henning Mankell. My first impression of this book was the fact that it drew me in fairly quickly and got me through the first half in rapid succession. I was hooked, then the preaching started and the scenarios became more and more ridiculous. At the end I found the book to be a drag and I'm sad to say one of Henning Mankell's worst .

I am well aware of Mankell's political leanings but here it borders on stupidity and a complete bias in favor of the horrors done by Mao's extremists. Let's not forget the approximate 22 million people murdered under Mao and his fanatics. As for the story itself. A murder in northern Sweden links to a Chinese capitalist who takes revenge 140 some years later. Nah don't waste your time.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Sangre De Christo Mountains in Southern Colorado, with Rio Grande in the forefront
San Juan Tailwater New Mexico
Rio Grande Gorge, NM
Rio Costilla, NM Valle Vidal Unit of Carson National Forest
Rio Costilla Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout


I got back from New Mexico on Monday night. The travel logistics went well and the weather was perfect. It dipped down in to the twenties in Red River NM, keep in mind though, that the elevation is almost 9000ft there. I actually had some difficulties with the altitude the first day there. My firs half of the trip was spent at Abe's at Navajo Dam. My main goal was to fish San Juan on this trip. I did for two days and some but only caught some small stocker browns. I did loose four larger rainbows in succession on Labor Day. I used 6x and probably should have used 5x. Oh well, the river was beautiful but I have to say South Holston is easier fishing.

I also spent some time on Piedras, and Animas up on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in Colorado. Both rivers had some tint to them after recent rains. Nymphing was the name of the game, and I caught plenty of stocker bows. No fish of any size. The second part of the trip I spent on Rio Costilla in Valle Vidal in Northern NM. What a gem. I caught several Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout there. Biggest was 12". Another gem of a stream for me was Rio Hondo below Taos Ski Valley. I caught both Rio Grande Cuttthroats, and Browns out of there. This river reminded me a lot of the Smokies streams. The other streams were more shallow with rapid flows. Nymphing was the best method everywhere but I did catch a nice Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout from Rio Hondo on a Yellow Stimulator. New Mexico's food is excellent and the people very friendly. I saw some awesome scenery both in Colorado and New Mexico. The fishing could have been somewhat better but hey!, you can't get everything all the time.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Annika Östberg

I was really hoping that Annika had the common sense and decency to say no thanks to Swedish Radio when they offered her a spot on the popular"Sommar" series. I was OK with her being transferred from California's penal system to Sweden after almost 30 years in prison. I felt she had done her time and if she was still a Swedish citizen and wanted to move home, let her. But I am very disappointed that she is accepting a media presence, and what is that telling the victims of her past? What kind of radio is Swedish radio becoming? Maybe it's a shared fault. Swedish Radio just catering to anything that is material for exploitation. I really hope Annika keep a low profile and just stay out of the media and fame from now on. Sweden is welcoming her and helping her at a great cost, why is she willing to scoundrel that? She will loose a lot of goodwill among Swedish people by being so visible. This is exactly why the people of California didn't want her to be transferred to Sweden.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Clinch

Fished Clinch today for the first time in four months. There were a midge emergence which brought a lot of small stockers up to the surface. I caught some bows and lost several browns on a Griffith's Gnat dry size 20. They are not easy to keep on the hook when they are sipping emergers. The water was cloudy in the main channel and the bigger guys were not home today. Fishing pressure were extremely light and I didn't really see any hook ups around me. It's still hot out there, can't wait for my upcoming
Publish Post
New Mexico trip.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

När Mörkret Faller


När Mörkret Faller (2006) When Darkness Falls, directed by one of Sweden's greatest directors, Anders Nilsson is a dark but also an uplifting film due to the take charge of the oppressed. It's a story of revenge but not in the conventional way. The movie deals with subject matter as dark as domestic abuse, violence at the nightclub scene, arranged marriage and the culture of "honor killings". I believe this to be Anders best work ever after such gems as Noll Tolerans, Livvakterna and Tredje Vågen. Highly recommended, five out of five stars in my book. Great acting by Lia Boysen and Per Graffman.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Bob No Longer With Us

Bob passed away today due to illness. He was 12 years old. He came to us in 2001 when his mama had to go in to a nursing home. He was one of a kind, always in to everything and gave us so much joy. He is in a better place now. He was suffering the last few days and couldn't enjoy life anymore. Rest in peace we will always think of you.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

The Other Guys

Will Ferrell has always been a funny man in my opinion, and he delivers here yet again. Mark Wahlberg is surprisingly funny as the sidekick to Will Ferrell. Would I go to the movies and pay $10 to see this? No, would I rent it or Netflix it? Yes. I was lucky enough to get to see it for free as part of a giveaway.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Dinner For Schmucks

Well, what can I say, I had high expectations for this movie since I like Steve Carrell most of the time. He is OK in this one but that's about it. The movie feels somewhat overdone and quite frankly I found myself looking at my watch halfway through. I'll give it 2 out of 5 stars.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Your Republic is Calling You by Young-Ha Kim


I just finished this Korean authors spy novel. Well spy novel might not be exact. It is more a study of a mans change as he move from reclusive North Korea to the south. It is not a move by choice as he is forced in to the spy business. He is sent by the North to be planted in to the south Korean society. We never get the feel for why this happened nor do we get a real sense of the outcome. It could have been a real good story as the set up is real entertaining but halfway through the book I found myself wanting the darned thing to end. I can't recommend this book unless you have absolutely nothing better to do. The graphic sexual references are also somewhat of a turn off. I'm not a prude normally, but they don't add anything to the book and feel like they are included just for their shock value. 2 out of 5 stars.

