Southern Trout Magazine Issue 9

ISSUE #9

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2013

Southern Trout Beau Beasley: Gatlinburg on the Fly! Loryn Patterson: The Art of Adriano Manocchia Don Kirk: Fly Girl of the South

IN ASSOCIATION WITH SOUTHERNTROUT.COM

news Publisher’s Message

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.

obscene numbers of trout in the White, North Fork and Little Red, but also ordered to provide sufficient flow to mitigate the loss of these onetime warm water fisheries.

When world-record trout began to be caught in these waters, and innovators such as Dave Whitlock came into national prominence, trout fishing in Dixie has never been the same.

In the 1990s, many of the older TVA dams had to be repermitted, which when these

tailwater fisheries in recent years to receive renewed operating permits, it was only done because there was a gun to their heads. Much work still needs to be done.

Different ways to remedy low DO problems continue to be researched and perfected. This is wonderful. The stickler is getting optimal minimum flow at places like the South Holston.

This is ironic as this year, heavy rainfall has resulted in too much water rather than too little.

However, studies indicated that some tailwaters like the South Holston could support twice the number of aquatic invertebrates as they currently do if more favorable releases of water were adhered to by TVA. Can you image the fishing with twice the number of trout in that tailwater river?

South ern Trout F i sh i n g Com es of Age

PISGAH FOREST, NC

The future of trout fishing in the South is brighter now than when Izaak Walton wrote his famous book on the subject of fishing. A decent argument can be made that the 1970s were the low point of trout fishing in the South. This is when the Little “T” was destroyed by TVA, and brook trout were on the ropes in the Smokies and many other waters of the South.

This is not to say that there was not a lot of great trout fishing then, much less to imply the sport was under threat of dying off. In fact, the truth is quite the opposite. However, if you chronicle the changes to southern trout fishing since the 1970s, it is as different now in most cases as night and day.

The first big change for the better occurred in northern Arkansas where the “secret” of the great trout fishing in the tailwater rivers was no longer whispered among the local fishermen. Thanks to Congressman Wilbur Mills, the US Army Corp of Engineers not only were forced to stock

GUIDE SERVICES | ONLINE & RETAIL STORE | LESSONS 2 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

dams were built in the 1930s and 1940s was not necessary.

In those days, the TVA crews condemned your land, gave you what they thought it was worth, and if necessary, pulled you out of bed at night so they could burn down your house before flooding your farm.

Dams like Norris, Cherokee and South Holston were built with absolutely no consideration for the health of the tailwater rivers below them. It was pretty much accepted that these rivers were dead zones, acceptable collateral damage that was part of the price for progress. Of course, as it turned out, the tailwater rivers were not dead zones, but due to the low dissolved oxygen (DO) of the river and the fact that completely shutting off water releases as long as TVA wanted was standard operating procedure, most of the tailwater rivers upper reaches of the TVA system offered a pretty mediocre trout habitat.

While it is true that TVA has done a lot of work to improve

One of the brightest stories in modern trout fishing in the South has been the growing implementation of Delay Harvest (DH) waters in states such as North Carolina and Georgia. Changes in regulations have turned streams that were mostly, if not totally, hatchery trout release dependent into great off-season trout fishing where your odds are outstanding for catching big trout. Back in the 1970s, only a handful of crazies like me fished during the winter at places like Doe Creek in Tennessee. Now days though, everyone is fishing 12 months a year, with winter fishing being some of the very best of the year. DH programs are spreading, which is great news and will result in more and more quality fisheries.

While some people do not

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news like it, private water fishing for trout has become quite common and popular among many in the South. Managed on a catch-and-release basis, and more of than not recipients of supplemental feeding, these private waters hold trout that are big enough to bite off a finger. I’m kind of on the fence about these waters. I love being invited to fish them, but insofar as I grew up disliking “no trespassing” signs, I cannot help but feel a little guilty when I am there knowing that not everyone can partake. Of course, if you ask me to tag along to Brigadoon, I will clear my calendar in a New York minute and handle the guilt in my usual fashion.

Brook trout futures are better now in the South than they have been within the living memory of the sport. Efforts to preserve and enhance brook trout fisheries in the South have been largely productive. Accolades certainly

go to hardworking local Trout Unlimited chapters as well as state and federal fishery professionals. It appears that the natives are doing quite well now, in general, and if we do have a sudden shift in the polls, they will do well into the foreseeable future.

The only step backwards has been in the Smokies, and this is a matter of personal opinion on which I do not expect all to agree. I believe that introduction of the otters was a horrific mistake, at least in terms of what makes for good fishing in the eyes of trout fishermen. I also believe that managing the larger streams of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the production of bigger trout as it occurred in the 1960s and 1970s has taken a big step backwards. During the 1960s when I began fly fishing, the minimum size limit on the lower reaches of Little River was 16-inches. Most of the trout we

caught then measured 12- to 14-inches. In the 1970s when the minimum size limit went to 12-inches, most of the trout we caught were 10- to 11-inches.

Now that it is 7-inches, the average size is about that.

Now, I understand the low fertility of these waters and their limits to carry trout. I am also aware of the high mortality of most trout before they are three years old in these waters.

However, unlike many, I fished these waters before they were managed as they are today. I know the difference, and it is pretty significant. I also know that it is not going to change.

All in all though, today’s trout fishing in the South has never had an equal. When asked where the best fishing for big trout is in the country, fly fishing legend Lefty Kreh says, “Go to Tennessee.” Would you ever have imaged hearing such a thing?

- Don Kirk

WHERE FAMILY VACATIONS TURN INTO

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You’ve never been closer.

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Great Fly FishinG The only Fly Fishing Trail in the United States

Nestled in the Blue Ridge, Balsam and Smoky mountains, Jackson Country, NC is a scenic haven for fly fishing. Catch brook, brown and rainbow trout along the beautiful Tuckasegee River. Enjoy mountain resorts, historic inns, B&Bs, or cabins. Call for a new, free Visitors Guide with lodging info and its popular map with directions to 19 waterfalls, 20 hiking trails, rafting, golf, and outdoor fun. Be sure to request the new, free Western NC Fly Fishing Trail Map. The Fly Fishing Trail Map features 15 of the best trout waters in the Great Smoky Mountains.

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THIS ISSUE Southern Trout Fishing Comes of Age departments

182 Gatlinburg on the Fly

3

10-96

features

98-193

Generally Speaking Tennessee Brookies–Lose Some–Win Some

10

Mountain Musings Mountain Treasures Are Wild and Wonderful

16

The Black Wing Olive Chronicles A Tail of Gasoline and Gink Gear Review Search for the Headwaters Trout knife History of Southern Trout Fishing H. Lea and the Morristown Mafia Book Review Andrianno Manochia Guide Profile Bill Stranahan

24

118

30

128

98 104 108

Slowing Down: Artist, Cindy Day Birthplace of Rivers National Monument Secrets of the Barren Fork at Wild Creeks Southern Trout and American Pride Fly Girl of the South

136

Growing Up Trout

140

Caution: Watch Your Step

42

152

Choosing A Productive Fishery

54

160

Brown Trout Time in North Georgia

Fly of the Month The Girdle Bug

58

168

Speckled Trout: Our Very Own Southern Trout Species

Featured Fly Shop South Holston River Fly Shop

62

172

13 Memories

Featured Resort Round Knob Lodge

64

176

Tenkara: On The Rise

70

182

Gatlinburg on the Fly!

