1.) I'm off to the Hiwassee early in the morning. Staying until noon or so up at Appalachia Powerhouse. As of now, it looks like I'll swing by the fly shop to get a few things. A buddy of mine gave me literally dozens upon dozens of 4x streamer hooks that he doesn't use any more, so I'm preoccupied while off the river, tying some traditional bucktail streamers such as Mickey Finns, Black Nose Dace, and Ghosts. This Summer is, in a way, a preview of what a guide's life is like. It seems like I'm always on the river this time of year. During the school year, not so much...

2.) Like mentioned above, I'll most likely make a quick visit by the fly shop to buy a few things. I'm tempted to buy a digital thermometer. This really helps in the Summer time when the water temps get dangerously high for trout. Albeit the water temps in the Hiwassee are usually cold enough for a trout's liking, there are pockets of water that look very inviting for a big trout that are simply too warm.

1.) A few friends from my grandparent's church asked if I wanted to go....well, errrr....catfishing on the Tennessee. I told them it's been years since I've baitfished. Regardless, I told them I'll try catfishing, but, I didn't think I would be much of a competition. I was, for the most part, pretty skeptical of a successful outcome by the end of the day. The last time I baitfished was back in 2007 when we went to Florida. We rented a canal front house and I fished from sunset until sundown. I used live shrimp, just simply because the house owners told me that the fish in the canal would just simply not take anything else, including a fly. I'm a strict long rodder, but I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity. We left at 7:15 in the morning, I put the fly rod in the boat and we headed north to Watts Bar Dam on the Big "T". After launching the boat into the water via the boat ramp, we traveled the short quarter of a mile boat ride to the dam. Between the 3 of us, we caught 6 fish...(A mix of large channels and big blues). I figured out that cats can fight pretty darn hard. One of the Blue Catfish I caught left my drag SCREAMING and leaving myself almost hanging out of the side of the boat. After catching the largest one of the trip, a 30 inch, 12 pound Blue, I thought to myself, "lemon sharks in the Keys on the fly would be fun"... Parker, one of the guys on the trip, hooked into a nice Blue and he was dancing around the boat while the fish traveled from one side of the boat to the other. They told me that there are a lot of gar in the river and in the lake. I'm tempted to tie up a few rope flies for gar and strictly use the fly rod on the next trip.

2.) All and all a very fun trip. It was great hanging out with a few friends for the day. With all of this said, I'm sorry Lord, for my sins please forgive me... :) I need some trout...

1.) I wrapped up my 4th fishing trip yesterday at 11:00 in the morning. Smallmouth Bass sounded pretty good to me, so I tried the lower/middle Tellico River. I did pretty well, catching a few smallish Bronzebacks along with a couple of Redeye Bass. The heat and the crowds started to get out of hand, so I packed it in shortly before noon. Most of the trout have migrated upstream to colder water. I didn't have a thermometer with me, I'll run by the fly shop sometime this week and get one of the William Joseph Infrared digital thermometers. If you're fishing for trout during the dog days of Summer, becoming aware of the water temperatures is crucial. The lower 70's are warm enough to kill trout due to decreasing amounts of dissolved oxygen. If you are a stillwater fisherman, a small stream running into a lake or pond is what you where you want to concentrate on fishing. This is were the water is a bit cooler and amounts of dissolved oxygen is greater.

2.) A family friend invited my grandad and I to stay with him at his vacation cabin in the mountains above the Tellico River. We fished Coker Creek, where I caught 7 bluegill in 15 minutes on a #12 Green Weenie. We then tried a small lake down the road and I managed to catch about 6 large bluegills on small hoppers fished adjacent to an area of lily pads. I changed to a #8 Fat Albert and caught a 11 inch Largemouth Bass that was taking refuge under some thick brush near shore. I was able to make a cast to get under the fly nabbing vegetation and he slammed my fly of foam and rubber legs. I lost a few fish including a HUGE 'gill that inhaled my Charlie Boy hopper with the distinctive pop they make when snatching a bug from the top of the water. This particular fish made a run for the lillies, wrapping me up on the stalk. My 3x wasn't strong enough to pull the lilly pad and fish out. Evidently, this fish is most likely swimming around with 3 feet of tippet material hanging out his mouth.