Hiwassee yet again.

I have made a decision to spend some time on the Hiwassee this year. This was my fourth trip this year I think. Water temp are still fine. I got 64 in the morning at the stair steps and it was 68 at noon when the water came up. The best fishing is of course between first daylight and about 10 am or so. I saw sporadic Yellow Sallies and some tan caddis. No real action on top but very good fishing under the surface. I caught 14 and lost many more. All very good sized fish for wade fishing on the Hiwassee. I caught several rainbows in the 12" range and one brown of 12". Very colorful and hard fighting. They all took either the BH Pheasant Tail or an Olive Soft Hackle size 14. Very nice to see the river produce like that. Only one dink today, a small brown.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Hiwassee River again

My friend P and I went to the Hiwassee Sunday morning. It was my second weekend going to the mighty HI. I just love that river. It's so beautiful and relaxing to fish. We caught some decent stockers and P got a nice brown trout or two. Water temp still holding up well. A cool 62 in the morning and even in the shallower water it was only 65. Let's hope the river will stay cool this year.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Hiwassee River

The mountains have not gotten the rain it need for fishing to be good. I decided therefore to head down to the HI again. I've heard the temperature down there is holding up pretty good this year. Sure enough it was 63 degrees today. I caught and released 7 bows and a small brown in three hours this morning. The river was bursting at the seams with people today. I guess everyone is trying to escape the heat. I think the bad water situation in the mountains is drawing people to the tailwaters. I fished nymphs and soft hackles all morning with one five minute exception. I tossed a yellow Klinkhamer and caught the small brown with it.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Day Trip to S. Holston and a mountain stream

Took off early on Saturday, got to South Holston right at 6:30 am. I shared the river with a dozen or so anglers. It didn't feel too crowded considering it was a holiday weekend. I immediately caught a small stocker bow on a BH Pheasant Tail Nymph size 14. Immediately I thought, this will be an easy day. It's funny how a fish on your first cast can mean slow the rest of the day. That's what happened. I had to fight hard the rest of the morning. I fished until 10 am and only managed to reel in five fish. Four were bows and one foul hooked brown. It was frustrating to say the least. The morning was cool and pleasant though. No real surface activity and I can only hope that the sulphur fishing in the afternoon was better.

I decided to take a break when the pulse came through and headed up to a mountain stream. This stream is a high quality fishery but it was very low today. We really need some good rain. I caught one small brown and lost several. My heart wasn't really in it today. I fished for a couple of hours before I decided to head back home to Knoxville. It was very pleasant in the higher elevations and it was nice to escape the heat down below. Got home and ended up with a severe sinus headache. Didn't do much on Sunday and even less today. We managed to cook some food on the grill and just chilled. Back to work tomorrow.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Difficult day

I decided against all odds to go to the mountains today. I arrived at my selected creek on the Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I hiked about a mile and a half and immediately ran in to three others fly fishermen. Oh well, after a brief chat I continued up the trail for about another half a mile. I rigged up and the humidity was unbearable. I had maybe half a dozen strikes from small fish in about two hours of fishing. The gnats were eating my alive, the sweat was pouring down my spine. I just couldn't take it anymore. I decided to drive back to the Tn side to find higher altitude. After an hour of hiking and another half an hour of driving I was back on another stream. It wasn't more than ten minutes or so and the whole misery started again. The heat and humidity was so intense that short of standing in the river with your head under the surface would do. I accepted defeat and decided that I had to live with a skund for the first time on a mountain stream in many many years. What a miserable day to be out.

Enough of the whining, cooler temps are coming and I'm looking forward to it.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Crazy Heart and Camping

What a wonderful movie. I don't particularly like Maggie Gyllenhaal that much but she was pretty good in this one. The stand out performance however was from Jeff Bridges. A superb movie. Highly recommended.

Did some high altitude camping this weekend over in NC. I was at 5000 ft plus. Let me tell you what a wonderful feeling it is to get back to camp and it's in the sixties. It was scorching down below as you all know. The fishing was so so. I caught some but nothing to write home about.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Three Swedish Books I've Recently Read

Finska Vinterkriget (The Winter War) by Robert Edwards is an historical account of the events taking place during the finnish winter war with Russia. The book is very detailed and I'm sure it's fine if you are into troop movements and minute details. As for general interest groups it becomes a somewhat intimidating and dry read. I'll give it a 3 out of 5.