Featured Fly Tyer Roger Caylor

191

WNC Fly Fishing Expo

Featured Rod Builder Oyster Fine Bamboo Rods

74

Clinch Root Beer Midge

82

Wanderings of the Creek Freak Go Farther ... and Further

88

New Fly Guy The Fly Rod Bass Rig

94

24

36

64

88

168

193-199

contributors

Field Staff

Southern Trout

On the Cover

Publisher Don Kirk

Craig Haney, Alabama Editor Greg Ward, Tennessee Editor Jimmy Jacobs, Georgia Editor Beau Beasley, Editor-At-Large Larry Rea, Arkansas Editor Bob Borgwat, Columnist

Managing Editor & Advertising Leah Kirk Social Media Manager Loryn Kirk Communications Adam Kirk Creative Director Leslie Kirk Web Assistant Megan Allbert Southern Trout is a publication of Southern Unlimited, LLC. Copyright 2013 Southern Unlimited, LLC. All rights reserved.

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A Good Hiding Place Artwork By Andrianno Manochia

Contributors Bill Bernhardt John Berry Soc Clay Bill Cooper Dave Ezell Ron Gaddy George Grant Matt Green Kevin Howell Roger Lowe

Steve Moore Marc Payne Bob Shanks Jason Sparks Scott Spencer Benjamin VanDevender

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generally speaking

“

We’ve lost seven streams,” Jim Habera said as he began to talk about his latest brook trout research at the July meeting of the Overmountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has been keeping track of brook trout populations since the 1980s. As a University of Tennessee research assistant, Habera joined that effort in the 1990s with his project called The Wild Trout Report that was designed to compile a complete inventory and analysis of the state’s wild rainbow, brown and brook trout populations. Habera joined TWRA after graduation and The Wild Trout Report became an annual Agency research project that included a brook trout genetics and distribution study. Today Habera serves as the TWRA Region IV Cold Water Biologist. “We’ve had distribution losses in thirty-nine streams.” Habera said as he began to break down findings from his

generally speaking nearly completed project. That represents approximately 44 percent of the 95 streams that he’s surveyed so far. “We’ve had gains in 27 streams,” Habera continued. He also noted that almost 30 streams showed no change. The distribution losses add up to about twenty miles of brook trout water since the 1990’s.

“Our gains total up to about 19.4 kilometers, which is about 12 miles,” Habera said as he started to look at the brighter side. That breaks down to an average increase of slightly more than 0.4 mile in the streams where brookies reclaimed territory. “So if you do the math,” Habera said, “the net change is almost 8 miles of streams that we’ve lost since that last round of surveys in the 90s.” All the distribution gains were independent of human efforts.

“Now, if you add in the renovations that we’ve done,” Habera continued, “and

Tennessee Brookies– Lose Some–Win Some GEORGE GRANT that would be Long Branch, which is a Nolichucky tributary in Unicoi County; Little Jacob Creek (a Sullivan County stream flowing into South Holston Lake); and then Sycamore Creek which is down in the Tellico watershed, that’s a big project that resulted in 4 kilometers of new brook trout water which brings us to about a 4-mile loss since the 1990s. That’s not great, but it could have been a lot worse.”

Some of the brook trout that disappeared were located in the Upper Doe River in Carter Count and Little Paint Creek in Greene County.” Those two,” Habera said, “were the ones I would be most concerned about. Those were pretty decent brook trout fisheries.” The other losses were Hodge Branch, a Stoney Creek tributary; Cook, Cherry Flats and Bunton that flow into Laurel

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Fork; and Duck Branch in the Upper Doe Creek watershed. “Not many brook trout in those to begin with,” Habera noted, “those were fairly minor populations in there.”

Brook trout displacement by rainbows only occurred in two of the lost streams, Upper Doe River and Duck Branch.

Habera attributed all the other losses to environmental factors. As he said, “It’s these hot, dry, low water years we’ve had. Some of these are lower elevation streams, and the brook trout were probably marginal there anyway, and now they’re gone.”

The largest territorial gain by an existing brook trout population occurred in Cocke County on the Middle Prong of Gulf Creek in the Sunquist State Forest. Red Fork in Unicoi County also experienced a significant brook

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generally speaking

generally speaking trout expansion. “Those are re-colonizations in the presence of rainbow trout,” Habera noted. ”Both of those streams have rainbows and in the last survey there were no brook trout there. They’ve gained quite a bit of stream length in those two cases.”

The same drought conditions that may have wiped out brookies on some streams could have contributed to the brook trout expansion on others. Habera believes that southern strain brookies have a much longer history of adaptation to the drought cycles than rainbows. He says, over the years he’s found numerous cases of brook trout reclaiming territory from rainbows following a period of drought. One of the best examples of that is on the headwaters of Stoney Creek in Carter County. “Back in 1991 and ’95,” Habera said, “you had three brook trout populations. You had Upper Stoney Creek, a section in North Fork of Stoney, and then another population in Poe Branch. All of these were not connected and, of course, with rainbows grading into these

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(populations) because there are no natural barriers in there.” When Habera surveyed the area last year, he found a previously undocumented population of brookies in nearby Lindy Camp Branch. “This whole thing is really linked back up,” Habera said.

“There’s nothing to stop these fish. There’s no barrier there…Just to sum it all up, back in the 90s we had 2.1 miles of brook trout water in this watershed. Now we’ve got 5.1 miles.”

Habera expects to complete the brook distribution survey this year with data collection from the remaining brook trout streams.

Copyright George Grant 2013

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2013 Southern Council Fly Fishing Fair October 3 - 5, 2013 Mountain Home, Arkansas

http://www.southerncouncilfff.org/fair.php You are cordially invited to attend our 2013 Southern Council Fly Fishing Fair, an annual fall event held in Mountain Home, Arkansas. We are offering free and low-cost workshops to help you expand your knowledge of fly fishing, tying or casting for registrants. Certified casting instructors are available to help with a free one-hour casting session intended to work on a problem area or learn something new. You can sign up for a one-hour fly tying session with one of our featured fly tyers. A youth conclave is held on Saturday for young people under 16 years of age. Advance registration and parent permission is required. There is plenty of lodging in the area. The fly fishing is great during this time of year. Book your guide services early if you need one. Vendors are welcome to set up a booth but are requested to contact our fly fishing fair program director to make arrangements in advance. We will have a great auction opportunity for fly fishers and their spouses to contribute or purchase items.

Non-profit organizations such as Reeling and Healing, Reel Recovery, Casting for Recovery and Project Healing Waters will be present and available for discussing their programs. An outreach luncheon is held for the non-fly fishing participants including a separate special auction. Take a minute or two to explore what is available at the fly fishing fair this year by visiting our Website for more accurate details. And special thanks to Southern Trout Magazine (Photo credits - Larry Murphy and Howard Malpass - FFF Southern Council.) for becoming a new sponsor.

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mountain musings

mountain musings Mountain Treasures Are Wild And Wonderful Soc Clay

meatballs. On a catch-and-release fishing trip, these delicious hot meals produced in Cincinnati are the ideal substitute for fried fish fillets, spuds and pork and beans.

Our lunch break occurred along the upper reaches of the South Branch, downstream from the tiny village of Smoke Hole (so named because of all the moonshining operations that occurred in the many caves in the area during prohibition years). By floating and wading, we were fishing for the tail-walking bronzeback that the stream has developed a strong reputation for producing.

In fact, the South Branch is the home of the state record for the species, a 10 pounder, as well as surrendering a record-setting 16 pound brown trout.

Our guides for the float trip were native West Virginians Jerry Hedrick, his son Josh and John Harper, a former fire-balling hurler for Virginia Military Institute. Chris Gulstad, an executive for PRADCO, one of the

“SNAKE! WATCH OUT!” Chris Gulstad shouted out a warning as I lifted a large flat rock from the gravel bar to use as a cooking platform. “Where?” I asked, frantically looking all around my feet!

“It’s under the rock!” he yelled, pointing to the boulder I had the finger of both my hands underneath! For an old codger, I can move pretty quickly when I have to. In a heartbeat, I dumped the stone and jumped three feet backward at the same time.

