issue 32
aug/sept 2017
Southern Trout
www.southerntrout.com
2 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Publisher’s message
They Were Right
My background in publishing goes back a number of years. Our current family of magazine titles is my third such start-up venture, and the first that I launched on my own. Magazine start-ups experience a 90 percent mortality rate before they reach five years. Unless a magazine title is a very well-funded startup or a spinoff from an existing publishing group, most experts agree that it takes at least five years for many titles to become viable. Publishing is a tough business. Publishing outdoor recreation magazines is really tough. Entering into the rarified world of fly fishing magazines is insanely tough. Starting up a fly fishing magazine with zero capital---you are better advised to invest in winning a lottery.
Back in 2012, we were two issues into Southern Trout Magazine. At that time, while wet wading, I took a tumble in the Hiwassee tail waters in Murphy, NC. I’ve fallen a couple of hundred times and banged myself up pretty good on a couple of occasions. This time the damage was a pencil eraser-sized puncture just below my knee cap. We fished on. The next morning my knee was swollen, we headed home. At Mrs. Kirk’s insistence, the following day I visit my doctor. Looking at my puffy knee, he said, “If you go straight to the hospital, there’s a fair chance they can save your leg.” For the following 28 days I was in the hospital. Three times they operated on my leg to remove a flesh-eating bacteria picked up from the Hiwassee. Doctors at UAB’s Kirkland Clinic ultimately concocted an antibiotic that bested the flesh eating bacteria. Highly potent stuff, the collateral damage of the antibiotic was that it irreversibly damaged my kidneys. After two years of nursey them along, they ceased to function early in 2016. At this point I was placed on dialysis, and remain so now. The good news is we do treatments at my office, and as of late I have regained some kidney function. I do recall the exact number of hospital stays I have treated myself to since out 2012 launch, but it works to about a week or so every three months. Fortunately, at this time I have rebounded to my pre-fall vigor. Fortunately too, during
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 3
Southern Trout
Publisher’s message
(cont.)
my all too frequent medical challenges we managed to keep STM in continuous operation. This did not occur because any measurable level of tenacity Publisher Don Kirk on my part. STM stayed afloat through the sheer Assoc. Publisher Jerry Davis Assoc. Editor Ragan Whitlock determination of Mrs. Kirk and writers who never failed to hit their deadlines. God never failed to bless Managing Editor Leah Kirk our efforts, or to provide for our needs. Without Special Projects Dir. Loryn Lathem Photographer/Writer Adam Patterson divine help and a few miracles along, STM would Editorial Consultant Olive K. Nynne not have survived, much less prospered. That is where all of the credit goes. Right now things are going scary smooth. We Contributors even managed to locate and post all 31 past issues Bill Bernhardt of STM. Now when visiting www.southerntrout. Bill Cooper com you can go back and review/download any Kevin Howell of the nearly 1,000 articles published since 2012. Harry Murray As much as it is a learning resource and source of entertainment, these past issues chronicle the never failing effort of a family start-up. FIELD STAFF
Ron Gaddy Columnist Craig Haney Columnist Jimmy Jacobs, Georgia Editor Roger Lowe Columnist Bob Mallard Columnist Steve Moore Columnist Bob Borgwat Columnist
ON THE COVER
"Outbound" by Teresa Wade. She considers herself a Christian “mission minded” painter. "I have no formal training or schooling that involves a brush. I can’t simply sit down and paint, " says Wade. For more Southern Trout is a publication visit http://artdevoted. of Southern Unlimited, LLC. Copyright 2017 Southern Unlimited com LLC. All rights reserved. 4 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Yep, it’s just that easy with Western North Carolina’s premier fly shop and guide service. Kevin Howell and his experienced staff have been fishing the surrounding 500 miles of prime trout waters so long, they know all the fish on first name basis. And they’ll be more than happy to make a few introductions.
PISGAH FOREST, NC
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 5
GUIDE SERVICES | ONLINE & RETAIL STORE | LESSONS
THIS ISSUE Publisher's Message
3
Sunburst Trout Trout Tacos
26
New Fly Guy All about Floatants
30
Black Wing Olive Catch and Release? Kill My Waggin Tail
40
A Love Affair with Trout
46
32
14
Gearhead 14 Long Handled Nets: Not Just for Guides
26
52 30
Featured Fly Shop 54 Smoky Mountain Angler ROCK TREADS: 61 An Interview with Co Founders Scott Briggs & Forrest Rogers
54 92
Lefty Kreh TFO Signature 70 Rod Cooking on the 76 Cumberland: Kentucky’s Big Trout River is Smokin’ Hot
6 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
THIS ISSUE CLOSE LOOK Tennessee's Top Trout Town
86
Getting Above the Fray 98 Gatlinburg Cabin Rentals
106
Sugarlands Mountainfest 106 A Really Big Show Featured Fly Tier Buzz Buffington Clinton, TN
114
Featured Artist 120 Speaking for Itself: The Art of Jessica Callahan
116
68 146
90
Watauga: One Man's Passion
130
Murray's Flying Beetle
138
Forney Creek
150
Harry Middleton 160 A True Southern Angler Dicks Creek's Surprising Angling
124
168
BOOK REVIEW Arthur Woody 176 And the Legend of the Barefoot Angler
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 7
SweetWater Brewing Company • Georgia • SweetWaterBrew.com
PRESENT THE
THEF3T.com for SCHEDULE, TICKETS and TRAILERS
Brewery 85 - Greenville, SC Friday, Sept. 29th Show at 7:00PM - Doors Open at 5:00PM for Pre-event Party. www.mountainbridgetu.org
Lon
gearhead
L
ong considered a tool for guides, and more specifically driftboat guides, long-handle nets can also be very useful to the everyday fly fisher. And they are not just for driftboats, the wading angler can benefit by them as well. The fact that these nets are often referred to as “Guide” or “Boat” nets, has helped keep them in the “niche product” realm. Long-handle nets run from forty-five to over sixty inches and average around four feet. The handles are between twenty-four and forty inches, and some have extendable handles making them even longer. Hoop sizes run from eighteen to twenty-five inches long and thirteen to more than sixteen inches wide. They weigh from one pound to almost three pounds. Nets designed for salmon and steelhead are even larger. The cost of a long-handle net runs from $75 to almost $250. While they cost more than vest and float tube nets, they are not twice as expensive since much of the cost is tied up in the hoop and net bag, not the handle. On an average, long-handle nets cost roughly 50-70% more than similar vest nets, and 20-50% more than a comparable float tube net. The range varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and material to material.
14 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Gearin
ng-Handle Nets: gearhead
Not Just for Guides BOB MALLARD
ng Up for Going Down www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 15
gearhead
The Obvious
Long-handle nets are great when fishing from a boat: Driftboats, rafts, motorboats, rowboats and canoes. Trying to land fish from a boat is difficult enough, why handicap yourself by using a short or undersized net. Not only can this be a challenging, it can be downright dangerous: More than one angler has flipped a canoe or fallen out of a boat while leaning too far to net a fish. As a rule, when it comes to nets for boats the longer the better. In most cases you lose a foot or more reaching out over the gunnels. Plus, there are oarlocks, oars, anchor drops and motors to contend with. With plenty of room to store a net, why skimp. And since you don’t have to hump it around with you the size and weight is irrelevant.
The Not So Obvious
Guides use long-handle nets to help wading clients land fish so why can’t we use them to help our friends land fish? Rather than watching over your shoulder as your friend flails away at a fish just out of reach, it wouldn’t kill us to put down our rods and grab a net to help them out. It can be quite rewarding while ensuring you get the help you need in the future. The easiest, and safest, thing to do is to carry the net to the water with you and leave it on the edge of the water between you. When you move upstream or downstream, someone will almost have to step on it to get by it. Just reach down, pick it up and carry it to the next hole. As most of us know, large fish can be tough to get in a small net – simple physics. Why lose the fish of a lifetime due to an inadequately sized net? Even if you are fishing alone, you can stuff a long-handle net into your belt or carry it and put it down when you are fishing. 16 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l
gearhead
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 17
gearhead
18 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
gearhead
Fish in fast-moving rivers present a challenge as well. They use the current to their advantage and to stay away from you. Wading out too far or chasing them downstream trying to get a net under them can be dangerous. Rather than putting your safety at risk and donating flies to the mouths of fish, consider using a long-handle net. Species like salmon and steelhead are also great candidates for long-handle nets. They are difficult to land no matter where you are, so why not have at least some level of advantage over them. The biggest issue regarding the use of long-handle nets outside the boat is remembering that you put it down so you don’t walk away and leave it, something that even the most seasoned and experienced guide has done.
What, Who and Where
Long-handle nets are made of wood, aluminum and carbon fiber, and are available in many sizes, shapes and colors. They come with cloth, knotted cord, rubber, rubbertreated, urethane and thermoplastic bags in black, green, grey and clear. Some are available in various options. Some long-handle nets have measurement marks on the handle, hoop or net bag itself. Some have extendable handles, some extra reinforcement and one product I tested even had a built-in beverage flask. Wood is the oldest and most common material used for long-handle nets. It’s beautiful, durable and lightweight. They are available in laminate and single layer handles and hoops. The most common types of wood are ash and teak, and many come with walnut accents. Some nets come in multiple wood types. While not as old as wood nets, Custom Hand Made Traditional aluminum nets have been around for a Boats and Nets long time. For years, they were made from cheap aluminum with knotted nylon cord 423.476.2303 bags. They were inexpensive and more or kenlink@bellsouth.net less disposable. Today some long-handle are made from high-grade aluminum with McDonald, TN 37353 rubber or rubber-treated bags. Carbon fiber is the newest entry to the long-handle net market. It has a very high strength-to-weight ratio and is extremely rigid. These are the most expensive nets you can buy, and all that I have seen come with rubber bags. They come in a range
Great Meadows Canoes & Kayaks
t.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 19
gearhead of colors, and some have graphic designs. Long-Handle nets are made by companies such as Bitterroot Nets (www.bitterrootnets.com), Brodin (www.brodin.com), Fisknat (www.fisknat. com), Measure Net (www. measurefish.com) and Rising (www.risingfish. net). Bitterroot, Brodin and Fisknat make wood products, while Measure Net and Rising offer nets made of aluminum.
THE BEST BLOOD KNOT TOOL
BLOOD KNOTS TIED FAST AND EASY Add new tippet to leader or construct custom leaders BLOOD KNOTS
Stronger than surgeon’s knot– smoother-they go through rod guides easier
Small, light weight (5/8 oz)
www.eztiesystem.com easy instructions included
Long-Handle Net Pros and Cons
• If you do not fish from a boat, you may want to consider something in the Pros: Purchasing a long- lower end of the length and handle net allows you to hoop size range. address a specific set of conditions. It also allows • I prefer rubber net bags takes wear-and-tear off as they are fish-friendly, do your vest net, which while not snag hooks and have a it costs a bit more up-front good shelf life. evens out over the life of • Consider something products. simple or rugged if you are Cons: Like any specific- going to use it for wading use product, long-handle as it will get banged up by nets don’t do everything putting it down on the rocks.
well and you are sacrificing some level of versatility. Conclusion: If you own a And as noted above, it will boat you probably already cost you a bit more upfront. have a long-handle net. If not, you need to buy one. For those who don’t Long-Handle Net Do’s fish from a boat you may and Don’ts want to consider buying a long-handle net for those • If fishing from a boat, don’t occasions when having one buy a net that is too short or around is beneficial. small for the task at hand. BOB MALLARD has fly fished for over 40 years. He is a former fly shop owner, Registered Maine Guide, blogger, writer, author, fly designer and native fish advocate. Look for his books 50 Best Places Fly Fishing the Northeast and 25 Best Towns Fly Fishing for Trout (Stonefly Press). He can be reached at www.bobmallard.com, info@ bobmallard.com or 207-399-6270.
It isn't an obsession if you make money.
It's a career.
DON'T MISS THE REMAINING 2017 The QuallaTOURNAMENTS: Country Trout Tournament &KHURNHH¶V 0HPRULDO 'D\ 7URXW 7RXUQDPHQW 2016 FISHING September 01, 2017 - September 03, 2017 0D\ 0D\ LQ FDVK SUL]HV 5HJLVWUDWLRQ UHTXLUHG The Qualla Country Trout Tournament
2017 Rumble in the Rhododendron Fly 7KH 7LP +LOO 0HPRULDO 7URXW 'HUE\ Fishing Tournament $11 entry fee and $20,000 in tagged fish -XO\ -XO\ November 04, 2017 - November 05, 2017 LQ FDVK SUL]HV 5HJLVWUDWLRQ UHTXLUHG Rumble in the Rhododendron Fly-Fishing Tournament SEPTEMBER 2 – 4
OCTOBER 28 –30
$225 entry fee and $10,000 in total prize money For registration details: VisitCherokeeNC.com | 828.359.6110
gearhead
22 l February 2016 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Aquamira Max with Geigerrig Hydration Pack Engine
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l March 2017 l 23
Trout Tacos S
unburst Trout owners really enjoy tacose. So, they came up with a light, summer recipe that anyone can serve up with a cold beer or a glass of wine. Here is the Sunburst recipe for their favorite trout taco appetizer.
For more info on Sunburst Trout, see thier ad on the following pages.
24 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Serving Size: 6 appetizer sized tacos Ingredients: 1 lb Fresh Sunburst Trout Fillets 2 tbs Mesa Rosa Chipotle southwestern smoky blend seasoning (you can find it at the Sunburst Market) 1 jar Stonewall Kitchen Truffle Aioli 1 bag broccoli cabbage slaw or use the slaw recipe from our previous taco post found here (replace the mayonnaise with the same amount of apple cider vinegar) 2 tbs apple cider vinegar 1 bunch fresh cilantro 1 lime 1 package tacos 1 tbs olive oil Salt and Pepper Slaw: Mix the broccoli cabbage slaw with the apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste. Trout: Slice the trout into 1 inch thick strips Coat the strips in the Mesa Rosa seasoning and a pinch of salt Heat your skillet on medium with the olive oil. Add the trout cooking about 3-4 minutes turning it half way through to slightly crisp the sides. Taco: Prepare each taco with a coating of the Stonewall Kitchen Truffle Aioli, next add the trout, slaw, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 25
ÂŽ
Don’t go home empty handed! www.sunbursttrout.com
Sunburst Trout Farms Is located below the Shining Rock National Wilderness in the Pisgah National Forest. Since 1948 they have been growing rainbow trout, and the farm is now run by third generation brothers Wes and Ben Eason.
Sunburst has a long standing commitment to quality. Their fish are hormone and antibiotic free, and the feed is made especially for them containing no mammalian by-products. All trout are cut to order in small bathces, mostly by hand, thus ensuring all products are of the highest standard. In addition to Sunburst’s flagship fillets you can also find their award winning caviar, as well as trout jerky, hickory smoked trout, cold smoked trout, smoked trout dip, trout sausage, and even some non trout products, pimento goat cheese and smoked tomato jam. Be sure to stock up on their Original Jennings Jerky! It’s shelf stable and perfect for those long days fly fishing. To order go online to www.sunbursttrout.com
314 Industrial Park Drive Waynesville, NC 28786 828-648-3010 • 800-673-3051
new fly guy
All About Foatants
Steve Moore
Trout feed below the surface 80% of the time and that statistic should push the rational trout angler to fish exclusively with nymphs to catch more fish. However, the excitement of a trout slurping a dry fly on the surface is compelling and is the visual pot of gold at a rainbow ending in a sparkling pool high in the mountains. But, trout are picky about what they eat and not easily fooled by improperly presented dry flies. To be effective, the fly should ride high and dry above the surface film – even in turbulent water. 28 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
new fly guy
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 29
new fly guy Floatants to the rescue! A good floatant will keep the fly from absorbing water and sinking. As a new fly angler, you probably have three questions: • • •
What are the options? When to use? How to use?
What: Floatant types include paste, gel,
liquid and powder. Pastes (an example is Loon Outdoors Payette) are thick and hard to apply in cold weather. Gink and Aquel are the most common gel floatants. The disadvantage of the gel is it liquefies in hot weather and, once liquid, is easy to waste or overapply as the fluid squirts out of the bottle. Fly-agra and HydroStop are the best known liquid floatants and should be applied 24 hours in advance. Powders (Frog’s Fanny aka hydrophobic fumed silica) coat the fly to repel water and mimic small air bubbles.
When: Only apply floatant to a dry fly.