Monica Antonssons book about Mia Eriksson who received asylum in the U.S.A. due to domestic abuse in her home country of Sweden. This book questions the whole story we have been fed from Liza Marklund and Mia Eriksson. I have to say, regardless who is right, Monica's book is a good read and somehow make you wonder what you can believe in nowadays. I have previously stated that I think Liza Marklund and Mia Eriksson did a James Frey. The book is recommended and I give it a 4 out of 5.

Maria Eriksson wrote a follow up about her daughter Emma. The book is credited to Maria but supposedly tells the story from the perspective of her daughter Emma who was the child Mia had with the man she accuses of all the horrible acts done to her. I have to say the book is poorly written and almost feels like a diary. It is badly edited and it shows that without Liza and her team behind her she can't write. The book is not recommended and I give it a 1 out of 5.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Bear jam, Turkey jam, Deer jam and don't you know it fishing jam

I did the insane today. After stopping for lunch and a chat with Byron, Paula and the crew at Little River Outfitters in Townsend, Tn I headed for Cades Cove and Abrams Creek. I wasn't even two hundred yards before this imbecile in front of me decided to just sit there and look at a turkey. Don't get me wrong, I know the national park is for everyone, but dude there's a pullout hundred yards in front of you and a sing which politely ask you to not block the road. After I honked my horn they moved on and another mile in I was greeted by a bear jam. Then another mile or so after that a deer jam. You would think I had enough of jam by now but when I finally got on the stream I ran in to no less than six other fishermen/women. By now I should been all bummed out. No, I've learned in my old days that if you do a little bit of hiking you bypass all these easy going fishing people. So I pressed on up on the stream. I found my spot and started nymphing with a BH Tellico. I picked up seven rainbows on this trip. I lost a couple that might have been 10" but the ones I caught were short but fat. The water temp was a little warm, 66 degrees at 4 pm. A rain shower came through and when I quit fishing at 8 pm the water temp was down to 60. I drove out of the cove in a more reasonable time than going in, but remember, If you do this trip have patience because I almost lost it on this one. People who visit the cove are really not bad people. The problem is that 60-70% of the visitors have no regards for time or the concept that I have seen enough of turkeys to sit on the road and stare at them.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

I had to put my Cat down today.


It was not easy, my first cat Clyde and one of the nicest and funniest cats around is no longer with us. It was the right thing to do. I never thought it would be easy but not this hard either. Although he was closer to my wife than me, he was after all our first cat and I was the one suggesting that we take him home. We got him in 1999 right at the same time as we bought this house we now live in. A coworker at the time knew of a lady who had too many cats. The rest is history.

Clyde was 13 years old and to me that doesn't sound that old, not when you consider that he was inside all the time and got the best food a cat could crave. Oh well, I got two others to take care of, one was real sick earlier this year Tiggy, but he recovered after we took him to the hospital for a four day stint. I'm not going in to the details of Clyde's passing but I think he is in a better place now. I will miss him though and it's not exactly a happy day at our house. People who say "Well he was just a cat" doesn't understand. They become something more than just an another animal. If you ever let a cat in close to your heart you know what I mean.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Wore em' out on South Holston

I'm just back from a two night camping trip. I took a day off from work on Friday. I drove up to Backbone Rock area to camp for a few nights. I set up camp Thursday evening under threatening skies. No rain yet though. It was to come the following day. I have wanted to fish Beaverdam Creek for several years now and my plan was to fish Beaverdam after South Holston. Well, it didn't happen. I had to fish S. Holston both days. Mind you, they were very good days but I was really wanting to spend some time on Beaverdam and one other creek in the area. The rain moved in Friday afternoon and put a stop to that. I got back to camp around 5 pm and it was raining hard. Beaverdam looked like chocolate milk. When I got up this morning to take a look at it, it wasn't much better. I decided to spend both days on S. Holston instead.

I got to the river on Friday morning at around 7:30 am. I and maybe six other anglers were on the water. They had scheduled a pulse at 1 so I had time to fish until about 1:45 pm or so. I began with a 22 zebra midge dropped off of a BH pheasant tail. I immediately began to connect. I fished this way until about 10:30 when everything seemed to slow down. I was tired and hungry so I decided to call it enough and go back to camp. I caught a total of 17 fish in three hours. Two were 15" rainbows and several browns in the 12" range. A very good morning indeed. It didn't look like the others were catching that much. I think they fishermen who are willing to go down in size on midges will do better than if you insist on dries the first thing in the morning. There were no sulphurs on the water at all.

