Long overdue trip

Grannyknot · #1 09-07-2010, 09:40 AM

It had been nearly 5 weeks since the last time I wet a line in the mountains. Probably since my last outing with Grouseman in the park way back in July. I told myself I wasn't going to the mountains again until October, and that I would get all the projects done on my "honey-do" list, that way I could run wide open this fall. I couldn't do it. Major withdrawals. On the plane home from Canada last week, I re-read Chris Camuto's "Fly Fisherman's Blue Ridge", which caused me to break out into a cold sweat. Even sitting down to tie a fly would cause me to start to twitch a little bit. My wife proposed a car camping trip for this past weekend, and I conveniently picked out a camground right next to one of my favorite freestone streams in Tennessee. It was a beautiful weekend. I love the days when its cold enough to wear a long sleeve shirt when you step into the water in the morning. I didn't see a single person on the stream all weekend. Biggest thing I caught was a grin. Just what the doctor ordered.

Hardly any dry fly action, just a few ineffective smacks from overly aggressive fish. All the fish I caught were on a tellico nymph. Here was the first one of the weekend.

A fatboy that I managed to take a terrible picture of. Next time I go, I am going to take a permanent marker and write "MACRO" on the back of my hand.

A pretty moss-covered bridge. Sometimes the deep water under it holds a lazy brown...today the water was too slow & warm. It only held a few chubs.

This fish, while small, was a promising site. Hopefully the stream's once flourishing brown trout population is making a comeback. First one I've caught here in almost 3 years.

The view of Western North Carolina from Waucheesi Mountain.

It was a great weekend in the mountains. Oh, and by the way, as soon as we got home, I started to remodel the bathroom. I WILL be a full time mountain goat come October.