Adding floatant to a wet fly merely seals the water in the fibers. Some powdered floatants, like Shimazaki Dry Shake, are the exception since they have the ability to both absorb water from the wet fibers and coat the fly to repel future water based on their mix of ingredients. Avoid false casting to dry a fly since that is a lot of unnecessary work, and a flailing line may spook the fish. Instead, cut a chunk of automotive chamois or use an amadou patch to wrap around the fly and pinch dry. Both of these materials pull water from the fly; leaving it ready for another dose of floatant.
30 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
new fly guy
How: Paste should be your last choice of floatant. Its utility is limited to large flies with its real purpose being to add buoyancy to a yarn indicator or refloating a dirty fly line. Never put paste or gel directly on the fly since you will end up using too much. Squeeze a small amount on your fingertip, turn the fly upside down and treat the bottom part of the fly body and fibers since those are the parts in contact with the water. The wings do not need treatment. After catching a fish, rinse the slime off the fly and remove water with the chamois or amadou patch before treating.
Never use generic gel on a CDC fly. Fly tyers create these using the wispy feathers associated with the oil glands of ducks, geese, and turkeys. The oil coating is a natural waterproofing treatment that allows these flies to float just fine. If a CDC fly needs help floating, use powder. For gel enthusiasts, Loon Lochsa and Tiemco Dry Magic gels are the only ones I know of that are compatible with CDC flies. Since the material is unique and drives a higher price point, CDC flies have “CDC” somewhere in the name (CDC Caddis, CDC Trico, etc.). As a general rule, only put gel on flies larger than size 16 (smaller number – a size 14 is bigger than size 16) since it ends up overpowering smaller flies. You can use powdered floatant on all sizes, but it excels on smaller flies. Drop the fly in the powder container and shake or use the included brush to apply. Be careful with powders since the fumed silica is a carcinogen; so hold your breath while using! www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 31
new fly guy Liquid floatant permanently waterproofs the fly but is not intended for streamside use. Dip it into the liquid and allow it to dry for at least a day. Even if you pretreat the fly with liquid, you may still want to use a powder since it mimics small air bubbles; adding to the realism of the presentation. For those who look for the do-it-yourself alternative, you have two easy choices. Albolene Moisturizing Cleanser, available at drug stores and Walmart (12 oz for $10), mimics the function of gel and softens your skin at the same time! Buy a bottle of Frog’s Fanny and save the bottle. Then, order two quarts of hydrophobic fumed silica for around $25 from Amazon for a lifetime replacement supply (search for ‘fumed silica powder fly floatant’). It is challenging to get the powder into the Frog’s Fanny bottle, so I recommend you watch the video on my YouTube channel that shows the easy way using a turkey baster. For those who would like to read a fantastic comparative head-to-head test of the leading brands of floatant, visit Troutster.com or search for “The Fly Floatant Test.” Check out Steve’s YouTube channel at KayakHacksFishing for more on this topic.
32 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 33
pie
ce
”5 ’0 00 7 s 9. s 3 a 4 Gl at $ R I in g MU rt a St
Over 20 years, made in New York jprossflyrods.com
ei w 5 ” ’0 w 8 0 o o .0 d t 9 ea ht 9 1 M $ ig r e ve at w g 2 ea ” in B ’0 rt ta S 5
g
It’s all in the details.
t h 4 . pc
Award winning performance. Small stream fly rods.
39 South Public Square Cartersville, GA 30120 770.606.1100 CohuttaFishingCo.com
For Sale!!
“Some of North GA’S Finest Land, in Sautee Nacoochee GA. Secluded & protected by surrounding mountains, this peaceful setting has 67+ acres with pristine trout streams, rushing waterfalls 2 homes, barns, sheds, & a log cabin circa 1803. Just minutes away from the Soquee River and the Appalachian Trail. Must see to truly appreciate the beauty. A hunting and fishing Paradise. Contract Patricia Bower 770-5306300 or Brandon Lovell 706-7682005. Keller Williams 706-8397355. For more info and images, click here.
1-877-ELK
Luxurious Lodging On The West Vir
•Fourteen Cabins & A 600o Square F •Riverside Dining At Ellie May’s Ole Featuring Fresh T •Largest Fly Shop In The Mid Atlant •Most Trusted Fly Fishing Guides On •Thirteen Miles From Raven Golf Co
WWW.ELKSPRI
K-SPRINGS
e Banks Of The Elk River irginia
Foot, Six Bedroom Lodge Mill Restaurant Trout Caught Daily tic States n The Elk River ourse
INGSWV.COM
black wing olive chronicles
Catch ‘n Release
Kiss My Wagging Tail olive K. nynne 38 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
P
oets often refer to autumn as a time of death and decay. They were most likely referencing the time when Mommy-Girl and boy return to centers of education. In my opinion the modern American education system lacks structure. As a dog that descends from a breed that was primarily engineered to assist fishermen, it annoys me that the current school system does not teach bipods any measureable form of survival skills. The majority of the other canines that I converse with through messages left on Daddy-Boy’s mailbox agree that humans today lack necessary survival skills that we canines (those under 30-pounds excluded) have deeply rooted in our genes. Would it be too much to teach every human offspring to gather fish? At least then Boy would take me out of the house more often. It’s my understanding that the bipods of ancient times didn’t domesticate my feral ancestors until the advent of farming. Prior to this, the most lucrative method of gathering food was fishing. This came to be because it allowed humans access to water, another compound needed to survive, and because it fulfilled the narcissistic desire for humans to be on the top of the food chain because the food they were gathering wasn’t likely to eat them. Daddy-Boy has taught Boy how to fly fish in the local creek, and I must say that the lure and majestic nature of the flowing stream is just as mesmerizing to a canine as it is to bipod fishermen. It’s
a time-honored ritual of a critter with the brain that is the size of cantaloupe trying to outwit another critter with the brain the size of BB. The quarry, as bipods refer to fish, has but a single advantage. It can glean oxygen from water. Big deal, eh? A common practice of among contemporary fly fishermen has an irritating title “Catch and Release.” Whatever happened to “Catch and Cook”? Or, better yet, “Catch and Eat”? I have had the privilege of listening to political debates at night as Daddy-Boy drifts off into a state of stupor he refers to as a cat nap. There something gripping about three hours of news on the television that puts the old bird out like snuffing the flame on a candle. Many a time there have been environmentalists griping about how humanity is steadily depleting the world’s oceans of fish. Perhaps it is that bipods are collectively capable of accomplishing such a feat such as this. From a canine prospective, if “catch and release” remain in effect, I think we can safely say our rivers and creeks are “in the black.” My concern is one of balance. If trout are caught and kept, then not a single one of them would be fried golden brown in an iron skillet. Following this logic, would this be the utter end to my access to the yummy bacon grease and crumbles retained in an iron skillet after a trout fry? This is without question a serious consideration. Well, that’s my take on the bipod catch and release for trout. I’d have a lot more respect for this particular concept if say it bleed over into let’s say “bear hunting.”
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 39
What’s So Special About Bryson City? Hundreds of miles of native mountain trout streams Trout are also flow through the Great common in our Smoky Mountains four rivers – National Park above Bryson City and Cherokee — freestone creeks with native rainbow, brook and brown trout. Most streams offer all three species.
Bryson City is the home of the Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians Learn all about it at FlyFishingMuseum.com.
The Oconaluftee, Little Tennessee, the Tuckasegee and the Nantahala, one of Trout Unlimited’s top 100 rivers. And now, a 2.2 mile section of the Tuck through Bryson City is designated delayed harvest waters, with one of the highest trout counts of any stream in the southeast.
The 30 miles of trout streams on Two mountain lakes the Cherokee offer trout fishing Indian Reservation The 29-mile long, 11,700 acre Fontana Lake and its smaller downstream neighbor Cheoah Lake both have strong populations of trout, particularly near the mouths of streams flowing out of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cheoah is regularly stocked by the State of North Carolina.
Visit GreatSmokiesFishing.com for a map and profiles of 26 great fishing locations near Bryson City, North Carolina. Photo by Justin Anderson Fly Fishing & Guide
are the longest privately owned and stocked fishing waters east of the Mississippi. The 2.2-mile Raven Fork Trophy section is home to the biggest trout in the Smokies. This specially regulated section is fly fishing only and catch and release.
UNI PRODUCTS J.G. Cote Inc. 1004 Principale Ste-Melanie, QC. Canada JOK 3AO Tel: 450-889-8054 Toll-Free: 1-877-889-8054 Fax: 450-889-5887 Email: info@uniproducts.com
NEW FOR 2017
UNI-GloFloss (Glow in the dark) Light Blue and Light Green
UNI-Thread 8/0 Fluorescent Green Waxed or Unwaxed on spools of 50 or 200 yds
UNI-Soft Wire Royal Blue, in sizes small, medium or large
Look to UNI for the best in spooled fly-tying materials!
www. uniproducts .com
FISH TALES TOLD HERE
TROUT RUN
Experience the Hardy Effect!
Your place to relax and re-energize.
Blue Ridge, Georgia
Waterfront Mountain Cabin Rental $165.00 - $185.00 per night 3 bedroom/2 bath Great place for kids!!
VISITHARDYWV.COM #HARDYCOUNTY
w w w.troutr unc abin.com
FOLLOW US ON
A Love Affair with Trout By Duncan Dobie
“I know most of the trout by name. If I’m lucky, I might get one of them on a hook.” Arthur Woody
A
rthur Woody (1884-1946) was the most famous forest ranger who ever refused to wear a uniform. His story is one of the great stories of conservation and achieving the American dream. Truly, he was one of America’s conservation pioneers. Born in the North Georgia mountains in the late 1800s, he grew to become a larger-than-life character who dedicated his career to countless conservation efforts and to helping others in his community during the trying economic times of the Great Depression. Although he is widely known for almost single-handedly restoring deer to the North Georgia mountains, his work with introducing rainbow and brown trout to the Georgia mountains, and restoring the badly depleted native brook trout populations to the mountain region during the 1920s, is of enormous importance.
44 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
As a boy, young Arthur spent every waking moment hunting small game, exploring his beloved mountains on horseback and fishing for the Ranger Woody fly increasingly rare brook trout fishing - All his life, found in cold-mountain streams Ranger Arthur Woody had a love affair with his that he fondly referred to as “specks,” or brook trout, “specks.” Native “brookies” had once been fairly common and he loved nothing to his area, and had long better than to sneak after a hard day’s work been a favorite of pioneers off to one of his favorite and settlers to the region ever fishing holes. He knew since the Cherokees had been where every good removed in the late 1830s. But fishing hole was located over-fishing by hungry settlers inside his beloved Rock followed by wasteful logging Creek Refuge (later to operations in the early 20th become the Blue Ridge century took a staggering toll Wildlife Management and fish numbers declined Area). Photo circa rapidly. 1940, courtesy of Jean Young Arthur had a McNey. deep aversion to the usual farm work that most mountain boys were expected to do, especially taking care of his father’s small herd of free-ranging cattle. But farming seemed to be the pre-determined life that he, and most other mountain boys like him, were destined to live. However, fate seemed to step in at just the right time in his life and rescue him from a life of mediocrity. By 1912, many portions of the Southern Appalachians looked like a war zone, thanks to the indiscriminate logging operations that had been taking place in many areas for the previous two decades. Once breathtaking mountains and valleys were now almost void of all greenery. During the late 1800s, wealthy industrialists bought up thousands of acres of mountain land in eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina and North Georgia. As soon as means were found to bring railroad spurs into some of the more remote areas, crews were brought in to cut and remove the virgin timber with no regard for the damage
inflicted on what remained behind. As soon as one block of virgin timber was removed, loggers moved on the next as though there were an endless supply. Entire mountains were left treeless and desolate, erosion became a serious by-product, and the once pristine streams and rivers filled with silt and debris. Exploitation of America’s precious natural resources in the 19th century was nothing new. By the early 1900s, much of the land in the western mountains had been mined, timbered, burned and abused to such a degree that certain people in high places could not help but take notice. Many wildlife species were on the verge of extinction from market hunting and over-shooting. One of those people willing to take some drastic measures to reverse this sad trend was Theodore Roosevelt. After having done much to preserve, set aside and restore countless acres in the western U.S., Roosevelt was very instrumental in the forming what would eventually
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 45
become the U.S. Forest Service. In 1912, Ranger Woody laws were passed to appropriate money to holding trout specifically purchase and reclaim cutover Ranger Arthur lands in the Southeast. By chance, the first Woody, later track of land purchased in Georgia was a nicknamed the 31,000-acre tract in the high mountains Barefoot Ranger, of Union, Fannin, Dawson and Lumpkin poses in front of counties that lay practically in Arthur several primitive Woody’s backyard. Young Arthur had grown wooden fish-rearing up on this land, and he knew every knob and pools used to raise hollow, every stream and every trout hole. brook trout that In direct defiance of his father, he took a he built near Rock job with the Forest Service as a lineman on Creek Lake inside a survey crew to help survey the massive his much-cherished tract. Some of the land had been cut over, Rock Creek Refuge. but other portions remained in virgin timber A few years later in because of the remoteness of its location. 1937, the U.S. Forest The 31,000-acre tract went by a Service established number of different names in the years the Chattahoochee following its purchase by the government. Forest National Arthur Woody always referred to it as “Rock Fish Hatchery near Creek Refuge,” and to him, it was a magical this same location. tract of land. It eventually grew to almost Today the hatchery 40,000 acres in size, and thanks to his longis operated by the term efforts, the tract became Georgia’s U.S. Fish & Wildlife first official wildlife management area in Service. Photo circa 1936 – the Blue Ridge WMA. (More on that early 1930s, courtesy later.) Despite his father’s embarrassment of Jean McNey. (because most mountain folk had an inherent distrust of anyone working for the government), young Arthur found a home with the Forest Service. History would show that he was the right man at the right time for the right job. He quickly worked his way up to the position of forest guard, a job much like that of a game warden, in which he protected the land from poachers and potential arsonists. At that time in history, the U.S. Forest Service had a single-minded mandate – to reclaim the heavily exploited land and grow new forests on it. Because forest fires were always a threat and did so much damage when they occurred, fire prevention was also a primary objective. 46 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
A Match Made in Heaven
In 1918, Arthur Woody became Georgia’s second official forest ranger. To him, the job must have been a gift from heaven. He had seemingly been born to work in the woods instead of being relegated to a hapless life on the farm. As a forest ranger, his No. 1 priority was to follow the Forest Service mandate of reclaiming the land and restoring the forests. Preventing fires, and fighting fires after they had started, was also a top priority. He attacked his job with a passion, and his dedication to doing that job soon became a seven-day-a-week way of life. From his first day with the Forest Service, however, Ranger Woody’s vision for reclaiming the forests was much broader in scope than that of his employer. Certainly one of his primary goals was to restore the mountain forests to their original splendor, but he strongly felt that no forests could ever be complete without containing the fish and wildlife species that he had known and loved as a boy. Deer and bears had all but been exterminated from the North Georgia mountain region by 1900. Wild turkeys were on a steep decline, and as mentioned, the native brook trout that he loved so much were becoming increasing rare. To him, a forest void of fish and wildlife was like a church with no congregation. Ranger Woody pushed and prodded his superiors to take an interest in restoring the native fish and wildlife species while the forests were being restored, but for a number of years, his tireless lobbying fell on deaf ears. www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 47
The Ranger’s Trout Program
Although Ranger Woody is best known today for his work in bringing deer back to the North Georgia mountains in 1927, one of his first initiatives after becoming a forest ranger in 1918 was to order a shipment of rainbow trout from a privately-owned fish hatchery near Denver, Colorado. No doubt he discussed this project with his Forest Service superiors in Gainesville, GA, and almost certainly they were aware of what he was doing. Although he was allowed to plow ahead, the Forest Service had no plans to be involved in any official way. So on his own initiative, using his own money and resources, and for reasons known only to him, Ranger Arthur Woody found himself going headlong into the trout-stocking business. The trout were shipped by rail in large wooden barrels to the train depot in Gainesville, GA, about 40 miles from the Ranger’s home in Suches, GA. Clyne Woody, Ranger Woody’s son, recalled that he and his father met the train and hauled the barrels of fish by truck to the foot of Black Mountain (a high mountain that overlooks the hamlet of Suches). Today, the Appalachian Trail crosses Black Mountain at Woody Gap.) Because of the steepness of the terrain, and the poor roads that were often muddy and impassable by automobile, the barrels of fish were transported onto a wagon and hauled over Black Mountain and across Grassy Gap by horse teams. Ranger Woody, his son, and several hired
workers then hand-distributed the fish into some of the cold mountain streams inside the Ranger’s beloved Rock Creek Refuge. With the success of this first mission, Ranger Woody continued to order additional shipments of rainbow trout from Colorado. Soon he was ordering brown trout as well – reportedly from a hatchery in Washington State. He continued this process for the next 10 years. With each new shipment of fish, the areas being stocked were expanded and the fish thrived in their new environment. During this period, he also began restoring the badly depleted brook trout population. Reportedly he ordered fingerlings and fry from sources in New York State and or New England. He later built a series of wooden fish rearing pools on land he owned next to the refuge on Rock Creek Lake. From this meager beginning, the Georgia mountains in and around Rock Creek Refuge now boasted three popular species of trout. Fly fishing up and down the Appalachians from Maine southward and in places like the Catskill and Adirondack mountains of New York had been a popular outdoor pastime since America was founded. It quickly took off in the Georgia mountains as well. Ranger Woody continued to order rainbow and brown trout throughout the 1920s. As some of the local lakes and state parks were developed in the early 1930s, he was very instrumental in having pike, musky and other lake species brought in and released in these new impoundments. Long before the first deer hunt was conducted in
48 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Ranger Woody netting trout – Ranger Woody lends a hand in netting a batch of trout fingerlings from a fish-rearing pool at the hatchery on Rock Creek. The young fish will soon be stocked in various nearly streams. Photo circa early 1940s, from an article in Outdoor Georgia magazine. www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 49
Rock Creek Refuge in 1940 fly fishing in the refuge and other nearby areas was open to the public and became very popular to Georgia sportsmen. Ranger Woody loved his mountain trout. In fact, he loved to fish for bass, bream and anything else that might be found in a mountain lake or stream. Fishing was a lifelong passion. In a December 1940 article written in Outdoor Georgia magazine titled “Deer Hunt” by Jim McGraw, which described the first deer hunt of modern times held in the Blue Ridge WMA a month earlier in November, the author made the following observation: “Every trout fisherman in the southeast knows the creeks Noontootly, Jones, Montgomery, Mill, Rock Creek, and Rock Creek Lake in the refuge. Many thousands of rainbow and native trout (brook trout) have been released in those streams and in the lake. Each year, trout fishermen eagerly await the announcement of open dates on those streams. They flock to Rock Creek Lake throughout the week-ends of summer. In countless deep pools on those creeks, the trout have grown wise and huge and hungry and only an expert fisherman can take them on flies or other artificial lures. Fifteen years of management have made this wildlife area one of the most popular trout havens in the state.” As mentioned earlier, Ranger Woody began stocking deer in his Blue Ridge Refuge in 1927. By the early 1930s, the Forest Service began to take an interest in both the deer- and the trout-stocking programs. With the support and financial strength of the federal government, and the invasion of the C.C.C. boys in 1933 (Civilian Conservation Corps), both programs took off. Suddenly Ranger Woody had a small army of strong and able-bodied young men to carry out dozens of projects including the labor-intensive job of hauling heavy fish canisters and barrels to remote streams and releasing those fish safely into the water. The “C.C.” boys, as they were called, also built special fish ponds and small dams in streams and did much to improve trout habitat across the mountain region.