Today, Saturday was more of the same, I fished with the same set up. A black zebra midge with red ultra wire dropped off of the bh pheasant tail. It was somewhat more action today but the sizes of the fish were down. I did managed to catch a couple in the 13" range but most were 10" or so. I caught about 23 today. I had a couple come up and push my dry so I'm sure later in the evening for the ones who wait out the pulse, there would be opportunities on the dry. All in all a good couple of days on the South Holston. I still hope to do Beaverdam one day. I probably will wait until the Green Drakes next year.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Monroe County Stream

Went with a friend of mine today to a Blount county mountain stream. We really visited two streams in one trip. We began our day around high noon and the fishing took off pretty much instantly. There were very sporadic hatches of Yellow Sallies and one lone Green Drake. I also spotted a couple of sulphurs. Water temp was at 60 and the water level has gone down to almost a little low. My friend caught a nice bow around 10 inches and I had several fat ones in the 8 to 9 inch range. This particular stream has some good fish in it and it was a lovely and very comfortable day in the seventies.

We took a break to check out another stream in the vicinity. This particular stream is nowhere near the other one in quality. It is a lovely stream but you will get tired of fishing for dinks after a while. I'm not one to ruffle anyone's feathers but if you are after better quality fishing don't waste your time on upper Citico in the wild section. I'm sure there are a few larger ones in there but for the most part you will find better fishing elsewhere.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

New Mexico

Cashed in some airline miles today. Leaving Knoxville on Sept 4 and will be gone until Sept 13, I am really getting excited about this one. I'm hoping to fish San Juan tailwater among others. I have all summer to do my planning. I'm going to pick up a rental in Albuquerque, NM and have not decided on my itinerary yet. More to come.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Ronnie James Dio Dead

It was with sadness I got the word today that the "Greatest Hard Rock Singer" ever has died. Ronnie James Dio the front man of Heaven and Hell died of stomach cancer this morning according to his wife Wendy. I can remember the countless hours of listening to his wonderful voice in Rainbow. His solo career in his own band Dio and later in Heaven and Hell. He was also fairly successful as the replacement for Ozzy in Black Sabbath in 1979. Rest in peace and this is the greatest loss to the hard rock community since Bon Scott's passing.

Brown 10-Rainbow 10

Even score yesterday. I lucked out on the weather front. In between the downpour and lightning, I fished for close to four hours. There were plenty of bugs in the air on Hiwassee. The fresh stockers took a yellow emerger with gusto. I saw sulphurs, tan caddis and Yellow Sallies. Water temp was 64 degrees. I fished from 5 pm until dark. There were only one two other anglers at Big Bend while I was there. It's funny how different fish are fighting. There were some real good fighters despite being freshly stocked. Others were just hanging lick dead limbs.

I got a tie between the browns and the bows today. The state had obviously dumped in a lot of 8" Browns this week. I had a hard time trying to sight fish for some larger ones. I couldn't get the dinks of my line. A positive problem to have I might ad.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Camping Trip

I set out on my first camping adventure this past Thursday night. I left straight from work. I set up camp at Paint Creek Campground. I stayed there for two nights. The campground is very nice and has obviously been renovated since the big flood in 01. I drove over to a new destination for me in Unicoi county. I fished this small mountain stream for a couple of hours during the heat of the day. Friday was very hot and muggy but the water temp on this stream was a cool 56 degrees. I managed to catch half a dozen scrappy bows but no brookies. There are brookies in this stream but I was a mile or so below their preferred habitat.

I drove back to the campground in the afternoon and cooked some burgers on my table top grill. I was purposely waiting on the evening hatch. I began fishing on Paint Creek upstream from the campground at about 5:30 pm. The water level was great and the temp right at 60. I quickly caught an eight inch brown and thought the feed bag was on. Boy was I wrong! I didn't catch anything further up so I decided to hike back down to the stocked part of the stream. I managed to loose a handful of stockers in quick succession. It was obviously not my day. I saw sporadic hatches of some kind of drake. It looked like green drake or gray fox. The fish were not really feeding and I believe the cold front hampered the fishing.

That night was really a change from the night before. It dropped down in to the fifties and Saturday was very windy and a lot cooler. I drove up to my favorite Carter County stream and got on the river at 10:30 am. The fishing here was about as difficult as the day before on the other stream. I had to fight to get any strikes. I caught 10 brown in five hours of fishing different parts of the stream. The biggest fish was a 12 incher. I quit right at dark after breaking for supper. Now waited a long drive back to Knoxville. I was dead tired when I got home but a good tired if you know what I mean.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Clinch on Friday and a mountain stream on Saturday


I am tired, it's tough on an old man to fish two days in a row lol. I went to witness the massive sulphur hatch on Clinch Friday evening. I lost four fish in succession and didn't have much luck with my hook set. I spoke to a couple of other guys and they said fishing was easier in the am. I didn't really see anyone else catching much that night.

