Featured Photo: Big Laurel Falls
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Spring!!!
The dogwoods definitely signal spring here in Tennessee. Last weekend the trees in the Smokies were in full bloom. I finally found some overlooking Little River that made a beautiful picture. The early morning sun was illuminating the forest in the distance...
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Streamer Action Hot
Last weekend's high water event in the Smokies brought the browns out to play. I almost didn't find out until too late, but got in on the streamer action before things returned to normal. Lots of fish followed my fly and several hit as well. Only one actually got its mouth around the big Clouser though.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Troubled Montana
Apparently special interests have convinced the politicians of Montana to override the wishes of the state's residents. The state legislature passed a cyanide leach mining bill so now the best we can hope for is the governor to veto the bill. Tom Chandler over at the Trout Underground is keeping up with the latest developments. If you read further on his blog there are several other posts referring to the topic. Educate yourself and then contact the Montana governor via email (email link on the Trout Underground post).
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Smallmouth Fishing Compromised
Those who enjoy fishing the Little Pigeon in Sevierville and Pigeon Forge for smallies may want to wait awhile before heading to the river. Apparently there was a major sewage spill upriver at Gatlinburg...guess I won't be targeting smallmouth there anytime soon...
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Stalking Risers
Spring in the Smokies is for rising trout. Usually this means lots of 4"-10" rainbows with a few browns thrown in the mix. Yesterday I had some business in Knoxville so as soon as I finished, the Park started calling my name. The sunny skies and warmer temperatures had me dreaming of big hatches and even larger trout. Large browns do not rise freely to insects very often, especially in the freestone streams of east Tennessee, but if you are going to catch one on a dry then spring is the time to do it.
When I first arrived at the stream, there were good numbers of Blue Quills, Quill Gordons, and even some Hendricksons mixed in as well as a huge midge hatch. Several fish were rising, but I was after larger game. I spent a lot of the afternoon simply looking for large browns. Some time was spent simply covering water with a dry or double nymph rig and I scored a few decent fish this way as well. Several very nice fish were out feeding, but it wasn't until late in the day that I struck gold.
I was creeping along the bank of a nice pool when I noticed a dark shadow float to the surface to take an insect. It was so unexpected that I almost ignored it, but thankfully my fisherman's instinct kicked in and I froze. Thankfully the fish hadn't seen me, and I watched from behind the cover of a large tree trunk as the fish moved back and forth in the lazy current, rising occasionally to pluck something from the surface. I checked the rest of the pool to make sure I wasn't missing something larger before returning to sit on the bank and observe the nice fish. The brown was still there and another slightly smaller fish had moved in behind to feed as well.
After considering my options and observing the fish, I carefully tied on a dry and crept down the bank to within 15 feet of the fish. Stripping several feet of line off the reel, I carefully made two false casts and then dropped the fly gently above the fish. For a second nothing happened. Then the fish moved and began its ascent through the water column as my heart started pounding. For an agonizing second (or was it an eternity?), the fish stared hard at the fly and then confidently inhaled my offering.
As soon as I raised the rod tip, I knew I had a solid hook set and a good chance at landing the fish. What I hadn't counted on was the fish going aerial. My heart sunk as the fish repeatedly took to the air, but soon it grew tired, and I confidently raised its head prior to netting. After a couple of pictures, I cradled the fish gently in the current while it regained its energy before heading for a rock to hide under.
At this point my day was perfect, and I couldn't ask for anything more. I did spot another good fish, but finally decided to just head home and let the other fish in the stream feed in peace for that day.
When I first arrived at the stream, there were good numbers of Blue Quills, Quill Gordons, and even some Hendricksons mixed in as well as a huge midge hatch. Several fish were rising, but I was after larger game. I spent a lot of the afternoon simply looking for large browns. Some time was spent simply covering water with a dry or double nymph rig and I scored a few decent fish this way as well. Several very nice fish were out feeding, but it wasn't until late in the day that I struck gold.
I was creeping along the bank of a nice pool when I noticed a dark shadow float to the surface to take an insect. It was so unexpected that I almost ignored it, but thankfully my fisherman's instinct kicked in and I froze. Thankfully the fish hadn't seen me, and I watched from behind the cover of a large tree trunk as the fish moved back and forth in the lazy current, rising occasionally to pluck something from the surface. I checked the rest of the pool to make sure I wasn't missing something larger before returning to sit on the bank and observe the nice fish. The brown was still there and another slightly smaller fish had moved in behind to feed as well.
After considering my options and observing the fish, I carefully tied on a dry and crept down the bank to within 15 feet of the fish. Stripping several feet of line off the reel, I carefully made two false casts and then dropped the fly gently above the fish. For a second nothing happened. Then the fish moved and began its ascent through the water column as my heart started pounding. For an agonizing second (or was it an eternity?), the fish stared hard at the fly and then confidently inhaled my offering.
As soon as I raised the rod tip, I knew I had a solid hook set and a good chance at landing the fish. What I hadn't counted on was the fish going aerial. My heart sunk as the fish repeatedly took to the air, but soon it grew tired, and I confidently raised its head prior to netting. After a couple of pictures, I cradled the fish gently in the current while it regained its energy before heading for a rock to hide under.