Charlie Elliott with pipe –Because of Georgia and the U.S. Forest Se 1930s, Charlie Elliott was an eye historic conservation initiatives ta “Ranger Woody Regime.” Range mentor, but a tremendous inspirat later became famous in his own Wildlife Center.
50 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
The Legacy of Charlie Elliott
e of the various jobs he held with the state ervice in the late 1920s and throughout the e-witness to, and participant in, many of the aking place during the period known as the er Woody was not only a close friend and tion to the up-and-coming Charlie Elliott who right. Photo courtesy of the Charlie Elliott
During the late 1920s, Ranger Woody befriended a young forester in his mid-20s fresh out of forestry school at the University of Georgia named Charlie Elliott. (Note: Charlie Elliott was recently inducted into the “Legends of the Fly” Hall of Fame at the Feb. 3-4 Fly Fishing Show in Atlanta.) Being 20 years the Ranger’s junior, Charlie was immediately taken with the hard-working man who was involved in so many important conservation issues. Like Ranger Woody, Charlie became an avid turkey hunter and trout fisherman, and the two men hit it off at once. Ranger Woody became one of Charlie’s most beloved mentors. Charlie initially worked for the Georgia Forestry Commission, and his job placed him in the mountain forests working closely with Ranger Woody. One of his early projects was planning and laying out the proposed section of the Appalachian Trail that would traverse North Georgia. He and Ranger Woody were both had considerable input and influence on the location of the trail. In later years, Charlie worked with the Georgia Parks Department, the U.S. Forest Service and the Georgia Game and Fish Commission, working closely with Ranger Woody on numerous timely projects. Charlie became director of the Game and Fish Commission in the early 1940s. Working closely with Ranger Woody from a state level, the two men were very instrumental in the formation of an unprecedented agreement between the state of Georgia and the U.S. Forest Service in which the fish and wildlife resources on Ranger Woody’s beloved Rock Creek Refuge would be managed by the state, while all forest issues would be managed by the Forest Service. As a result of this agreement, Georgia’s first official
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 51
wildlife management area – the Blue Ridge WMA mentioned earlier (which by that time was well-known as a trout fisherman’s paradise) – came into being in 1936. This was a dream come true for Ranger Woody because now his beloved refuge was truly the wildlife reserve he had always dreamed of. The partnership was so successful that three more WMAs were soon established in the mountain region, and other states began following the Georgia example and doing the same thing. In 1937, realizing the need for a modern trout raising facility, the U.S. Forest Service constructed the Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatchery on Rock Creek. Today, the historic hatchery is operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with its primary focus aimed at raising rainbow trout, but the hatchery also raises brown and brook trout. By 1940, Ranger Woody’s thriving deer herd had grown from five original animals released in 1928 to an estimated population of 2,000 deer. That fall, state officials scheduled Georgia’s first deer hunt of modern times. The hunt was a media sensation and Ranger Woody became an overnight celebrity. Numerous stories were written about him in newspapers and magazines. As director of the Game and Fish Commission, Charlie Elliott wrote a number of glowing stories about his mentor and about the success of the deer program. Ranger Woody’s health began to fail in 1944 after he suffered a serious stroke, and he died in June 1946. Charlie spoke at his service and served as pallbearer. Charlie Elliott served as director of the Georgia Game and Fish commission until 1949. Much like his mentor Ranger Woody, his many-faceted career of the past two decades with a number of state agencies had placed him right in the center of a very historic time in the field of conservation. Together, he and Ranger Woody had pioneered numerous visionary conservation achievements during that period. But Charlie was never cut out to be a bureaucrat. In 1950, he plowed headlong into another outdoor career. He had wanted to be a writer since his college days. Over the years, he had written numerous magazine and newspaper stories for various outdoor publications including Outdoor Life magazine. Leaving the bureaucratic life behind with no regrets, he took a position with Outdoor Life as Southeastern Field Editor. Over the next four decades, he wrote scores of stories about his hunting and fishing exploits across North and South America. His unique and elegant style quickly turned him into one of America’s most respected outdoor writers of all time. Charlie retired from writing in the early 1990s. He passed away in 2000 at the age of 95, having lived a long and productive life. Truly, Ranger Arthur Woody and Charlie Elliott were visionary American originals who dedicated their lives to conservation of the fish and wildlife resources that they loved so dearly. Today rainbow and brown trout dominate most North Georgia streams while native brook trout are found only in certain areas and in much fewer numbers 52 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
A NANO BREWERY IN BLUE RIDGE, GA We were founded in October of 2012, and our first legal brew was shipped in July of 2013. We are a couple of old retired guys who were home brewing in an outdoor shower and graduated to this. We are still having fun which is why we are still open.
Our corporate mission is simple: If we don’t like it, we don’t drink it. If we don’t drink it, we don’t sell it. GRUMPY OLD MEN BREWING, LLC 1315 East Main Street, Blue Ridge, GA
[770-331-8870/404-966-2665] info@grumpyoldmenbrewing.com
www.grumpyoldmenbrewing.com
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 53
Featured Fly Shop
THE SMOKY MOUNT
A
few short months ago Gatlinburg’s only full service fly shop was encircled by wild fire in the resort city that resulted in significant loss of life and property. The staff at Smoky Mt. Angler was forced to evacuate. Returning days later they were awed to find that while dozens of businesses around the shop were little more than ashes, Smoky Mt. Angler was intact and well, save for smoke damage to merchandize. Fly shop manager Chad Fouts was not so lucky. His nearby home was a total lose. This summer Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on back on track, and Smoky Mt. Angler did not miss a beat. Chad and his family are moving on and rebuilding, something a lot of Gatlinburg residence are doing. “Well after the fire in Gatlinburg we could not enter town to check on anything for two weeks,” says Fouts. “We were fortunate that there was minimal damage to the building. However, we had a couple employees whose homes burned down and others who suffered property damages. This years traffic at our fly shop is down itself around 30% for this year.” 54 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
TAIN ANGLER
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 55
“Tourism is down 30% for the year and it may have to do with over 2500 structures burning down and there not as many ‘head in the bed’ opportunities as there was a year ago,” says Fouts. “The community has really pulled together and come out strong in this tragic event. The only thing we can say is, that Gatlinburg and the GSMNP are NOT burned down and the fishing is still great!” Smoky Mt. Angler is located right in the heart of Gatlinburg. In 1999 Harold Thompson, the current owner of the shop, took a guided trip with its previous owner. At the end of the trip Harold left the owner, saying to him, “If you ever decide to sell the shop give me a call". In 2000 Harold became the owner of the shop and ever since he has been delighted with his decision. “We promote fishing and exploration of all of our waters,” says Fouts. “We are Trout Unlimited members. “I volunteers with TU and The Great Smoky Mountain National Park in stream restoration and surveys. We also are a sponsor of the Battle of Gatlinburg ‘One Fly’ Tournament that is part of the last September Sugarlands MountainFest. In addition, Gatlinburg offers permits for “city waters” that offer opportunities to catch trout the city stocks each week. This is a great chance for young and old alike to enjoy the excitement of a “fish on”. There are even “kids only” areas designated. Fouts invite everyone to stop by the shop and them to point anglers in the right direction and provide all you need for a great day on the water. 56 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 57
A well-stocked, eye-pleasing fly shop, Smoky Mt. Angler is full service fly shop. They offer a variety of full day and half a day wade trips starting at $175. Half day and Full day float trips starting at $250. Being beside the GSMNP, the shop also offers two day backcountry trips. “Being a tourist destination town that is only become known for its opportunities to fly fish for trout, we get a steady flow novices come in to our shop seeking guided trips,” say Fouts. “A guided trip on these sometimes tough to fish streams it is the absolute best way to learn, We strictly do our trips with flies. We also get a lot of traffic from experienced fly fishermen who lament their failure to come to Gatlinburg prepared to cast flies. They cut a big smile we learning the Smoky Mt. Angler has an extensive inventory of rental gear. Fly Rod -- $30.00 Spinning Rod -- $15.00 Net -- $5.00 Waders -- $20.00 Wading Boots -- $7.50 Wading Booties -- $2.50 The Smoky Mt. Angler staff has over 150 years of combined experience fishing the Smokies and 63 years of that is guiding,” says Fouts. “We are one of the oldest fly shops on both Tennessee and North Carolina sides of the 500,000 acre national park. Having a variety of everything so no one can leave empty handed. “We will start offering fly tying and euro nymphing classes this winter,” says Fouts, who adds that they are to hopefully start offering lodging to anyone looking to fish with them.
www.smokymountainangler.com 58 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 59
Trout only live in beautiful places.
Fly Fish the Trout Capitol of Georgia. With over 550 miles of beautiful rivers and trout streams, Blue Ridge and Fannin County have the richest, most diverse all-season fishery in the state.
For a free Visitor’s Guide, call 800-899-mtns
BlueRidgeMountains.com 60 l February 2016 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
an Interview with Co-Founders Scott Boggs & Forrest Rogers
www.SouthernTrout.com www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern l Southern TroutTrout l September l March 2017 l 61
What was the inspiration for creating Rock Treads? Growing up in South West Virginia / North East Tennessee the best way to fish for a person of little means is to wade the rivers and streams. All our lives we have been slipping and sliding all over the waters we loved to fish. One day, while using an aluminum canoe in low water to reach a trophy section, we realized how well Aluminum sticks to rocks. The light switch flipped, and we met with several machine shops to determine if this was a reality. Little did we know then that Rock Treads was on its way and will save the world from slipping and sliding in the waters they love to fish. What research lead you to settle on the current design? We did not discover the fact that “aluminum sticks to rocks”. However; we did create the most effective way to attach aluminum to the bottom of any wading boot or shoe. Originally we purchased several washers, stacked them up used a screw and attached them to a wading boot. A problem was that the disks were steel, did not stick to rocks (as steel is as hard as the rock), they fell out quickly using hardware store screws and stacking them made traction even worse. This is where we went to work: we had a friend who runs a machine shop and we asked him to create several different custom disks and screws that would stay in wading boots. It was a long process of trial and error with several failures that all lead to the Ultimate Traction Device- Rock Treads. We also worked
with our good friend Patrick Fulkrod, 2014 Orvis Guide of the Year, to really test the discs on multiple boots, in multiple rivers. The disks performed so well it lead the decision to get a US Patent on the idea. We are happy to say that we are indeed US Patent Pending and own the rights to apply round shaped aluminum to any shoe, in any pattern, with a single screw for traction purposes. What are some of the advantages Rock Treads deliver not found in other wading boot cleats? There are several advantages Rock Treads provide vs the competition. • We are the only round and flat traction device (this is what our Patent is based on). The round disk spins and skips off the rocks; all of the competition has sharp edges that catch the rocks and either rip out, or cause “too much traction” and make wading even more difficult as your feet lock in and don’t allow simple, comfortable adjustments to your stance. Our custom triangle post screw for installation won’t back out of the shoe bottom (in felt & insert style boots). With the ability for our disc to spin on the screw post, there is some give there that allows you to wade faster and more securely than you’ve even experienced…all while STAYING in your boot! • Our disks are designed to go into any wading boot or shoe. There are no pre-determined locations to place disks allowing the user the ability to custom design aluminum traction on the boot or
62 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
shoe of choice and where it is needed. We don’t know what every persons foot bottom is like, where they may want the discs or how they stand in the rivers, so this provides the ultimate capability to customize your traction to your foot. • There are 3 types of wading boots; Felt
Bottom, Insert Style Bottom and Rubber Bottom. We have developed a system that will attach our disks to all 3 styles of boots. Our custom triangle post screw works great in felt and insert style boots, which comes standard in our current Fry & Pickle Kits. We have learned over the past 2 years
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 63
that NO stud application stays for very long in any rubber/Vibram™ bottomed boot….until NOW! We have developed a separate installation method called the Lock Down Kit for rubber bottom boots, that essentially locks your Rock Tread disc into your boot by compressing the disc from the inside of your boot to the bottom of the boot. Once you get it right, and get it tight, gone are your days of losing your Rock Treads and slipping and sliding. Describe the materials used in them and why you opted for them. Aluminum is a relatively soft,
durable, lightweight, ductile, and malleable metal, and comes in multiple forms of density and hardness. After testing 10 different aluminum compounds, we settled on what we are using today, which is a grade just below aircraft grade, but much denser than your common “beer can” aluminum. Milling the aluminum vs having it cast also proved to be the best for longevity of the discs, as our grade after over 500 miles of walking on them have barely even begun to round off or flatten. All of our aluminum is 100% made in the USA from the plants in Alcoa, Tennessee. Our screws are a common steel with a zinc coating for corrosion
64 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
resistance, but are made in North Carolina with US steel with our custom post shape built in. Our plastic packaging is also 100% recycled material from a plant in Charlotte, NC, and all of our Rock Treads kits are assembled and shipped from Huntersville, NC by American workers in an American facility. In the long run this costs us a little more, but for us we weren’t going forward with it unless we could be 100% Made in the USA. We will admit however, that our Lock Down Kit does contain parts that were made in China, as it is impossible to find our style of lock down nut made in the US. Once we are big enough, we will make our own Lock Down nuts alongside our Rock Tread Discs right here in the USA. Who are some of the well-known guides you who helped in the design of Rock Treads? We have had several well-known guides and ambassadors test our product and offer valuable feedback and shaped the way the product is today. The first guide was Patrick Fulkrod, Orvis 2014 guide of the year! He is a great friend and would not offer his blessing until he had fully tested the product and that took no less than 20 wading trips. Those prototype disks and screws are still in the original Orvis Felt style boots we attached them to 4 years ago. We also were fortunate enough to sponsor the 2016 Fips-Mouche World Fly Fishing Championships held in the Vail Valley in Colorado. Over the two weeks of the event we gave away over 200 sets to the world’s best and gained more feedback than we could have ever imagined at this event.
