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Wednesday, June 24, 2009
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...
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...
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Click the map for a better view...
I came across this map showing the Eastern United States Brook Trout populations recently. Once you understand what the colors represent via the key, you will soon realize just how close we are to losing the Southern Appalachian strain of the Brook Trout; for good. Years ago, the logging industry reduced the Brook Trout population tremendously. After local fisherman grew tired of trying to find the Brook Trout, they introduced the Rainbow Trout and the Brown Trout into the many streams and lakes in North Carolina. Little did they know, they made a HUGE mistake. Competition for food between the Brook Trout and the Rainbow/Brown Trout, not to mention the carnivorous nature of the Brown Trout, the native Brook Trout were driven to the headwaters and high mountain streams of the Western North Carolina mountains. Brook Trout ar actually char, which is a species of Salmonid. Brook Trout prefer considerably colder water temperatures than the Rainbow and Brown Trout, which in turn means they can escape from the 2 introduced trout species which prefer to have slightly warmer water temperatures. To this day, wild, native, Appalachian strain Brook Trout in NC are still thriving, barely, but thriving in high mountain streams or sections of streams at elevations of 3,000ft+. If you do happen to catch a Brook Trout here in North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, or Georgia please release the fish carefully and unharmed. If you are planning to fish a native Brook Trout stream, use barbless hooks and fine mesh nets. Always wet your hand before handling Brook Trout (or any fish you plan on releasing). Trout have a slimy mucous-like coating on their skin that prevents bacteria and disease from entering their body. If you handle a fish with a dry hand, this coating is deteriorated and the fish is eventually susceptible to disease. This usually is followed by death. The eastern Brook Trout range is slowly receding. If anglers don't pitch in, the Southern Appalachian strain of Brook Trout will soon disappear. Some call the Brook Trout Speckled Trout. Some call them "Specs". Others even call them mountain trout. One thing is certain...They're North Carolina's only Native trout (char) and they are on the verge of extinction here in the state. I can't wait until the day I can fish a stream that doesn't require a 5 mile hike and a topo map to then figure out the the Brook Trout in the stream are absent due to poaching, poor regulations, acid rain, unsteady Ph levels, and over predation.
Share your thoughts on this fly fishing issue...
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!!
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!!
Friday, June 19, 2009
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.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
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.
2.) We may get out and fish the Tellico River sometime next week. We went on an outing Tuesday with the church and we drove along the Tellico River and Citico region prior to driving up through the rugged terrain of the Nantahala National Forest on the way to Robbinsville, NC. I couldn't help but notice the text book examples of runs, pools, riffles, and seams. At times, I could see a few shadows in one of the flats on the river. Knowing me it was my mind saying "yea, that's gotta be a fish". The Tellico is the birthplace of the famed Tellico Nymph. The Hiwassee has eluded me, but hopefully I'll get to fish it a few times in the coming weeks. I may have the chance to fish with an active Trout Unlimited member that is with the Hiwassee River Chapter of TU that goes to our church here in town. From what I know, he is very experienced with the Hiwassee and it's fishing. I'm not, nor have I ever been a tailwater/big water fly fisherman. I've grown up and fished in the small to medium freestoners in Western NC. I have fished tailwaters before along with the big waters out in Montana, but I have always specialized in mountain freestone streams. The hatchery section of the Davidson River is about the closest you can get to an east TN tailwater in NC. It encompasses the hatches of a tailwater (the smallest midges you will ever see along with small BWO'S and a few other major hatches), monster fish (including Graham Sturgis' MONSTER Davidson River Brown Trout), and relatively slow water. Once they get this big, calling them "brownies" doesn't cut it. I address them as sharks.
No, it isn't a whale...!! Check out the massive tail on this guy. Looks like a fan...Graham Sturgis sure did catch a fish of a lifetime. Period. Maybe Larry Dahlberg could do an episode of "Hunt for Big Fish" on the Davidson. I'd watch it...
3.) We now have an Orvis store coming to Charlotte. It's opening by Christmas. It's about time we get one here in the Charlotte area. Check the story out below...
4.) I hope everyone has a nice evening and thanks for stopping by and reading.
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!!
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!!
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