Tennswede

2011-11-14T20:02:00.002-05:00

Hensley Settlement, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

The Hensley Settlement on top of Cumberland Mountain in Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in KY. November 12, 2011

South Holston River, TN October 8, 2011

2011-10-11T19:50:00.003-04:00

Landing a 14" South Holston Brown right after I lost a bigger one.
Photo: N. White

Southeast's Best Fly Fishing by James Buice

2011-10-11T19:24:00.003-04:00

Southeast's Best Fly Fishing, by James Buice is absolutely the best book on the subject if you are new to to area or just want to visit. It's also good as entertainment for all of you who already own a lot of the books dealing with this area. It has superb photos and a lot of detailed access information as well as fly recipes etc. Highly recommended.

Karin Alvtegen " En Sannolik Historia"

2011-10-11T19:17:00.003-04:00

Karin Alvtegen's latest "A probable story" is probably her best ever. It's a departure from her usual psychological thrillers with murders and deceit. This time is family drama but not in the conventional sense. It's a suspense of a different order. It makes you think about your life and circumstances and yes for many readers, it will be a look in the mirror. Highly recommended. Her earlier books are out in English but I'm not sure if this one is translated yet. Highly recommended reading.

2011-09-08T17:59:00.006-04:00

Karelia Vacation: Aug/Sept 2011

Koli National Park Northern Karelia, Finland. View overlooking lake Pielinen.

Grayling from Ruuna River, Northern Karelia, Finland.

2011-08-15T20:03:00.003-04:00

Tiggy Ahlstedt 1997-2011

Bob Ahlstedt 1998-2010

Clyde Ahlstedt 1997-2010

A long time since I wrote anything on here

2011-08-11T18:49:00.002-04:00

It's been a long time. A lot of things have happened but I really got burned out about ten months ago. Facebook became a better communication tool for me and I frankly ran out of things to say on the blog. I'm going to to a soft start again but I doubt I will be as active as I was last time. I will however try to update more often than every ten months. Thanks if you are still reading my blog and I will have more later in to the fall. I'm going on a vacation soon so there will be some pictures then.

Thanks,

Date Night

2010-11-05T20:40:00.003-04:00

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.

Sand Cave, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Revisited

2010-10-31T20:52:00.005-04:00

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.

Little River, TN

2010-10-23T21:05:00.005-04:00

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.

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

2010-10-22T17:37:00.003-04:00

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.

Hiwassee and Newbie day with TU

2010-10-12T19:14:00.005-04:00

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.

2010-10-02T20:30:00.001-04:00

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.

Den Orolige Mannen by Henning Mankell

2010-09-25T19:42:00.004-04:00

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.

That Evening Sun

2010-09-20T20:56:00.002-04:00

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

2010-09-20T20:48:00.002-04:00

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.

2010-09-15T17:30:00.008-04:00

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.

Annika Östberg

2010-08-24T22:23:00.002-04:00

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.

Clinch

2010-08-22T15:08:00.003-04:00

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.

När Mörkret Faller

2010-08-19T18:20:00.004-04:00

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.

Bob No Longer With Us

2010-08-07T15:38:00.002-04:00

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.

The Other Guys

2010-08-05T17:48:00.003-04:00

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.

Dinner For Schmucks

2010-08-01T20:13:00.003-04:00

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.

Your Republic is Calling You by Young-Ha Kim

2010-07-31T16:07:00.006-04:00

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.

2010-07-31T16:03:00.002-04:00

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.

Hiwassee River again

2010-07-19T17:35:00.003-04:00

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.

Hiwassee River

2010-07-10T16:21:00.002-04:00

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.

Day Trip to S. Holston and a mountain stream

2010-07-05T14:21:00.002-04:00

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.

Difficult day

2010-06-27T10:52:00.003-04:00

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.

Crazy Heart and Camping

2010-06-21T19:07:00.004-04:00

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.

Three Swedish Books I've Recently Read

2010-06-07T19:42:00.003-04:00

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.

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

2010-06-06T13:16:00.003-04:00

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.

I had to put my Cat down today.

2010-06-02T18:24:00.003-04:00

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.

Wore em' out on South Holston

2010-05-29T19:27:00.002-04:00

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.

Monroe County Stream

2010-05-23T13:17:00.004-04:00

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.

New Mexico

2010-05-18T21:26:00.003-04:00

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.

Ronnie James Dio Dead

2010-05-16T17:41:00.002-04:00

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

2010-05-16T16:45:00.003-04:00

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.

Camping Trip

2010-05-09T20:08:00.003-04:00

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.

Clinch on Friday and a mountain stream on Saturday

2010-05-02T10:10:00.003-04:00

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.

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

2010-04-25T18:19:00.005-04:00

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.

Skunked on Abrams

2010-04-24T20:06:00.004-04:00

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

2010-04-24T20:03:00.003-04:00

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....

Three beautiful creeks and a tired man

2010-04-18T11:51:00.003-04:00

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.

Hiwassee River

2010-04-03T21:57:00.005-04:00

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.

2nd Trip to Clinch this spring

2010-03-31T21:06:00.002-04:00

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.

Littler River above the sinks

2010-03-27T21:59:00.001-04:00

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.

Finally got my skunk off on Clinch this evening

2010-03-24T21:01:00.003-04:00

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.

Back in Cherokee, but no luck

2010-03-21T15:30:00.001-04:00

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.

Slaget om Finland Tali-Ihantala 1944

2010-03-16T18:17:00.005-04:00

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.

First trip of the year

2010-03-07T19:15:00.002-05:00

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)

2010-03-07T10:46:00.005-05:00

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

2010-03-07T10:42:00.001-05:00

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.

Up In the Air

2010-02-28T14:56:00.002-05:00

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.