Their opinions and advice led to the creation of our Lock Down Installation Kit that assures a lifelong hold of the Rock Tread Discs in the soft, mushy rubber bottoms of today’s most popular wading boots. We can’t thank Jason Lieverst of Master Nymph, Sam Dennis of South Holston River Company and Jake Adamerovich of Competitive Angler enough for their input, support and testing along with several others: you know who you are and we are eternally grateful. Describe your future in store marketing plans. Our package design allows our product to hang easily in the boot or accessory section of any fly shop. In the coming weeks, we will have a custom three pronged POP display hangar with a 4X6 “sales card” affixed to the top to showcase our product better. To our shops who want it, we will be offering a custom Rock Treads Installation Table that will allow shops to install Rock Treads on a customer’s boot in the store, quickly, easily and correctly. This will provide shops another service to their customer base that will separate them from other shops, as well as assure the highest customer satisfaction we can imagine. We are also going to offer the “half boot” program this Winter, where if shops send us an old wading boot, we will cut it cleanly in half, install Rock Treads into the ½ boot and ship back for the ultimate visual display of how our Lock Down Kit works and to show customers why no other stud inserts will stay in rubber bottom boots. Most rubber bottom boots have a very soft, sponge like inner layer, which are great for comfort and durability, but are terrible for holding studs
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 65
and for traction. They are like putting a Final thought: what would you like to screw into Jell-O™ and hoping it stays convey to potential customers about Rock Treads while you walk on it in uneven terrain. Aluminum is a soft metal, with just 50 lbs. Are you working on any new products of pressure our Rock Treads discs will form or designs? Please share if you would to the surface you are stepping on, providing you the greatest traction you have ever like? We are always thinking and working experienced….but what makes us unique? on new ideas that help the wader stay • 100% Designed & Crafted in the USA upright, safe and dry. Our current product • Our system works on ANY boot or shoe, new offering allows ANY wade fisher the ability or old, wading specific or not. to provide the greatest traction available • We have the installation methods to make to be put on ANY boot or shoe and STAY, them STAY in your boots without having to buy but we aren’t done yet. We hope to roll new expensive boots out custom inserts, wading sticks and • Your traction is essential to catching fish. more in the future, but until we become Our product is for EVERYONE, no matter your the standard for traction, we are focusing size, brand preferences, location or fishing on reaching the wading world with our ability. Ever caught a fish on your ass, with current products and making it easy for waders full of water? ANY shop to stock our product.
Catch, Measure and Release 888-582-7763
www.measurefish.com
66 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
best kept secret
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 67 8284793790 GrahamCountyTravel.com
Cashiers, NC
TFO Lefty Kreh Signature II 6’ 2wt 2-piece
70 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
T
his fly rod review was big fun. Temple Fork Outfitters (TFO) Lefty Kreh Signature II 6’ 2wt 2-piece is a remarkable rod for tackling rills and rivulets. As early as the 1970’s I dabbled with 6’ 2wt rods at the streams of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While I think it departed in a divorce settlement, occasionally I still look for the 6’ Orvis Flea. It was a darn sight sweeter and more forgiving than the ex that absconded with that mighty mite fly rod. TFO Signature II series rods offer the same astounding performance as their classic Signature series but with upgraded components. The Lefty Kreh Signature II 6’ 2wt 2-piece is rated as Medium Fast Action, but to me its action was more Fast than Medium. The Signature series is all about comfort and not speed. The action of a rod is determined by where it bends with a given amount of weight. Fast-action rods bend nearer to the tip area, and mediumaction rods bend down nearer to the middle of the rod. Slower-action rods bend all the way down into the butt section and look parabolic when bent with that same given amount of weight. As is the custom at TFO, the Lefty Kreh Signature II 6’ 2wt is reasonably price, enough so that you can even tell your spouse how much it really cost. I regard it has a specialty rod that is right at home on the small, low canopy streams found on the headwaters of bigger creeks from northern Virginia to Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. These waters demand a delicate presentation, a job the TFO Lefty Kreh
Signature II 6’ 2wt excels at. Coupled with an equally lightweight fly reel, you are in control of a virtual fishing wand. Jakes Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains was my field test stream. A great little brook trout stream, it has its share of rhododendron choked runs that demand precise presentation. Figuring out where you back cast will go is almost always a prime consideration. Just as I had anticipated, my TFO, the Lefty Kreh Signature II 6’ 2wt performed like a champ, even when casting hopper patterns in close quarters. It delivered a pretty loop to 30', but not beyond that in my hands. This rod has sufficient action that a better caster could eke out to 50 feet without any problem. The only flaw I found was roll casting with this rod, which was pretty minor when casting on the category of small waters where this is pretty much a perfect fly rod. Scanning the rod from tip to butt, I liked the Grade A Cork grip and aluminum reel seat; somewhat basic but quite functional, but a lot more than one expects from a rod with a MSRP of $120. The TFO Lefty Kreh Signature II 6’ 2wt. comes in a classy fabric sock. Insofar as you are not paying for a 36” rod tube, which helps keeps this fly rod attractively priced. Its label and rod markings are sporty and eye-pleasing. The guides, ferrules and tip-top also pleasantly outstanding. In sheer terms of bang for the buck, this TFO bantamweight is champ that will delivery many hours of great fly fishing fun on small, Southern
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 71
Appalachian trout streams. This mighty nice rod for fishing dries at close range “We have been proudly selling Temple Fork fly rods for 12 years,” says Byron Begley of Little River Outfitter in Townsend, Tennessee. “We have sold many. I own several myself. We sell more
Temple Fork fly rods than any other brand. There are many reasons for that. One, is the Lifetime Warranty and the company’s great customer service. Another reason is “Value”. I believe you get more than you pay for. I don’t know of any dissatisfied customers, who bought TFO fly rods.”
72 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
“As I have said for years, you cannot beat a TFO for the money. They offer performance and great value. I usually take an 8 weight with me as a backup salmon fishing. As most folks know, I built my reputation as a custom rod builder and I also proudly sell TFO blanks as well as
factory fly rods. I am equally impressed with the turnaround time when there is a warranty claim. I don't know how they do it, but it is great customer service. “Jerry Cook, J-Cook Fly Rods, Salem,MO
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 73
Since 1999 the Smoky Mountain’s #1 Outfitter and Guide Service! Serving Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, Cherokee and Bryson City. Half-day and full-day:
• • • • • •
Wade Trips Drift Boat Trips Beginner classes and instruction with the best guides in the Smoky Mountains. Fly fishing and spin fishing for kids and families Fly fishing merit badge classes Corporate and group fly fishing
We fish the most beautiful trout streams in the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains:
• • • • • •
Great Smoky Mountains National Park The Tuckasegee River The Little Tennessee River Cherokee trophy trout waters Hazel Creek day trips Fontana Lake for bass and walleye
No Experience necessary, we will teach you how to fly fish!
Rates starting at $75.00 per person! For reservations call 828-488-7665 Or book securely from our website!
828-488-7665 • FlyFishingTheSmokies.net Email guides@FlyFishingTheSmokies.net
Authorized Concessioner
Cooking On the
Kentucky’s Big Tro Is Smokin’ Hot Michael Cox
I
f you like great comeback stories, then you will love hearing about the rebounded Cumberland River. Ten years after undergoing a seven-year, $594 million rehabilitation of Wolf Creek Dam, a permanent fix has been completed for the oft-troubled earthen and concrete structure that impounds Lake Cumberland. Over the last three years the Cumberland River tailwaters have regained bragging rights to being one of the top tailwater trout fisheries in the South.
76 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
e Cumberland:
out River
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 77
Located below Wolf Creek Dam the tailwater is a well-known trophy fishery. Many people have caught their fish of a lifetime on the famous Cumberland River, and many others try to do the same every day. If you’ve never fished the Cumberland, chances are you’ve at least heard of it. It’s been described as the best trophy brown trout fishery in the eastern United States. I suppose that’s debatable but these days the Cumby can definitely hold its own. The Cumberland is a very large river, heading in eastern Kentucky, and flowing over 688 miles to its confluence with the Ohio River. The tailwater section of the river begins at the US Corps of Engineers Wolf Creek Dam and flows over 88 miles. The first seventy five miles of that are in Kentucky and are managed under trophy trout regulations and protected slot limits. Seventy Five miles is a lot of trophy trout water. Of course most of it flows through private land and is only accessible by boat. Luckily, the Cumby is blessed with boating access, especially when compared to most other southern tailwaters. Seven boat launches are scattered along the river from Wolf Creek Dam downstream toward the Tennessee state line. Boating anglers can cover large stretches of the river, even finding wadable water in places. The Cumberland is well known for its large gravel bars. Many of the gravel bars will be exposed during lower flows from the dam, allowing anglers to wade. It’s not uncommon to see anglers boating from one gravel bar to another, to wade fish the shallows surrounding the bars. Everybody has their favorite boat for the Cumberland and during the course of a day you could see drift boats, kayaks, pontoon boats, jet boats, bass boats, rafts and canoes. 78 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
CUMBERLAND RIVER from Wolf Creek Dam to the Tennessee state line. All licensed anglers must possess a trout permit on this portion of Cumberland River. This includes Hatchery Creek and all tributaries up to the first riffle. Anglers may not attract or chum trout with bait, corn or other attractants designed to draw numbers of trout to a specific area. This includes all tributaries up to the first riffle and in Hatchery Creek. For new regulations on Hatchery Creek, refer to the Hatchery Creek section. Brown Trout: 20-inch minimum size limit, 1 fish daily creel limit, also applies to all tributary streams, except Hatchery Creek. Rainbow Trout: 15 to 20-inch protective slot limit. All trout caught between 15 and 20 inches in length must be immediately released. Five fish daily limit, only one rainbow trout may be longer than 20 inches. Also applies to all tributary streams, except Hatchery Creek. www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 79
Special care should be used when operating motorized vessels while on the Cumberland River. While most of the river is fairly navigable during low water, some areas may harbor dangerous submerged tree debris, boulders, and ledges. The river valley is also subject to extreme fog due to the cold water temperatures. This is especially dangerous when motoring through areas with wading anglers present. Common sense and safe boating practices should always be followed. Public wading access is very limited on the tailwater. In fact, the best way to wade the river is by using a boat to get to a gravel bar. With that being said, there are a few places that offer access to wadable gravel bars. Ray Mann Rd dead ends at a very wadable gravel bar and make shift boat launch. Helm’s Landing offers a fair amount of wadable water along with a boat ramp. The mouth of Crocus Creek is accessible from Crocus Creek Rd. Traces on the Cumberland offers a boat ramp and wading access for a small fee. Having access to a boat is the key to having access to the numerous gravel bars located along the river. 80 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Helpful Links Fishing License: fw.ky.gov/Licenses Flow schedule. http://www.lrn-wc.usace. army.mil/tva_schedule. shtml Lake Cumberland State Resort Park. http://parks.ky.gov/ parks/resortparks/lakecumberland/ Burkesville Information. https://www.tripadvisor. com/Tourism-g39237Burkesville_KentuckyVacations.html Kendall Recreation Area. http://www. kentuckytourism.com/ kendall-recreationarea/2936/ Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery https://www.fws.gov/ wolfcreek/
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 81
The Cumberland River boasts a very high biomass, and is rich in aquatic invertebrates. Large stoneflies are a favorite food source for the trout, and heavy imitations do well fished deep. The river also produces a significant amount of caddis, mayflies, and midges, with midge species being the most prevalent. Sow bugs and scuds are heavy in most of the grass mats you’ll encounter. The terrestrial season is active with Japanese beetles, grasshoppers and cicadas playing an important part in your fly selection. Streamer fishing is always a viable option, especially with any flow from the dam. Focus on getting good presentations, whether you’re fishing dries, nymphs, wet flies or streamers. The fish are quick to spot a bad cast, sloppy mend, and micro drag. The river fishes well all year but the best days are had during lower water flows. Accommodations on the Cumberland River are limited. Burkesville Kentucky is the only town on the tailwater, 32 miles downstream of the dam. Burkesville is home to several restaurants, an IGA grocery store, a couple of gas stations, the Riverfront Lodge and a nice boat ramp. Burkesville is located on Hwy 90 at the junction withHwy 61. Lake Cumberland State Park is located 5 miles north of Wolf Creek Dam off of Hwy127. They feature a large motel and restaurant overlooking Lake Cumberland, as well as many rental cabins and cottages. 82 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Cumberland Boat Ramps (distance from the dam) Kendall Recreation Area 0 miles Helm’s Landing 4.5 mles Winfreys Ferry 14 miles Burkesville Public Ramp 32 miles Traces on the Cumberland 37 miles Cloyds Landing 49 miles McMillians Ferry 65 miles
A quick internet search will provide many contacts of private cabin rentals in the Cumberland River area. Camping is available at the Kendall Recreation Area below Wolf Creek Dam. Dale Hollow State Park is relatively close to the lower Cumberland Tailwater off of Hwy 61.
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 83
SMOKY MOUNTAIN HOOK, HACKLE AND ROD 2017 MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR OCTOBER 6-7 THE FLY FISHING MUSEUM OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS ALONG WITH THE SWAIN COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
PRESENT
THE HOOK, HACKLE AND ROD SHOW TO BE HELD AT THE SWAIN RECREATION COMPLEX ON WEST DEEP CREEK RD. EVENTS AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS IN TOWN AND OUT NEW 11,000 SQ FT LOCATION FOR HOOK , HACKLE AND ROD 60+ TYERS AND 10+ ROD BUILDERS, VENDORS, NON-PROFITS AND EDUCATIONAL BOOTHS, SILENT AUCTIONS, A FILM FESTIVAL ON FRIDAY NIGHT, DELAYED HARVEST, HATCHERY SUPPORTED AND GSMNP FISHING AVAILABLE
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG
Tennessee's Top
Gatlinbu
86 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
p Trout Town
urg
S
ynonymous with the Tennessee side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg is the hub of hundreds of miles of great fly fishing for trout. A tourism Mecca that has been called the “family-style Las Vegas of the South,” this once sleepy mountain hamlet is now the annual vacation destination of millions of people. Tucked in the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River valley against the half-million-acre national park, Gatlinburg has largely recovered from the wild fires that devastated much of the city, and which threatened to burn it completely to the ground. Remarkably, the damage has mostly disappeared. Worth noting, too, is that thanks to bountiful rain this year, fishing is as good as it has ever been. Gatlinburg is unique in the Volunteer State, insofar as it operates its own trout fishery program from where streams enter the city from the national park to their exit at the city limits of Pigeon Forge. Gatlinburg began its trout-stocking program in the early 1980s, two decades before moonshine making in the town became legal. Trout and shine have always been part of the local culture; the difference now is that brewing permits are available. Gatlinburg has a surprising variety of trout fishing opportunities that are regularly stocked with keeper size (and bigger) rainbow trout. The biggest stream in town is the West Prong Little Pigeon River from National Park Boundary downstream. Smaller creeks include Dudley Creek, Roaring Fork, and LeConte Creek. Included among these is designated Children’s Stream sections. Between December 1 and March 31 is catch-and-release, only single-hook artificial lure fishing. April 1 through November 30 the daily limit is 5 fish per day with no size limit or bait restriction.
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 87
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG
88 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
GATLINBURG
Upstream from Gatlinburg is the watershed of the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River whose headwaters drain the 6,000 feet peaks of Stateline Ridge. The lower reaches of the West Prong hold wild, stream bred rainbow and brown trout. Upstream from the Chimneys, the streams are the domain of the native brook trout. Easily accessed by US 441to Cherokee, more often than not fly fishermen find long stretches of water where they are the only anglers there.
