Little River, TN

13 " Brown from above the sinks on Little River

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

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

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

Hiwassee and Newbie day with TU

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

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

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

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

Kinesen by Henning Mankell

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

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