Smokey Mountain Getaway. . . . Day 2

Day 2 breakfast was another hot bowl of oat meat and a hot cup of tea. I decided to break camp that morning so I wouldn't have to come back later. I decided to hit a river that ran along the main road through the park. One in particular runs off the main road and toward a small university building. I decided to drive along this road and fish the pull outs. I didn't even have to dawn waders. I didn't find much action to speak of in most places. I did however have one spot in particular where the water ran between two large boulders and into a large pool. There was even a tree growing along the bank that had a root system that opened into the river. I tied on the same pheasant tail and a hairs ear that worked the day before. The first drift through yielded a strike but the rainbow got off shortly after. I drifted a few more through and didn't have any more strikes. I thought maybe that first strike scared off the rest. I decided to try a streamer. I tied on a yellow and brown clauser minnow. I threw it in right under the over hanging roots. I stripped it in slowly and a large brown trout zipped out and grabbed it. I couldn't believe this thing was under there! It was tearing through the pool desperately trying to free itself. I had him on for about a minute before it just threw the hook. I was very very bummed. I would bet that it was 18 inches at least. . . . a monster for the area. I decided to try another spot and come back for this one a little later. I tried a few spots with no luck. I came back two hours later to try my luck at this brown again. I threw everything in my fly box at him but couldn't get him to come out again. Oh well, I half expected this. These wild fish haven't survived in these small rivers by making mistakes twice.

I drove out of the park and stopped at Little Pigeon River Fly Shop to ask some questions. They thought my fishing experience was a great one, especially since I saw one of the few large browns in the park. This made my happy. The owner told me about a few places outside the park that I could try. I bought a green weenie and some other local flies to try. I had no luck but enjoyed every minute of it. I decided to leave so I could get home at a decent hour. I stopped by bass pro shop to look around. I talked to the guy in the fly shop and he said all the action in Tennessee was on the Holston River right below the dam. I have heard this more than once. I definitely need to look into this place in the future. I got home around 10:30 in time to visit with my wife before bed.

Smokey Mountain getaway........Day 1

Earlier in November, I got a little restless and my wonderful wife allowed me to get away for a couple days to do some fishing. I have heard of some really nice places to catch big fish including Lake Erie Stealhead or big rainbows and browns on the Holston River in Eastern Tennessee. I only had two days off so I chose a place that I know really well and have always wanted to try fishing. . . . . . the Great Smokey Mountains. I read that the best place to catch bigger rainbows and browns in the park is Abrams Creek in the Cade's Cove, one of my favorite places on Earth. This seemed to be the perfect place to go for my retreat.

I left work early on Tuesday so I could get a jump on the trip. I was packed and on the road by two in the afternoon. I arrived in Cade's Cove, by a new route by the way, and had a campsite chosen by 7. My biggest trouble was erecting my new tent that I received for my birthday. It took an hour but I got it up all by myself in the dark. It was chilly at night (35 degrees) so I stayed in my tent to rig up my fly rod for the next morning. I put on a bead head phesant tail nymph and a bead head hair's ear nymph. I was in my mummy bag on my cot by 11:30 knowing I wanted to get up early the next day.

After oatmeal and toasted pop tarts on the coleman stove with a cup of hot tea, I headed out. Abrams Creek is half way through the Cade's Cove loop. I must have seen a dozen BIG bucks strutting around on my way. It was their rutting season. They are majeestic creatures. I was the first car in the pullout at 7:30. This is important because these trout are wild and skiddish so being the first fisherman to try them is important. The hike to Abram's Falls is 2.5 miles along Abram's Creek. There are a few times the rive strays away from the trail but being by myself I decided to stay near the trail.

Right away I was fishing amongst wild turkey and bucks. I caught a few 4 to 5 inch bows and was encouraged when I landed a 8 inch rainbow. I did find that the fishing was very different from the western style fly fishing I was used to. Instead of long casts and backcasts, there was a lot of roll casts and dipping . The river ran down a mountain and because of hot springs the ph level was very high in the river so it was super slippery. I fell often. The temp did reach 76 that day so no harm done there. It was a struggle to say the least to fish this creek though. It was shallow and full of obsticles. I caught a few fish in this size range that day and after a luch of beef stew on my sterno stove I carried in my pack, I wanted to try a spot that I hooked a bigger one but lost. After a few drifts further out in the stream, I tried one closer to me and took a nice rainbow, 10 inches. It wasn't the one I was after but exciting none-the-less. At this point in the day there was a lot of trail traffic that made me want to leave. I hiked back to the car, a good two miles. It is a gorgeous hike but I recommend doing it without neoprene waders.