CLOSE LOOK
If you take a right off of US 441 onto Little River Road at the Sugarlands, it’s only a short drive to Little River and beyond to Cades Cove and Abrams Creek. Many rate the expansive Little River watershed as the best fly fishing on the Tennessee side of the national park. Driving a short distance north of Gatlinburg is the East Prong of the Little Pigeon River. Undeveloped Greenbrier Creek, as it is locally known, has a very large feeder stream system that is only lightly fished. A short distance beyond is Cosby Creek that was once known as the moonshine capital of the world. Gatlinburg is home to Smoky Mountain Angler, one of the oldest and best fly shops in the region. Headed up by guide and expert fly tier Chad Williams, the Smoky Mountain Angler has all of the local patterns you’ve read about for years such as the Thunderhead, Smoky Mt. Candy, George Nymph, and Tellico Nymph as well as some as William’s own secret fly creations. A full-service shop, the Smoky Mountain Angler offers guided trips to the waters in Gatlinburg as well as to the wild trout streams in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Additionally, the area has a number of fly fishing guides that provide trips in the park as well as to well-known nearby big tailwater rivers that include the Holston, Watauga and South Holston.
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 89
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG
Gatlinburg’s tourism business is structured around the concept of down home, family fun. Part of the “family Gatlinburg experience” is walking the crowded downtown where aromas of homemade candy and treats are entwined with must-see attractions such as Ripley’s Museum and a world famous aquarium. Craft shops ranging from wood carving and pottery are the finest in the South. There’s no shortage of souvenir shops where you can purchase essentials such as corn cob pipes, t-shirts and other items for your next yard sale. In recent years the legal production of the region’s first export, moonshine, has resulted in a number of open-to-the-public distilleries where you can see corn converted to “white lightening.” As in the past, moonshining in Gatlinburg has proven predictably profitable and is a crowd pleaser. Gatlinburg is especially attractive as a family vacation base where everyone has something fun to do while the anglers in the clan can enjoy great guilt free fly fishing. Sure as hell the place can be swarming with fellow members of humanity that can sometimes make you feel like you stepped atop an ant hill. On the other hand, all one has to do escape the bustle is wind a line along with some secluded, shady stretch of stream--pure ambrosia. 90 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 91
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG
Pancakes Everyone? No visit to Gatlinburg is complete without at least one meal at a “pancake house.” Pancakes are the mark of the realm. If your quest is to try them all at least once, by the time you do, you will qualify for residency. We asked Marci Claude, Public Relations Manager of the Gatlinburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, “What’s the deal with the cornucopia of pancake house?” Grinning, Marcia said, “So you noticed, did you? “The prevailing theory goes back to the logging era a century ago when lumberjack camps were tasked with fueling the army of loggers with inexpensive, high energy rations. Girdle cooked flap jacks filled the bill. Of course, there are those that contend that no Smoky Mountains breakfast has ever been complete without a side of pancakes.”
Flapjacks Pancake Cabin Home of the ultimate Smoky Mountains comfort food---pancakes—Flapjack Pancakes Cabin took first place in STM voting. If success breeds success, then Flapjack Pancake Cabin with its six shops around Gatlinburg make it the “Roger Rabbit of Flapjacks.” When you consider that the idea for the launching Flapjack
Pancake Cabin began with a winter hike in the mountains and love for pancakes was its genesis. The selection of pancakes offered is terrific. Our favorite dishes were the Old Fashioned Buttermilk pancakes and the Pigs in a Blanket (Three plump sausage links tucked into three fluffy pancakes). Heap um good./flapjacks.com
92 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
GATLINBURG
Pancake Pantry
Located on city’s main drag, since 1960 when the Pancake Pantry became Tennessee's first pancake house, has become a Gatlinburg tradition. Madefrom-scratch pancakes smothered in real butter, honest-to-goodness fresh whipped cream, and toppings galore are served in the inviting atmosphere of century-old brick, rich oak, and rustic copper. Our favorite is the wild blueberry crepes. http:// www.pancakepantry.com
Atrium Pancakes
Located on Gatlinburg’s Parkway,Atrium Pancakes menu features over two dozen varieties of pancakes and Belgium Waffles each served with its own homemade syrup. Featured in Taste of Home Magazine and on the Food Network, Atrium Pancakes is a must stop for flap jack aficionados. Partaken by a dashing waterfall, their Leconte Sunrise breakfast will certainly be a delicious memory. (865) 430-3684.
CLOSE LOOK
Crockett’s Breakfast Camp
Gatlinburg’s new breakfast experience, Crockett’s Breakfast Camp, is not only well known for its he-man sized pancakes but also for its to-die-for cinnamon rolls. Located on Gatlinburg’s main drag, a stone's throw from the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this new kid on the block has already earned its wings with the locals who come here to chow down on flap jacks and more. http:// crockettsbreakfastcamp.com
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 93
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG
Smoky Mountain Trout House
Smoky Mountain Trout House in Gatlinburg is the place to learn just how many ways there is to prepare fresh rainbow trout. Located at 410 Parkway, Smoky Mountain Trout House is a multi-generationally owned and operated family restaurant that prides itself on offering absolutely the freshest trout in Gatlinburg. Rainbow trout served here are grown in the sparkling clear waters of the Smokies. The purity and flavor of mountain trout served here to challenge the great pleasure of wild caught trout. The atmosphere at Smoky Mountain Trout House is truly stellar, and the menu of trout entrÊes make ordering difficult for those that want to try it all. Being from East Tennessee, our favorite of their offerings is the Pan Crispy Fried Mountain Trout that is gently‎ fried in oil with their special cornmeal breading. We liked that so much that we 94 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
e: “Let me count the ways…”
went back for a couple of visits to try the establishment’s touted Smoky Mountain Trout: smoked rainbow trout served with a dish of sautéed mushrooms and onions. On our last visit, we hit a jackpot roll: Trout Eisenhower. A seldom noted fact about Dwight D. Eisenhower (the five-star general of WWII and 34th president of the United State) was that he was as at home in the kitchen as he was on the battlefield and in the Oval Office. Eisenhower took a direct approach to preparing fresh trout. After browning bacon in an iron skillet, trout that is rolled in cornmeal is fried in the bacon fat. The results are…shall we say…presidential? Next on our list is the famous Trout Fritters served at Smoky Mountain Trout House. www.gatlinburgtrouthouse.com www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 95
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG
Getting Above
Gatlinburg Ca 98 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
e the Fray Don Kirk
G
rowing up a short drive from Gatlinburg, I know about its slow moving traffic and throngs oh humanity wearing T-shirts with always puzzling messages. If you spend a week in Hillbilly Las Vegas you run a decent chance of getting the urban shakes, which is not why a fly fisherman visits the Smoky Mountains. Since the late 1980s, our solution for spending a week in Gatlinburg is to rent a ridge top cabin. Sitting on the deck with an adult beverage and not-to-expensive cigar overlooking the fray‌yappers, that’s the fix. Gatlinburg has a vast inventory of cabin rental ranging from quaint one-bedroom abodes, to log palaces that accommodate three dozen more folks. Prices range wildly, although the quality of rentals is always first class. If you are a trout fishing club or other group, cabins are impossible to top. All of the businesses listed below have great websites that allow you to peruse their rentals. By and large, all of the cabins are privately owned and contracted out to these rental companies.
abin Rentals www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 99
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG
Jackson Mountain Homes If Gatlinburg is the place for you, then consider Jackson Mountain Homes, the premier source for cabin rentals in Gatlinburg. With a diverse selection of affordable Gatlinburg cabins, chalets, and condos for rent. Jackson Mountain Homes has a variety of have properties to meet your needs and your budget. The rental homes managed by Jackson Mountain Homes are privately owned and are decorated and furnished to suit the owner’s taste and needs. Accommodations and amenities vary greatly. All rentals have heat & A/C, refrigerator, stove, microwave, toaster, coffee maker, basic pots & pans, dishes, flatware, utensils, Color TV(s), VCR(s) and/or DVD(s). www. jacksonmountainhomes.com Cabins of the Smoky Mountains These aren't your grandfather's log cabins. Boasting over 400 Gatlinburg luxury rental cabins, Cabins of the Smoky Mountains deluxe mountain homes with features you'd expect at a 4-star resort. Cabin settings range from spectacular mountaintop locations with great views, to secluded locations with serene wood views. Cabins feature plush living rooms, gourmet kitchens, large bathrooms and hot tubs. All cabins have one or more porches. Cabin game rooms features such as pool tables, air hockey and arcade games (Galaga, Ms. PacMan) and multiple flat screen TVs. WIFI is also available at most cabins. www.cabinsofthesmokymountains.com/ 100 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
Mountain Rentals of Gatlinburg Mountain Rentals of Gatlinburg has been providing high quality and affordable Smoky Mountain cabins since 1985. They have authentic Gatlinburg log cabins available for a genuine Smoky Mountain experience. Mountain Rentals of Gatlinburg has secluded cabins for intimate getaways as well as large group cabins to accommodate large family groups. These cabins are also pet-friendly http://www.mountainchalets.com Gatlinburg Cabin Rentals Staying in one of the beautiful Gatlinburg Cabin Rentals is surely one of the best ways to enjoy a visit here. Nothing compares to the nostalgia of staying in a cabin surrounded by the Great Smoky Mountains. Each day there are plenty of new adventures to be discovered in the mountains that surround these rustic cabins. Each cabin is furnished to provide superb comfort and style that is incomparable to any other lodging opportunity. You will find these cabins secluded and nestled in the mountains that are seemingly far away from everything. This enables you to feel like they have escaped the rat race of life. While these cabins seem to be far away from society, they are strategically placed so you can easily enjoy the many activities that Gatlinburg offers. http://www. gatlinburgcabinrentals.com www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 101
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG
Timber Tops Luxury Cabin Rentals Gatlinburg is a popular vacation spot due to its seclusion and beauty that attraction visitors from all stations in life. Timber Tops Luxury Cabin Rentals are surrounded by mountains, high ridges rising up on all sides to provide you with privacy and allow full enjoyment of the majestic beauty of nature. Timber Tops Luxury Cabin Rental’s offering of over 300 cabins enables you to choose a 3 Star Cabin for a cheap cabin getaway, or go all out with a Timber Tops Signature Series cabin to experience a high level of luxury that defies any preconceived notions you might have had of “roughing it” . https://www.yourcabin.com Auntie Belham's Cabin Rental Auntie Belham's Gatlinburg cabins can be an adventure in a cozy unit for two or an entertaining groups up to 16 people. Here families can vacation together and still have room to breathe. Each Gatlinburg cabin rental, mountain chalet and cottage is privately owned and tastefully decorated. Fully furnished cabins and chalets range from economy travel to luxury travel to suit all types of travelers. These cabin rentals offer hot tubs on decks, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, home theaters, plasma TV's, incredible long distance mountain views, fun-filled game rooms, saunas, Jacuzzis and more. https://www. auntiebelhams.com 102 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
Aunt Bugs Gatlinburg Cabin Rentals Aunt Bugs Cabin Rentals offers cabin rentals in various areas of the Great Smoky Mountain. Aunt Bug's Cabin Rentals offers affordable deluxe cabins to suit your family's needs and vacation budget. This is a family owned company that started the cabin rental company after many visits to Gatlinburg. The Smoky Mountain Tennessee area is a beautiful place and we love to share the area’s natural beauty with all of our guests. https://www.auntbugs.com/ SmokyMountains.Com SmokyMountains.Com has over 300 Gatlinburg cabins and 800+ properties in the Smoky Mountain region that are 100% locally owned and operated. If you are you looking for the perfect vacation rental for your upcoming trip to the Smoky Mountains, odds are SmokyMountains.com is your hook up. They manage dozens of properties, with each Gatlinburg cabin being unique. Whether you are looking for a luxurious eight bedroom lodge that comfortable sleeps 38 or a romantic one bedroom cabin, they have the right cabin for your upcoming stay. https://smokymountains.com www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 103
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG Ten Tips For Renting Cabins Checklist
Below is a sample checklist that may help you decide and be sure to modify it as your needs dictate. 1. Determine how much you plan to spend. 2. Determine the dates and length of stay. If your departure and/or return dates are flexible it can make your search a bit easier. 3. Have alternate dates if at all possible. 4. Determine how many people will be in your party and how many bedrooms or beds, and bathrooms you will need. Keep in mind that adults typically do not like sleeping in sofa beds or futons, especially if they are sharing in the expenses. 5. Get directions, have a current area map with you, make sure that you know where the cabin is located and that it is within an acceptable drive time to the attractions and services you want to visit or need. 6. Be sure to have a list of the amenities you must have and what “special requirements” your group requires. Do not assume that all homes have the same amenities! 7. Make sure that you read the rental policies including any fine print so that you know the rules. Know what “is” and what “is not” furnished so that you know what to bring from home. 8. Make a list of questions to ask when you are booking your reservation. 9. If something you need is not listed online in the property information you should call the rental company to insure that you have what you need. 10. Be sure to keep a file folder for your vacation that contains your rental agreement and all pertinent information as well as the information about any attractions you want to see.
104 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
RIVER THROUGH ATLANTA GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER GUIDE SERVICE
RiverThroughAtlanta.com
710 Riverside Rd., Roswell, GA 30075 770-650-8630
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 105
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG
A Really Big Show! 106 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
S
ugarlands MountainFest, a music and outdoor festival (September 28 – October 1, 2017) produced by Sugarlands Distilling Company, is a spirited celebration of the great outdoors. For four days this fall, outdoor enthusiasts will gather to enjoy over 30 live musical performances, running, biking, & fishing competitions, craft cocktails, award-winning spirits and brews—all in the breathtaking mountains of East Tennessee. Festival goers will experience the world class attractions and shopping of downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee, all the while enjoying the natural splendor of the Great Smoky Mountains. So take in the fresh air, climb the peaks and swim in our creeks this fall. At Sugarlands Distilling Company, our backyard is your natural playground. If mountain music rings your bell, Sugarland MountainFest is a world class entertainment event that include the Hard Working Americans, Travelin’ McCourys and Jeff Austin presenting The Grateful Ball. Also in concert during the four day gala will be Mandolin Orange, Elephant Revival, Sam Outlaw, Ha Ha Tonka, Driftwood, Yarn, Whiskey Shivers, Billy Strings, The Honeycutter, Dead Horse, Girl Guns, Glory, Roy Lee Jones, Bonnie Bishop, JP Harris, Josh Oliver, Grandpa’s Cough Medicine, The www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 107
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG
108 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
Royal Hounds, Urban Pioneers, The Deer, The Bluegrass Sweethearts, Woody Pines, Barnyard Stompers, Ross Cooper, Guy Marshall, Ian Thomas, and the Band of Drifters, The New Familiars present the “Tribute to Levon Helm Superjam” and the All Star Square Dance. On Thursday, September 28th from 7-10pm is the Sugarlands MountainFest kick-off party. Distillers from across Tennessee will offer samples of their craft whiskey and spirited cocktails while you join the whiskey conversation. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres and the festival’s first live music performances. Saturday, September 30th Smoky Mountain trout fishing takes center stage with the Battle of Gatlinburg “One Fly Tournament”. Presented by the Great Smoky Mountain Trout Unlimited, It is the first of three competitive trout fishing events with over $3,000 in cash and prizes. Each trout fishing event is different to include all ages and skill levels. During the Sugarlands MountainFest is mega gala. Running will stride the roads and trail of Gatlinburg and the neighboring Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On tap is the Dynamite Downhill Dash, Outlandish Ober Uphill 5k, Silver Cloud Trail Run, Gatlinburg Parkway 5k, and PB&J Kids Mile. Sugarlands MountainFest offers bikers have the opportunity to participate in the DreamRide from Gatlinburg, through the national park’s famed “Spur,” then pedal your way over the hills of East Tennessee back to the Sugarlands MountainFest. For the stout of heart there is the 62 mile DreamRide. The 25 mile DreamRide is designed for those wishing to peddle a 62 mile course. Get a taste of Appalachia and its influence on regional and international spirits and cuisine as you feed your hunger with top food trucks from the mountain region. We will mix our Sugarlands Shine and other spirits in premium, mixologist created cocktails to keep in the proper mountain spirit of celebration. If a cold brew is more your thing, don’t worry we’ve got you covered with a variety of beer options to whet your whistle. www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 109
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG
The festival is a wonderful opportunity to experience a taste of Appalachia and its influence on regional and international spirits and cuisine. You feed your hunger with top food trucks from the mountain region. Also available Sugarlands Shine and other spirits in premium, mixologist created cocktails to keep in the proper mountain spirit of celebration. If a cold brew is more your thing, don’t worry we’ve got you covered with a variety of beer options to whet your whistle! Yet another highlight of Sugarlands MountainFest is the outdoor Appalachian market. Gatlinburg is home to one of the world’s most notable arts and crafts communities. Meet local artisans and special guests who will be demonstrating, displaying, and selling their crafty wares designed right here in the mountains of Appalachia. Although this is the first year of the Sugarlands MountainFest, it has already attracted enough attention to insure if will blossom into a much anticipated annual event. 110 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 111
Escape to Extraordinary. Escape to Blue Ridge. With a cabin vacation from Escape to Blue Ridge, premium amenities are as important as creating priceless memories. Year-round adventures are as abundant as picturesque mountain views. And making an escape isn’t just accepted, it’s encouraged.