3.) Currently my dad and I are in the planning stage of a 4-5 night camping trip in the Smokies. We're discussing the possibility of backcountry camping in the middle of no where deep in the park, where the brookies are found and the bears and snakes are everywhere. On the other hand we may try Balsalm Mountain campground which is on the NC side of the park, located at an elevation of 5,310 ft asl. This is certainly a good bet in order to beat the heat.

4.) A Colorado trip next year is also in the cards (very uncertain as of now). I've always wanted to fish the Gunnison River, Frying Pan River, and the pristine waters in Rocky Mountain State Park. Yellowstone could be another possiblilty. Just don't know yet, just thinking of the possibilites. (If the airlines continue charging for the lavatory, second baggage, being forced to buy another seat for larger folks, etc, driving is fine with me...The airlines are getting ridiculous. Just saying...

1.)t has been a fairly busy day for me. I got up at 6 AM, packed all of the gear in the car and headed to the Hiwassee. I got there at about 6:30 AM and fished at Reliance. The smallies obviously aren't up at the crack of dawn. At approximately 8:45, I left Reliance behind and took Powerhouse Road to Appalachia Dam to experiment with some of my latest fly creations. The trout were definitely spread out, as I couldn't locate their particular lies. I worked over a deep run about 200 ft downstream from the powerhouse, where the REAL cold water keep the trout very happy. No #26 midge dries here; more dredging large #6 Black Stones on the bottom. As for hatches, I noticed a few small BWO's and I caught a brief glimpse of a large brown mayfly. If you're a fly fisherman, you know the only large (#8-10), brown mayflies that hatch in late June and last through the Summer is the famed Isonychias. This is, in a way, equivalent to the western Salmonflies, which should be hatching (or hatched) on most MT rivers right now. Salmonflies are big, sought after, and on the trout's mind when they are abundant. Same goes for the "eastern equivalent"... I eventually left once the sun was well over the tree tops, and the temps start getting hot. Also, TVA started to generate at 11AM. The sirens went off and I quickly stumbled out of the soon-to-be raging river. I had somewhere to be at 1:00 (read #2 below... Believe me, it's worth it.) All and all, a good trip for exploring and testing some flies. There's an old saying A.K. Best invented..."The fishing was good; it was the catching that was bad"... I stand as an example today for this famed saying...

This was not a dream!... just keep that in mind!!..
2.) On with the craziest part of the day. I'm volunteering throughout the Summer (on the days I'm able to) with the Hiwassee Scenic Rail Adventure, which is well worth the trip due to the scenery, people, and the time spent in Copperhill, TN, Ducktown, TN and McCaysville, GA. The HSRA offers several packages, but the two I'm volunteering on include the 6 1/2 hour roundtrip ride from Etowah, TN to Copperhill, TN. Today we helped out on the shortest of the available packages: A roundtrip time of about 4 hours. This includes riding down to "The Loop", where the train passes under a large trestle, or wooden railroad bridge and eventually traveling on the large trestle. The spiraling trestle and tracks were constructed to create an easy route around Bald Mountain. Once we came to a stop a few miles past the trestle, the L&N diesel locomotive uncoupled and switched to the back of the 1947 passenger cars. Then the trip back to Etowah began at about 2:45. This is when the choas (under control though) happened. About 45 minutes to an hour into the trip back, the engineer suddenly slowed the train to a stop. We all thought they were just replacing an antiquated filter that is required to be fixed in order for the train to continue on. I jumped off the train to see what happened. I had the growing feeling that it was a tree that had fallen on the tracks. It was a tree alright....A 4-5 ton Red Oak Tree to be exact. Apparently, the recent rain had loosened up the soil that surrounded the century old tree enough to the point that the tree could not support the weight. The Engineer called the L&N Depot (Louisville & Nashville Railroad) and requested for some help. After we hooked a heavy duty chain between the tree and the locomotive, the engineer slowly backed the train back and forth a few times, while attempting to push the large tree off of the tracks. I watched as the tree didn't move enough to actually clear the railway. After 2 hours of cutting the tree into sections with battery powered chainsaws, the stubborn tree finally cleared the tracks and we continued on. A 5 ton tree rendering HSRA or any other train from passing is pretty rare. Usually a small branch or limb on the tracks is fairly common. No delay here, as somebody jumps off of the train and tosses the limb out into the woods. It was a little different today...

