1.) The Hiwassee awaits me early tomorrow. I usually get out there shortly after sunrise and fish until about 10:15 or so (up until TVA starts generating to unwadeable levels, which is usually by 10 AM). I have tied a dozen or so large #10-12 Isonychia dries. I tie them comparadun style (Comparanychia is what I call them...). The Clinch is famous for it's Sulphurs, the freestone streams in NC and TN are known for their extraordinary evening Yellow Sallies and Light Cahills, and here, the Hiwassee is famous for it's Isonychias. Albeit the "Slate Drake" hatches aren't spectacular, the bugs are large enough to make up for the sporadic hatches and small numbers during a single hatch. The 'nychias are almost the equivalent to the famed Salmonfly hatch out in Montana. Anyways, I found my spot on the Hiwassee and I'm going to thoroughly fish it...I'll be on the hunt tomorrow morning. If the water isn't high and swift, I'll try and use dries exclusively. I love the thrill of watching a trout (small or large) meeting a well presented dry at the surface.

2.) I need to buy another USB cord for the computer for uploading fish pictures...It's been awhile you say?!!

The Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited (LRCTU) has put together yet another great slideshow displaying just how successful Troutfest was this year. If you didn't attend the last Troutfest back in May, go ahead and mark it in your calenders...

http://www.lrctu.org/movies/TROUTFEST2009Video/index.html

1.) With my 6 wt in hand, I hit the Hiwassee River early this morning. It was a somewhat cool morning, the dew had yet to evaporate and the intensity of the sun was low. I pulled up just downstream of Appalachia or just a mile or so upstream of Big Bend. I got out of the car and watched the mighty Hiwassee for any rises. About 25 ft from shore, I saw a small rainbow feeding on emerging olives. I wanted to see if the fish would take a small # 18 Mr. Rapidan, so I rigged up, suited up into my Simms and half walked/half crouched down to the water's edge. The wild Hiwassee bow was still sipping small olives from the surface film. I waited for him to rise again, then once he made a subtle rise, I gently made 2 false casts and a very light presentation. Since the water the fish was holding in was slack and calm, drag was not a problem; ...stealth was the problem. I new the fish that I was targeting was on the small size, so 6x tippet was more than enough. I let the fly drift to the rising rainbow. Eventually the fly was on top of him, so his first reaction was to investigate the potential morsel. He slowly drifted towards the fly and with a light sip he plucked it from the surface. I set the hook, but instead the fly flew back in my direction. I had evidently pulled the fly away from him. I shrugged it off and quickly made another gentle cast back to his immediate area. With one strike on this fish, my second try was successful. He grabbed the fly with reckless abandon. Instead of a gentle rise, it was more like a very aggressive and frustrated rise. I saw his white mouth engulf my dry and I waited 2 seconds and then set the hook. The fight was on! A small rainbow can sure fight pretty hard for it's size. I brought the fish to my net and released the 11 inch rainbow unharmed. Soon after I heard a loud splash ahead of me, so I figured the BWO hatch was really starting to crank. A waded to the middle of the river and made a few casts to a rising brown. I had to pack it in a little earlier than planned, as TVA decided to generate a little bit earlier than scheduled (TVA's on THEIR schedule...They don't always follow the exact generation times.) I looked upstream and saw a wall of water building up, so I had to run to the bank before it made it down to my position. I noticed that rocks previously out of the water, where now entirely under the surface. I really started running now. Once I crawled onto the bank, the water started to rise rapidly and I knew wading in this section wouldn't be very wise. So, from then on out, I've been tying and stocking up on Isonychias, which are plentiful here on the Hiwassee. In short, I believe I've found a pretty fair spot. I'll be back on the Hiwassee most likely early next week. Maybe earlier....

2.) I swung by Hiwassee Anglers to buy leader, a few tippet spools, and a few flies. The guy that rung me up, asked if I was from NC, I said yes sir, visiting family here in TN for the Summer. He replied "I read your blog while I'm here at work." I thought the rainbow I caught earlier made my day up until now....I told him, "well, I've had the blog since September". Over the past few months, I've had a few people stop me and ask if I am "Tar Heel Fly Fishing". There was a couple of folks at Troutfest that asked if I was from NC and if I had a blog called Tar Heel Fly Fishing. It's mind boggling how many people I'm reaching through Blogger. I have a feeling THFF will be around for a long time. Every time I look at the latest Feedjit data, I notice the same people, or people from the same town coming back frequently (sometimes daily) to see what mayhem arises on my fishing trips. I enjoy receiving feedback from readers. It's a sure way of connecting with my readers and noticing any problems or suggestions. So, any comments, questions, suggestions, rants or reports feel free to share.

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...