I decided to brave the storms and head out to some new water on Saturday. I got to the stream around 2:30 pm and fished until dark. There were sporadic hatches of Yellow Sallies and some lone Light Cahills. Not much of any surface activity at all. I had a great time in complete solitude and managed to catch about 17 rainbows. The biggest was an 11 inch wild fish. I'm off to some camping adventures in a few days. I'm praying for drier weather for awhile.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Män Som Hatar Kvinnor)

My wife is a fan of Stieg Larsson and his "millennium trilogy. I remember when they first were published in Sweden and all the hoopla and excitement about his books. Unfortunately the author died of an apparent heart attack in 2004 and he never got to experience the fame and fortune from his work. Stieg was an investigate journalist and his books has sold very well world wide. The first movie in the series just opened here in the U.S. and of course being a swede I had to go see it. I guess I was biased beforehand because I read the book in English translation and wasn't impressed. I blame some of it on bad translation from the original language. I know from experience that a book in it's original language is usually better. I also felt that the story was not so good and I honestly don't know what all the hoopla is about. What about the movie? Well, it has an elite of Swedish actors, both young and old. Old stand by's like Ingvar Hirdwall, Marika Lagercrantz, Björn Granath, etc. The lead is played by Michael Nyqvist and supporting actress Noomi Rapace. Peter Andersson and Peter Haber, as well as Lena Endre appears. As you can see, if you are swedish you know all these actors. They can't save the movie however. I was also shocked to see how much Sven-Bertil Taube has aged. This shows how long it is since I lived in Sweden, and based on my hiking experience yesterday. I am no spring chicken either.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Skunked on Abrams

I did a pretty tough hike today, tough for me due to being out of shape from the winter doldrums. I went with a friend from Maryville and we took off from Abrams Creek Ranger Station at about 7 am. We got to the falls area right at 9 am, and began fishing after we rested for a minute. There were heavy hatches of tan and green caddis, gray foxes, and Green Drakes. I even saw a left over Hendrickson. Yellow Sallies are beginning their dance. This should have made for easy fishing right? Well not quite. I only had one strike and I lost the fish. My buddy didn't do much better. We fished under a threat of severe storms and after cooking lunch we decided to walk out of there. It was raining on the way out but the skies cleared up again when we got to the cars. Isn't that the way it always works out?

Quick Clinch River Outing

Managed to get out to the Clinch Wednesday afternoon after work. It was a nice and clear evening but not much activity. I saw one fellow with a fish on but none of the other half a dozen fishermen there caught anything while I fished. Sporadic hatches of Sulphur duns were coming off but no surface feeding. I eventually caught two small rainbows and when I left the river I spoke with one gentleman who said he had a difficult time also. Maybe next time....

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Three beautiful creeks and a tired man



Gee Creek Rainbow



What a beautiful Saturday we had in the Knoxville area. I left town at 5 am and after much soul searching decided to visit Gee Creek. This is a stream in which I have had numerous 50 to 60 fish days on. Mind you most fish were in the six to seven inch range with the occasional 10 "lunker" I have always considered it a nice and relaxing place and it has always been a respite from the masses on other trout streams. I was somewhat discouraged today when I found plenty of litter to pick up. It seemed to be mostly from last years swimmers and picnickers. There were major hatches in the 56 degree water. I saw, Hendricksons, both the duns and later in the pm the spinners. There were Gray Foxes duns and some Slate Mahogany Duns in the pm. A small tannish and some green caddis showed up also. The problem: None of the fish were taking on top. I had to resort to a BH Prince Nymph, after one rainbow and several hours I managed to catch the above beauty on a tan EHC size 14.

I stoppedfor lunch and headed back up north to hike in to Bald River Gorge area. I fished the bald for a couple of hours and only caught one small brown and another rainbow right after that. No hatches to speak of. Hiked back out to finish up the evening at North River Campground are on North River. I once again saw Hendrickson duns and some caddis. Tied on my EHC tan size 14 and lost two good sized bows before I was able to catch one. I was exhausted by now but happy. Nothing beats a solitude day on three different and beautiful mountains streams. The air temps were in the low 70's and the water in the high 50's. I got home late and crashed in to bed, with tiredness in my body.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Hiwassee River

I usually fish the Hiwassee river in the spring. No different this year. I got there at about 9 am and rigged up for nymphing. Hiwassee is a real bug factory and a fish factory also. The only negative with this river is that it is very difficult to catch anything of size. Hiwassee is mainly a put and take fishery and doesn't have many hold over Rainbow trout. Temperature issues and possibly other factors limit the survival rate of the fish. The river does have some hold over browns and they can get huge. They are however not easy to catch and I would say almost impossible during low flow. It has to be a high water float to even have a chance to catch the. Hiwassee river could be a gem if the hold over trout was there. The river is a literal bug factory. I saw BWO's in the morning, along grannom (Little Black Sedge or Caddis), and you would thinkg they would take on top. Not so today. I had to stick with nymphing, although I tried a Black EHC several times. I managed to catch 28 or so rainbows today. I caught them all on BH princes and some black spiders and Iron Blue Dun wets. But it is somewhat disheartening that not one of the fish was a keeper. They were all 9 to 10 inches each and looked like they had been recently stocked. I do however love the rive and the nature surrounding it. It is one of my favorite places in TN. I have fished Hiwassee river of and on for almost a decade now. I used to do it more often but lately it has been a spring trip every year. Mainly a practice run for more technical waters to come. If you ever have to take a beginner out, this would be one of my top choices. The river is choke full of fish and with some practice and help with the entomology a beginner should have a field day. The water temp was 60 degrees today and I fished about six hours total with a break for lunch in between.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

