Clinch River - Report

I've been out a handful of times over the past couple of weeks on the Clinch.  I've had some good days on both ends of the river.  On the lower end - pheasant tails and soft hackles have worked well for me.  On the upper end I've been doing well on really small midges and cream colored scuds.

Here are a few pictures from the past couple days.

Photo credit: @troutmanbrook via Instagram

Yesterday morning I found this nice rainbow who fell to my #20 midge

Report - Early June 2013

I was able to get in a couple trips of fishing this week.  I love getting out at this time of year, because you just never know what kind of day you're going to have.  Some Summer days turn out great, but on other days fish can be tough to figure out for a variety of reasons.

My first trip was to my home waters the Clinch River.  The Clinch can be very fun to fish during late May and into June.  My trip was indeed a good one.  I began the day up above the weir fishing some deep water as they turned off the generators.  In approximately an hour I had brought several fish to hand and lost a few others.  The fish up in the weir pool are tough, thick, and fighters.  In the weir pool all my fish came on a midge #20.

After fishing the weir pool for a hour, we decided to head down to miller island.  Luckily, their wasn't too many people out yet and we were able to jump in a head of all the crowds.  I usually avoid miller island because of the crowds, but decided I'd give it a shot since I hadn't fished that area in such a long time.  Its always a plus to be the first person to fish the island(front or back).  Fish seemed to really be stacked up on the front side.  They were everywhere and not just in the normal lies.  I didn't spot a ton of really large fish, but there were certainly many willing to cooperate.  I caught fish on pheasant tails initially in a couple different variations in sizes #16 and #18.  Towards the end of the island there are a couple different pools that I threw some soft hackles and picked up a handful of average fish.  By the time I reached the end of the island(approx. noon) I began to see a few sulfurs coming off and I was surprised to see the fish keying on them this early in the day.  Historically, the best sulfur hatches are much further down river, but this was a pretty significant hatch.  It was a lot of fun getting to fish some dry flies and some good action.

 

I also took a little road trip and visited Cherokee, NC to do some fishing up on the Raven Fork.  I hadn't ever fished the tribal waters and wanted to do a bit of exploring.  We didn't fish the trophy waters, but did fish the waters above and below the 2 mile stretch of the prized water.  Unfortunately the heavy storms from the previous weekend still left the waters fairly high and swift.  We had a bit of a tough time finding some manageable water to fish.  We did manage to catch some fish on nymphs and san juan worms.

Caught this little guy on the first cast of the day

This was the most productive stretch of water

 

 

 

 

My little brother Cobie laying out some line into a deep pool

 The waters up in Cherokee are very nice.  Once we had finished fishing, we did some scouting in the trophy section.  We spotted some really large fish.  Next time we visit that area we may try and get into some of those big uglies.  It appeared to be a nice area to do some camping. 

Elkmont Trip

Campground Parking Lot at Elkmont

Rod and I decided to battle the Memorial Day crowds and venture into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and fish up above Elkmont.  We hiked about half way up Little River Trail and began fishing. 
It wasn't long until we each had hooked up

After picking up some fish, we ran into a fellow fisherman who recommended we hike on up and fish around the bridges.  This was about another two miles up the trail, but he ensured us it was worth the efforts. 
By the time we got up to the top of the trail we were quite tired, but determined to fish some of these fine looking waters.

Rodney at the Husky Gap Trail Sign.  Look tired?

Neither of us are too skilled when it comes to fishing the smokies.  We would definitely be considered "tailwater guys".  We were hoping to see some nice hatches, but it never happened.  All of the fish we caught were subsurface on nymphs and green weenies. 

Caught on a Weenie

Rodney after our long hike up Little River trail

Standing on the bridge of Little River Trail

All in all, we had a good time.  Weather was great, crowds weren't too terrible, and we were just happy to get out and enjoy the day in the solitude of the Smokies. 

Check out these poppers from Fly Fish Food

 

http://www.flyfishfood.com/2013/05/rainys-foam-popper-bodies.html

I've never ventured into tying my own poppers, but I may have to give it a try this year.  I'm hearing that the small mouth bite is really hot right now and I'm itching to go.  In E. Tennessee we're blessed with some truly great small mouth waters near by and I don't have to travel all that far to get into some good action.  

 

Check out the Latest from S.C.O.F

 

http://www.southerncultureonthefly.com/

I've really enjoyed SCOF since it debut in 2011.  This is the best zine in the business as far as I'm concerned and it just so happens to be centered out of the Southeast!

If you haven't already, check it out and give it a follow.  It's always full of knowledge and the southern culture fly fishing experience.

The Summer Issue looks to drop in July.  

Clear Cure Goo

So I just jumped in head first and bought some Clear Cure Goo.  After talking to a few people and doing a little research online, I realized all I really needed for most of my personal tying needs was the light($29) and a bottle of CCG's "hydro"($21).  I'm really excited to use CCG and see what my results are like.  Everyone I've spoken to has praised it giving it 5 stars.
After I get the chance to try it out, I'll be sure to post some pictures of a few flies and let you all know what my thoughts are about the product.  I'm most excited to make some bomb proof midges for my local tailwaters. 

Weather Check and Ready to FISH

We've experienced quite the assortment of weather thus far this year in East Tennessee.  This isn't abnormal, but we've had tons of rain, some snow, ice, really low temps and really high temps.  Its a never ending roller coaster here when it comes to weather.  That's part of what makes TN such a great place to live.

My local river(Clinch) has continued to be blown out with TVA pushing 2 or more generators for a couple weeks now.  They also have the sluice gates open and this is producing water flows of over 15,000 cubic ft per second.  I've seen a few pictures posted around Facebook and other message boards of some areas of the Clinch and the waters are well up in the trees.

With the amounts of rain we've had I don't anticipate much tailwater fishing time until March.  I have my fingers crossed for a good sulphur hatch this year.  Last years hatch seemed a bit inconsistent and wasn't nearly as good as the one we had in 2011.  I've got my fly boxes loaded with various sulphur imitations and I hope to get to use them.  A couple of them are new variations that I think could be killer!

2013 -- Fly Fishing Resolutions

Happy New Year!  I'm expecting great things in 2013.  Early last year when I started this blog I didn't anticipate the lack of fishing I would get to do in 2012.  I fished less last year than any of the past 5 years.  I'll be honest that it was frustrating at times, but that's what life throws at us sometimes.  Other priorities (family, work, etc), will always come first.  I hope to be able to find more time on the water this year and also explore new things in connection to fly fishing.  In 2011, I did a fair amount of small mouth fishing and it was great.  Last year, I was only able to manage 2 small mouth trips.  2011 was a great year for me and produced some great fishing memories.


I would like to share a few of my Fly Fishing Resolutions for 2013. 

1.) Get my family more involved on the River.  My oldest son will be turning 5 this Summer and starts Kindergarten in the Fall.  He's been on a couple fishing trips and has had a blast.  I've got a goal for him to catch a trout this year by himself.  I think he's up to it!  :)

Here is a picture of Andrew and his first trip ever to the Clinch River back in April of 2012.  We mostly played in the water and threw rocks, but he had fun and it is a memory I'll have forever. 

2.)  Obviously - More time on the water.  Doesn't really matter where, but I would like to explore the Smoky Mountains more and learn to become a better small stream fisherman.  I'd also like to get a few trips on the South Holston and Davidson River this year.  I've fished both of these rivers over the past few years and they are terrific.  Both have their quirks and totally different styles, but both can reward you with a great catch.


3.) Tie Flies! and learn new patterns.