“Copperhead,” Jerry Hedrick exclaimed, using a stick to lift the edge of the discarded rock. Sure enough, a small, 14inch copperhead lay coiled, ready to strike.

It was Chris’ warning that saved the fishing trip. The bite of a copperhead, one of two

poisonous snakes found throughout the middle Appalachians, requires immediate medical attention. And since we were deep in the wilds of the Big Bend area of the South Branch of the Potomac, getting to a doctor would have taken some doing.

Jerry quickly dispatched the viper and tossed it into the river. “Fish food,” he shrugged. “And talking about food, what’s the deal on those new-fangled shore lunches you’ve been braggin’ about. I’m hungry,“ he said in his usual get-to-the-point attitude.

The snake incident quickly forgotten, I took some boxes out of the dry bag and handed out five different Heater Meals® to our fishing party. Within minutes, we had steam pouring from containers featuring beef and noodles, chicken and rice, even spaghetti with

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built a motel and several dozen rustic log cabins on the banks of the North Fork of the South Branch. We would soon discover that good trout and bass fishing awaits only a few steps from our cabins.

Surrounding Jerry and Janet’s place are the vast Spruce Knob-Dolly Sods National Wilderness and Recreation area. Noted trout and smallmouth fisheries such as Seneca Creek, North Fork, Shavers Fork, Gandy, Glady, Blackwater River and dozens of smaller streams that contain native trout are located within a short drive of Jerry’s location. Our main target, the South Branch, has long been given up as one of the best smallmouth rivers in eastern America.

Josh, who spent a year in Wyoming training to be a licensed fishing and hunting guide, showed Chris and I some of his favorite fishing spots, starting with the catch-andrelease section of Seneca Creek. Several times each year, the West Virginia division

The historic South Branch of the Potomac River and the vast wilderness areas that comprise much of northeastern West Virginia, provide enormous fishing opportunities along with a multitude of other outdoor recreation. largest fishing lure companies in the world, had accepted my invitation to bring along several new lures for testing.

I’d wanted to fish the streams in these rugged mountains for most of my adult life, but it was Ray Church, an outdoor specialist for the West Virginia Division of Wildlife, who finally made it happen. “Jerry Hedricks’ family can put you on to more fishing opportunities in that region than anyone I know. They’re pure outdoorsmen,” he said.

Jerry and his wife, Janet, own Smoke Hole Caverns, one of the most scenic cave systems in eastern America. And because of tourism popularity in the region, they’ve also

of fish and wildlife stocks trophy size rainbow, browns and brook trout for anglers who enjoy challenging these big fish and know the importance of releasing them unharmed back into the stream. Catching a three- to five-pound trout from these waters is common for accomplished fly fishermen during spring and again in autumn. In addition, tens of thousands of rainbow, brown, brook and golden trout are planted in local streams each year. Many of these fish evade being caught and grow to a good size, affording discriminating anglers the opportunity to challenge a mostly wild fish.

One of my favorite lures for both trout and smallmouth bass is the Teeny Craw made

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mountain musings

mountain musings INFORMATION For guide service and up-close and personal fishing information, lodging and things to do and see when fishing the South Branch of the Potomac, contact Janet, Jerry or Josh Hedrick, Smoke Hole Caverns/Cabins, HC 59 Box 39 Seneca Rocks, WV 26884; ph. (tollfree) 800-828-8478. Check out their website www.smokehole.com For complete travel information in West Virginia, phone (800) CALL WVA. Be sure to ask for the free booklet, West Virginia Fishing Regulations. To view the complete DNR website, log on to www.dnr. state.wv.us. Fishing and hunting license may be obtained on line at www.wvhunt.com

by Rebel. Chris wanted me to give Rebel’s brand new BumbleBug, Big Ant, Crickhopper and Holographic Minnow a try. The latter has a dazzling finish that I would learn attracts fish in most water conditions. I would also discover that PRADCO’s new Yum fish attractant makes a real difference in many of the fishing applications we tested. Different from most attractants, Chris said Yum delivers the same scent that baitfish have when under stress of attack. The stuff causes a feeding frenzy in some applications.

Rebel’s “Critter” lures proved to be productive on both smallies as well as trout.

I especially like them because of their small size. I’ve learned over the years when fishing strange waters, it’s a good bet to scale down in line weight and lures size. Though I prefer a Heddon Tiny Torpedo lure when fishing topwater for smallmouth, I found the Rebel Crickhopper is definitely a top choice when a small, popper type lure is needed, especially in clear water conditions.

I love to fish for native brook trout. These small Artic chars were pushed into this region by the last great ice age. Today, they live in near sterile environments in the Smokehole, Dolly Sods and Spruce Knob highlands.

Because of a lack of food in these small streams, they rarely grow more than a foot in length. However, what they lack in size, they make up for in pure aggressive feeding and fighting behavior.

My friend Dan Gapen, president of the Gapen Company in Minnesota, who I

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believe makes the finest, least-expensive flies I’ve ever used, sent me a selection of Adams, White Millers and other dry fly patterns that our party used to catch skyleaping brookies from every small pool we cast them into. Our technique was to creep up on the target, keeping our profile low.

Because brookies prowl the lower end of holes where all water sources converge to wash in a limited amount of food, the fly should be delivered lightly to the center of the pool, allowing it to drift without line drag to the tail end. This method will almost always garner a strike from these small gamesters.

There are so many fishing treasures in the Monongahela National Forest, it’s difficult to pick one or two on which to focus. We learned that the best float for smallmouth on the South Branch of the Potomac begins at Big Bend Recreation Area near Smoke Hole and extends 19 miles downstream to Petersburg. Inaccessible by roads. Float fishermen must prepare to make the entire float once they commit. These waters require sturdy 16-18 foot canoes and all safety equipment, including PFCs, dry bags (chances are good you’ll get wet!), a complete first-aid kit and extra paddles.

It was on this stretch that our group proved the worth of the new Rebel Holographic Minnow. The finishes on these small, floatingdiving lures create light diffractions much like the natural scale finish of live minnows.

It proved most effective when cast into the shallow along shore then retrieving it erratically past boulders and other fishylooking spots.

I don’t know for sure, but it’s safe to bet the inventor of PRADCO’s “Critter” lures was a purest smallmouth and trout fisherman.

And who knows, he may have gotten his inspiration from fishing the wild and

TROUT FLIES A free catalog and price list of flies and other trout and bass fishing products is available from: The Gapen Company 17910 87th Street Becker, MN 55308 www.gapen.com 877-623-2099

wonderful areas of northeastern West Virginia.

Like myself, anglers searching for stream fishing opportunities that feature both trophy size smallmouth as well as tacklebustin’ browns and rainbows, should write the South Branch of the Potomac system in their have-to-do-book. Hopefully, they won’t wait as long as I did before sampling one of the truly great fishing areas of eastern America.

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mountain musings

THE PRADCO STORY PRADCO was founded in 1960 by George Perrin, an avid angler from Fort Smith, AR. Who believed fishing lures made of plastic would perform better, last longer and be more affordable that traditional wooden lures of the period. His first lure was the now-famous F10 Rebel Minnow®. Since then PRADCO has grown to become the world’s largest manufacturer and marketer of plastic fishing lures and has become a leading manufacturer and marketer of game calls, muzzleloading rifles and hunting and fishing scents. In addition to Rebel, PRADCO’s fishing brands include Heddon, Cotton Cordell, Bomber, Smithwick, Creek Chub, Lazy Ike, Riverside, Excalibur, Arbogast and Yum (scent). PRADCO also markets Silver thread lines, Knight & Hale Game Calls, Carry-Lite Decoys, Summit Tree Stands, Knight Rifles and Code Blue Scents. For complete information about PRADCO brands, log onto www.lurenet.com 20 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

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the black wing olive chronicles

the black wing olive chronicles

W

e all have our weaknesses. You know, where the flesh betrays the mind and soul, and it just seems that there is nothing one can do much about it. Personally, I have a weakness for the skin off of chicken breasts and toy balls. I can honestly say that I have never seen a ball thrown by a human that I did not feel an overwhelming compulsion to fetch. Frankly, I feel fortunate that I only have two such weaknesses, unlike my late friend Blinky who had a fatal fetish for chasing cars.

