Wading upstream... I walked another couple of yards before turning back to avoid the impending storm.

We left town at about 2:00 this afternoon bound for the Smokies. I swung by the fly shop in Concord and in a mad dash, grabbed a few last minute fly tying stuff. We dodged a line of nasty severe thunderstorms, some producing hail up to the size of golf balls and limes. Dad drove while I had the laptop in my lap with weather radars and storm reports streaming across the screen (aside from being a fly fishing fanatic, I'm a weather geek as well... I looked like Reed Timmer from Storm Chasers). I did my best in preventing us from driving through the hail core in one of the storms. We did find a break between the weather and decided to hit Big Creek, located on the northern fringes of Great Smoky Mountains Nat'l Park. I tied on a Green Weenie, added 3 split shot, and started to work the pool seen in the picture right under the bridge. I was expecting to switch to a Yellow Sally soon. Then, distant thunder started to echo around the valley. Blinding rain and unbelievably loud claps of thunder drove me off the river in about a half an hour. I did get several very quick hits from a few wild fish, but they were obviously not in the mood. Maybe they knew full well a storm was brewing. Of course I wasn't concentrating soley on fishing. Golf ball size hail was not far away and I was ready to sprint to the truck (or under the bridge that in a way, looks like the one from the movie Deliverance).

After Troutfest tomorrow, a buddy and I may hit a Smokies stream. I'll have the camera charged and ready. Hopefully the fish will cooperate. If you are coming out to Troutfest, enjoy the festivities. It's going to be amazing. You will NOT be disappointed. Joe Humpreys, Bob Clouser, and Lefty Kreh are in Townsend right now. They'll be putting on a great show along with a whole list of others. See you there tomorrow!