A fish story, step by step...

We didn't leave Athens, TN until about 8:00 in the morning. I packed 2 fly rods, my 5 wt 8' 6" and my Sage 6 wt 9' and all the other necessary gear and headed northeast to Cherokee, NC. The Tellico and Snowbird Creek were at their usual low levels. As always in the Summer tourist season, when we arrived in town, the crowds had already beat us to it. I bought a $7 day permit along with a $20 annual catch & release permit. The Catch & Release water is a prime part of the Oconaluftee River fishery. It has some uncomfortably large fish (mostly rainbows) that take refuge in large deep runs, pools and beneath the many shadows that lay across the edges of the river. I fished the C&R portion from about 2:45 until about 6:30 in the evening. I left the car behind and hiked about a 1/4 of a mile downstream to a deep run that always seems to hold a few good fish. This particular run at the deepest spot is about 7-9 ft deep. The unbearable heat is driving the trout down to the deeper pools shielded by overhanging brush and trees. I tied on a Green Weenie and added enough split shot to get down to the bottom quick enough. I tossed the fly about 12-14 ft above the most likely holding spot for a fish; a seam, and just before I was about to pick up my line and make another cast, I felt a faint hit. I set the hook and the battle was on. The rainbow I enticed to grab my fly, raced downstream. I ran (more stumbled) towards the fish to keep the fight under control. I pulled him in as far as I could, as my Double Surgeon's knot that joined the tippet material was keeping me from reeling in anymore line. I sat on a nearby boulder in the river, wet my hands, took the fly out of the 15 inch rainbow's mouth and gently held the stunned trout head first into the current. I gave him a gentle push after about 10 seconds out of the water and he took off in a cloud of river silt. Man, was it a great day on the water yesterday...

More fish stories are bound to be posted...Stay tuned!!

1.) I'm heading out at 6:00 AM (maybe earlier). Might as well stay up and tie a handful of flies. We should be heading over the hill to the Cherokee Indian Reservation. (I say should because we may just hit the famous Tellico River a few minutes up the road from here instead) be heading back over the hill to the Oconaluftee River in the Cherokee Indian Reservation. My goal is to at least get a good look (better yet land) a Palomino. Palominos are a strain of Rainbow Trout that are basically albino. You can see these guys from a mile away. From what I've heard, there are Golden Trout (Close to the Sierra Nevada strain) in either the Oconaluftee or the Raven Fork. My fly boxes are loaded with terrestrials, San Juan Worms and the legendary Green Weenie. I've got a feeling it will turn out to be a productive day out on the river.

1.) It's a stormy evening over here in east Tennessee. If the rain keeps falling like it has been, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will probably begin the slow process of letting all of the excess water out of the lakes. If you're fishing any of the tailwaters in east TN such as the Caney Fork, Clinch, South Holston, etc, be sure to check the water levels. Matter of fact, if your fishing on any of TN or NC's rivers, stream levels will likely spike. Check the stream levels over on the left hand column. Just click on your river and it will take you to the realtime data. As of right now, the Smokies are getting hit pretty hard by a few nasty cells that are putting down torrential rain, hail, and damaging winds. The storms down here aren't nearly as severe as the storms that have erupted in the Midwest and Ohio areas. The Weather Channel motioned that there is a severe t'storm warning for a county I believe is in Ohio. They said the super cell t'storm is packing winds upwards of 100 mph (not form a tornado) with baseball size hail and a confirmed tornado on the ground. Also steady winds of 60 mph were reported for a consecutive 15-20 minutes. I would sure hate to be an angler fishing a steelhead stream up there with 100 mph winds and baseball size hail.

From Charlotte Business Journal.com

The Orvis Co. Inc. will open a 7,500-square-foot store in the Phillips Place development in Charlotte’s SouthPark area.
The Vermont-based company markets clothing, fishing gear, furniture, gifts and pet items. It will open in Phillips Place by Christmas.
The store will move into the space currently occupied by women’s apparel retailer Coplon's. Coplon’s is slated to relocate to a 3,500-square-foot Phillips Place site across from The Palm restaurant by the end of the summer.


