Fly Fishing

2011-10-19T20:21:00.001-07:00

Days spent fishing in 2001 21days

2011-10-19T20:17:00.001-07:00

Days spent fishing in 2011 21days

Car Camping Deep Creek Campground 5-10-10

2010-05-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

I went with the hiking group and spent the weekend in Deep Creek Campground what perfect weather! The water in Deep Creek was still a bit on the high side for any good fishing I managed to land a few acrobatic rainbows but other than that the fishing was just off. It was still a beautiful weekend to be in the outdoors next time I will backpack back up to Bryson place the fishing there is much better.

Spring Fishing Little River 4-22-10

2010-04-23T02:19:00.000-07:00

We had some much needed rain here in East Tennessee on Tuesday which brought our river levels flow rate back to a normal flow for this time of year so I decided to call my old boss and see if he was up for a little fishing after him seeing that huge brown I caught on Monday he said he was interested in going. He was up for it and said he would meet me at the river.

He showed up and we started fishing around 2:00PM he had not been out since we took a beginner fly fishing class together last October I showed him what fly pattern they had been hitting on and away he went. I decided to change to a dropper fly and was rigging my line when he walked over and said does this count as the 1st fish? He had on his first cast landed a beautiful 13 1/2 inch brown.

I fished down just below him for a bit an managed to land a decent rainbow it wasn't until we moved up river that I was able to land another bruiser myself a 13'' brown man there have been some nice fish taken this year I sure hope the action continues it sure has been HOT! it was another beautiful day to be on the river.

4-19-10

2010-04-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

On Friday 4-16-10 I was able to get a little fishing in at one of my favorite spots on Little River in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park I have not experimented much with nymph fishing. I started fishing around noon on Friday and was using a dry fly but there were no rising fish. I knew I had to try something different so I used what's called a dry dropper rig this is where you tie a sinking nymph off the hook of a dry fly and it kinda acts a strike indicator.

Wow right off the bat I landed a nice rainbow around 11" and then another decent fish from the same run I moved up stream a bit and bam! bam! two more decent fish all within an hour of fishing I took a long lunch break around 3:00PM and started back fishing dry fly's with not much luck on Monday I decided to go back and try a new hole that I found. This was a great decision on my part cause I landed my first Smokey Mountain bruiser brown trout a 13 1/2 inch fish what a blast! getting him landed.

My main concern was when I started fly fishing was will I ever get the hang of this? My question has been answered I am starting to pay attention to little details that make the difference in catching nice fish. I have been graced with tips from guys like David Knapp and Ray Ball both really good fly fisherman. Fly fishing is quickly becoming a passion of mine there is just nothing like the peace you get while on the river in the Smokey Mountain National Park.

2 DAY BACKPACK TRIP AND FLY FISHING ON DEEP CREEK 4-9-2010

2010-04-12T19:02:00.000-07:00

4-9-10 I decided to head back to Deep Creek in the Great Smokey Mountain national Park once again for a backpacking fly fishing trip. Once again it was a really good trip we had over an inch of rain on Thursday and Deep Creek was raging. I learned to fish the high water so it didn't concern me much. After setting up camp on Friday I headed to the river the water was high it was hard to find any calm water I managed to land two brown trout. Saturday I woke early cooked breakfast and headed up to high elevation in search of brook trout....I was looking to hit whats called a grand slam brook,brown and rainbow trout all on one stream.

I caught three within an hour then headed back down the trail to meet with friends we had a great evening around the campfire had a great dinner and headed out on Sunday and fished back down the trail the water level had dropped and the fishing was awesome! trout rising everywhere I can still remember the early days when I started this blog of wondering if and when I would ever catch any larger fish I guess the time has come here lately I have caught some nice ones!

Easter weekend Backpack trip to #24 GSMNP

2010-04-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend in the GSMNP we went again with the hiking group out to site # 24 I decided to fish for a bit Saturday afternoon despite periods of gusty winds this was a good choice because I found some great water to fish and managed to land an 11" brown trout what a nice fight he put up it was the 1st time I was actually able to use the real and play the fish perfectly to the net unharmed. Sunday morning we packed an left and i fished back down the river selecting holes and it paid off nicely caught a very colorful rainbow and a few other nice trout.