At this point my day was perfect, and I couldn't ask for anything more. I did spot another good fish, but finally decided to just head home and let the other fish in the stream feed in peace for that day.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Spring Trout
The quantity of food available means that even the usually wary brown trout are sitting out in the open consuming as many calories as possible. I catch more browns in the spring than any other time of the year except possibly early fall just before the spawn begins. Best of all, they tend to run a little larger than the average Smoky Mountain trout.
Camping is best in spring or fall, and I make sure to take at least a couple of camping trips during those times each year. A little over a week ago I found myself in the Smokies for my first spring camping trip hoping to run into a good hatch. All winter I have been looking forward to the return of steady dry fly action. While bugs were hatching, including Quill Gordons, Blue Quills, Brown Stoneflies, and Little Black Caddis, the heavy hatches I was hoping for didn’t happen. In fact, the best hatches I encountered were of the little brown stoneflies. Trout don’t normally rise very well to these insects although a stonefly nymph imitation can be deadly.
Over the course of the weekend, I had very good success with a Tellico nymph which is a great generic stonefly nymph imitation. Wooly Buggers and Pheasant Tail nymphs rounded out the rest of my arsenal. For dries, all I threw was Parachute Adams to match the Quill Gordons I found sporadically hatching. The fish responded best to the nymphs but under the right circumstances trout would rise to a well-presented fly. The larger browns were either in deep runs or waiting in ambush near structure, particularly overhanging or undercut rocks.
On Sunday I hiked a good distance up Little River with my buddy Kevin. We were searching for solitude and hungry trout and found both. Three miles of hiking put us above the last angler and gave us lots of good water to choose from including some really nice pools. We started fishing subsurface offerings which I stuck with for most of the day. Kevin switched to a dry after awhile and found plenty of willing trout.
The big surprise of the day was a small young of the year brook trout I caught around three miles upstream from the Little River Trailhead at Elkmont. That is unusually low to catch a brook trout but this was probably because it washed down during one of the recent high water events. The tiny fish somehow managed to take the fly, beating several other much larger rainbows which makes one wonder about the theory of rainbows out-competing with the brookies.
My best trout of the day was a nice brown of 15-16 inches that nailed the Tellico almost before it hit the water. When I saw the golden sided fish roll, I almost dropped the rod in excitement. Thankfully all the knots held, and I beached the beautiful brown at the low end of the pool. After a couple quick pictures, I released the fish and watched as it shot across the stream to a hiding spot near the far bank.
Continuing up the river, I caught several more nice fish including another brown of around 13 inches. Small streams and willing trout provide one of the most enjoyable ways to spend a day fly fishing in my opinion. This day on the water was one of the better small stream experiences I’ve had in the last year.
As area waters begin to warm, more fishing opportunities are opening up. Bass should be moving around now and the fishing for both smallies and largemouth should improve drastically over the next few weeks. I intend to spend more time in the Smokies soon, but have some professional responsibilities beyond my normal work load that may limit my time on the water for the next week and a half or so. After that, I have a break with several days off and will probably spend a significant amount of time with friends in the Park. Naturally at least a little fishing will be included…
Blooming Soon
The dogwoods are just about to start blooming in the Smokies. I remembered this picture I took several years ago just above Elkmont of on early blooming tree. You just can't beat spring in the Smokies!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Fighting For Food
As fishermen, we dream of the ultimate fishing experience which is probably different for everyone. Most likely each has a common denominator however. Large numbers of quality fish is the stuff dreams are made of, and the best is when the fish are fighting over the opportunity to inhale your fly. In the Grand Canyon, I was able to have such an experience.
Our second full day in the bottom of the canyon found most of us in better shape and ready to venture further afield in search of the hidden wonders of our surroundings. Myself and three others decided to make the hike up to Ribbon Falls. I wanted to enjoy using my camera and of course wanted to explore Bright Angel Creek further in search of the beautiful trout that inhabit its waters.
After a hearty breakfast, four of us began the hike up the canyon towards the falls. As we hiked, I forced myself to keep moving past all the beautiful water. Our goal was to reach the falls before the sun moved behind the canyon wall. Ribbon Falls is beautiful regardless of your perspective, but I wanted pictures with the sun on the water. This meant that I had to skip every spot where I saw nice trout hanging suspended in the clear water of Bright Angel Creek.
The fast hike was worth it in the end as was denying myself the time to stop and fish. I would still have the whole afternoon ahead to fish my way back down the creek. Ribbon Falls was beautiful with the sun creating a rainbow in the spray of the falls. Just 45 minutes after arriving at the falls, the sun moved behind the canyon walls and the now shaded falls did not have the warm ambiance it had upon arrival.
I climbed up behind the falls to enjoy the view through the spray, taking pictures at every step along the way. After enjoying the scene, I moved a short distance back down the canyon to cook up some lunch. The delicious spinach ziti gave me the energy to hike back to camp and do some fishing along the way.