Sounds good to me!!

1.) I arrived in Vols Country Saturday Afternoon after a 6 hour trip from Kannapolis (took the scenic route through the Nantahala River area). As we drove through Robbinsville I noticed the crowds were definately here. I also noticed the tuber hatch on the Lower Nantahala River. Most fisherman think that the tubers scare the fish out of a pool on the Nantahala. The fish have become accustomed to watching the big, yellow, tubes float by. Of course the fish are going to get a little skittish for a moment, but they most likely aren't going to take off 2 miles upstream. The Nantahala River is, in my opinion, one of the prettiest rivers in the state. It's also one of the best trout streams in the state. It's listed along with the Davidson River in Trout Unlimited's Top 100 Trout Streams in North America.

2.) I decided to establish a fishing report over in the left hand column. I included weather conditions and water levels for the Northern NC mountains and the Southern NC mountains. The water levels are very convienient as they automatically update after refreshing your browser. Tell me if it's a good idea or if there is anything else useful that can be added. I'm thinking about posting TN tailwater conditions such as the Caney Fork, SoHo, Clinch, Hiwassee, Cumberland, etc, due to the popularity of these rivers.

1.) All I have to say is "MAJOR skunking" for me on the Davidson. The fish were not cooperative at all. I did get numerous strikes, including a fight with a rainbow for 5 seconds before he popped the fly out. Sometimes the fish are overly eager to grab your fly, other times, not so much. Oh well, maybe next time...

2.) After biting my teeth on the "D". We decided to head up to the headwaters of Looking Glass Creek to fish for wild rainbows and specs. I did manage to catch a few wild rainbows on an inchworm. I tied on the old #12 Turk's Turantula, and got several hits from the resident brook trout, but upon further inspection, the fly was a tad to big for these fish to actually get the fly in their mouth. Overall, a great trip, albeit the fishing wasn't at it's best...

Working a pool on Looking Glass Creek (Quality is horrible for the rest of the pictures.)

2.) Heading out of town once again tomorrow. Tennessee bound this go around. I will be over in Vols country until mid-late August.

3.) I'm buying the $81 non resident all-fish w/ trout stamp license for TN. $81 for an annual non resident!! Sheesh.

4.) This is definately worth mentioning/recommending....Prior to heading out to the river, I swung by Davidson River Outfitters as I needed some strike indicators. I grabbed a pack of strike indicators called "Thingamabobbers"... I'm glad I found them. I've heard of them before, but I just never got around to using them. Even the small sizes of Thingamabobbers will float like a cork even though you have a huge fly that is weighted heavily. They're a little to big to use on the Davidson, as using a dry fly for an indicator is probably best. If you ever fish big water such as the Tuckasegee, French Broad, South Holston, Clinch, Watauga, etc, I highly recommend this strike indicators.

1.) Up and out early (we'll see how early) tomorrow morning. I just checked the water flows for the Davidson River at Brevard, NC. Believe it or not, the "D" is right at normal. No, really, RIGHT on the dot. As of the 8 o'clock hour, the Davidson is at 111 cfs. The average to date is 111 cfs. The water temps are in the mid 60's, and the amount of dissolved oxygen is ideal. The trout aren't as spooky as they are in low water conditions such as the middle of August. I'm shooting for a fish at or above the 25" mark. There are a few fish that exceed this mark in the river. They are fed trout pellets once a day, not to mention the eggs and other nutrients that are flushed out of the raceways into the river. If more storms and/or showers hit the Brevard/Davidson River area, I may be forced to try some small streamers. The trout around the hatchery are extremely intelligent. Almost to the point that it's scary. They have seen virtually ever fly known to man, and most of the larger fish (intelligent fish) won't buy into a #6 Zonker or even a #12 Royal Wulff. They are looking for tiny midge larvae that the hatchery is famous for due to the slow and deep pools. I have tied up a lot of #28-30 Blood Midges that works very well at the hatchery section. I'm looking forward to leaving the 7x and 8x in the truck and use 5x most of the time due to the higher water. So, with all of this being said, it's time to tie up some last minute flies, make sure my nail knot is fastened to my fly line, and dream of that 25"+ fish.