Daddy Boy is another example of what could otherwise appear to all as a well-adjusted human. Ole Daddy Boy’s life is pock marked with so many weaknesses that one can hardily tell where to start telling about them.

The flaws I have observed over the years in Daddy Boy are especially troubling insofar that he has some sort of hereto undiagnosed learning disability. It’s not so much that Daddy Boy can’t learn or be taught, but rather that he is most consistent in his choices to learn things the “hard way.” For example, he worries himself into a tizzy on how to save a penny here or a penny there.

Most of his fishing buddies are decent enough fellows if you look past their poor grammar, love for cigars and table manners that at best are prime examples of poor table manners. Love for pulling pranks on each other is another share trait they have, which frankly as being a dog, I do not see a lot of lot humor in sticking holes in someone’s waders, or making chili so hot in camp that Beelzebub would whine a little when eating it. For example, not so long ago before making a trip around the Horseshoe on Abrams Creek, Daddy Boy’s good pal Vic, put a baggie full of whole kernel corn in one of the pockets of my master’s fishing vest.

As is the protocol when fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, when a ranger spots Daddy Boy, they all but strip search him for contraband. I had to walk over to a patch of ferns to relieve myself 24 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

when they found the corn Vic and hid away in Daddy Boy’s vest. Vic blamed it on me, which being of good nature, I went along with until later that night after Daddy Boy paid his fine and we road home together.

Olive K. Nynne

Not so long ago, Daddy Boy read an article in a very old Outings Magazine where the writers suggested mixing one part paraffin and one part gasoline to create an inexpensive fly floatant. Never mind that the article predated the discovery of silicon. Of course, Daddy Boy seized on that, a chance to save a buck and not have to worry about losing his Gink every time he stopped to dress a fly or check the status of a flask.

Much to my surprise, the homemade floatant concocted by Mr. Wizard worked quite well.

All he had to do was dip the fly in the little vial, and voila, it was waterproofed and ready to cast. I could tell Daddy Boy was pleased with his rediscovery of ancient fly fishing knowledge as every time he dipped a Thunderhead into the liquid, he sort of chuckled and muttered something to himself.

Of course, he does that a lot when there is no one around him on a stream. It hardily caught my attention when Daddy Boy took a break to fetch out a Churchill which he proceeded to light and began puffing on.

As is our custom when he is in mood for a smoking stick, I relocated upstream from him as I find the stench of drug store cigar to be somewhat vulgar.

This proved to be most prudent on my part.

Once Daddy Boy had collected his thoughts from the mental effort needed to light up, and had drawn on his cigar for a couple of minutes, his attention returned to the task at hand, which was fishing. Stowing his stogie in the corner of his mouth, he put the fly in the other corner of his mouth to free up his hands to remove the top on the vial of gasoline and paraffin. Somewhere between the time when he removed the lid and tilted his head down to observe the operation of this hands, the tip of the lighted cigar came

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the black wing olive chronicles into contact with the rising fumes from the vial. The resulting explosion knocked Daddy Boy backwards off of the boulder where he was sitting and into the creek. It all happened so quickly that no sooner had he ignited himself, but he disappeared in the water under a puff of smoke.

Doing my best to appear more concerned than amused, I eased up on the boulder as he emerged from the beneath the surface.

It was one of those moments when it is good to be but a dog that is incapable of laughter. “Sheeeetttt puppy…. whatta hell just happened?” he sputtered looking at his singed hands and arm that were now devoid of hair. He reminded me a bit of a cheaply done flaus leopard. Daddy Boy’s eyebrows were gone as was about an inch or deep swath of hair on his forehead. Sitting there in a daze, attempting to collect his thoughts, he reminded me of Elmer Fudd, but not so intense, if you know what I mean.

Without being told to, I sauntered downstream to retrieve Daddy Boy’s fly rod, which much to his delight was unscathed by the explosion. This was good, too, as Daddy

Boy has never actually outright owned a fly rod. On this occasion, it was a field test “loaner” from companies like Sage or G. Loomis. I can almost hear the clown now telling the people at Sage that he accidently blew up their fly rod. What he ended up doing later though was almost as funny.

I’m stretched out on the floor of the game room hoping against hope the clown did not take his ice cream bowl to the kitchen before I give it a thorough licking, when one of his nitwit friends calls to see how his buddy’s fishing trip that day had gone. Mind you, I try not to pay attention to his telephone conversations, which frankly rarely make enough sense to warrant the effort to eavesdrop. However, when Daddy Boy said, “Yeah, Olive and I made it back safe and sound,” I perked up, thinking perhaps he was talking about a possible dreaded trip to the vet.

Then I heard him say, and I am quoting Daddy Boy verbatim, “Yeah Vic, the homemade floatant worked great. I made a quart of it. I’ll get you some in a bottle for you to see for yourself.”

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gear review

I

gear review

admit it; “We’ve lost seven streams,” Jim Habera said as he began to talk about his latest brook trout research at the July meeting of the Overmountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

video host was using a small knife that worked like a surgeon’s scalpel. As I watched him take apart a large buck, I could see the knife making difficult cuts easily. This knife, though not designed to dress trout, would be ideal I thought. I ordered one.

I was in my formative years back then, and I fell in love with fresh trout cooked in a remote headwaters’ camp. Now, every time I enjoy a trout cooked in a remote camp alongside a small trickle of bubbling water, I think of my late mentors and the meals we shared.

These were wonderful times.

Search for the Headwaters Trout knife J. Wayne Fears

Last year, while fishing the headwaters of Hazel Creek with Southern Trout cooking editor Craig Haney, I kept a nice rainbow at the end one day and thought it would be good for old times’ sake. Soon after landing the 14-inch dinner, I waded to a flat rock and took out my belt knife to clean the beauty.

The knife blade didn’t slit the belly of the fish cleanly and it was obvious I was trying to make my hunting knife do a job it wasn’t designed to do.

Then I remembered how, long ago, the “Charley’s” always carried a small, thin bladed, razor sharp knife just to do this one chore. I wondered why I didn’t have a knife like that to carry on my headwater trips.

Returning home, the search was on. I looked at knives named “trout knife,” “bird and trout knife,” and I even looked at kitchen paring knives and more. Some were too large, some too thick, some too small for my big hands, and some wouldn’t hold a razor sharp edge. I realized that to find the knife I wanted, I was going to have to think outside the box, as they say.

Purely by accident, I found two knives that answered the call for “headwaters trout knife.” The first one I discovered while watching a video on field dressing a deer without hanging and gutting it. The

Havalon Piranta-Bolt knife

The author with the “supper fish” that started his search for the perfect headwaters trout knife.