I finished the scenic loop road and arrived back at camp for dinner. I had clam chowder followed by canned pears. Sara even made some homemade candy bars for my desert. I made some hot chocolate and watched the sun set on Cades Cove. I really enjoy watching sunsets in foriegn places. I stayed up for another cup of hot cocoa and sat in my camping chair with a down blanket to look at the stars. Other than the hundreds of squirrels in the campground I was nearly alone and loved every minute of it.

The Green River introduction

Howard has been to the Green River Flaming Gorge area many times, with all his kids in fact. He added another trip with me this year. We drove out on a Monday and arrived in time to view the area and see the cabin. The cabin had two bedrooms with two bunk beds in each room and a futon in the living room. It was very nice. He purchased a deal that included a guided tour, a night in the cabin, and three meals. In comparison to the guided trip in Wyoming, this was a bargain. That first night was absolutely beautiful. There was a full moon and all the stars in the sky were visible.

The next day we ate our breakfast and headed down to the river to scope it out. Our guided trip didn't start til noon. After a nice lunch of fried steak, we met Roger Trout in the parking lot. That's right. Our guide's name was Roger Trout. Anyway, our trip started out slowly. It took Roger quite a long time to set us up with nymphing rigs. This is where Howard first started using the system that he prefers to use. the weight is on the bottom with two separate lines above with the nymphs. We had wd40's and zebra midges on. We saw tons of fish, just none on our lines. Eventually Howard and I turned to dry flies. After awhile I had some luck.

Now it was VERY windy that day. We struggled to keep our lines from tangling and to get a drag-free drift. I first put on a fly Roger had never used before. It was a regular house fly. I was a little skeptical. We were casting to the shores where we saw the fish. This was exciting and the first time I dry fly fished. After a while I cast right to one and he took it. It fought differently than a rainbow. It just plain started to dog down deep and not come up. Eventually it did though and I had myself a nice brownie.

A few minutes later I threw a perfect cast right into some rocks and the trout rose beautifully. I set the hook timely and fought this guy in. He was another fine brown trout. I was thrilled because I haven't caught many of these yet. They sure are pretty.

We had a hot meal for dinner and while Roger cooked our Philly steaks I wondered away to find some good photos. It's not hard to do there. The sheer cliffs on both sides of the canyon are all red rock and full of characteristics. The river is clear and green and the flora is beautiful amongst the red rock. After the great dinner, the wind picked up even more.

Howard caught a couple after dinner, all brownies. Roger had us fishing the banks only. Howard and I both saw some opportunistic areas that we missed because we focused on the banks only. We tried steamers on the last stretch but without any luck. Overall we caught only a few fish the whole day. At least we weren't skunked.

We ended up camping out that night. It got a little chilly but was really a perfect night. It didn't even dew overnight. It is a beautiful area to not only fish but to visit and experience.

The next morning we fished the area where we took out the day before. We had little luck. Howard had some takes but none landed. I caught 12 fish but they were all small. I did actually catch two fish on the same line. That was a first. I did hook into some larger ones but they got away. I think a fought them too hard.

We tried down near the launch one time before leaving. This was a bad idea as the strong wind slammed the back door shut on Howard's pole. It was a devastating blow that snapped the rod. He decided he wanted to use his spinner rod anyway. I again got into two fish, both were rainbows but I lost them both. I was quite frustrated with all the lost fish. I decided I didn't let them run enough and give them enough respect. We left for home after that small hike back up to the car. We took some snap shots though on the way out. I later learned that there are many dinosaur fossils found in the are and the reservoir above the river held world record class lake trout and brown trout. It gets really deep. I really enjoyed the entire area. It was a lot more than what I expected.

Sooooo close.

The day after our float I suggested that we start our day early at Lusby where we had such good luck the day before. We had the same set up as the day before, red midge, red san juan, and a brown leach. Right away we were into fish. We caught about 20 fish between the two of us. Both of us caught some near 20 inchers.