1.) It's currently 84 degrees here in Kannapolis. It hasn't been too hot as of yet. If I'm not mistaken the highest temperature this year here in the Charlotte Metro was 94...That was back in late March. The mountains, from Boone to Murphy are experiencing some nice weather conditions. As of right now, Boone is sitting at 79 degrees with 47% humidity. Asheville is also at 79 degrees. I would say backcountry Brook Trout fishing "bluelining" is very productive right now, even up around the higher elevations of WNC. I'm taking advantage of the ideal weather by heading over to the Davidson River early Thursday morning. I'm fishing the hatchery section of "the D", where the trout grow big, but the flies are ever so small. #28 Blood Midges and #26 Cream Midge dries look about right....never fails on the "D". Water levels are on their way back down, so hopefully the Davidson won't be too high. It has been too long since my last trip to the Davidson. Fly Fishing has become more than just a hobby to me. I've been addicted to fly fishing for 8 years. I'll never forget what Joe Humpreys told me at Troutfest. He asked me how long I've been fishing...I told him 8 years. Immediately he replied, "the addiction will only get worse". I'm definitely a true trout bum. I wonder if there's a college course in Trout Psychology...If there was it would be out in Montana.

2.) Hatches are occurring out on all of the trout streams. Light Cahills, Yellow Sallies, Isonychias, and Mottled Brown Caddis are all imminent. The long awaited terrestrial season is finally here!! I spent the whole weekend tying tons of hoppers. Smaller hoppers are better for now, since we have just scratched the surface of Summer. Ants, beetles, inchworms, and sooner or later the cicadas (I can't wait). I would fish a Hopper Dropper right now. Try your favorite hopper pattern and use a #12 Green Weenie as the dropper. The trout are now hearing the ever increasing SPLAT from a grasshopper hitting the water. I've seen trout race clear across a pool to grab a grasshopper or cricket. Grasshoppers are a major food source for all fish species, from all three species of trout to Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass and panfish.

3.) The next update should be late Thursday or Friday with fish pictures and a report from the "D". I'll be over in Vols country from early next week until the middle of August as well. Posts and reports will still be added regularly. The Hiwassee River is only 15 minutes away from my grandparents, so I'll have the chance to fish the 'Wassee a few times in the Summer.

1.) The weather here in the Old North State is definitely changing. Instead of hot, dry and sunny conditions, rain, relatively cool temps and storms are now the big headline in the weather department. Strong to severe storms are a possibility. With these storms, heavy rain, large hail and damaging winds are the main threats. Isolated tornadoes are possible but not likely. Tomorrow will yield more showers and a few embedded t'storms as well. Saturday will be sunny with a few AM showers to wrap the storm system up. Rivers will be rising...Some more rapidly than others. If you are out fishing, and you notice the water rising, make sure you get out and away from the river. Albeit rain isn't falling where you are standing, it could be pouring a few miles upstream. Once that rain starts falling upstream, the water downstream will start rising rapidly also. Trust me, you don't want to be out there in a stream when a wall of water starts racing down towards your position. I've been in several similar situations before and it can be scary. I was fishing the Hiwassee River a few years ago, and I knew TVA was releasing water, but to my surprise, "releasing water" in the Hiwassee means rising the river by a few feet. I was in one of those dazes where fishing was the only thing on my mind. Whenever I'm out on the river, I snap into trout hunting mode. I noticed that the water was getting a little higher, but I disregarded it and continued fishing. A few minutes later I realized the water was really starting to rise. It was previously at my knees...Now it was up to my hips and rapidly ascending. From then on out I'm always careful when fishing tailwaters such as the 'Wassee, or any other river for that matter.

2.) If you do plan on heading to a trout stream, bring some Zonkers, Woolly Buggers, and Sculpin patterns. The water will likely become high and stained in most locations. Until that water is high and stained, Green Weenies, San Juan Worms, Copper Johns, etc are working. Check the hatch chart on the left hand column for a more in-depth selection of flies to try.

1.) I just received an email from one of the coordinators of Project Healing Waters asking If I would mention and put a link up on my blog to the PHW website. Of course I replied saying yes. I've seen PHW on TV (I can't remember where though). It is a great organization and it is all for a great cause. Here is the link and all about what Project Healing Waters is and who they are...