(Photo credit: Craig Haney)

30 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

The Havalon Piranta-Bolt arrived, and it is perfect for my headwater trips. It is a uniquely designed folding knife with a rugged non slip surfaced ABS plastic blaze orange 4 1/2-inch handle large enough to fit my hand securely. Being orange I trust I won’t leave it on a rock along some remote creek. It comes with a nylon belt sheath, but the knife handle has a pocket clip on it so that it can ride in my pocket or clipped to my fishing vest. The 2 3/4-inch blade of

the knife is perfect for cleaning trout. It is a lock back design, stainless steel, surgically sharp, thin blade that will slit the belly of a trout with surgical precision, yet it is strong enough to remove gills and heads. When a blade becomes dull, all you have to do is to release the old blade and snap in a new one, quick and easy. The knife is lightweight and a snap to clean. The Piranta-Bolt has a MSRP of $49.99 and it comes with a packet of 12 additional blades. www.havalon.com

www.southerntrout.com | November 2013 | Southern Trout | 31

gear review

gear review

Buck Harvest Series Waterfowler My second headwaters trout knife was discovered when I was talking with my friends at the Buck knife company. They were telling me about a new Harvest Series Waterfowl knife. As we discussed the features of the knife, it suddenly hit me; this was just what I was looking for in a trout knife. The fixed blade, full tang, Buck Waterfowler has a 5-inch linen Micarta non-slip handle. The short thin blade is just 2 1/2-inches long and made from 420HC stainless steel. The drop point blade is razor sharp. Not only would this be an ideal knife to carry in its nylon sheath for cleaning supper, it would also be a good light duty camp knife. It has an overall length

of 7 1/2-inches and a MSRP of 65. www. buckknives.com I know both Charlie’s are looking down and laughing about how long it took this old country boy to realize he needed a special knife just to easily clean streamside supper or breakfast. I have to admit, I enjoyed doing the search. Now I’m off to the mountains to give both knives a good workout.

32 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

There is no meal greater than a “just caught” trout cooked in an old black skillet in a remote headwaters camp.

(Photo credit: Craig Haney) www.southerntrout.com | November 2013 | Southern Trout | 33

Capture Those Special Memories Make A Statement About Your Passion “It is written with insight and authenticity, and gentleness. Buck and Wart is not merely in a historical setting, but it reads like a book that was written at the time and you just found its crisp, yellow pages under a layer of dust and Christmas ornaments.

Some fiction is not worth your time. Some is. Buck and Wart is, and it is as satisfying as a visit from an old friend.”

- The New Pioneer “The reader quickly becomes part of the nostalgic world of these two interesting characters and the cast of characters they associate with in their adventures. Buck & Wart – Backcountry Letters is one of those little fun-to-read E-books that you will want to keep in your Kindle by your easy chair for when you want to escape to a more simple time in life.”

-Southern Trout To purchase the e-book go here: http://amzn.com/B00AW1K5MU For more information on the authors go to: www.jwaynefears.com and www.jcraighaney.com

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history of southern trout fishing

history of southern trout fishing nonetheless I surmised it was worth a shot while I was between wives.

Morristown is a quirky enough place to grow up, beating the hell out of any town its size in North Korea purely in terms of meeting basic creature comforts. Davy Crockett grew up a couple of blocks from my boyhood home— until he had enough of Morristown to run away from home. It is a blue-collar town that once was the recliner-making capital of the world, until companies like Berkline could not find enough unskilled labor willing to (as my dad used to say) eat sawdust and s*** 2x4’s for a dollar an hour. During the 1930s, the town was the Phenix City of east Tennessee.

Outdoor writing in a small community of semi-literate sportsmen is a pseudo occupation, although it is not recognized as work by the so-called established schools of creative writing or journalism. Nash Buckingham, dean of outdoor writing in America and at one time the outdoor editor for the Memphis Commercial Appeal, aptly described the job of a local newspaper outdoor writer

H. Lea and the Morristown Mafia Don Kirk

I

’d like to say that my success as an outdoor writer, relative as it certainly is, was the result of hard work and talent, but that would hardly be the case. What I saw in outdoor writing was a tremendous opportunity to make a living hunting and fishing, without having to keep other people happy so I could receive a monthly paycheck. While I had no formal training as a writer, photographer, public relations specialist, or bookkeeper,

as that of editor of the men’s Sunday social page. It’s honest enough work if you apply the most liberal of definitions to the words “honest” and “work.”

I’ve always contended that Davy Crockett was Morristown’s first native son to become a well-known writer of hunting adventures, but I would be hard pressed to make a believable argument that the many tall tales published under his byline were indeed his

36 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

own writings. This is especially true of the hundreds of stories published a couple of decades after his presumed demise in the Lone Star State. It makes for great bovine scat filler, but I think it unlikely that the legendary hero of the Alamo penned very much in the way of sporting-journalapplicable copy.

Charley Dickey (Chum), a nationally known hunting and fishing writer, did grow up a few miles from Morristown in a place called Bulls Gap, where he was a schoolmate of Archie Campbell, who in the 1960s-1970s appeared in the television show Hee Haw. By the late 1930s, Chum was a young man living in Morristown along with his younger brother, Dave, and his sidekicks, H.Lea Lawrence and Bones Atchley. They grew up in the riotous days of Jim Burke’s control of Morristown, when boys were boys and got away with a lot.

Chum was invited to serve in the military prior to Pearl Harbor. He distinguished himself as a carrierborne bomber pilot on the USS Enterprise, returning to Morristown idolized by his younger brother and Lawrence. By their own accounts, when they were not fishing local rivers, streams, and lakes, they were hunting small game, especially the then-abundant bobwhite quail.

As I presumed he was born to do so, it never occurred to me to ask Chum why he decided to make a career of writing about hunting and fishing. The 1950s was the era of the so-called Big Three magazines: Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, and Sports Afield, all of which predated other vertical sporting publications by two decades and televised outdoor sports by even longer. An extraordinarily articulate old-schooler, Chum combined an

excellent sense of prose with eye for taking photographs. He had few equals during his heyday years of 1950 to 1980. During those days, rarely a month passed that Chum did not have at least one or two articles in the Big Three, plus features in mainstream publications such as Esquire, Playboy, and the Saturday Evening Post.

Inspired or, in Lawrence’s words, “challenged to be better,” by the late 1950s, he and David Dickey were out of the blocks with highly successful rates of acceptance among the Big Three and other magazines. Throughout the 1960s, these three East Tennesseans were dominant forces in the world of outdoor

www.southerntrout.com | November 2013 | Southern Trout | 37

history of southern trout fishing writing. About this time, Chum departed the fold to hook up with Olin Winchester. A little more than a decade later, he became the first executive director of the prestigious National Sports Shooting Foundation.

The trio made frequent visits to Morristown to visit family and old friends. Dusty Houk, a retired outdoor writer for the then defunct Morristown Gazette Mail newspaper, another of my lesser known, but incredibly valuable mentors, Dusty introduced me to the Dickeys and to Lawrence. Whenever any of the expatriates of Morristown arrived back in town, Dusty’s place was the headquarters where smoking cigars, drinking whisky, and playing hearts was everyone’s expected behavior. In fact, it was over a game of hearts and under a haze of Swisher Sweetproduced smoke they schooled me in the ways becoming a fabulously successful outdoor writer.

While never prominent on the national scene, Dusty was the head honcho outdoor writer in Morristown, which was a surprisingly difficult perch to maintain for such an insignificant spot on the map. He told me that during WWII he used Browning Auto Five shotguns to train recruits how to lead the 40mm anti-aircraft guns.

In fact, as I recall, he often dove hunted with his governmentissue Browning. Dusty made a living with the first coin-operated laundromat in Morristown which, as fate would have it, was located on 2nd South Street across from

history of southern trout fishing Pop Gregory’s grill. Right out of Happy Days, it was where our motorcycle gang gathered each morning before school and where 400-pound Pop served French fries for 25 cents a platter, or he would grill you a doughnut for a nickel.

Still in his prime, Dusty was quite robust in those days, and still in a marriage that he said was just an excuse to have a woman drive him crazy. Once, while munching on fries before school, we watched an irate Dusty push a washing machine out the door of his laundromat, and then kick it over sideways in the street, where it caused traffic problems.

Dusty’s Sunday column in the old Morristown Gazette Mail was titled, “Inside on the Outdoors.” It was enormously popular, and probably the most widely-read regular entry in that newspaper which, even in those days, still used a hot lead printing press. After reading that newspaper, you needed a thorough soap and water cleanup to get the black ink off your hands.