Johan Theorin, The Darkest Room

2010-02-22T20:18:00.004-05:00

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.

Flymfer & andra mjukhacklade flugor

2010-02-17T18:06:00.003-05:00

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.

Hans Lidmans Favoritflugor

2010-02-10T20:07:00.003-05:00

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.

Hurt Locker

2010-02-01T20:10:00.002-05:00

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.

Setterns Bokförlag

2010-01-28T21:16:00.006-05:00

Jag är med och tävlar om Frank Sawyers nymfteknik och flugasken Frank Sawyer Collection på: www.settern.wordpress.com

What the dog saw

2010-01-27T18:19:00.003-05:00

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.

Den Hand Som Skälver

2010-01-24T13:04:00.002-05:00

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.

St Croix Rods

2010-01-19T17:36:00.003-05:00

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.

Nattens Drottning and Flugfiskets Mästare

2010-01-17T20:43:00.005-05:00

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.

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

2010-01-16T16:42:00.005-05:00

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.

Hotet and some pictures from Stockaryd, Sweden

2010-01-12T18:32:00.005-05:00

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.

Back from Sweden

2010-01-01T16:54:00.004-05:00

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.

Jame's Buice's new book and Two Mules For Sister Sara

2009-12-19T11:51:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm down to one more Eastwood movie after Two Mules For Sister Sara. After this one I'm going to watch "The Outlaw Josey Wales". However, Two mules, directed by Don Siegel, starring Shirley Maclaine and Eastwood is a so so western. If you don't have anything else to do it is OK, but not anything to write home about.

Speaking of writing home about. Jame's Buice's new book. "Southeast's Best Fly Fishing" is truly a gem. I received it today and have only skimmed through it, but it looks very nice and colorful. It contains the author's main recommendations for trout fishing destinations in GA, NC, TN, and KY. It is probably the best book for this region in at least a decade. Highly recommended.

Joe Kidd and gone to Sweden

2009-12-17T21:13:00.003-05:00

I watched Clint Eastwood in Joe Kidd the other day. I have to say it is not the most impressive movie with Clint. I like Robert Duvall in it but the movie has an amateurish feeling to it in my humble opinion. It's directed by John Sturges, and it's not one of his better work. The story by Elmore Leonard is good but the movie itself you can live without. I hope I didn't offend too many Clint fan's with this, but even though I love Clint, this is a misstep.

I'm off to Sweden for a visit. I won't be back on here until mid January some time. Take care and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

Well, my hope was wrong after all.

2009-12-08T19:34:00.006-05:00

The crick I had turned in to a cervical spasm. I had to ask my wife to drive me to the ER in the middle of the night last Friday. After a week of unbelievable pain and suffering I'm back at work as of yesterday. I lost almost four days of work and with the pills and injections in my butt plus the ER fee it came to about $250. I suppose it could be worse. I was most sad over the loss of my last vacation time. I have to use all my saved up time for my upcoming trip to Sweden in two weeks. We , meaning my wife and I went to Atlanta and the SEC game. We had a great trip although my pain didn't go away completely until Sat evening, We stayed at the Hilton downtown and took the MARTA everywhere. We stopped twice at the always wonderful IKEA in Atlanta. The game was awesome. As much as I hate to say it, being from VOL country and all. The Georgia Dome is nicer in the fact that it has a ceiling and the seat is for you only not like at Neyland. You share the seat with five others.

I managed to finish up Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point", which was not nearly as interesting as Blink or Outliers, which is the best one of his in my opinion. I don't think I'm going to read "What the Dog Saw". I think I'm Gladwelled out. LOL.

I also watched John Sturge's "The Magnificent Seven" The movie is almost fifty years old now and in parts it shows. It is still however a must see for a western buff. With stars like Yul Brunner, Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Eli Wallach, who had a birthday the other day. I think he is 94 or something.

Anyway, I'm back and grateful for not having pain anymore.

Update and The Mother of All Cricks No not fishing this time

2009-12-02T17:50:00.004-05:00

I don't even know where to start, such has the past week been. I got off four days from work and decided to stay home for thanksgiving this year. My wife drove up from her work to her folks in KY on Wednesday night. I wanted to stay home and rest,especially since I have a long trek coming up for Christmas. I went to Shoney's for thanksgiving buffet and let me tell you! Many people had the same bright idea. It was actually pretty good and affordable. I stayed home on Friday and Saturday to get caught up on some reading I had been holding off on. Lisa (my wife), came home on Saturday evening. On Sunday I went on my first hike with the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club. We went to Frozen Head State Park, for an eight mile trek to climb Bird Mountain. It was a very nice and clear day and I had a great time.

On Monday afternoon at work, my shoulder and neck began aching real bad. I woke up that morning with a bad crick in my neck but thought nothing of it. I went home and straight to bed after work. I couldn't sleep that's how intense the pain became later that night. I stayed home from work Tuesday under excruciating pain. Decided to try to work this morning but lasted only two hours. Time to go to the doc. The pain was so intense I had to call my wife to come home from work so she could drive me to the doctor's office. After seeing the doctor the pain eased a bit and now with some meds it's getting somewhat better. What was it you ask? Nothing more than the mother of all cricks. The pain was so bad I thought I had something really bad. I'm glad it's not anything serious.

A productive weekend

2009-11-23T18:44:00.003-05:00

I finally got all my fall duties done. I put in the second toilet in our second bathroom. I got my truck washed and now we are all set. It has been a long working around the house November. I got to go hiking with friend one Saturday though. I'm done with Kjell Eriksson's "Stenkistan". It was not one of his best but still, any Kjell Eriksson is good. I was sad to hear that he is wrapping up the Ann Lindell series with the tenth book. Currently, I'm reading another Malcolm Gladwell. It's called Blink. It is not as good as outliers but still a necessary read if you like Malcolm's books. Next I need to finish up a couple of more of Kjell Eriksson's and then move on to Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point. As you can see, fall is my reading time. I'm going to go on a hike Sunday after thanksgiving. Besides that not much else going on.