Discover why our vacation cabins are North Georgia’s finest at EscapeToBlueRidge.com. 855-885-4894
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG - Featured Fly Tier
Buzz Buffington Clinton, Tennessee
I
n 1972lTwin Falls, Idaho native Buzz Buffington found his way to Tennessee via taking a job with TVA.’ When Buzz retired from TVA in 1994, he resettled in Clinton and started fly fishing the Clinch River. Having grown up fishing BLM reservoirs and the Snake River, he turned his attention to the Clinch River tailwaters, Buzz says that he had a pretty bad attitude about fly fishing in Tennessee. “Having come from the west, I thought that Tennessee couldn’t compare,” says Buzz. “At the Clinch though TVA had improved trout habitat by building a weir dam to ensure minimum flow and made modifications to oxygenate turbine releases. I discovered pretty good fishing there. Also I developed an appreciation for the streams in the Great Smoky Mountains and nearby national forests.”
114 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Featured Fly Tier - GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
Buffington’s interest in fly tying dates back to when he worked at an in-law’s gas station/grocery/grill in Curry, Idaho. The owner fished almost every day and occasionally allowed Buzz to accompany him. He taught Buzz to tie his first fly using red balloon rubber wrapped on a hook to imitate a red ant. “An early mentor was Ruel Stayner, the owner of the only fly shop in Twin Fall,” says Buzz. “Ruel was a creative fly tier known for the Stayner’s Duck Tail that imitates a yellow-perch fingerling. We used full-sink lines, Stayner’s Duck Tail, Wooly Worms (a tailless Wooly Bugger without a tail) and other streamers. Later I had a great fly tying mentor in Norris’ Terry Chilcoat”. When departing TVA Buzz received a Regal vise has a retirement gift. It marked his entry to what became a passion for tying. He mixed various yellow and orange dubbing to mimic the perfect shade for Clinch Sulphurs, Eventually he figured out the size and presentation were much more important than the color “Midges & black flies make up the majority of the Clinch’s trout food,” says Buzz. “I like Stripped Peacock Herl Midges size18 & 22. The same for Zebra Midges with a black body, silver bead and rib. A small size 12 or 14 Olive Wooly Bugger with a gold bead is good. Pheasant Tail sizes 14 to 18. I use a very basic one, just a copper bead and rib with a Pheasant Tail body. It’s quick to tie and I catch more fish on it than any other fly. During sulphur season, late April to early July, carry some sulphur dry flies. My favorites are CDC winged Duns with a dubbed or biot body, Sparkle Duns and quill bodied Parachute Sulphurs in sizes 16 and 18. The cripple pattern called a Puff Daddy is also a good fly.” “The Clinch has scuds and sow bugs both can be good flys to imitate, especially in winter. Finally we have a small dark caddis, about size 20 and last fall I saw a larger gray caddis in the upper tailwater near Miller Island. Soft hackles can be productive, especially at the lower end of the tailwater near the Second Baptist Church.” Buzz is not only an articulate tier and expert fly fisher, he one of those valuable souls who spends a significant part of his retirement teaching fly tying in conjunction with the highly active Clinch River Chapter of Trout Unlimited. It began around 2000 with a beginning fly tying class. Chapter members game up with nine flies that would be good in both the Clinch and the mountains, plus build tying skills. “I coordinated the scheduling and administration of the classes,” say Buzz. “Five years ago with help from Byron Begley and fellow instructor, Dick Geiger, I wrote a 39 page booklet. We charged for the class, raising a little money for the chapter and found it was a great way to recruit new members. I enjoy helping others learn to tie flies. I www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 115
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG - Featured Fly Tier
especially enjoy teaching kids to tie flies. Our grandchildren used to fight over who got to be first to tie a fly when they visited.” A widely recognized expert tier, Buzz frequently conducts fly tying demonstrations at events such as Troutfest as well as at Little River Outfitters and other fly tying demonstrations. Currently Buzz is waist deep in his involvement with Project Healing Waters. “Under Dick Geiger’s leadership, our TU chapter decided to form a Veteran Services Partnership with Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing (PHWFF) but the chapter did not have program leader,” says Buzz. At later TU meeting I met Steve Thompson who wanted to start a PHWFF Program. It turned out to be a perfect fit for me. It enables me to share my love of fly tying and fly fishing toward PHWFF’s goal, which is to provide physical and emotional rehabilitation to disabled active service military personnel and disabled veterans through fly fishing.” “At first, I thought we would just be taking veterans fly fishing. I found that helping them learn to fly fish gave them an opportunity to concentrate on the water and try to catch a fish with a fly that they tied. They can completely forget their issues and worries for a day. The memories from that “therapy” will help them get through tough days in the future. I hope that I am contributing to their quality of life. “TU gives each PHWFF member a one-year free TU membership. All of our
PHWFF members are also TU members. We are seeing PHW members increasingly attend TU meetings and volunteer to help with TU projects like Kid’s Fish Free Day and the Big Clinch River Cleanup. I hope this article might help encourage even more integration of the two programs,” says Buzz.
116 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Featured Fly Tier - GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
Here’s Buzz’s favorite PHWFF success story We had a disabled veteran whose wife was divorcing him, he was confined to a wheel chair and through many conversations, Steve Thompson finally convinced him to come try PHWFF. He loved fishing and fly tying and became one of our most active members. He said PHWFF saved his life. He has become a leader in PHWFF, he teaches other veterans and he was the star of an award winning UT video called “Teach a Man To Fish” widely seen inside and outside PHWFF. If you would like to reach out to Buzz, he can be contacted at buzz.buffington@ gmail.com www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 117
Full Service Outfitter Fly Fishing Trips Rentals Clinics & Classes Apparel Sage . Winston Rod Co. Orvis . Redington Yeti . Rio
79 South Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009 . 678-762-0027 AlpharettaOutfitters.com . Alpharettaoutfitters@yahoo.com
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG - Featured Artist
Speaking for It
The Art of Jessic Fall Time Brookie: The Southern Appalachian Brook Trout is without a doubt the most colorful staple of the South. They get their brightest colors during spawning in fall and are so much fun to catch on the fly. These trout live in higher elevations usually requiring a hike which keeps me from catching them often due to my disabilities; when I do have the chance, it becomes the most magical moment as I watch these creatures flash like gold taking their shot at my fly. It is truly hard to beat the colors on these fish and I fondly refer to them as "eye candy".
120 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Featured Artist - GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
J
tself:
ca Callahan
essica Callihan had her life planned out. Growing up in Michigan on a dairy farm, Callihan was no stranger to hard work and long days and after going to college on a scholarship, she found that she had another calling in life. It was after a year of school that she decided to pursue her desire to join the Navy, somewhere her diligence and industrious personality would flourish. Starting her career as an Aviation Electrician, Callihan loved her work and excelled at it, her ambition being to become an officer and occupy a high-ranking seat; this, however, was not in the cards. During a training exercise Callihan was injured, falling from a helicopter and finding her short career in the military ending just as quickly as it started. With this injury, everything in Callihan’s life changed.
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 121
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG - Featured Artist
122 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Featured Artist - GATLINBURG
Copper Eyes: There is something unique and beautiful about each species let alone each fish and this one happened to have the most beautiful copper eyes I have ever seen. To emphasize that memory of first seeing her eyes I painted the eye in a metallic copper pastel so when viewing it pulls your eye immediately. She also has iridescent pastel in her cheek area around the spots to emphasize her overall beauty.
CLOSE LOOK
Having spent a large portion of her life outside, being bedridden in a hospital with serious nerve damage was devastating. Surgery after surgery on her back and knee left her constantly down, unable to live the life she’d been living for over two decades. After complications with the surgeries she was receiving, Callihan was fitted with a neurostimulator on her spine. While recovering from numerous surgeries, Callihan’s husband gave her some pastels in an attempt to help occupy her mind while she was recovering and it was with the first drawing that she felt something click. It was like a calling, her natural talent for artwork, and it was a revelation for her; something to bring a little more joy and purpose to her days of recovery. After her tenth surgery, Callihan ended up joining “Project Healing Waters,” a group dedicated to teaching disabled veterans how to fly fish with their disabilities. Coming from a place where she wasn’t allowed to lift more than a pound, it was unfathomable that she would ever be able to engage in any physical activity, especially something sportsman-like. This group proved her wrong. According to Callihan, quoting her website, “"In
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 123
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG - Featured Artist
some ways I am grateful that this happened to me. While it changed my original goals and plans, it lead me to a better door filled with many opportunities. I have found peace through creating art and fly fishing and have gained the type of friendships that will last a lifetime. Between the feel
of water, the fight of the fish and the magic that occurs when I paint, I find myself in a sort of trance where there is no pain, no worries but instead just beauty." Having used her educational benefits from the military to attend college, Callihan received her degree in fine arts and
graduated with honors. Now, more than able, Callihan has the ability to spend her life outdoors and making art, exploring subjects and mediums and turning her life into artwork. And that artwork, just at first glance, can certainly speak for itself.
124 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Featured Artist - GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
Out of the Depths: This brown trout was inspired by a brownie I caught on the Bighorn River in Montana. I was once again silenced in awe of the incredible beauty this trout held and knew that I needed to paint him. I wanted this painting to hold something special just like the trout did so within the painting there are spots that are created with actual iridescence that can only be seen in person.
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 125
5 States 38 River Systems $21.95
9 States 46 Tailwaters $19.95
Trout Fishing Guidebooks For The South By Jimmy Jacobs
80 Watersheds On Public Land $15.95
Autographed copies available.
Float Wade Trek
Experience Exposure Executon Engagement Georgia-North Carolina-Tennessee Guided fly-fishing and conventional fishing for bass, trout, stripers, panfish and more across the waters of the southern Appalachian Mountains
www.ReelAnglingAdventures.com Toll Free: 866-899-5259
Get Outdoors
in Western NC
•
Full Day and Half Day Guided Fly Fishing Trips • Authorized Orvis Dealer • Scientific Anglers Dealer • Montana Fly Dealer • Whiting Farms Dealer • Fly Tying Section • Locally Tied Flies • Locally Made Bamboo • Fiberglass, and Bamboo Rods • WNC Fly Fishing Trail
Just a couple of miles from the De
570 West Main Street Sylva NC 28779 Quality Gear Knowledgeable Guides Orvis Fly Shop
elayed Harvest section of the Tuck.
www.blackrockoutdoorcompany.com
828-631-4453
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG
Watauga: One Man’s Passion by Ed Rivers
E
veryone has a favorite “home waters” that they know well enough that the first half hour of fly fishing there everything is choreographed on the drive there. Most fly fishermen are hesitant to share knowledge of their favorite home waters even to their closest fishing buddies. Others through becoming ambassadors of their home waters. Scott Boggs of Bristol, Tennessee is one of the latter. He is more than happy to share his passion for the Watauga River tailwaters.
130 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 131
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG
“I discovered the Watauga 14 years ago and have fished it ever since,” explains Boggs. “It is special to me for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it is close to home and no one knows about it! Very rural setting not many homes or manmade structures to mess up the amazing mountain views that are everywhere. Oh, yeah…it’s flat full of fish. The wading at low flow is top notch and the drifts at high water are fantastic.” Boggs elaborated by noting that trout fishing at the Watauga has greatly improved thanks to the stewardship Carter County. The browns are a self-sustaining, wild fishery made up of lots of huge hogs. He recounted having seen several 24-inch and plus brown trout over the last couple of years. The rainbow population has traditionally been made up of stocked trout. In recent years though the Watauga has evolved a healthy, naturally reproducing strand of incredibly beautiful rainbow trout. The Watauga River rises in western North Carolina on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain and Peak Mountain in Watauga County, North Carolina. After crossing into Tennessee the river impounded to create Watauga Lake. Nearly 3 miles below Watauga Dam, on what is known as Horseshoe is smaller
but very deep reservoir known as Wilbur Lake. Below Wilbur Dam, the river flows generally north and then west into Carter County where it enters Elizabethton, Tennessee’s Top Trout Town. “There really is not a bad stretch on the entire Watauga tailwaters,” says Boggs. “Some of my favorites are the Watauga Trophy section, Old Steele Bridge, and the Steam Plant. This is what I call these areas I’m not positive what others call these areas.” “On the Watauga, there are only 2 ways the water can be, High Flow and Low Flow,” explains Boggs. “When TVA runs 1 or more generators this pushes a lot of water quickly. During High Flow get the boat or raft always amazing fishing epically if you want to chuck streamers. At Low Flow, wading is the best bet here however you can launch a boat and have great success on low flow as well. I prefer Low Flow for the only reason I don’t have a boat. If I did it really would not matter.” When fly fishing High Flow, Boggs is a strong advocate of casting streamers. His favorite High Flow streamer patterns include a black Wooly Bugger and Clouser Minnow patterns in colors that look like either a Rainbow or Brown trout. In terms of presentation, Boggs says he likes to really mix it up to match how the mood of trout change. Flexibility in presentation means not relying on what worked yesterday or last weekend. Creativity is essential for High Flow streamer success.
GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG
134 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
When asked how he compares the hatches on the Watauga to those on the SOHO, Boggs said, These are two totally different river systems that have different hatches. The Watauga fishes more like a western freestone river. The Doe River and Stoney Creek both flow into the Watauga and really mix up the aquatic life. SOHO is more like an aquarium with gin clear water and lots of little bugs throughout the whole 16-mile system. While the 25 mile Watauga system starts out much like SOHO, it changes when Stoney Creek joins the party. More changes when the Doe River hits the scene. Bigger bugs work on the Watauga and the river holds several spots that are great for streamer fishing.” These trout here will eat streamers especially anything that looks like a Rainbow or Brown trout base colors Yellow is the spring time color for dries and wets, and it followed by patterns in white, olive and tan. Boggs says he does well to use a Zebra Midge Black/Copper; Purple/Copper; Dark Green/ Copper work well. When the hatch is on at the Watauga it’s essential to match Sulfurs, Caddis and BWO. He also notes that it is a mistake to miss the Watauga’s Mother’s Day Caddis hatch! “Whenever I get to travel, people often ask where I am from and what waters are there,” says Boggs. “Most people in the fly fishing arena have heard about the South Holston Tail water. No one has ever mentioned the Watauga. Both rivers can have their share of Orvis Hatches, however, the Watauga, in my opinion, receives significantly less fishing pressure than does the South Holston. I don’t think there are many misconceptions they just don’t know where it is and that’s just fine with me.” www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 135
CLOSE LOOK
GATLINBURG
Wade fishing Low Flow can be challenging on the Watauga. Boggs suggests using his Rock Treads that he designed and tested Watauga River. He was tired of slipping and sliding while wade fishing. If you are new to the area recommends enlisting the services of a knowledgeable guide service. His favorite group is The 2014 Orvis Guide of the Year Patrick Fulkrod’s guide service The South Holston River Company they are connected to this river on a daily basis and consistently produce monster Browns and Rainbows “Don’t let the name fool you these guys spend plenty of time on the Watauga,” says Boggs. “Sam Dennis and Jake Adamerovich are Rock Tread ambassadors and both have made huge contributions to in the end product and current Lock Down system. Patrick’s guys are first off great people and very fishy dudes; I believe they may have gills. On an average day with the river on your side, you can count on fishing alone and I believe I have the opportunity to catch a 24” brown on any cast. High expectations I know however the Watauga has never let me down. It is my passion.” 136 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
GATLINBURG
CLOSE LOOK
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 137
Murray's Fly
By 138 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
ying Beetle T
he Murray's Flying Beetle is the fly which I start each day from June until November if there is no significant Murray's Flying Beetle hatch of aquatic insects. This devotion comes from the fact that it seldom lets me down. Let us look at how this confidence in beetles started, how this specific pattern was developed and where and how to fish beetles. Many years ago I was fishing the Letort with Charlie Fox, one of the most accomplished anglers I have every known, and I was doing pretty well with a size
Harry Murray
14 Crowe Beetle. After landing a nice brown trout Charlie looked at my fly and just smiled. When we stopped for lunch on the streamside bench behind his home he told me many stories of the great fishing he had on my spring creeks with beetles. The accounts of the nice browns he had taken on beetle heightened my confidence in the pattern but the real surprise came as we were getting ready to start fishing again.