The weather was just perfect what a wonderful weekend in the Smokies I prefer fishing the park over any where else there is nothing like the beauty and peace the park has to offer it is my favorite place one i have been coming to ever since I was a kid....thanks mom and dad!

2 DAY BACKPACK TRIP AND FLY FISHING ON DEEP CREEK

2010-04-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

March 26th and 27th I backpacked 6 miles into Deep Creek campsite #57 Bryson Place this place is loaded with both beauty and history it was the last known camp of Horace Kephart.

I started fishing around 11:00AM Saturday morning there were rising trout everywhere despite the 41 degree water temp I started catching fish right away on the dry fly I had first tried a nymph dropper to no avail. My first fish was a decent 10" brown trout then a nice rainbow total fish caught in 2 hours fishing was 8 I was a happy camper this was a first time of catching more than a few fish in one trip.

Camping trip Elkmont

2010-04-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

I went with the hiking group to Elkmont campground GSMNP we had a great weekend the water was still on the cool side but there were some rising trout I managed to land a really nice 12" rainbow there were other fish caught but none worth the mention Spring has sprung and the fishing is getting HOT.

Bradley Fork 11/21/09

2009-11-22T15:42:00.000-08:00

We went on a backpack trip to campsite #49 known as Cabin Flats in the GSMNP what a awesome campsite! it's in an area that was never logged when the lumber company's destroyed the park back 75 years ago. I fished up Bradly Fork from the turnaround and had strikes all day but never from any fish of any size I was surprised to even see dry fly action as cold as it was. The water temp was 44 degrees but the sun was out on Saturday I managed to catch 3 rainbows none of any size the one in the picture was the largest it was maybe 6" I went there in search of brook trout.....but still no luck yet.

2009-11-08T19:13:00.000-08:00

I went backpacking to campsite #58 on Deep Creek in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park it was the most awesome weekend a deer even wandered into our campsite. The fishing was awesome I had several strikes but only managed to land two fish the first photo is the rainbow and the second is the brown trout as always I catch fish none so far have been of any great size but loads of fun to catch none the less and a weekend of perfect weather!

Elkmont 10/26/09

2009-10-26T18:04:00.000-07:00

More Elkmont trout maybe one of these days I will start catching some bigger fish I still have a lot to learn my presentation has a lot to be desired. I am thankful that I have been taught the few things I know and that i can manage to at least catch a fish every time I go.

Bradly Fork 10/24/09

2009-10-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

Spent the weekend backpacking and fly fishing on Bradly Fork I finally got up the nerve to try a dropper rig I had no clue how this was done but had read up on it on the internet. I was glad I did when the fishing just turned off the dropper rig produced 1 fish i wish I had tried this earlier.

Clinch River Tail Waters

2009-10-18T17:55:00.000-07:00

Caught my first brook trout on the tail waters of the Clinch river all of the fish I seem to catch are smaller I think it has a lot to do with the fact of my presentation of the fly but I seem to learn more and more every time I pick up my fly rod. No day is a bad day spent fishing the way I see it!!

October 10th weekend in Elkmont "Little River

2009-10-13T20:03:00.001-07:00

Lovely picture of a brown a released back to the water

October 10th weekend in Elkmont "Little River

2009-10-13T19:58:00.001-07:00

I caught my first brown trout this weekend and it was followed by another and a rainbow none were of any huge size but a blast to catch and spent a great weekend camping in Elkmont campground with my hiking group what a blast!!

Fly Fishing on Little River 10/07/09

2009-10-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

I met the most awesome man today a man named Ray Ball while fishing in the Smokies he had caught his limit of trout in less than 2 hours I asked him how he managed that so quickly and he said I can show you if you like. He asked me how long I had been fly fishing I told him 3 weeks he paused and said if you want I can show a few things I said it would be greatly appreciated and it is.

I am so thankful that I met him he even gave me his number and said to call him sometime and he'd take me fishing for the big browns what a great man! I couldn't be happier in life right now he caught 2 fish in 10 minutes showing me his trick he has it's deadly and amazing I am so glad he took the time to take me under his wing I only hope one day i could be half the fishermen this man is.

I did manage to catch one on my own today but next trip I should have more pics to post here is the fish.

2009-10-07T17:40:00.000-07:00

Fly Fishing on Little River

2009-10-01T16:10:00.000-07:00

A pic of a rainbow that was caught on the Little River in the GSMNP

CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE FISH