More Chores to do plus a couple of movies

2009-11-15T17:06:00.005-05:00

Even though, I still feel somewhat tired from my sore throat and headaches lately, I did get some stuff done. Lisa and I got the gutters cleaned, I got all the leafs off my lawn and we cleaned the entire house today. Lisa got two new tires for her car and I even managed to watch two old westerns. I watched Pale Rider from 1985 and Unforgiven from 1992. Most people love unforgiven and I do to but Pale Rider in my opinion is a better movie. I know, I'm not following the mainstream but that's just my opinion. Both movies are worth seeing though. I especially like MichaelMoriarty who plays the main miner character in the movie. I can't believe it's almost 25 years ago I went and so this movie at the theater in Växjö, Sweden.

A rough week

2009-11-14T18:38:00.002-05:00

I have been constantly sick since last Saturday night. A sore throat and chest congestion with sinus headaches, one after another. I finally felt so so enough to do my leaf raking outside today. I cleaned gutters as well and put the patio furniture inside for winter. Tomorrow I'm going to clean the whole house and then it's time for work again. I find myself very busy every November due to the end of season. I am not able to do much else. No fishing or hiking this weekend and I doubt much will happen on that front for a while. I'm going to put in a new toilet in one of my baths next weekend, and finally get around to wash my truck. Maybe I will go hiking or fishing one day during thanksgiving weekend if the weather cooperate.

Charlies Bunion

2009-11-08T17:54:00.001-05:00

The hiking party on top of Charlies Bunion

I did Charlies Bunion together with my coworker Tamar and her husband Larry. We left Knoxville around 8 am and got to the trail head to begin our hike slightly after 9 am. The hike begins with a steady uphill climb and a descent halfway in. It's not the most difficult hike but not an easy one either. I was pretty tired when we got back. I can blame some of the tiredness on having some kind of allergic reaction. I got home at about 4:30 in the evening. After eating some tacos I began feeling real tired. I told my wife I'm going to take a nap. I did and woke up about 9 pm with a sever sore throat and headache. I took some Benadryl and Tylenol and went to bed. Didn't sleep well as I had a real bad sore throat. It is somewhat better as I write this. I'm hoping it was allergies rather than a cold. We'll see in the morning I guess. The hike was beautiful as the weather was perfect. Clear blue skies and the trail was popular on such a beautiful fall day.

Outliers and Pelham 123

2009-11-05T16:46:00.003-05:00

I finished Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers" the other week. I normally don't read much non fiction if it's not fly fishing related but couldn't pass this book up. It has been a long time on the best seller lists and I had to see what it was all about. It's kind of like a book on sociological theories but set in an everyday setting which speaks to an average guy. I don't wan to give anything away but if you are interested in sociological and societal questions put in a different light when it comes to the answer this is for you. I don't always agree with Mr. Gladwell, but he does bring out unusual answers to why so and so became what they became. The conclusion might look a little on the simple side but the book is a good read and highly recommended. I'm now going to read his previous books, including the best selling book "The Tipping Point"

The taking of Pelham 123 , was a decent action movie with Denzel Washington, John Turturro who I haven not seen in a long time, as well as John Travolta and Luis Guzman. I purposely waited until this one came out on dvd.

Zombieland

2009-11-01T10:45:00.002-05:00

The wife and I did a night out on the town, We have had some hit and miss with Halloween so we decided to stay out of the house this time. I suggested we go see "Zombieland" about three weeks ago but no, Lisa didn't think it sounded good. I told her it's getting good buzz. Lisa came home the other day and now all of a sudden she said she likes to see it. It's kind of funny that she changed her mind when the suggestion didn't come from me. LOL. Anyway, after stopping for dinner we hit the theater at East Towne and we were there with only a handful of others. It was a game day and Halloween so I guess it's no surprise.

The movie began strong and crazy. It was a hilarious gore fest until about halfway through when the movie seemed to stall. It dragged for a while and came to an abrupt and somewhat non satisfying ending. It's an okay movie but doesn't deserve all the rave lately. If you don't have anything else go see it, but I should have gone to see the new Cohen brothers movie (A Serious Man) instead. Oh well.

Greenbriar Sunday October 25, 2009

2009-10-27T20:26:00.002-04:00

Hooked up with a buddy from Chattanooga this Sunday for some afternoon fishing on lower Greenbriar. The water was still pretty high and the water temp barely above 50. Fishing was somewhat slow but I managed 10 small rainbows. One of my friends fish pushed 10". It was a beautiful day to be out and the sun was shining. It is getting close to winter time in the mountains. The days are getting shorter and the air is crisp. The rain this year has really filled the ground aquifers up. Water were rushing like a stream in the spring. There are still some October caddis out but it seem to be petering out. Little BWO's were the dominant hatch in the evening.

Harry Middleton

2009-10-23T19:51:00.005-04:00

I finally finished Harry Middleton's "On The Spine Of Time". It is not an easy read as far as the flow of the language goes. It is very rich and describing in both terms of landscape and personalities. It is a decent read and one I recommend all fly fishers who fishes around these parts. I have actually read the book once before but didn't retain as much from it the first time. I still consider it to be an average book. It is recommended more for the idea that a well versed fly fisherman from the smokies just ought to have read it, if that makes sense. It has some funny parts in it and it will make you think twice about getting potato salad from a roadside diner next time you are out.

I have began another of Kjell Eriksson's "Ann Lindell" mysteries in my native language Swedish. It is a nice series of books which I found out will end with the tenth book, which just got released in Sweden. I guess I will have to get that one when I'm over in Sweden for Christmas.