Strolling back down the canyon, I started seeing spots I had promised myself I would fish on the way back down. A large rock by the trail provided the perfect spot to sit down and change into sandals to wade the cold waters of the creek. Rigging up my rod with a wooly bugger and pheasant tail, I moved down the steep slope to a deep run that just looked fishy. As I moved slowly along the edge of the stream, I started seeing trout holding everywhere in the calmer water near current seams. The crystal clear stream made finding trout the easy part of the equation. I still had to make the cast and correctly present the fly though.
My first cast was a little sloppy and not very accurate, it splashed just behind the trout I was targeting. To my surprise, the fish turned and chased the flies downstream, turning as it took the pheasant tail. I set the hook and was soon admiring a beautiful resident rainbow.
Moving another step up, I repeated the process and caught another trout. Thinking to myself that I might be experiencing the easiest catching I would ever enjoy, my next cast was made to the deepest part of the pool. In awe, my eyes beheld dark shadows racing from every direction as the rainbows were nearly fighting for the opportunity to inhale my offerings.
Small stream trout are absolutely a blast. Bright Angel Creek is now high on my list of best small trout streams. The overall quality of the experience makes a trip well worth the effort required. The trout did not seem particularly spooky, probably because the flows were a little high due to the recent winter storm. Fish that "spooked" would still often take a fly.
Finally, after catching more than my share of fish, I headed back down the trail. Just before Phantom Ranch, I made the turn onto the Clear Creek trail. A short distance up, I settled down at an overlook of the river to watch the sunset. Nothing could make the experience better except to have a few more nights scheduled at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Someday I will go back, but until then I have great memories of the best backpacking trip yet!
Our second full day in the bottom of the canyon found most of us in better shape and ready to venture further afield in search of the hidden wonders of our surroundings. Myself and three others decided to make the hike up to Ribbon Falls. I wanted to enjoy using my camera and of course wanted to explore Bright Angel Creek further in search of the beautiful trout that inhabit its waters.
After a hearty breakfast, four of us began the hike up the canyon towards the falls. As we hiked, I forced myself to keep moving past all the beautiful water. Our goal was to reach the falls before the sun moved behind the canyon wall. Ribbon Falls is beautiful regardless of your perspective, but I wanted pictures with the sun on the water. This meant that I had to skip every spot where I saw nice trout hanging suspended in the clear water of Bright Angel Creek.
The fast hike was worth it in the end as was denying myself the time to stop and fish. I would still have the whole afternoon ahead to fish my way back down the creek. Ribbon Falls was beautiful with the sun creating a rainbow in the spray of the falls. Just 45 minutes after arriving at the falls, the sun moved behind the canyon walls and the now shaded falls did not have the warm ambiance it had upon arrival.
Catherine McGrath Photograph
I climbed up behind the falls to enjoy the view through the spray, taking pictures at every step along the way. After enjoying the scene, I moved a short distance back down the canyon to cook up some lunch. The delicious spinach ziti gave me the energy to hike back to camp and do some fishing along the way.
Strolling back down the canyon, I started seeing spots I had promised myself I would fish on the way back down. A large rock by the trail provided the perfect spot to sit down and change into sandals to wade the cold waters of the creek. Rigging up my rod with a wooly bugger and pheasant tail, I moved down the steep slope to a deep run that just looked fishy. As I moved slowly along the edge of the stream, I started seeing trout holding everywhere in the calmer water near current seams. The crystal clear stream made finding trout the easy part of the equation. I still had to make the cast and correctly present the fly though.
My first cast was a little sloppy and not very accurate, it splashed just behind the trout I was targeting. To my surprise, the fish turned and chased the flies downstream, turning as it took the pheasant tail. I set the hook and was soon admiring a beautiful resident rainbow.
Moving another step up, I repeated the process and caught another trout. Thinking to myself that I might be experiencing the easiest catching I would ever enjoy, my next cast was made to the deepest part of the pool. In awe, my eyes beheld dark shadows racing from every direction as the rainbows were nearly fighting for the opportunity to inhale my offerings.
Small stream trout are absolutely a blast. Bright Angel Creek is now high on my list of best small trout streams. The overall quality of the experience makes a trip well worth the effort required. The trout did not seem particularly spooky, probably because the flows were a little high due to the recent winter storm. Fish that "spooked" would still often take a fly.
Finally, after catching more than my share of fish, I headed back down the trail. Just before Phantom Ranch, I made the turn onto the Clear Creek trail. A short distance up, I settled down at an overlook of the river to watch the sunset. Nothing could make the experience better except to have a few more nights scheduled at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Someday I will go back, but until then I have great memories of the best backpacking trip yet!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Photoblog Update
The Trout Zone Photoblog has been suffering from a lack of attention, but I have added a picture from the Grand Canyon and will be adding more from that trip over the next couple of weeks. Additionally, as spring progresses, I hope to document the change of seasons and some of those pictures will exlusively end up on the photoblog. The best part is that the images are larger on the photoblog so if you want to get a better look at any pictures, check out the photoblog and see if your favorites have been posted there...
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