38 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

Dusty also introduced me to Lawrence and later to David Dickey who I was only around a couple of times. Lawrence was constantly flamboyant to the end while, as best I could tell, David Dickey was pretty much the antithesis.

David launched his career as a talented photographer and contributor to sporting journals, but, like I did later in my career, he chose to ghostwrite and do similar, lower profile scribe work, which produces a more reliable income than even the

most successful freelance writers can ever hope to achieve. The last time I saw him was at Dusty’s funeral, where he sat with Lawrence, who delighted in taunting the Baptist preacher delivering the eulogy. They were mischievous, 70-year-old boys.

Lawrence’s writing career, like his mentor’s, began with loads of “where to, how to” articles, and for many years they were his forte. Late in his career he undertook what he referred to as serious writing, authoring A Hemingway Odyssey: Special Places in His Life and Prowling Papa’s Waters: A Hemingway Odyssey, with the latter book featuring a foreword by his friend, baseball great Ted C. Williams. A talented wordsmith and an even more gifted conversationalist, who seemed to know everyone in the world, Lawrence was often defined by his mood swings.

When in a friendly mood, he was unsurpassed company. When in one of his negative moods, he was a real shrew.

When it came to use of profanity, Lawrence could string together cuss words better than Picasso painted cubes. He told me that his father, who was a physician in Morristown, had told him that were he to learn all of the words in the dictionary, he could have a license to use profanity as he saw fit…And did he ever. The curious part about Lawrence’s use of profanity was that he was not vulgar sounding, but was almost poetic, if you can believe that is possible.

Lawrence did me many wonderful favors.

At the 1982 SHOT Show in Atlanta, he escorted me around the packed convention center, introducing me to his contacts with Ruger, Browning, Remington, Winchester, Leopold, and Weatherby. Lawrence knew them all and, when introducing me, would say, “He’s solid. Give him whatever he needs.” These were good people to know. Within a year I had so many guns in my office (an enclosed, one-car garage) that the following year Lawrence made a point of introducing me to all of the makers of home safes. Insofar as I was pretty much amoral in those days, I acted like a starving kid in a candy shop, taking whatever I was offered. Trust me; it’s not that way these days—no, no, no.

Lawrence often visited Morristown, a place he said he hated for reasons I never really understood until having moved from there and been gone a decade myself. We always made a fishing trip or two to the Nolichucky River for smallmouth bass, and of course to the Smokies for trout. During the 1980s we traveled together a lot. We made multiple trips together to Canada to hunt caribou, bear and moose, and made a handful of trips to Africa.

He would take pictures of me with what I killed or caught, and of course I did the same for him. Lawrence was a master at arranging trips that were not only free, but where he would arrange for us to be paid well while there.

It was a talent I tried to learn, and I did save for the latter part of the equation.

www.southerntrout.com | November 2013 | Southern Trout | 39

history of southern trout fishing THE BEST TROUT FISHING RESORT ON THE

LITTLE RED RIVER FOR NEARLY 50 Y EA R S All cabin and motel units completely remodeled. All new, expanded Pot O’ Gold Restaurant, office and retail store complete with apparel and fishing supplies.

We were in Arkansas at Heber Spring on the Little Red River when we got into it late one night. Lawrence was an on-again, off-again drinker; tolerable when sober, but a bit abrasive when “likkered” up.

The latter prevailed that night, and to be honest, I think I might have been as imbibed as he was. Well, to make a long story short, we went off the back of the dock into the river where both of us nearly drown until we stood up to discover the water was only a couple of feet deep. Lawrence accused me of trying to Baptist him, and thereafter, we never traveled together again.

A short time later he wrote Fly Fisherman’s Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains, which is an excellent guidebook to the waters of the national park. I got wind of his project, and quickly turned out my fly fishing guide to the Smokies that beat his book to the

shelves by several months.

The picture of me was actually taken by Lawrence, a dig on my part if I am to be honest about it all. Lawrence took it like I thought he would, and cursed me out at a SEOPA meeting with a couple of names I had to ask Soc Clay what they meant.

Lawrence died in the late 1990s in Nashville while living with his son David, who is about my age. It was a real privilege to know H. Lea, if for no other reason than to hear his colorful rants.

40 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

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www.southerntrout.com | November 2013 | Southern Trout | 41

book review

H

aving had an artistic eye from a young age, Adriano Manocchia, New York native, has immersed himself in art in many forms, and he has managed to turn his passion for the arts and wildlife into a very successful career. Born in 1951, Manocchia lived in New York state throughout his life and even through college where he received a BA for literature from Pace University while working in photo-journalism. After college, Manocchia began running his own photo/ films agency, work which took him abroad and pulled him across various landscapes and scenery. In the early 80s, painting

book review

was a hobby for Manocchia. However, in 1984 Manocchia took on the challenge of becoming a full-time artist. Over the last three decades, Manocchia’s art has not only stunned audiences and artists alike, but has created an amazing and inspiring collection of his own artwork that has been turned into Water, Sky & Time, a book featuring over 150 pictures and corresponding text written by Manocchia’s wife, Teresa. Teresa’s comments on the artwork helps the reader not only see the beauty of he captured scene, but also understand what the artist feels and sees when he looks at his own work.

42 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

At first glance, someone may see a beautiful coffee table art book with a cover that will capture attention one could assume that this book is just another collection of art that you may or may not understand. This, however, could not be further from the truth. Often an artist will turn their work into a scavenger hunt of color, symbolism, metaphor, and meaning, and while this is interesting and is not a bad thing, it can often leave the artist feeling misunderstood and the audience

feeling confused. Manocchia, however, manages to not manipulate the vision he has for a painting, not hide things and add extra meaning, and instead lets the landscape, the animals, the objects featured speak for themselves. Perhaps Manocchia instead wants each person looking at his work to feel a certain way, feel something that is unique to each person. Manocchia enhances what everyone can see looking out at a vast landscape, but what makes it so

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book review

special is that through the carefully planned brushstrokes, and through the delicate use of color, he shows the audience what everyone sees, but through a special filter.

Water, Sky & Time is more than just a collection of an artist’s life, a collection of landscapes, a collection of canvases covered in paint. Manocchia’s book is a collection of dreams, a collection of sunsets blanketing mountains for the millionth time, of water

book review

becoming still at the end of a summer day when the world is winding down and the chirping of birds turns into the chirping of crickets. You can see the lakes becoming orange and burgundy as the clouds that carry an evening storm reflect the sleeping sun’s final rays as it slumbers behind the seemingly endless mountain range. The audience can not only see the beauty of nature from page to page, but also feel the emotion trapped and forever preserved in

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the textured paint that seems to flow with the babbling brook. “He takes steps back,” Teresa says about her husband in reference to his painting “First Light, First Cast…not really looking at the painting anymore, but searching for the emotions he felt that morning. Unless he can feel them again while looking at the scene he’s painted, he will never be satisfied with his work.”

sense to see these places before we are gone. We can see familiar emotions in the pictures like the relationship between the hunter and his canine companion or the serenity associated with the wait for the first bite. These feelings are not exclusive to Manocchia’s landscapes, but they are applied to the ma jesty and untouched beauty in the paintings of his animals.