Saturday October 17, 2009 No fishing but shopping instead

2009-10-17T19:34:00.003-04:00

The wife and I went shopping today. Before you call me crazy, I had an important mission. I needed to use up my Orvis coupons I receive a few times a year. $25 off $50 is never wrong. We had a gift card for Logan's Roadhouse also to use up. I then ended up at Bass Pro Shops to use my rewards points there. All in all a full day with a lot of bargain hunting. I'm not going to bore you with all the places we went but we went all over the place. As for reading and films. I just finished watching "Hang em' High" again. It has been a while since I saw it. It is not one of Clint Eastwood's best in my opinion. It kind of drags a bit. It is still a good movie just because I'm an Eastwood fan.

My reading is slow right now, I'm finishing up On the Spine of Time by Harry Middleton. He was no Hemingway but a nice read nevertheless. That's all for now.

North River and Tellico DH Revisited

2009-10-17T19:27:00.004-04:00

Went back to North River on Saturday October 10th. Got on the stream at about 1 pm and fished until dark. I began at the same spot where I fished last time. This time the water was up even more and it was not as easy as last time. The hunters were out in full force; but I only saw one other fisherman. The water temp was great, right at 60. I managed to catch 5 small bows on North today. They all came on an Orange Stimulator size 14. I proceeded over to Tellico DH for the evening. I didn't take the water temp but it was swift and cold. Fishing was not as easy as last time I was here. The trout still had not spread out from the deeper holes. I got some fish on an orange partridge soft hackle at first, and later they took on top when the October caddis began to come off. I ended up with 4 rainbows on Tellico. All were in the 12" range. Got home to Knoxville at about 9 pm tired and wore out.

Paint Creek, DH and Lower Greenbriar

2009-10-09T20:56:00.005-04:00

16 inch Rainbow Trout from Paint Creek, DH October 9, 2009

A nice Rainbow Trout from lower Greenbriar 12 inches.

Went to Paint Creek DH today. Fished upstream of the campground for an hour or so. I lost a ten inch bow and caught a couple of shiners. I then moved downstream to the DH area. There was a tan caddis hatch and the fish were stacked up in pods in the bigger pools. I lost a feeding fish in the 14 inch range and then I caught a small brown of about 2 inches. After another thirty minutes or so I hooked in to the "brute of the day" It was a nice 16 inch rainbow. He shook his head violently but I was able to beach him fairly quickly. I took the fish on a 14 orange stimulator. I fished for a little longer but the fish began to get spooky. I decided to hit lower Greenbriar on the way home. Got on the stream slightly before 5 pm. I immediately began picking up some wild smaller bows. I was really hoping for some stockers from outside the park. Then it happened, a nice rainbow of about 12 inches hit. It almost looked like a wild fish. I fished for about another hour and managed to catch another 10 inch stocker and then I called it a day. Tired and worn out but a good day for the memory book.

Tellico DH area is on fire

2009-10-03T21:51:00.001-04:00

I knew they recently stocked for the opening of the DH area on Tellico. I figured today would be as good as any to venture out. I'm glad I did. The weather was great and the water even nicer. The flow was swift and cold. I took the water temp and it's right at 56. The air temp was in the high sixties when I began fishing at 1:30 pm. I caught a nice 11" stocker bow on a olive bh size 14 almost immediately. I began fishing upstream and managed to catch four rainbows in two hours. One was a smaller wild fish. Then the fishing slowed. I decided to walk back to my truck and fish downstream for a couple of hours. In the first big run below my truck I hooked in to a better bow. It was a solid 12". Then another hit immediately after, this one was the best fish of the day. It fought hard and long in the swift current and I almost regretted not bringing my five weight rod. I fished with my St Croix Imperial 4 wt. This is the old style of Imperial with the soft action. This rainbow turned out to be a solid 14" and very fat.

14" Rainbow from Tellico DH

I managed to hook another pretty good fish and then I began loosing them. I lost two in a row and decided it was time to take a break. After the break I moved with my truck about half a mile upstream. Here I caught two more bows. These were wild fish taking an orange stimulator on top. I saw major hatches today. It began with Little BWO's in size 20 and then midges and orange caddis came off.

Here's a picture from this lovely stream.

I quit fishing at about 6:30 and was pretty tired at that point. I only saw one other fisherman the whole afternoon. I guess everyone was at home watching the game.

Clinch Again

2009-09-27T16:37:00.002-04:00

After the deluge yesterday in the area, I knew the freestoners to be blown out. I headed to Clinch instead with my friend Neal. He had fished it friday with good success and I was eager to go. Well, Clinch humbled me today, as it can be that way sometimes. I had exactly one strike after almost four and a half hours of fishing. Neal had picked up several fish on zebra midges and other nymphs. I couldn't catch a fish for trying. I went back to the first run I fished in the morning and finally I was able to catch three bows and one brookie in fifteen minutes. I honestly thought I was going to get skunked. The day saved we decided to head home at about 1 pm. Air temp was nice in the mid seventies and clear blue skies. There were a lot of cream and tan midges coming off and sporadic tan caddis adults at high noon.

Two more films

2009-09-24T21:31:00.002-04:00

I'm on a western binge right now. I watched Tombstone and Wyatt Earp this week. Tombstone is the one most people prefer and I feel it's Val Kilmer who plays Doc Holliday in this movie, who is the main attraction. He is doing an awesome job in portraying the ailing doc. Kurt Russel does an OK job as Wyatt but otherwise the movie is somewhat dragging. The other one, Wyatt Earp, is even more of a drag than the first one. Here Kevin Costner plays Wyatt and Randy Quaid plays Doc. This doc is not nearly as good as Val so does movie only get saved by Kevin Costner. Both movies are worth watching, but only if you are a western fan.