2nd Trip to Clinch this spring

I couldn't stay away any longer. I decided to go to the river right after work. I managed to get there and rigged up by 5:15 pm. There were about seven others in the vicinity. My favorite hole was empty though. It started slow like last week. There were plenty of black fly's and some BWO's sputtering about. I tried my run for awhile but nothing. Moved downstream after two other fishermen went home. After about an hour away from my hole with no strikes I was back at my first spot. I caught two fish in two casts. The first one was a 10" bow and the second one a solid 15" Rainbow. Then after about another 15 minutes a smaller brown and two more 10' bows. It was now getting close to dark and time to head home. Not bad for 2 1/2 hours of fishing on a week night.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Littler River above the sinks

I just had to get out of the house today, knowing that rain is coming. I drove to Townsend and stopped to chat with Byron and Paula in Little River Outfitters. I haven't seen Byron in ages. I used to go over that way a whole lot more often a couple of years ago. I guess I just got burned out on fishing that particular area. I have spent the last two seasons on other waters. Today however I began fishing low since we had frost last night. The water was right at 50 when I began fishing at 3:30 pm. There was a peak of Quill Gordons and Blue Quills coming off at around 5 pm. The hatch was by no means heavy. This cold weather must have slowed them down again. No real rises either. I managed to catch one 8" Brown and missed a couple of more strikes and that was it. I quit right before dark at 7:45 pm. I had a very nice evening out so let the rain begin.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Finally got my skunk off on Clinch this evening

Decided to hop over to Clinch since it's only 40 minutes from work. I had my truck loaded up and went as soon as my shift ended. Got to the river at 5:10 pm and there were about half a dozen people in the vicinity of Massengill bridge. I rigged up and got a hit on the third cast on a 22 black Zebra midge with a gold bh. Lost the fish and then nothing for about an hour and a half. A heavy black fly emergence were going on and I had no good black emerger. I found a Stewart's Black Spider but it was way too big a size 14. I needed 20 and smaller. I put it on anyway and kept my Zebra midge on. Then I finally got a fresh stocker bow on the spider. I managed to catch another one on the Zebra midge right before dark. Two hours is not enough to fine tune anything but it sure was nice to get out.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Back in Cherokee, but no luck

I went to Cherokee, NC to fish the fly fishing section again. It's been almost a year since I was there and lost a very big bow. This time no such luck. The water temp was good at 50 but it was still too early for a major hatch. We, my friend and I anticipated a Quill Gordon hatch in the evening but only sporadic bugs coming off. No real activity. I saw two other fishermen play a fish for a while but loosing them. Other than that no real action. It was the first day of spring and a nice one at that. Warm and sunny. I will be back for sure when the season has progressed a little bit.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Slaget om Finland Tali-Ihantala 1944

I watched the second Åke Lindman directed movie about Finland during WWII. This movie depicts the events leading up to the biggest battle in Scandinavia during the second world war. The battle at Tali-Ihantala in the summer of 1944. Finland managed to stave off the Red Army's attack on the Karelian Isthmus. It was a heroic battle regardless of the political disputes. If looked upon as David against Goliath it showed why my admiration for Finland is still so great to this day. Finland found itself on the wrong side of the good people at the end of the war, many say Finland had no options but using Hitler. Regardless, Finland kept it's freedom somewhat intact during the cold war and Soviets domination of Eastern Europe.

The movie itself is not as good as the previous Åke Lindman movie about the winter war. It is lacking in plot and the battle scenes are not as good. Budgetary problems maybe. Even so, it's a movie worth seeing for anyone with an interest in world war II.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

First trip of the year

I couldn't take it any longer. I haven't fished since October last year. I had to get out. I didn't catch anything in the 42 degree water but it was nice to be back out swinging the long rod again. It won't be long before the trout will be looking up again. This has been a long cold winter and people can't wait until they can get out and enjoy the outdoors again. Don't get me wrong. I like winter hiking and such but this year was dreadful. I have been gone from Sweden too long. Thank God I don't live there anymore. They have had more than 3 ft of snow in my old home town. It's been snowing off and on since Christmas.

Åke Lindman's Framom Främsta Linjen (Beyond Enemy Lines)

The continuation war was fought with fury by Finland in a somewhat bothersome alliance with Hitlers Germany. If you are in to the non Hollywood glorification of war movies this is for you. It is done in a documentary style based on real people and real events. It has no love story or any sugarcoating at all. It is raw, uncensored war. It is telling the story of the Swedish speaking Infantry regiment 61. It is mainly based on Harry Järv's photos from the front lines. It is taking place on the front line at Svir in nowadays Russian Karelia. I have to say that I am biased as I do have family ancestry from Finland. I do believe this movie will interest anyone with a slight interest in WWII events.

It is not as good as the "Winter War movie from 1989, but it is better than Edvin Laine's 1955 movie Tuntematon Sotilas., (The Unknown Soldier), which curiously starred the director Åke Lindman. Anyhow, all three movies are recommended. They will not be easy to find in the U.S though.