Eventually I did land one. He was 21 and a half inches long. He took me down stream a bit too, all the way down to the end of the hole and beyond as a matter of fact. It's amazing how you can feel the size of the fish once it starts to fight. They fight in such an intelligent manner. They know to take out as much line as possible and to jump often. He did too. this one was the biggest fish I've caught. He didn't even fit into my net. I thought I would lose him trying to net him. Unfortunately my camera water on the lens and all my pictures have water spots. I've got great memories though.

Right after I caught this guy I was fishing the bottom of the hole again. Right away I got another hit. This one paused for a time and took off as fast as I've seen a fish move. I was on the end of a long drift when he struck so a lot of line was out in front of me and at my legs. Before I could realize this, he was pulling away at it so quickly that it wrapped around my real. I managed to get it unhooked but before I could I saw this Goliath jump out of the water down river. It was a huge brown! I bet it measured in the upper 20's. I was shocked but couldn't stand still long because it was off down river again. By the time it slowed down I was into my backing! I've never had this happen before, not even with the 21.5 incher moments before. Then, without warning, it leaped into the air, cleared the water, and was lost. There was so much line out that I'm sure it landed on the line that was still taught in the water and broke it off. I lost my whole rig, all three flies and sinkers. I slapped the water with my rod and couldn't believe it. It all happened so quickly and it all seemed completely out of my control, like I was at the fish's mercy. I guess I was. I know this could have been the trout of my life and it felt like I had no control. I remember feeling like I wasn't prepared to fight like that. I realize now that you always have to be ready for the one because there isn't any time to think and there is no room for error.

Well anyway, I caught about a half dozen more good ones by the end of the morning and enjoyed every minute of it. Howard caught a few more too and at the top of the hole he hooked into one that started acting like a big one. He fought all the way down the stretch too and he was able to land his. With this fish he jumped out ahead of my 21 and a half inch fish with this 23 inch fatty. It was the biggest trout of his life. I'm glad he was able to pull it off. We both managed this goal of catching the biggest fish of our lives on this trip. What more can you ask for.

Bad Water Levels, Great Results

Upon arriving at Lusby Landing, Ryan pointed out that the water level was the highest it has been in 30 years. . . . great. That's exactly the reason we came here instead of Saratoga. I have to say I was a little skeptical. It didn't last long though. 3 minutes into the float, I was into a fish. Ryan had warned us that most fish were lost because anglers didn't allow them to run right from the get-go. This in mind, I let this guy do his thing. It wasn't much at first. I think it didn't realize he was hooked or it was just still sleepy. Eventually though he took the line and ran. I was impressed but the guide just nonchalantly called it average. I mentioned I would take average all day if it fought like this. I brought it in after awhile and was thrilled to know I wasn't going to be skunked this day. It was 17 to 18 inches. I'd take it.

Right around the bend I got into another. This one was bigger, about 18 inches plus. A fat hen too. She fought about the same way, still a little sleepy at first but soon got angry. Another boat floated by as Ryan netted it for me. The excitement shown in their eyes as we told them it was our second already. I was ecstatic. I was two fish up on my father-in-law! That's a first.
There was a nice stretch of about 100 yards right below where I caught the first two. This proved to be the perfect stretch. Not only did we have two doubles here but caught lots more the next day and the next while wading. I got into my third fish while Howard had his first on. . . . our first double. Howard's fish was a good one and mine was "too big for his britches." It was amazing too. He jumped about eight times before I got him in. A couple jumps nearly saw him in the boat. I never would have thought a trout could clear that much water and look so graceful doing it. It got 6 feet out of the water at times and soared perfectly while in air. Amazing!

As we neared the end of the run, Ryan would say" get you lines up and clean them off perfectly. I'll take us back up." He did this a half a dozen times here and added "Why leave fish to go find fish?" a great point I thought. We found a few more spots like Lusby along the way. I got one on the line that took me almost to the backing on my real. I got this one under control after about 10 minutes. I finally muscled him in after he bull dogged at the bottom for a while. This big boy was just under 20 inches. He had great color and a long crooked jaw too. He did happen to poop all over the boat while a held him up. It got all over Ryan's water jug too (as tough as he seemed to be, He wanted no more water out of that jug the rest of the day.) This guy could be my favorite fish of all time. A great specimen. Ryan even said that it was the type of fish that brought people to the North Platte. I'd take that one too!
I later caught another big male that had a broken jaw. Amazing it could still eat. It was a funny looking thing. I remember laughing hard during the picture. Howard caught a nice little brown. This was a big deal because they make up less than 3% of the population, a real trophy. He always manages to find brown trout.