Manocchia’s paintings capture not only the beauty and uncontrollable elements in nature, but also the emotion in the life that inhabits it. Birds stalking their prey, and a fish gliding effortlessly through the fresh and clear waters. Geese can be seen gliding through the pink sky and over the trees that become orange with the dusting of autumn’s first chill. Captured in his work are emotions we have never felt and only dream of experiencing. The feelings that we associate with his painted landscapes quickly influence our bucket lists because it suddenly makes

One of the more striking paintings Yellowstone Mist captures an unspeakable beauty. The lifting fog reveals a buck standing proud and alert in the morning’s wake. The symphonic hum of horns seems to play distantly as your mind glorifies the natural scene with the associated sound of such a ma jestic instrument. The proud trumpets and French horns you imagine make the morning sky glow, and the beauty of such a serene vision leaves you feeling like you’ve been there before. It makes you feel like you stood in the field and captured this

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book review

book review

memory yourself. The painting is dreamlike in that only till now you have seen this in your sleep; its elusiveness succeeding until now, Now you gaze at it with familiarity, with nostalgia, because Manocchia has taken your vision—his vision—and captured it with a delicate intensity. Not only does he capture the dramatic scenes, but also the familiar ones: the days spent covered in mud because of a misstep on the bank, that one trip with Dad in the summer when the sandwiches spoiled before you could eat them. Manocchia pulls us to our limits 46 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

creatively and through looking at his work, we are entranced and challenged to find ourselves in his work. Manocchia manages to capture the rainbow of colors, tints, and shadows we see only through the eyes of an artist.

“The last few months have made me look at my work and my career more carefully.”

Manocchia tells Southern Trout, “The book marks 30 years of my painting. And as I look at the book it makes me think of where I want to go with my work over the next stage

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book review

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book review

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book review

of my career. It has been interesting to see the body of work in print in a book. I see a development that was not intentional or with any specific direction, but that slowly evolved over the years. I also notice from collectors how surprised they are to see certain paintings and subjects that they had never seen or were not familiar with.

Over the years, many of the oils were sold to private collectors through the galleries that represented my work and were not necessarily viewed by many people. This gives collectors a chance to see a somewhat larger selection for the first time.”

Manocchia’s artwork has won many awards and has been featured in many galleries and shows across the United States from Trailside Galleries in Jackson, Wyoming to The Sporting Gallery in Middleburg, Virginia. Manocchia’s mailing address is 87 Whitecreek Shunpike Road Cambridge, NY 12816 and to view his artwork and order his book Water, Sky & Time visit www.adrianoart.com . Manocchia can be reached by phone at 1-518-677-5744 or by email at info@ adriano-art.com.

50 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

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O

n a bend in the Tuckasegee River sits this elegant Smoky Mountain bed and breakfast lodge built with 100 year old hand-hewn logs taken from old barns and cabins in the Smoky Mountains region. The River Lodge is rustic elegance at its best. From the massive stone fireplace to the handmade twig beds to the gourmet breakfasts, everything about The River Lodge is a delight to the senses. This is mountain lodging that's away from town but close to everything that's great about Western North Carolina — the mountains, streams, waterfalls, trails and the never-ending panorama of spectacular scenery.

52 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

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guide profile

guide profile

O

ffering high quality guided fly fishing, Southeastern Anglers is a professional fly-fishing outfitter, based out of Tennessee and Georgia, that guides on various surrounding waters. “Our goal has always been to be the best on the river.”

Bill Stranahan, guide at Southeastern Anglers, tells Southern Trout Magazine, “Being able to catch trout with a fly rod is not enough. A great guide puts his client’s safety and well-being first, and then works to put them in the best fishing locations and situations. A great guide is friendly and will teach, listen, and work with you to make your fishing experience the best it can be. We’ve assembled a team of guides that have many years of fishing experience and over 60 years of combined experience in the fly-fishing guide service industry.”

Stranahan began guiding years ago when approached by Hiwassee Outfitters and asked if he could help them on half-day trips that were considered overflow on a busy weekend. This was around 2004, so it has been a while since Stranahan began his guiding career. However, he is currently a guide for the well-known guiding service Southeastern Anglers. “It’s my job to work with people on the water,” Stranahan says, “I enjoy working with new anglers. They possess a willingness to learn which is a key element for anyone when they are trying to learn a new skill.”

Southeastern Anglers guides strictly on public waters versus private waters for stocked trout, their most popular trip being to the Hiwassee River in Reliance, Tennessee.

“The Hiwassee has year-round dry fly fishing on a very large western style river with lots of whitewater. It’s hard to find a prettier river in the southeast.” While focusing on the TVA tail waters in their area, Southeastern Anglers also operates under special use permits on the Clinch River and the Holston River in Knoxville Tennessee; South Holston River in Bluff City, Tennessee; Watauga River

in Elizabethton, Tennessee; Cumberland River in Burksville, Kentucky; and Toccoa River in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Other than a fishing license, everything needed for a day on the water is provided including the use of any tackle, flies, or waders which comes at no extra cost. Also included in half and full day guiding trips is transportation to and from the fishing site, as well as snacks and drinks. A full lunch is also included with the full day trip.

Guiding trips have become much more popular in recent years, and Southeastern Angler is no exception to the sudden influx of fly fishermen and women looking for guided trips. “Most people work so much that when they have a little time off they want to make the most of it.” Stranahan explains, “Hiring a guide for a day of fishing is probably the best way to make your day. All you have to do is show up and we take care of everything else…except catching the fish. We let our clients do that.”

To book a trip with Southeastern Angler, Stranahan advises customers to call ahead of time. “There are a lot of things that we as guides have no control over, but we will do everything possible to make your day a success.”

54 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

Bill Stranahan - Southeastern Anglers If you have any questions or would like to book a trip on one of the many waters with Stranahan or any of the other guides at Southeastern Anglers, you can reach them at 1-866-558-7688 or you can find more information on their website at www. southeasternanglers.com.

www.southerntrout.com | November 2013 | Southern Trout | 55

“If you like to fish, you’re gonna love this challenge!”

- Reelin’ In The Prizes Host and TV Personality, O’Neill Williams

THE PRIZES Georgia State Parks offer some of the best fishing around.

Whether you’re casting for Bass, Trout or Catfish, you could reel in more than just a fish! We’re giving away Bass Pro Shop gift certificates, Shakespeare Fishing Gear and -- whether you’re trying to catch dinner or catch and release, you’ll appreciate our grand prize -- a Big Green Egg Grill!

It’s the Reelin’ In The Prizes Fishing Challenge, Oct. 1 Dec. 1, 2013 at participating Georgia State Parks.

Of course, catching the fish is the hard part. Getting hold of a 3-day fishing license (required in all Georgia State Parks) is easy! Just go to georgiawildlife.com/licensespermits-passes.

And you won’t have to go far to find a fishing spot, either. The challenge is being hosted in over 38 parks across the state with a wide range of environments including warm water streams and rivers, small and large lakes, reservoirs... even salt water fishing. Many of our parks even offer boat mEasurING sIGN rentals and a Fishing Tackle

Loaner Program, but it’s best to call ahead and inquire with your park destination.

THE PRIZES FISHING CHALLENGE

1 2 3

It’s your chance to win Bass Pro Shop certificates, Shakespeare fishing gear and one of three Big Green Eggs®!

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Place mouth of fish here and photograph your catch. To enter, email your photo to:

FishingChallenge @gastateparks.org

along with all your contact information.

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10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Entering the challenge is easy too!

Just bring your catch to a Reelin’ In The Prizes measuring sign, which you’ll find prominently displayed by shorelines, docks, piers, boat ramps, O’Neill Williams etc. Take a photo of your catch next to the sign and email it to FishingChallenge@gastateparks.org* Include all your contact information and you could hook yourself one heck of a prize!

There are separate prizes for Bass, Trout & Catfish: FirsT plaCe: Big Green egg Grill seCond plaCe: $200 Bass pro shop gift certificate Third plaCe: Catch More Fishing Combo rod & reel package by shakespeare & a $50 Bass pro shop gift certificate And every photo received will be entered into a random drawing to win a fishing charter with a 2-night cottage stay! There are so many ways to win!

First- and second-place winners will enjoy a celebration dinner hosted in a park by O’Neill Williams and prepared by celebrity chef, Drew Belline of Cafe 246.

For more information about the challenge and fishing in Georgia State Parks, go to georgiastateparks.org/ fishingchallenge. For more information about fishing resources in the state of Georgia, visit georgiawildlife.com/fishing/angler-resources.