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout Trout l September 2017 l l 139 139 www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern l July 2017
He looked me in the eye and stated, "You know, those beetles will work as well in your mountain streams in Virginia as they do on these springs creeks. In fact," he continued, "they are my favorite flies on the mountain streams in Pennsylvania." Several days after I returned to Virginia a good friend who is an accomplished biologist stopped in my fly shop to talk about fishing. I hold him of Charlie's statement about the success he has in freestone streams as well as spring creeks with beetle fly patterns. The biologist stated that although he had not fished beetles often in mountain streams he could easily understand why these trout would take it so readily. He went on to explain that in addition to the Japanese beetles we all think about matching with our flies there are actually over two hundred beetle-like insects around our trout streams. That day we both resolved to follow Charlie's advice and fish beetles more. The first several years of fishing beetle patterns in many situations I found there were many effective styles. The folded over hair style, the clipped hair style and even the down wing Jassid-style were productive. However, the low floating nature of these flies made them difficult to see late in the day and in heavily shaded mountain streams. In order to improve the angler visibility of these flies I started experimenting with painting bright spots on top of the flies and even adding a bright yarn on top of the flies. These tricks helped some but they did not improve the floating qualities nor the fish-appeal of the fly, and I still had trouble seeing them in low light situations and on glaring stream surfaces. 140 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Finally I hit on the idea of adding a light elk hair wing to the top of the beetle. I could see this a mile away, it helped the floatation of the fly and I firmly believe it improves the flies appeal to the trout. This is why for the past twenty years the Murray's Fly Beetle is my main fly when the hatches are sparse. In order for you to take advantage of some of this fine beetle fishing in your area let us look at some of the tactics I find effective. First we will look at the mountain freestone streams then we will explore the spring creeks. Most mountain freestone streams have only sparse hatches by summer and those aquatic insects which are present show up late in the day. This means these hungry trout need to select feeding stations during the day that will let them easily grab any delicate morsel that comes floating down the stream. With this in mind I adapt my tactics to these conditions. The first thing I do when I approach a pool in a mountain trout stream is pause and observe the surface for several minutes in order to locate any trout rising to take natural insects. Mark these feeders carefully by features on the bank or on the stream bottom so I can go one on one with them after this next step. After marking the risers I carefully look for other trout I can spot holding on feeding stations throughout the pool. Armed with this knowledge I now fish to the trout which are closest to me first then work my way up the pool taking them in order. This method will usually enable you to take a number of nice trout in each pool. www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 141
But what do I do if I don note see any risers nor spot any trout on feeding stations? Then I study the pool carefully to identify those areas which I suspect will hold trout that will come up to feed when there is natural food on the surface ― of my fly drifting by. These feeding stations are often located in the lower part of the pool where the trout can hold beside or in front of boulders and sip in their food. The foam flow on the sides of the pools along the incoming riffled are also excellent. Drifting the Murray's Flying Beetle over these feeding stations usually give s you several nice trout in each pool. Keep in mind when you fish mountain streams in the summer that the low, clear water causes the trout to be very wary. A low, slow, cautious approach will bring you great rewards. I like to use 9 foot 6X leaders and I try to never false cast over the pool where I am about the fish. Trout in spring creeks all across the country feed heavily on beetle-type insects all summer because just as my biologist-friend pointed out, there are so many of them along our streams. I use three different tactics in fishing my Flying Beetle on spring creeks. The one I select is determined by the type feeding stations which are available to the trout in the part of the stream I am fishing and how the trout adapt to the natural foods. For example, I have always found that drifting my Flying Beetle along the tight to the stream banks is almost always productive. Undercut and overhanging banks are especially productive. One day as we were sitting in the late Charlie Brooks' living room in West Yellowstone I was telling him about the success with this ploy on our stream spring creeks. Charlie got an excited expression and exclaimed, "I have got a spot on the Firehole River for you to try with that tactic." As Brooks pulled his map and showed me where he wanted me to try I realized that I knew some of that water and had taken smaller trout there in the open water on the beatis hatch but I told him I had not taken any large trout. He grinned and said "Pound those undercut banks on the west side of the stream with your Flying Beetle." The next evening when we had dinner together at the Dude Restaurant in West Yellowstone I told him about the many large trout that readily took my Flying Beetles as I drifted them tight along the undercut banks. He just nodded and said, "Told you." On large spring creeks I wade up the stream about ten feet out form the stream bank and cast my Flying Beetle up and across stream so it drops within a foot out of the bank about thirty feet upstream. This angle prevents my leader from drifting over the trout which could scare them. Here I strive for a natural dead drift with my fly just like I would when fishing an aquatic insect hatch. Systematically, I fish my way upstream covering every foot of the bank. 142 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 143
144 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
On small spring creeks and small high meadow streams I often stay on the banks and sneak up the stream, sometimes on my hands and knees. The food carrying currents tight to the banks are again my targets and now I have the option of fishing bother banks ahead of me. The undercut banks at the outside of an elbow turns are great spots for this ploy. A second beetle fishing tactic I use is especially effective on small spring creeks that flow through heavily wooded areas. Often the tree canopy over the streams is practically solid in some areas. These trees are a great source of beetle type insects which fall into the streams ― especially when there is a slight breeze/ A section of one stream I fish often I have named "The Jungle" because of the dense maze of tree limbs interwoven twenty feet over the stream. In these wooded areas I always watch the stream surface carefully in order to try to spot rising trout. Similar to my mountain trout tactics, I watch the water for several minutes in order to locate the closest feeders to me then I fish my way up from trout to trout. These are often large trout that could race upstream when you hook them and scare the other trout, so as soon as you set the hook try to lead him downstream to fight and land him away from the others. If I do not spot any rising trout on these small wooded spring creeks I cast my Flying Beetle to every likely looking feeding station as I work my way upstream. Often some of the tree limbs have fallen into the stream and drifting leaves and aquatic grass collects around these limbs. This forms ideal overhead cover which produce excellent shaded feeding stations for the large trout. The undercut banks in these wooded areas are also well worth fishing. These areas are often enhanced by the presence of massive root systems form large trees along the banks and the trout hold in these crevices and grab any food that falls into the stream. A final trick I use with my Flying Beetle on spring creeks is so effective that sometimes I almost feel Like I am cheating...almost. Here is how it goes.
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 145
On spring creeks that get very heavy hatches of specific aquatic insects every day for weeks on end I believe the trout anticipate these insects each day. For example, when the Trico and Blue Wing Olive hatches are just beginning each day I have seen many large trout slip out onto their choice feeding stations to take advantage of these insects. However, some days the early part of the hatch may be sow getting into full swing. So now we have some large trout that want to feed faster than natures is producing the flies. Here is where I got to my Flying Beetle, fishing to each trout I see rise, to each one I spot and toe ach likely looking feeding station. This ploy is extremely effective and it may continue to produce well for an hour into the hatch depending on how dense the hatch is. The second trick I pull on these hatch-feeders is to switch to my Flying Beetle at the tail end of the hatch. Many large trout are still on their feeding stations sipping in the last of the duns or spinners but they may want more. And they are not as tough to take now as when the water was carpeted with flies. it seems like they are more willing to swing a little further from their feeding stations to take a size 14 Flying Beetle than they were for a size 24 Trico Spinner. No, I do not feel I am cheating with this devious ploy. During the hatch many of these tough trout finned their noses at my drys on gossamer leaders. Now it is my turn! Each year I find myself going to the Murray's Flying beetle more and more throughout the whole country when the hatches are sparse and it seldom lets me down. Murray’s Flying Beetle™ Tying Procedures Hook: Mustad 94840 or TMC 100, sizes 14,16 Thread: Black 6/0 Prewaxed Monocord Body: Peacock Herl Back and Legs: Black deer hair Wing: Light elk hair Cover the hook shank with thread and coat with cement. Tie in a wooden matchsize clump of black deer hair by the butts on the top of the hook shank so the tips point behind the hook bend. Tie in three strands of peacock herl over the hook. Wind herl from the hook bend to 1/8 inch of hook eye. Tie off and trim excess. Fold deer hair forward over the top of the hook and tie off 1/16 inch behind hook eye. Tie in a small clump of light elk hair over the deer hair. Tie off so the tips of the elk hair extend 3/4 of the length of the fly body. Tie off elk hair and whip finish. Pull 3 strands of deer hair to each side and trim 1/4 inch long for legs. Trim off forward part of elk hair and deer hair at the hook eyes. Apply cement to whip finish. 146 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 147
Forney T
rout streams on the North Shore of Fontana Lake in Swain County have been highly regarded in the fishing community for some time. Perhaps Harry Middleton struck the final nail when he called Hazel Creek “the crown jewel of the Smokies” for fishermen. Maybe the lore just developed over time as dedicated hikers and fishermen left the woods with smiles on their faces and tight lips. Regardless of where all the discussion came from, there is no doubt that of its accuracy. The rivers on the North Shore could hold only 10 fish per stream mile and fishermen would still flock to the area. A weekend spent back in the wilderness of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is an unforgettable experience. With either a ferry ride or a manageable yet agonizing hike, any fisherman could reach the most remote portion of America’s most visited National Park. Something about the Great Smoky Mountains attracts millions of people from all over the world. Over 11 million people visited the park in 2016. These hiking areas and streams allow you to take a step back from the ever-growing National Park tourism industry. A large majority of these visitors never set foot in what could be considered “true nature.” I guarantee any trip into the North Shore of Fontana Lake streams will create genuine and strong connections to the wilderness around you.
Creek
I recommend spending a weekend in the North Shore of Fontana lake to anyone interested in a trip. Luckily, fishermen have even more to look forward to. Though the times have changed since the low-angling days of the 70’s and 80’s, these streams are still fairly unfished. That can be hard to believe considering several of the streams have every fish a southeastern angler could want. Still, every year, only a small percentage of the GSMNP visitors make it up these watersheds. Forney Creek, for example, sits near the heart of Bryson City in Swain County, North Carolina. Bryson City is one of the most visited towns in the Smokies, yet the stream fishes fairly remote. Weekend visitors to Bryson City have the option of camping at one of Forney Creek’s gorgeous backcountry campsites, or staying at a cabin near the area and day-hiking into it. Though I usually opt for the camping experience, the Nantahala Brewing Company in downtown Bryson City is a pretty good reason to stay in town. The creek itself is the spitting image of what a trout fisherman dreams of. The lower portions contain Browns and Rainbows as large as any in the park. Though it is not ordinary, a 20” fish is far from rare in these stretches. Surprisingly enough, the lowest elevation tributary to Forney Creek is full of brook trout. During the Brook Trout Restoration Project enacted by the park a few years ago, Bear Creek was completely repopulated. It is a small stream, mind you, but it is less than two miles away from a portion of stream full of large fish. It is not very often that these two vastly different environments are within a short hike of each other. Forney Creek also experiences the lovely fall phenomena that many North Shore Streams are familiar with. This wonderful time, known as the “Brown run”, involves large lake dwelling or low-elevation river dwelling Brown trout swimming upriver to spawn. This salmon-like activity breeds some very exciting moments. There are times in late October where a fisherman can be on a portion of stream that normally sustains 8”-12” fish but a 19” behemoth shows up. These buttery browns, who normally reside in the bottom two miles of stream, will shoot 10 miles upriver.
152 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
The stream is a wonderful mix of everything we hold dear and its remoteness was almost a stroke of luck. It is hard to remain unbiased as a fisherman when speaking of these topics, but the creation of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park was not one that came without turmoil. During its creation, the term “imminent domain” became a large fixture of the GSMNP. Many streams on the North Shore of Fontana Dam, famously Hazel creek but Forney as well, were the sites of small logging-towns. These people were forced to leave their homes for a meager payment and their homesteads were eventually taken back over by nature. Many areas we see as great campsites now were the focal points of towns not so long ago. After the creation of the park, the government promised to create a road leading to the gravesites and homesteads of these towns as a point of solace for the residents. The road was started, but never finished. The road, once promised to connect inhabitants to the memories of their heritage in these towns is now aptly referred to as the “Road to Nowhere.” When fishing in this area, it is important to think about our contradiction. I understand the story of the people who lived in the city of “Medlin” (a large town in the Hazel Creek watershed). Anytime I think of them being forced to move from their home, I am mortified. It does not even come close to reaching the horrors of the “Trail of Tears,” but it still involves a family leaving their home. A young mother being forced to leave the grave of her own father. A child who had to sacrifice a lifetime of learning his connection to the land around him, thus his connection to those ancestors before him who walked the same path. The event itself was brutal.
Now, selfishly, I am thankful for having access to this pristine wilderness. I think it is fun to find the rubble of the steam engines and chimneys which remain as the last monument to the community that once inhabited the area. I enjoy the fantastic fishing, made possible only by the removal of the people from the area. It is easy to say, now, that these instances were good means to an end. Still, I always hesitate to deem an act so devastating as “good.” For example, I love Forney Creek because of how remote and beautiful it is. For an impact on my life, I wouldn’t want it any other way. Understanding the difficulty of its creation just adds to the contradiction. If you want another reason to visit Forney Creek or any North Shore stream, do so because of what happened. Regardless of what you think about the events surrounding the creation of the park, it happened so that the area could be protected as wilderness. It did not become a town. You cannot Uber to the casino from the river. The area is exactly what Teddy Roosevelt hoped it would be. It is our duty as fishermen to go and experience the area for ourselves. We must take in the entirety of our surroundings. That means go fishing and learn what gems the river has to offer. It also means to go look at the cemeteries found across the mountain side and read the names on the gravestones. Lay your hands on the rubble that await you at the campsites. Greet every passing chimney as an old friend, one who sacrificed something for you a long time ago.
N
26
VIRGINIA
KENTUCKY
Kingspor
TENNESSEE 75
81
Cherokee Lake
Norris Lake
Melton Hill Lake
Greeneville
40
Knoxville Fort Loudon Lake
40
Newport
Sevierville
Lenoir City
Townsend
J08-09
Great Smoky Mtns National Park
Sweetwater
Cosby
Mars Hill
Hardford
Pigeon Forge
Maryville
Loudon
Watts Bar Lake
26
Douglas Lake
Weaverville
Gatlinburg
J10-11
K10-11
Chilhowee
K12-13
L07-08
FontanaL09-10 Dam
L11-12
Bryson City
Sylva Robbinsville
M05-06
Etowah
M07-08
M09-10
M11-12
M13-14
Cullowhee
Cherokee National Forest
Murphy
NORTH CAROLINA
Ducktown
P01-02
Nantahala National Forest Dillard
McCaysville
GEORGIA
P12-13
26
M15-16
N15-16
Franklin
Reliance
TENNESSEE
Fletcher
Pisgah National Forest
L13-14
Tellico Plains
Ashevil
Waynesville
Cherokee
75 Athens
40 Canton
Maggie Valley
Rossman
Highlands
SOUTH CAROLINA
Clayton Blue Ridge
Not To Scale
Blairsville
Greenv
Chattahoochee National Forest
85
Index of Maps Featuring All or Partial Sections of Waters Listed J08-09 Blockhouse and Kinzel Springs USGS Quadrangles Little River downstream of Great Smoky Mountains Nationa Park, Hesse, Cane and Beard Cane Creek. J10-11 Wear Cove and Gatlinburg USGS Quadrangles Little River, West Prong Little Pigeon River and Gatlinburg special permit streams.
81
K10-11 Thunderhead Mountain and Silers Bald USGS Quadrangles Little River, Lynn Camp Prong, Fish Camp Prong, and Hazel, Forney Creek, Bone Valley Creek and Jonas Creeks.
Bristol
rt
K12-13 Clingmans Dome and Smokemont USGS Quadrangles Oconaluftee River, Raven Fork, Bradley Fork and Noland and Deep Creeks. L07-08 Whiteoak Flats and Tapoco USGS Quadrangles Cheoah River and Citico, Jake Best, Doublecamp and Slickrock Creeks.
Johnson City
NORTH CAROLINA
Cherokee National Forest
L09-10 Fontana Dam and Tuskeegee USGS Quadrangles Fontana Lake and Eagle, Hazel, Yellow, Sawyer and Stecoah Creeks. L11-12 Noland Creek and Bryson City USGS Quadrangles Fontana Lake, Tuckasegee River and Forney, Noland and Deep Creeks. L13-14 Whittier and Sylva North USGS Quadrangles Tuckasegee and Oconaluftee Rivers, and Soco, Dicks and Scott Creeks.