Karin Alvetegen's Betrayal

Karin Alvtegen has a knack for real good psychological thrillers set in Sweden. Betrayal is her second book translated in to English. The book was published in Sweden in 2003 and was a precursor to her bigger hit "Missing". Both books are worth a read but in my opinion, Betrayal is the better one of the two. In comparison to Johan Theorin who seem to be so popular right now. Karin is a step above him. Although certain aspects of the book are far flung like most thrillers it is for the most part believable. Karin's books leave you with a thought and sometimes with sadness. The ever so popular Hollywood happy ending, doesn't happen in these books.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Up In the Air

I have always liked George Clooney and he is this movie also. Without him it would have been even slower than it was. I don't understand the hype about this one. Maybe the book was better. I can't understand why it produced two best supporting actresses nominations either. It is by no means a complete waste of time, but it's no movie of the year either. Just a so so movie, that's all.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Johan Theorin, The Darkest Room

Here's another up and coming crime writer from Sweden. Johan Theorin's two books are now both out in the U.S. I began with the second one "The Darkest Room". (Nattfåk). I have to say it begins real good and you get a feel for the wintry and dark setting of the Island of Öland, where the book takes place. After about the middle of the book, it begin to go down hill. I found myself hurrying to get to the end and when I did I didn't quite understand what was going on. The book is full of silly violence and no one would come out alive of it. It also have a series of ghost stories and paranormal activity which seem not to fit in. In all a slow and boring read. Not recommended in my humble opinion.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Flymfer & andra mjukhacklade flugor

This book is a gem, it is written by the well known fly fishing author and illustrator Gunnar Johnson from Bodafors, Sweden in conjunction with Anders Forsling. Gunnar had a friendship with the late Pete Hidy and thereby a connection of sorts to Jim Leisenring. "Big Jim from Allentown as he was affectionately called. Gunnar tells the story of the soft hackle and it's transplantation over the Atlantic and to Leisenring and his disciple Hidy. Gunnar is a good storyteller although the book is somewhat short on the subject. This is in part due to the fact that it was written at a time in Sweden when the popularity of soft hackles were in it's infancy. The book was published by the Scandinavian fly fishing magazine "Flugfiske I Norden" of which Gunnar was editor in chief at the time of publication of this book in 1989.

I read the book in one sitting, since it's only 128 pages but it is an entertaining read and it somehow makes you jealous if you are historically interested in the soft hackle evolution. It gives you a feeling of Wow, I wish I could have met Hidy. Leisenring et al. Highly recommended reading.

I'm now stuck on the Olympic ice hockey. Sweden playing Germany tonight in their first game of the Olympics.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Hans Lidmans Favoritflugor


I ordered this wonderful poster while I was in Sweden. I received it in the mail the other day. It is produced in a joint effort between the Hans Lidman Sällskapet (Hans Lidman Society), in Sweden and the Scandinavian fly fishing magazine Flugfiske I Norden. It has a quote under each fly and is from a book where Hans mention that particular fly. It is now hung on the wall next to my new Regal vise I also received this week. My Renzetti Aprentice vice broke. I somehow managed to shatter the jaws. I don't know if it was my own fault or just plain old bad quality. In either case, I don't want another Renzetti. I always thought Regal's one clasp is the better way to go. It also seem to hold hooks a lot better. Now I'm looking for a bobbin rest for it.

As you can see above I'm somewhat fascinated with Hans Lidman and his Hälsingland area. I think I need to visit Flaxnan for some grayling one of these days. I also heard that they have been working on restoring Voxnan river also. Back to tying Prince Nymphs.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Hurt Locker

Watched "Hurt Locker" yesterday. It was an ok movie but my attention waned after the first hours. The movie seeemed to have a good start up story but no real plot. I wouldn't go out of my way to see this.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

What the dog saw

I don't know why I began reading Malcolm Gladwell's books, but I began with Outliers which I like a lot and then I read Blink. Blink was not as good and by the time I got to The Tipping Point it was getting to be a drag. So I didn't have high hopes for What The Dog Saw..... I once again got my intuition right. I didn't like it. I actually put it down after about 30 pages. I guess it was a good thing I began reading with Outliers, otherwise I probably wouldn't have gone as far as I did.

We are now finishing up the last season of C/O Segemyhr. The Swedish TV series and it is also going somewhat down hill. The three first seasons were a lot better.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Den Hand Som Skälver

Finished the eight "Ann Lindell" book by Kjell Eriksson the other day. It is by far the best one in the series in my opinion. Kjell just announced that the series will end with the tenth book. These books should be coming to the U.S. in an English translation eventually. The problem is that usually it takes years before the translations are done. The one who waits though, will have something to look forward too.