Clinch River Sunday September 20, 2009

2009-09-20T19:35:00.003-04:00

My friend Neal called last night and was wondering if I wanted to got fishing in the morning. I told him that I might check out the Clinch since it's close to my house and rain was on its way. That way I didn't have a two hour drive home. I got to the river at 7:20 or so. Rigged up and began fishing by myself as Neal had yet to show up. I got a small brookie pretty much immediately on a BH Zebra Midge size 22. After another five minutes or so I hooked in to a bigger fish. I had him hooked but the fish wouldn't bulge. I tried to put some pressure on and in the process the hook came loose. Oh well. I waded upstream where I found a pod of feeding fish in the flats. I managed to catch a few more on the flats and then I saw Neal downstream. It had begun raining by now and I was getting soaked. Neal caught one and missed several fish while we talked. I managed to loose another brookie and picking up another one in the run. The rain accelerated and we decided to call it a day. I managed to catch fourbrookies and two bows all recent stockers in the 8 to 11 inch range. Nice to see the river again but the weather was miserable.

A few old movies revisited

2009-09-19T20:10:00.004-04:00

I have been hurting real bad in my arm after my accident two weeks ago. I have been trying to rest my arm and since we are having all this rain I thought it would be a good idea to watch some old movies again. I watched Sergio Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars" as well as "For a Few Dollars More", both are the weaker siblings in the Leone "Spaghetti western trilogy". However, I do not by any means suggest that they are not good. They are just not as good as "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. If you like the genre and if you like some operatic filming you are in for a treat with these. Another movie which I had forgotten how good it is, is "The Ballad of Cable Hogue". Jason Robard's, and Stella Stevens are out of this world in this one. It's a tragic love story with comedy mixed in. If you can stand westerns, with some humor you would love this one. The humor is not on par with Leone's but still, Peckinpah knew his stuff.

As for reading, I am currently rereading Harry Middleton's "On the Spine of Time". I will report on it later. I also just finished a swedish novel by Kjell Eriksson. It's in the Ann Lindell series. This particular one "Den Jord Som Skälver", has not yet been released in the U.S. I never understand how the book labels reason. They publish books out of sequence from foreign authors most of the time. Go figure.

Fishing will be done tomorrow if the rain holds off.

Bald River Gorge

2009-09-13T18:18:00.002-04:00

Pete from Maryville and I decided to check out Big Snowbird Creek in NC at the Junction. We got there at about 8:15 am and rigged up to fish the immediate area. The water flow was great and the temp a cold 58. However, nothing seemed to stir. We fished for about an hour and then proceeded further down stream. The same thing there, no activity and a deserted feel to the whole place. We decided to come up with another plan. Plan B so to speak. After a long and slow climb back up on Stratton ridge along Big Santeetlah creek we came back to Tn. We stopped in Tellico Plains for lunch and made a decision to fish "Bald River Gorge". After a strenuous hike, for me anyway, we got to the river. Bald had a decent flow and the water temp was 64. I picked up three small bows on top and during the afternoon another three colorful bows on a nymph. Pete took a few on top. The fishing was not easy but the fish was strong and had decent weight to them. Bald river is definitely a quality stream to further investigate. I have only fished it in the nineties and then on very limited terms around Holly Flats area and just above the falls at the other end. I will be back on this one for sure.

Big Santeetlah Creek, NC

2009-09-07T14:26:00.003-04:00

I was bored today and decided to drive down forest road 81 from Stratton Ridge down in to North Carolina and the head waters of Big Santeetlah Creek. I have never fished it or even been to it before. It is a very rugged and remote area and I ran in to only a handful of other vehicles. The water level was up and the temp a very good 60 degrees. I fished for an hour with only one small strike. I tried nymphs and soft hackles as well as dries. No luck. I can only guess that it is a tough stream this late in season. I was down at the stocked section and probably should have fished it higher up. Oh well. I decided to go back to TN and drive down North River. I fished for a couple of hours and caught 7 small bows, and then it happened. I took a misstep and fell. I put my hand down without thinking and bent my wrist pretty bad. It hurt like the dickens. It is pretty messed up today. I hope I can go to work tomorrow instead of the doctor. This fly fishing game can be dangerous. I have had more difficulties this year than most. Bear encounters, two accidents, broken rod you name it. Golf sounds more interesting by the day. NOT! Lol.

Rediscovered some old haunts

2009-09-06T07:56:00.007-04:00

I used to fish and spend a lot of times down in the southern part of the Cherokee National Forest. Mainly in Monroe County and some times down on Hiwassee River and it's feeders in Polk County. I decided today to do a visit to Bald River at the Holly Flats area. I took a forest service road out of Coker Creek to get there from the back end. All went well and I got on the stream at about 1:30 pm. I fished for a while and hooked a small rainbow immediately. This fish was soot black. I figure from the silted environment it lives in. Bald river is somewhat milky to it's color and it is flat and level at the upper end of the gorge, where I was fishing. Fishing wasn't real good. I managed to catch six small bows before I decided it was time to try somewhere else. The most interesting thing though was this nice bear hound, who showed up stream side almost scaring the beejesus of of me. I tried to make it stay with me as it was obviously lost. It had a radio collar and id but I wasn't able to get close enough to read it. After about an hour or so it vanished and I quit fishing.

This poor fellow is looking for his master.

