Abram's Creek Horseshoe

[Perry]

I fished the Horseshoe on Abram's last fall for the first time (October I think) without much success....partly due to my late put-in time, I spent a good part of the day dealing with my anxiety concerning gettin out rather than quality fishing time. Apart from a few small rainbows (very small) the day was pretty much a bust. Now that I have passed my "initiation period", I would like to try again early this spring. Thought the generally warmer temperatures characteristic of Abram's would make it a good bet for some early season fishing. But frankly I've never had much luck on this creek. Can anyone set me straight? Is Abram's still a quality fishery or a hollow legend?

Thanks, Perry

[tennswede]

Perry!

Abrams Creek is without doubt in the top two or three when it comes to quality of fishing in the smokies. It is sometimes fickle and late summer I ran inot some temperature problems. During cold months it is superb. Do some searches on the various fly boards on old messages and you will find high quality fishing stories from Abrams. You will have excellent fishing thru spring and I believe that your anxiety from putting in too late in the day is a valid one. The big shoe and even the little shoe are not to be taken lightly. They can become your worst nightmare if you are not careful. The big shoe I won't even attempt solo. Let me know if you need a buddy? I fish Abrams quite often during early spring.

[Paula Begley]

Great advice, Hans...

We warn people all the time about the hazards of trying the Big Shoe alone or if leaving too late. This is a dangerous place...a deep ravine that has no out, except onward or into a big hole that can be tricky to find your way out of when tired from a long day. We all know stories of folks who have inadvertantly spent the night there... Also, Abrams is known for its "table rock", or slabs of limestone, set at rough angles - try 45 degrees and wading...oi...

To all of you, please, please do NOT do this section of Abrams alone - and it DOES take a full day of wading - hard wading...starting at first allowed entry to the Cove and ending late....

It can be a wonderful place to fish, just heed the advice of those who have gone before you...and be safe.

Paula

[Byron Begley]

Perry, I took a writer from Florida Sportsman Magazine around the shoe twenty years ago. When we got back he said he would never go fishing with me again unless it was in a boat. We were beat up pretty bad. Byron

[brzbck]

I have caught plenty of fish on both ends, but I have to say that it has always been some tough wading. The angle of the some of those large flat rocks makes it very difficult to wade, and I would not even think about trying it without a partner. I have patches all over my waders from fishing these areas, not to mentioned the scares from the Laurel scrapes. When the water is high, you can beat yourself to death fighting thru the edge.

Last year, we were fishing just up and over the hill from the campground in the first long slow pool. I was standing in chest deep, working over to the other side when I noticed something very large coming down the pool underneath the surface. It was a beaver, heaed right for me, and when I moved my leg, he turned and darted back upstream so close to me, it nearly knocked down. I'm not sure who scared who. But my fishing partner sure got a kick out of it. It looked like a submarine in that river.

[canyon65]

Great advice, Hans...

We warn people all the time about the hazards of trying the Big Shoe alone or if leaving too late. *This is a dangerous place...a deep ravine that *has no out, except onward or into a big hole that can be tricky to find your way out of when tired from a long day. *We all know stories of folks who have inadvertantly spent the night there... *Also, Abrams is known for its "table rock", or slabs of limestone, set at rough angles - try 45 degrees and wading...oi...

To all of you, please, please do NOT do this section of Abrams alone - and it DOES take a full day of wading - hard wading...starting at first allowed entry to the Cove and ending late....

It can be a wonderful place to fish, just heed the advice of those who have gone before you...and
be safe.

Good info - please enlighten me a little more! Questions: Is it easier to hike down the Abrams Falls Trail and drop in below Big Horseshoe, then wade upstream? If so, how long should I allow if I hit the trailhead soon after Cades Cove opens? If so, is there a good landmark for dropping in downstream?

Here is my Abrams Creek cautionary tale: Look out for widowmakers / dead trees! While fishing the first plunge pool below the tailout of the Falls pool, I heard a deafening cracking, crashing, whooshing sound. I thought a jet must be crashing into the gorge. I spun around on a slab in the water, not knowing which way to run. My buddy was right behind me because he had been watching me highstick for a finicky trout. His eyes were huge as he looked around, and I pushed him just as I saw a flicker of movement on my left. A gigantic dead hemlock trunk had fallen from near the top of the ridge, and it had landed about 30 feet from us. It exploded into chunks the size of televisions, and they bounced off the boulders around us. I pushed him into a crack between two boulders and fell over him, not to protect him but because he was between me and safety (primal urge i.e. self-preservation). We picked ourselves up to see some tourists snapping pictures from the base of the falls. They clapped for us since we were still alive I guess. Nothing was broken, except for his TFO Professional Series 5-wt rod! So sad that he had hiked that whole way to flyfish with his first "big-boy rod" and he had never even gotten it strung up. We hiked back out while people were hiking in asking us if we had seen the "landslide" that was heard a mile away. We just smiled and shook our heads, trying to keep our hands from shaking.
Lessons learned:
Stay away from widowmakers if at all possible! (This applies on any stream.)
Always hike/ wade Abrams with a buddy!
Fish TFO - the price / performance / and WARRANTY rock!!!



Paula

[canyon65]

OOPS! Goofed the quote from Paula and my 2-cents worth below... you get the picture. So I'm techno challenged. I spend too much time fishing and not enough time on cool flyfishing forums. Kidding, thanks for the info Paula & Co. I'm working on a spring break trip up there for the family. Hopefully I will see you folks soon.
Ken Womack