We pulled into a nice picnic spot for a chicken salad wrap, chips, cashews, coke, and fruit. It was refreshing. After lunch I got into the back so Howard could man the front for a while. We caught a bunch more. Every once in a while Ryan would ask if the water seemed dirtier to me. It did actually. Before long, the water was mud and the fish weren't biting at all. By this time it was getting on to 5 and we had already been worn out with fish. I bet we caught 30 fish between us. Howard had a couple small ones but my smallest was no less than 17 inches, amazing! They took all three flies but seemed to key in on the red San Juans. Ryan gave Howard a handful of flies afterward for us to try the next day while wading. He gave us his card and invited us down to the river after dinner. His buddies were camping right below the dam. That's about all there was to do in this town, fish and drink afterward. It was a great float. We later found out that we had the most success out of all the guided floats that day. Not bad. I'd take that too.

Day 2, Preparing for the float

We had to be down at the Grey Reef Fly Shop at 7:30 that morning for our guided float. We had no problem getting there on time. It seemed to get light outside by 5 in the morning. We also learned that morning that our shared bathroom was in high demand by the guides. Anyway after some shredded wheat we made our way down to the shop. We met our guide as he was getting the boat ready. Ryan is his name and he looked the part, very grizzly. He told us that we didn't need our waders. We didn't know what to think here because we had ideas of pulling over at the good spots. He informed us that with the high water, wading would be tough and he would keep us in good spots with the boat. Howard wore his anyway but I left mine in the car because its neoprene and heavy and uncomfortable. He rigged us up at the boat with a 3x leader, with 3x tippet. He put on a red San Juan Worm, a red midge pattern, and a brown leach. Wyoming allows 3 flies. We were going to float from Lusby Landing to Sea crest. We piled into the Tundra and headed to Lusby. On the way I noticed two things. One, Tundras have huge cabs, and two, a pheasant. I have seen them in South Dakota before but that's all. It was neat. Anyway, it was a good start to an awesome day.

North Platte River 2010 Day 1

This year Howard took me to Alcove, Wyoming to fish the Grey Reef Section of the North Platte River. Originally he wanted to go up-river to Saratoga to float that canyon in the mountains but that section of river was seeing record levels due to the run-off. That will have to be for another time. The Grey Reef section was supposed to be more fishable.......and it was!

We left at 8:00 on Tuesday and drove the 6. hours to Alcove. We basically back-tracked on I-80 to Rawlins, WY and drove north to just below Casper. We stopped at Independence Rock along the way, very neat. We got to the great city of Alcove around 4 or so. The sign on the main strip of the town read "Alcove, Summer population 20,000. Winter population less than 50." It had a handful of old hotels and cabins, a gas station, marina, The Grey Reef Fly Shop, and of course the Bar. Our cabin was run by the owner of the bar so that's where the "office" was. It had dollar bills taped to every inch of the walls and ceilings. Not the best decor but for 50 people, who is there to impress? We got checked in and unloaded. The cabin was real small, functionable, and nice. It could accommodate up to four in bunk beds and a pull out. Perfect for the two of us.

We could see the river from our cabin and it was high but not all that off color. We were excited because most of the rivers we had passed were nothing but mud. We decided to head over to below the dam to investigate. We suited up and familiarized ourselves with the area. We tried our luck in a few spots but didn't spend too much time. We caught nothing but we saw some other anglers catch a few real nice ones. One particular man was up to his armpits in water trying to keep a fish on. We realized this would be a tough place to wade. He did however land the nice rainbow. We asked what he was using and he said a rock worm, a size 8 red midge really. Interesting......

We hit the marina along the reservoir for dinner, the bar being the other option. I had a bacon cheese burger with fries and a coke while Howard had ribs. Both of which were delicious. We were pleasantly surprised. We decided to drive around a little more and then get to bed early so we would be well-rested for our guided float in the morning. Our goal we came up with in the car on the way over was to catch the biggest trout of our lives thus far and so far the area looked very promising.