I decided to check out North river on my way home. I got to the section above North river campground at about 6:30 pm. It was a cloudy and dark afternoon and I think that was the explanation for what happened next. I tied on a yellow stimulator size 14 and flipped it upstream at the first "good looking pool". I had a couple of those pesky war paint shiners coming up and I lifted the fly for another cast. I swung it out again and bam! a fish sipped it. I lifted my rod and immediately felt a better sized fish burrowing down. I knew I had to hold my rod sideways to let the fish fight against the full muscle of my 5 wt. I was glad I had a somewhat heavier rod. The fish was a 13 inch Brown. My best wild brown from a mountain stream in the U.S. It took 15 years. I have caught bigger fish in tail waters and in my native Sweden, but it is a treat when you finally catch one in these infertile mountain streams. I do feel that North river is more fertile than some as well as Bald. I see numerous species of forage fish in both rivers.

Anyway, this turned out to be the only fish on North river today. Darkness came quick this cloudy evening and I headed home with a satisfied grin on my face.

A solid 13" wild brown from N. river, TN

Jim Casada's New Book

2009-08-30T20:30:00.003-04:00

Well, I got the new book by Jim Casada the other day. I was eagerly awaiting its arrival. I stood in my doorway for a good while just flipping through the pages. It is a tomb for sure. It is very detailed and heavy on history of the park and its people. Fly Fishing In The Great Smoky Mountains National Park "An Insider's Guide to A Pursuit of Passion" is the official title of the book and it pretty much sums up the content of the book. Jim Casada is an insider and is widely known especially in the southeastern U.S. He has written numerous books, and articles. I especially remember him from several contributions to the now defunct "Trout South".

The book is very much worth its purchasing price. However there are several repetitious comments, and some comments are of almost an antagonistic view towards others, who has written about the Smokies. The author as he freely admits is opinionated and hard headed. If you can overlook the self confident personality it is a very nice read and highly recommended.

One noteworthy mistake is the fact that the reader claims that "Fighting Creek" in TN has never been mentioned in a fly fishing guidebook. It was recently mentioned in Ian Rutter's book on the smokies. The book also contains several spelling errors which is always a turn off in my opinion.

District 9

2009-08-23T18:18:00.003-04:00

After all the buzz about "District 9", I and my wife decided to go see it. We went to a matinee' and settled down for the movie without concessions this time. It has gotten so expensive in my opinion that you should get stock options if you buy a combo deal. Anyway, back to the movie. First of all I would like to mention that I'm not a sci fi movie buff. This makes me somewhat biased against this type of movie. This movie however was sold to me as an alternative to traditional sci fi movies. Yes it it different but far from revolutionary. Far from conventional and it appealed to me as something breaking from the norm. The movie however failed to grab me. I think that the older I get and the more movies I have seen, the more of a hard pleasing viewer I become. This movie never really takes off, I felt the same as I did when I went to see the "Hangover". Nice enough story but when is it going to take off. District 9 is not worth paying $10 at a movie house for. Wait until it's out on DVD. It's somewhat funny that the only movie I've seen in the last six months worth anything to me was "Tennessee". Tennessee didn't get good reviews and was independently shot with a limited budget and no special effects. It wins hands down in this trilogy though. What's wrong with me?

Staring a Black Bear in the eyes on Abrams

2009-08-23T17:28:00.004-04:00

I had stiff competition from this guy.

I decided to head up to Abrams Creek for some fishing this morning. I haven't been to the creek in about a year. I always have a good time although it is a very slick and dangerous stream to wade in. I got to the trail head first of all the people today right at 7:30 am. I began my trek and after about five minutes or so I startled a black bear. This bear apparently was going to climb a tree. That's why I didn't see it. I stared the black bear in the eyes for about ten seconds or so. I regained awareness from the initial shock and belched out a growl as loud as I could muster while poking my stick in the ground. The bear ran about fifty yards and then turned around and began staring at me again. I hollered again while hitting my wading staff on the ground. I began to retreat and the bear slowly moved on up the hill. I got back to where I started and decided to wait until someone else showed up before heading on up. After about thirty minutes a nice gentleman from Knoxville showed up. I told him the story and asked if I could hike with up to my fishing spot. He agreed as he was going to take some pictures at Abrams falls. We walked for a mile together before we went our separate ways. I thanked him and began my fishing. I picked up one 8" bow pretty quick but then it died down. It took a yellow partridge. I worked myself slowly upstream and after an hour or so managed to catch a nice 12" Rainbow trout on the same fly. I let the fly swing downstream and the fish took it hard. It's nice with the wild Abrams bows, since they are a little larger than average for the park. I continued upstream and ran in to a pair of Otters and a Great Blue Heron who was competing for the fish. Numerous deer and turkeys were seen as well as another Black Bear on my way out of the cove. This year has to be a good year for wildlife sightings. I only caught four fish for the morning, two of the fish were from last years class, about three inches each. Water temp was an amazing 60 degrees. Almost unheard of in August. A very memorable day but sorry no picture of the bear. I don't think the bear would have appreciated a flash in it's face from a distance of six feet.12" Bow from Abrams Creek

Laurel Fork River

2009-08-16T12:21:00.004-04:00

I called my friend Pete from Maryville the other day. I had some questions about going to a certain river in NC, but we decided against it. I told him let's go up to Laurel Fork for a day trip on Sat. We left Knoxville at 5 am and was rigged up and ready to fish at 8:30 am. Fishing was slow for me in the am but Pete caught three browns very quickly. I began to pick up some small fish but the feed bag wasn't really on.. We quit for lunch at about 11 or so and decided to fish lower for the afternoon.

After some sightseeing at the falls area we began fishing at 2 pm. I used a soft hackle Partridge and Yellow size 14 dropped under a BHPT and finally two small browns took it. The water was pushing 66 degrees. We managed to move upstream and whne the cloud cover came in Pete began picking up some fish. He caught one 12" and another in the 11" range. I had more difficulty as I was getting tired and hungry. I also didn't have Pete's fly LOL. I stopped for a snack break and Pete joined me as a rain shower came in.