Pisgah National Forest
M05-06 Tellico Plains and Bald River Falls USGS Quadrangles Tellico, River and Bald Rivers and Wildcat Creek. M07-08 Big Junction and Santeetlah Creek USGS Quadrangles Tellico and North Rivers and Nabb, Santeetlah Creek, Little Santeetlah, West Buffalo, Little Buffalo Squally and Snowbird Creeks. M09-10 Robbinsville and Hewitt USGS Quadrangles Santeetlah Lake, Nantahala River and Tulula Creek, Long, Mountain Creek, Snowbird, Franks, Berts, Bear and Stecoah Creeks. M11-12 Wesser and Alarka USGS Quadrangles Little Tennessee and Nantahala Rivers and Alarka, Rattlesnake, Tellico, Burningtown, Cowee, Rhinehart and Sugar Cove Creeks.
40
lle
M13-14 Greens Creek and Sylva South USGS Quadrangles Tuckasegee River, Caney Fork and Greens, Savannah, Wayehutta and Cullowhee Creeks. M15-16 Tuckasegee and Sam Knob USGS Quadrangles Upper West Prong Pigeon River, Caney Fork and Moses, Mull, Wolfe and Tanasee Creeks.
Hendersonville
NORTH CAROLINA 85
Spartanburg
N15-16 Big Ridge and Lake Toxaway USGS Quadrangles Tuckasegee and West Fork French Broad Rivers and Tanasee, Robbinsville, Flat and Panthertown Creeks. P01-02 Tennga & Hemp Top USGS Quadrangles Conasauga River, Jacks River and West and South Forks of Jacks River and Mill Creek. P12-13 Rabun Bald and Satolah USGS Quadrangles Chattooga River and West Fork Chattooga River, Walnut Fork and Warwoman, Sarahs and Hoods Creeks.
A 85
ville
26
Š 2016 SAINT CLAIR MAPPING Updated 9/22/2016
Harry Mid a True Southern Angler
by Christopher Seep
160 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
ddleton: I
f you're like me, when not fishing you're probably tying flies, thinking or reading about our sport. Probably no other outdoor pastime generates as much written word as flyfishing. Much of this writing is of the "nuts and bolts" variety, explaining the mechanics of fly-fishing or fly-tying (interesting in its own right), gear reviews, or well-crafted, folksy angling essays a' la John Gierach. But there are a handful of angling authors whose prose perhaps attains the level of "literature," and, were they writing about topics with more general appeal, would be much better known. If you are a contemplative angler, I would certainly, among others, recommend, Thomas McGuane, Christopher Camuto, and Ted Leeson. But most prominent in my personal pantheon of outdoor authors would be the late Harry Middleton. Middleton's prose is a unique alchemy of fantasy and reality, so descriptive and wealthy in metaphor. His credentials as a Southern trout angler are impeccable. If you've had the opportunity to fish the Appalachians, particularly the Smokies, with abundant rainfall creating streams with the clarity of new glass; if you've stalked wild trout there, experienced the pleasant claustrophobia of giant rhododendron, mountain laurel, hemlock and spruce; if you've held a native brookie, resplendent in fall colors, like gemstones on wet velvet, then Middleton's writing will resonate somewhere deep within you. Just who was Harry Middleton? Wikipedia has this to say about him: Harry Middleton was born December 28, 1949 and died July 28, 1993. He had worked as an outdoors columnist for "Southern Living" magazine, prior to which he contributed to a magazine called "Louisiana Life." Middleton was an English major at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and earned a master's degree in Western history at Louisiana State University in 1973. He lived in New Orleans, where he wrote about food, art, music and books for "Figaro," an alternative newspaper. He later moved to Birmingham, Alabama. Middleton published the following books: Rivers of Memory The Earth is Enough On the Spine of Time The Bright Country www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 161
Middleton also published a limited edition book called The Starlight Creek Angling Society. Middleton received the Friends of American Writers Award, the Outdoor Writers Association of America Best Book Award, and the Southeasten Outdoor Press Best Book Award. So we see that Middleton's Southern roots are deep and genuine, indeed. I would recommend you begin your exploration of Harry Middleton's work by reading On the Spine of Time. This story is a paean to the Smoky Mountains, its geography, culture, and most importantly its trout. Middleton introduces the Appalachians through a most compelling mix of fact and fantasy, creating along the way some of the most fantastical, eccentric characters you will ever encounter in print, e.g., Tewksbury, an aging Wall Street financier who makes an annual pilgrimage to the Smokies to fish, seeking mountains and wild trout as antidotes to the complexities of Manhattan living, and who has an ongoing love affair with the beautiful Carlotta, a prostitute. Throughout his narrative, Middletion weaves descriptions of the ecology of the Appalachians and the many threats to the mountains and their trout (still applicable today, twenty-five years on). And suffusing his entire writing is his love for pursuing wild mountain trout, in spite of his self-professed limited angling skills. This is Southern yarn spinning elevated to the highest level. Allow me to let Harry Middleton close by providing a couple of excerpts from On the Spine of Time. "I walked the trail down along Slickrock Creek in a hard rain that tasted cold and clean, innocent, free of toxic metals and the sharp taste of acid. Knowing that the creek made a wide bend ahead and that there was a nice pool above a gallery of stones, I stood in a thick grove of sheltering trees, rigged up the Winston rod, and noticed a tiny pool of rainwater gathering in a green fold of my jacket, the drops of rain as firm and regular as cells. On the creek, the light eddied and spilled and rushed with the water and the water took on the moody character of the light until they mingled so completely that I could no longer separate water from light and light from water. Everything drifted in a warm, 162 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
rainy harmony of motion. I worked the green 4-weight line out through the guides of the willowy rod and tied on a fetching nymph. I cast and watched the small nymph go down in the fast, cold water." "Luckily when I fel, I had the little Winston rod held high overhead in my other hand. Better to risk damage to a thick head full of loose thoughts than a well-made rod, a rod full of luck and loyalty. I had brought only the little R.L. Winston that trip and two reels, some extra leaders and tippets, and one box of flies. Nothing more. The fly fisherman is lucky--all he needs can fit comfortably in his shirt pocket. Indeed, with angling, more pockets usually leads to more gear and more gear certainly leads to more complications and vexations. Fly-fishing has a greatly undeserved reputation as an altogether elitist, snobbish, and expensive form of angling when, actually, just the opposite is true. Indeed, fly-fishing is the sanest, most unassuming, and cheapest form of angling I know of, one allowing a man
to invest his time enjoying the angling life rather than becoming caught up in the fits and starts of fishing. Fly-fishing demands more brains than muscle, a tolerance for the exasperating as well as well as the moving, the beautiful, the profound. And sometimes, whether a cartwheel off a slick rock in a mountain stream is involved or not, there is even the occasional brush with miracles-the unexpected-undiluted and sublime. That's the part I like best: you never know where a trout stream will lead or where a hooked trout might haul you...Fly-fishing has many attributes, but none more pleasing than its ability to find and liberate the young boy that still hides within me and to let that boy live again without embarrassment or regret, sorrow or anguish..." Well said, Harry Middleton!
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 163
"Fishing With Purpose" T-Shirts from
www.patriotthreads.org
ORDER a shirt and 10% goes to Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing
764 Miami Circle, Atlanta, Georgia 30324| Phone: (404) 237-3473
www.thefishhawk.com
Fresh off of the presses: The first book ever dedicated to the Brook Trout of the Southern Appalachian Mountains
NEW FROM JIMMY JACOBS YOU KNOW HIM AS THE AUTHOR OF GUIDEBOOKS TO TROUT FISHING IN THE SOUTHEAST. NOW EXPERIENCE THE OTHER SIDE OF JIMMY JACOBS’ WRITING. THE CERDO GRANDE CONSPIRACY IS A NOVEL THAT TAKES YOU ON A WILD RIDE FROM ATLANTA TO KEY WEST, FLORIDA. The Cerdo Grande Conspiracy was born in a tale related to me by a reserve officer with the Monroe County Police Department that serves the Florida Keys. It revolved around an escaped pig on Stock Island that becomes amorous with a motorcycle in a convenience store parking lot. The owner of the bike and the pig's owner ended up in a fight as the biker attacked the pig. While it sounds surreal, locals have good reason to call the city at the south end of U.S. Highway 1 "Key Weird." Anything is plausible in this slice of paradise. And if it hasn't already happened, it likely will. Admittedly, some liberties have been taken with the original tale, but that's what fiction is all about. From that incident the story of the conspiracy to save the porker took root. Hopefully, you'll find that it grew into an entertaining romp along the southeast coast down to the American tropics. And, should you ever visit there, you just might recognize some of the locales in the tale. Jimmy Jacobs Kindle Edition $4.99 Paperback $9.99 AVAILABLE AT WWW.AMAZON.COM/AUTHOR/JIMMYJACOBS
Dicks Creek’s Surprising Angling Jimmy Jacobs
A waterfall on lower Dicks Creek. Photo by Polly Dean.
168 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
W
hen serious trout fishermen in the Peach State start talking shop, you very rarely hear them mention any of the more popular, regularly stocked streams in the northern mountains. No doubt there are several reasons for that situation. Those waters are very popular and thus always crowded on weekends and even some weekdays. That doesn’t make for a very satisfying day on the water. Additionally, many of the anglers that do show up are bait fishermen. They tend to stake out a pool, sit down and stay there. Common courtesy calls for skipping around them, which leaves much of the creek off limits. Finally, most anglers will point to preferring to look for wild fish, rather than the trout raised in a hatchery. On the other side of this coin, it is worth noting that most of Georgia’s creeks in the mountainous northern third of the state that are heavily stocked, would be natural trout water even without the released fish. Most of these are grandfathered into the stocking program from earlier days when the state was trying to rebuild the ravaged trout fishery of the region. Once a creek was stocked and built up a following of anglers, it makes it tough to suddenly change horses in mid-stream, so to speak. All of which is a good description of the situation on Dicks Creek in Lumpkin County and due north of the old gold rush town of Dahlonega. It has been stocked weekly during the spring through fall for many years, yet it also contains wild trout. Dicks Creek rises in the Blood Mountain Wilderness Area and begins it journey south just below Horsebone Gap on the Appalachian Trail. Along the way it picks up the waters of Lance, Blood Mountain and Miller Creeks, before reaching Dicks Creek Falls and the mouth of Waters Creek near the cascade. The stream then exits the Chestatee Wildlife Management Area to flow across private property until emptying into the Chestatee River. From the mouth of Lance Creek, down to the edge of the WMA, Dicks Creek Road parallels the stream closely.
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 169
170 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Polly Dean targeting a pool on upper Dicks Creek. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs.
Particularly in its lower reaches on public land, Dicks has some very large and deep pools. It also has several marked, primitive campgrounds along its shores. As one might expect where camping is provided and the water is deep, these spots also attract swimmers in the warmer months. The farther up one fishes on Dicks Creek, the more wild trout are encountered. The bulk of these are going to be smaller rainbow in the 6- to 8-inch range, but browns also are present all the way to the headwaters. What sets Dicks apart from other small streams is that some very large trout have been taken from its waters over the years. In fact, for three straight years just after the millennium, rainbows that topped 7 pounds were taken annually from the creek’s public area! One brown reported from Blood Mountain Creek topped 18 inches, despite the small size of that feeder. Obviously, your chances of hooking such a small-stream monster are modest on this creek. But apparently they do show up. One reason could be the presence of Waters Creek in the watershed. That stream was Georgia’s first water managed for trophy trout and it still has those regulations in effect. The big trout could have moved down from it into Dicks Creek. A recent July day of fishing on Dicks Creek reinforced the opinion that the stream has two distinct faces. For the casual camper/angler just wanting to catch a few fish for dinner, the slow, deeper pools held stocker rainbows and browns, many so fresh from the hatchery that they were missing fins rubbed off on walls of the concrete raceways. Those type pools were often at the foot of the many small waterfalls – and some bigger ones – spaces along the flow.
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 171
172 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
Polly Dean casting to a run beneath the rhododendrons. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs
On the other hand, my fishing partner Polly Dean, discovered a pattern for finding the creek’s wild brown trout. She ignored those pools and looked for shallower runs that were draped with rhododendron or other shoreline vegetation. All that was needed was 18 inches to 2 feet of water flowing under these and enough clearance to get a dry fly on their surface. These situations were not the kinds of places the spin and bait anglers usually target. But they were perfect lairs for the brown trout. Her approach when it came to flies also was a bit different. Rather than tossing smaller attractor patterns that often work on mountain streams, she went bigger. A No. 10 grasshopper pattern proved to be the ticket, provoking some savage, splashy rises from the browns. Her tactics worked throughout the stream’s course. As for rainbow trout, the lower portion of the creek down near the mouth of Waters Creek gave up stocked fish in the 8- to 10-inch range, but also had the most anglers. Farther up the stream the rainbows were wild, a bit smaller and far more colorful. In both cases the rainbow were in the pools, but also in pot holes within the shoals. Dicks Creek proved that even the most popular stocked streams can provide angling suited to any taste. Visiting it or similar waters on a week day improves the aesthetics, and with a bit of experimentation, you can find a pattern that will scratch your angling itch.
www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 173
Davy Wot World Class
www.davywotton.com
tton Fly Fishing American International Schools of Fly Fishing Outfitter and Guide Services for the White River region Custom Flies and Fly Fishing DVDs
Office: 870-453-2195 Cell: 870-404-5223
davyfly@ozarkmountains.com
176 l August 2017 l Southern Trout l www.SouthernTrout.com
A
fter four years of hard work, my new book, Arthur Woody and the Legend of the Barefoot Ranger, will be available in early December, just in time for Christmas. The 512page hardback book tells the amazing story of the larger-than-life American hero who dedicated his life to conservation and helping his fellow mountaineers in North Georgia during the very tough times of the early 20th century. Containing over 180 historic blackand-white photographs (most of which have never before been published), the book chronicles the neverbefore-told story of one of America’s most famous forest rangers. Ranger Arthur Woody lived during a very historic time, when massive changes were taking place in the field of conservation across the U.S., especially in the Southeast. Forest and wildlife management were in
their infancy. As a visionary and dedicated forest ranger with the U.S. Forest Service, the “Ranger” pioneered numerous onservation initiatives and helped bring the rural mountains of North Georgia into the 20th century. In addition to his incredible conservation achievements in forestry and wildlife, Arthur Woody and his family dedicated their lives to helping their community during difficult economic times and enriching the lives of his neighbors by building roads, parks, lakes, trails, a school, and by providing food and other resources to those in need during the desperate times of the Great Depression. The book is full of littleknown historic accounts about Arthur Woody’s almost single-handed involvement in bringing deer back to the North Georgia mountains, and introducing
rainbow trout and brown trout to the mountains. He also worked to restore the badly depleted brook trout fishery (Georgia’s only native trout); protected and restored wild turkeys to his beloved Rock Creek Refuge ( later to become Georgia's first wildlife management area, Blue Ridge WMA), and he protected and restored black bear populations. In 1931 Arthur Woody and his dear friend Charlie Elliott were deeply involved in having some 78 miles of the Appalachian Trail built across his ranger district in North Georgia after original plans called for less than 20 miles of the trail to traverse the Georgia mountains. Now, for a limited time, this book can become a valuable addition to your library for the discounted, early-bird price of $35.00, which includes sales tax and postage. This is a 15% savings over the retail price. Get your copy now!
To purchase or inquire about the author or book, please contact the author, Duncan Dobie, at 770 973-8049 or 770 653-9296, or email him at Duncandobie03@comcast.net www.SouthernTrout.com l Southern Trout l September 2017 l 177
A Museum for the Southern Fly Fisherman
The Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians — originally
located in Cherokee, NC — has a new home in neighboring Bryson City where it shares a building with the Bryson City / Swain County Chamber of Commerce. It’s centrally located on the town square across the street from the visitor center. The Museum is open Monday thru Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm and admission is free.
The scope of the museum covers an
area with more than 14,700 miles of accessible trout streams — the nine Southern Appalachian States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama; the Qualla Boundary, home of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; as well as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Bryson City, NC
PHOTO BY JIM HEAFNER
Through exhibits and videos you’ll
learn about legendary “Stream Blazers,” the evolution of rods and reels, basic knots, fly-tying, types of gear, types of gamefish, regional fishing waters, and the history of fly fishing in the Southeast. Whether you are a long-time fly fisherman, or have only attempted or never tried fly fishing, you will find something to enjoy and to learn from in the museum.
FLY FISHING MUSEUM
OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS
Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians 210 Main Street Bryson City, NC 28713 800-867-9241
FlyFishingMuseum.org