I need to do some fly tying but only got to do half a dozen soft hackles the other night before I got a sore throat and my third cold of the season. I just can' t win this year. Not much else going on, signing off.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

St Croix Rods

I just have to say what a wonderful company they are. I bought a used rod a few years back. I managed to break it this past summer on a fishing trip. I lost both top pieces. I researched the St Croix Rod's web site and found their silver plan as they call it. If you have a rod which you are not the original owner or simply don't have the paper work for the warranty any longer. They will attempt to repair or upgrade your rod to an equivalent model. All for a sum of $60 including shipping both ways in the U.S.A. You can't beat a deal like that. I had an older Imperial model which is no longer made. They sent me two replacement pieces to make my 4 pc whole again. Kudos to them.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Nattens Drottning and Flugfiskets Mästare


The book publisher Setterns Bokförlag have begun to issue more and more of fine fishing literature which deals with fly fishing. Two of these books are Nattens Drottning which is a compilation of some of the best stories from the late great Hans Lidman. The other "Flugfiskets Mästare is a mixed collection of short stories, touching on historical figures, or events in fly fishing. It is written by the excellent writer and fly fisherman Lars-Åke Olsson. The famous (in Sweden) river keeper at Idsjöströmmen in Gimån Sweden. Lars is by the way nowadays married to the Montana fly fishing guide and author Jennifer Olsson.

Lars's book is a highly recommended read if you can read Swedish. It is well written and an easy and entertaining read. It kind of feel like if you have some of the basic knowledge of fly fishing history it is even better.

The Hans Lidman book is also a short story collection chosen by Lars Eriksson of the Hans Lidman Society in Sweden. Hans was a well known fly fisher, author and photographer from Hälsingland, Sweden. He wrote often about his beloved Svartån. Real name Mållångsboån.
The book is dated in it's depictions but Hans's storytelling and feel for the subject draws you in like a magnet. The story Höst i Hyllen almost gives you a sad feeling of despair when you finish it. Both books are recommended but only if you read Swedish of course.

The hockey was fun. My wife and I went with a coworker and his wife and although Knoxville Ice Bears lost to Pensacola, the night was a success.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Vi Hade I Alla Fall Tur Med Vädret Igen and Segemyhr säsong 4

Vädret 2 for shorts was not as good as the the first and classic one from 1980. I don't think anyone would go in to it thinking that way. It's somewhat sad and a fact of life to see how everyone has aged. Especially Claire Wikholm, but Rolf Skoglund doesn't look like a spring chicken either, and I don't' either LOL. The movie is a decent hour and a half of fun. Although it is not even close to the first one when it comes to laughter.

As for Segemyhr, what can I say. It's probably the best tv series in decades. I know the original was Norwegian, but Jähkel, Ulvesson, Sarri, and Eriksson are just a match in heaven for this series. Highly recommended.

I'm way behind on reading and such, but managed to get out of the house for a hike with The Great Smoky Mountain Hiking club. We went to schoolhouse gap on Chestnut Top Trail. It was somewhat strenuous for me after all the weight gain over the holidays. Well, that' s about it for now, I'm on my way to see the Knoxville Ice Bears hockey team beat Pensacola tonight.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Hotet and some pictures from Stockaryd, Sweden

I finished the great Kjell Sundvall's movie "Hotet". It is a somewhat thin story but at the same time very entertaining. It has one of my favorite Swedish actors in it Shanti Roney. Göran Ragnerstam does a great role as an air force officer. The movie came out in 2004 or so and got very bad reviews but I give it a C+. I also finished the fly fishing trilogy by Lars-Åke Olsson. Torrflugefiske, Våtflugefiske and Nymffiske. Dr Fly Fishing, Wet fly fishing and fishing with a nymph respectively. If you like Lars and his books you will enjoy these DVDs also. They are somewhat brief in the fishing department and feels more like tying movies than fishing movies.

Here's a few pictures taken at Christmas time at my parents house in Sweden.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Back from Sweden

I've got back from Sweden last night. This was one of my most horrific experiences when it comes to travel. On my way over there I was stuck in Memphis for six hours, and then seventeen hours in Amsterdam, trying to sleep in the airport. It was snow storms everywhere and complete chaos. I will never put my foot in Schiphol again if I can avoid it. Rude people and nobody cared to help anyone. I finally got to Gothenburg one day late. Picked up my rental car and drove the two hours to my home town Stockaryd. I had a nice visit with my folks, but managed to get offended twice. One day in a store In a small town called Värnamo. The clerk literally yelled at me for trying to use a computer terminal labeled info. As a visitor from the U.S, used to customer service and the customer is always right attitude I was appalled. I spoke my piece and told them that I was a visitor from overseas and lucky for them I was born in Sweden and know how rude and cold they can be. My next bad experience came in my dealings with an official government entity. I had to take care of a simple application process and they managed to constantly use sarcasm and out of place humour with me. I guess they really do hate Americans nowadays. Aside from these incidents everything was great. I just can't understand why the people are so impolite and sour. Don't even get me started on the way they bump in to you, cut in front of you in lines, and general me me attitude. I'm very disappointed in this, especially as a native born Swede. I guess I never thought about this until I moved to the U.S.