We waited it out and decided to fish a couple of hours before dark at a higher elevation due to the warm water. It turned out to be the right decision. The water was 61 and more active fish as a result. I managed to catch a 10 " bow and a small brookie to my suprise. After several small browns it was time to quit for the day. Pete meanwhile had picked up another ten browns or so.

We made it home to Knoxville right past 11 pm and let me tell you, I was sore and tired getting out of my bed this morning. All in all a very nice but strange day in many respects. It's always nice to spend a day with Pete as he has a lot of knowledge and interesting stories to boot.

Dennis Cove Camping trip August 7-8, 2009

2009-08-09T18:15:00.002-04:00

Decided to do a one night camping trip to Dennis Cove again. I took a day off from work and got to the camp site at about 10 am. I rigged up and decided to fish between Laurel Falls and the AT trailhead. It took about an hour or so before the fish began to cooperate. I caught one brown about 12" and several in the 8" range. No rainbows today. I only fished a couple of hours as I needed to go to camp and cook some burgers I had bought. It was cool at night and a lovely outing. The river looked great and you couldn't ask for better weather. I've been kind of lazy today and now it's back to work for tomorrow.

Sand Cave KY, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

2009-08-01T19:08:00.013-04:00

This cave is huge, I took this picture from the interior looking down on some other hikers. It's at least two hundred yards.

What a treat! This hike is very strenuous but it's worth every step. I got to the Ewing, VA trail head at about 11:30 am this morning. I rigged up and soon got on the trail. This trail goes basically straight up the mountain for about three miles. There are a few switchbacks along the trail but you will begin to feel your heart pumping after about a mile or so. I ran in to some horseback riders and all of a sudden a German Shepherd appeared out of nowhere. I thought it belonged to them but they said it had followed them for a while. Apparently someone dropped this dog off. It was very sad. The dog was starving and lonesome. It was very friendly and it was apparent it had belonged to someone. I wish I could take it but I don't have the resources. It followed me and several other people on different spots on the trail.

I got to the Sand Cave after about an hour and forty five minutes. What a nice place. It is cool and a lot bigger than I thought. A couple was sitting inside the cave when I showed up. I spoke to them briefly while I ate my lunch. I decided to visit the White Cliffs over look on my way out. It is a very steep climb out to the over looks but a must do on this hike. I was very impressed with this hike and the fact that it is less crowded than the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and the litter situation is not as bad. All in all a very impressive hike but not for the faint of heart.

I spoke with a volunteer for the park service on my way down, hopefully they can catch the dog. The problem though, with all the unwanted animals in shelters the prognosis for the dog is not good. I wish I could have taken the dog home. It kind of bothers me that people can be so heartless. I understand that it's not easy to take care of a dog in these times, but to leave it at a trail in a wilderness to fend for itself!
The homeless German Shepherd on the trail.

The water fall coming from the top of Sand Cave.

Interior of Sand Cave.

The White Rocks.

View from top off White Rocks Elevation 3513ft or 1071 meters. The valley is Poor Valley, VA.

Hangover

2009-07-25T20:21:00.002-04:00

The "cult hit" Hangover has been on everyone's radar lately. People at work talk about it and every newspaper and magazine has done mostly favorable reviews of it. It also has grossed a record amount of money for an R rated flick. So we decided (my wife and I) to go and see it at the Downtown Riviera movie theater in Knoxville. We did some house cleaning and then we went down to the "Tomato Head" for a quick lunch. I love the pizza at that place. We got to the movie and after basically forking over my entire savings account for a combo we sat down. The movie begun promising with some good soundtrack music and nice crude jokes right from the start. However, after about half an hour or so of the same stuff I begun to wonder, when is this going to take off? It never really did. It was an OK movie but somehow I felt like it should have something else. It didn't drag but it didn't really take off either. I guess it was just not my kind of movie. It's not bad but it's not great either. I give it a C.

Campsite #60, Deep Creek, NC

2009-07-19T19:19:00.004-04:00

I decided after a long night thinking about it to go back to campsite #60 in GSMP, to do a one night camping trip. I went about six weeks ago but didn't feel well on that trip.

I left Knoxville around 7 am and got to the trail head at about 9:30 am. I quickly made my way up to the campsite and had my tent and everything set up by 11 am. I decided to hike upstream around Bumgardner bend. Man is that ridge a heart pumper or what!. I was pretty tired by the time I got to the water on the other side somewhere below camp site #59. The water was cold and somewhat swift. Very good conditions for July. The temp in the air was an unbelievable cool, I estimated it to be high sixties. The water temp was 58. I fished for about two hours and only saw three people on the trail. I managed to catch three rainbows and one brown which pushed 9". Not too bad for being in the middle of the day. It was time to go back to camp to fix supper. I was solo at camp until I was done eating at about 5 pm when a dad and his son came. I spoke with them briefly after my evening fishing session. What about the fishing?, well it wasn't easy. I was pretty tired from all the hiking so I only fished for about an hour or so. I spoke with one other fisherman who said he only caught one small rainbow. I managed to catch two bows. One was 8" the other very small. I decide it was time to go back to the tent and sleep. I was in bed by 8 pm. I know I know, I missed probably the best fishing time of the day but I was wore out.

The next morning I got up at abut 6 am and after breakfast it was time to hike out. I drove up to the Oconaluftee to fish a couple of hours around the visitors center. I managed to catch two small rainbows on a nymph. The water was very cold for being at such a low elevation. and for being in July, it was reading 59 on my thermometer. Got home around 2 pm and that was the end for another great camping trip in the park.

The Hemlocks are falling

2009-07-12T13:28:00.010-04:00

I decided to head up high for a day trip to fish for Specs. I hiked up towards Buck Fork and fished for about quarter of a mile. The water temp was great at 60 degrees. I just had to take a picture of this majestic Hemlock which had fallen across the stream. I have a feeling we will see a lot more of this in the future due to the invasive adelgid which kills the trees. It's a sad sight and I wonder what it will do to our beloved streams.

I picked up a few rainbows and some specs but the to be honest, I was not feeling safe pushing on solo due to the risk of injuries and the water was pretty swift. I decided to hike back down in order to fish upstream on Ramsay Prong. I began picking up quite a few specs when I encountered the best one so far.

The best spec of the day.

I pushed upstream and after about a mile or so I decide it was time to hike back down. I met a gentleman at one pool who caught some fish on a nymph. He was just out checking the area, and he didn't have the proper gear to do the rock climbing you have to do on these kind of streams. In fact I actually ran in to a couple of other fishermen earlier in the day so a lot of folks were out and about today. It didn't seem to affect the fishing though. I picked up several dozen today. No size mind you but they were pretty fat. It looks like all this rain have brought terrestrials and ants to the stream.

The last fish of the day

I got to my truck and decided to fish for the last thirty minutes before dark at my truck in order to catch a better sized rainbow. I succeeded, although he was only about 8". It was the most beautiful rainbow of the day however. All in all a very nice day indeed.

A Trout Bum's Fourth of July that should have gotten me "bummed out".

2009-07-05T18:25:00.011-04:00

"Laurel Fork Brown"

"Laurel Fork Rainbow"

"Laurel Falls"

"Big Falls" Elk River, NC

My friend Mike fishing the South Holston River, TN.

I have another camping adventure down my belt. I set out from work thirty minutes early and was out of town at about 4:15 pm on Thursday afternoon. Destination: Cardens Bluff Campground on beautiful Watauga lake. Traffic was not too bad and I eased my way up the interstate towards Johnson City, Tn. I got through Elizabethton pretty easily and when I spotted the lake I thought man! this is such a nice and peaceful place. It was obvious that the weekend was going to be somewhat mixed since my first problem came upon me as soon as I entered the campground. It was full. Oh well, I circled the grounds and decided my back up place would be just as good. Up the mountain I went and prayed at the same time that my luck would turn. I got to Dennis Cove and to my surprise there were only a half a dozen campers there. I set up camp and went to bed pretty early after cooking some food. It was a very unseasonal and cold night. I know the elevation is in the 3000 ft range but it's supposed to be July. I'm not complaining though. I got up to fish SoHo early. I had a tough time only having one strike on a zebra midge in the morning. I finally began to pick up fish on a Sulphur Comparadun. The fishing was so so. I was waiting on Mike Pope from Bluff City, who had told me he would be showing up at around 11:30 Am, which he did. We fished together for two and a half hours before the water came up. I ended up catching about 8 fish but no real brutes today. I stopped for lunch in Elizabethton and headed on up to Laurel Fork River. This is my absolute favorite of the mountain streams in Tn. Not only does it have wild bows browns, and brookies, up high. It has stocked fish in the lower sections. The scenery around the river is superb with several waterfalls. The gem of them all being "Laurel Falls". I fished upstream above the campground on Friday evening and managed to catch a dozen or so. I caught several ten inch browns and two 11" stocker bows. I was pretty tired around 8 Pm so I decided to head back to camp. On Saturday morning I decided to drive over to Elk river across the border in to Nc. This is a hatchery supported stream and it's very beautiful as it winds it's way in to Tn and eventually Watauga Lake. I didn't have any luck though. There were several other people fishing it and the access is somewhat spotty. The falls area is very pretty though. I decided to head back to Tn for lunch and fish the falls area of Laurel Fork later in the evening. After lunch I drove back to the campground and rested for a while. I had severe sinus headaches all week and today was no different. I suffered for a few hours and then decided it's better to get out and hike. I parked my car at the trail head for Pond Mountain Wilderness. I decided to hike for about an hour or so towards Hampton Tn. I ran in to a couple of spin fishermen above the falls but the rest of the river was empty. I just knew this was going to be great. I began fishing around the wooden bridges below the falls right at about 5 Pm. I was sluggish at first. I found out that the water temp was getting up there. It was 66 degrees where I began fishing. After about twenty minutes or so I got a strike but missed the trout. Soon after that I got a better take and my first brown for the day came to hand. A very nice 10" fish. I proceeded upstream and discovered somewhat cooler water. I found it to be 64 degrees closer to the falls and I began picking up browns in just about every pool. I caught 11 Browns with several pushing 11" each. They are all hard fighting and taking on top. What a nice experience. I got to the falls at about 8 Pm and decided to do the same thing I did last year. Tie on a black wooly bugger to see if I could catch some of the stocker bows that reside in that huge pool. Sure enough, on my second cast, wham! a 10 " bow, next cast another one. On my third cast I hooked in to a bigger fish. I had to fight him for a while. It turned out to be the best fish of the trip. A nice 13" rainbow. It was now getting somewhat dark and for you who has been at this location, a gruesome climb back out to the trail. This brings me to the "bummed out part of the trip". In my tiredness I slipped and fell on some rocks and managed to scrape my leg. Oh well, that's alright I thought when I discovered in disbelief that my beloved St Croix Imperial 9 ft 4 pc 5 wt, which I got on eBay real cheap was broken. The tip section managed to break at the joint with the second section, effectively splicing the graphite. It is not repairable and I'm the second owner so no luck there. I know have two pieces of a four piece rod. I guess this taught me the lesson of being humble. I thought I was on top of the world fishing like that, but Murphy had to take care of it. I'm not complaining though. I wasn't seriously hurt and the camping trip as a whole was a literal success. Here's some pics from the trip.

Fish Camp Prong

2009-06-28T14:41:00.005-04:00

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!