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FISHING CHALLENGE

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Hosted by O’Neill Williams

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 Parks with fishing tackle loaner Program

No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. One photo entry per day per entrant. Three photograph winners per category will be selected at the sole discretion of Georgia DNR. Fishing Charter/Cottage winner will be selected by automated, random drawing. Contest ends Dec. 1, 2013. Winners will be selected Dec. 2, 2013 and notified by email and contact information provided. Winners have 15 days to respond by calling 770-975-4025. First- and second-place winners will be notified of time and date of celebration dinner with O’Neill Williams and will appear on one of his programs. For a complete set of rules and regulations, visit georgiastateparks.org/fishing challenge.

* Or mail photo to: Fishing Challenge c/o Marketing, 781 Red Top Mtn. Rd., SE, Cartersville, GA 30121

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Your chance to win gift certificates, fishing gear and one of three Big Green Eggs®!

32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 georgiawildlife.com

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gastateparks.org

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THE PRIZES FISHING CHALLENGE

56 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

www.southerntrout.com | November 2013 | Southern Trout | 57

fly of the month

fly of the month The Girdle Bug Roger Lowe

B

eing a fly tyer for over forty years, I’ve seen lots of fly patterns come and go. Many older patterns, such as the Royal Wulff, Prince nymphs, Adams, etc., are staples in all anglers’ fly boxes, and they continue to produce fish every day. For those of us who have chosen to spend countless hours at the vise, we try to tie our very best imitation of a variety of aquatic insects that hatch from our rivers and streams at different times of the year. Every now and then, patterns come along that really don’t look like an exact insect or bug. But for some reason, these patterns seem to drive fish crazy when fished in certain ways and in different water conditions.

The Girdle Bug is one of those patterns. The construction of this fly is somewhat simple, but it can be a little tricky when setting the legs onto the hook when tied. It is tied on a longer shank nymph hook (mostly on size 12, 10, 8, hooks), and the body is tied out of black chenille with the legs being made out of pale yellow rubber.

Often, the Girdle Bug is weighted with lead wire onto the hook, so it can be drifted in deeper pools and runs.

The Girdle Bug has been around for years in the western states, but most always it is tied with white rubber legs and different body colors. The black body with yellow legs is a local version first tied by friends of mine who grew up on the Tuckuckasegee River in western North Carolina. They called it the

“Black Bug.” Most people fish it upstream by letting it drift back to

Late summer and fall are best seasons to use this fly.

I think it is probably taken for a terrestrial or some caterpillar or worm that falls from the trees during this season.

Go with a shorter leader, about 7 ft., and keep at about a 4x tippet.

Roger’s book, Roger Lowe’s Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains is a fly tying and identification guide. He also has a tying video, Smoky Mountain Fly Patterns it shows how to tie a lot of the Smoky Mountain Patterns. And he has a hatch book, Smoky Mountain Fly Patterns. It is a guide so you will know which patterns to use each month. It is available at Brookings’ Cashiers fly shop and at other full service fly shops in the region.

Your really gonna like this crazy looking fish catching pattern!

them like a standard nymph. With no weight, it is very visible, almost like a dry fly that drifts just a few inches under the water.

My favorite technique is to fish the Girdle Bug downstream by kind of stripping it back upstream like a streamer on the surface, or by just under the surface with no weight.

This can create a killer strike and hook you up on a bigger fish if they are there.

Recipe Hook: Mustad 3906B, hook sizes 8 to 12 Thread: Orange 6/0 Tail: Rubber Barred Hackle Body: Orange varigated chenille Legs: Rubber barred hackle Antennae: Rubber barred hackle

58 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

Just a 3-hour drive from Atlanta!

Guides for first-time to experienced anglers -and everyone in between.

Destinations include high elevation mountain streams,

scenic tailwaters, private water for trophy trout, and intense summer-time smallmouth bass trips. We take several backcountry trips a year to the remote and scenic Hazel Creek in GSMNP, which is an experience every Southern fly fisher should try at least once. Brookings’ also hosts some incredible destination trips to places like Patagonia (Argentina), Belize and Montana. We are simply eaten up with fishing and will go anywhere to find the best for our clients.

Lodging | Fly Fishing Guide Trips | Angling Equipment Cigars | Apparel | Books | DVDs 828-743-3768 | info@brookingsonline.com BrookingsOnline.com

Brooking’s is licensed to guide in Nantahala and Pigsah National Forests, Panthertown Valley, as well as Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

www.southerntrout.com | November 2013 | Southern Trout | 59

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uests breathe easier here, and it isn’t just the mountain air. It’s the entire Eseeola experience: award-winning cuisine, exceptional service, and of course, first-rate fly fishing on the Linville River.

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60 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

www.southerntrout.com | November 2013 | Southern Trout | 61

featured fly shop South Holston River FlyFishing Shop

W

hile it is common for the inexperienced to take on a project they are not prepared for, often times those experienced in a particular trade or activity take a chance and come out on the other side unscathed. This would be the case with the father son duo, Rod and Matt Champion, who opened a fly shop in Kings Mountain North Carolina twelve years ago before moving it 0.3 miles away from the South Holston River. “Matt and I have fished the South Holston and Watauga rivers ever since Matt was a young boy,” Rob tells Southern Trout. “The first time I came to the South Holston River, there was a good Sulphur hatch. I was hooked from then on.”

As a driving force behind the shop, the love of fishing is strong between this father and

featured fly shop Bristol, Tennessee

son duo. “That enthusiasm is contagious,” Champion says. “It is natural to share what you know with others.” That is exactly what these two men do by running their full service fly shop. Guiding about 400-500 trips on the South Holston River, it is very important to the overall health of the shop.

That being said, the shop’s guide business is also a good one. “We only use grown men who know what they are doing.” Says Champion, “They are all professional people who themselves are very good fishermen.

Each one is proficient at handling a drift boat which we use for all our float fishing.”

Aside from the provided guide services and products available, fly tying plays a large role in the business of South Holston River Fly Shop. “We are all big fly tyers, and as you know, fly tyers love to show others their

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featured fly shop craft. Our store employees sit at a vise at the store and tie flies all day long, every day. So, a customer can sit there and watch them tie good local patterns.” Not only are customers able to watch the flies being created, the tyers in the shop are more than happy to help anyone with questions at a moment’s notice. Through the winter months South Holston River Fly Shop offers fly tying classes for anyone interested in learning more about the art.

“We are lucky because we are a destination shop,” Rob explains. “People come here from all over the country to fish. We supply a ton of information through our website to help people and share what we know on the phone and in person. Our shop is a laid back environment. We answer questions

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and actually enjoy and appreciate our customers. It is a friendly shop that is well stocked with all you will need to fish the South Holston River. We fish and guide the river daily, so we know what is going on at the river. Our information is first-hand knowledge.”

Product lines that can be found in the South Holston River Fly Shop include a full line of Simms products, Umpqua, Rio, Trout Hunter, Lamson reels, St. Croix and Echo fly rods, plus Chota boots, Redington waders and many more. South Holston River Fly Shop can be found at 608 Emmett Rd. Bristol, Tennessee 37620. You can contact Rob and Matt in person or on the phone at 423-8782822.

Blend in.

Fish on.

FOR THE READERS SOUTHERN TROUT MAGAZINE

“My choice for fly fishing the Clinch is the 580G Lens” - C.S. Madison (STM Contributor)

ANY PAIR OF COSTA DEL MA R SUNGLASSES

photo courtesy of Beau Beasley

Knoxville, TN 865/922-EYES

64 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

www.chotaoutdoorgear.com 877-462-4682 www.southerntrout.com | November 2013 | Southern Trout | 65

Round Knob Lodge Asheville, North Carolina

I 66 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

f you are looking for a unique getaway in the middle of some of the best fly fishing for trout in the South, then Round Knob Lodge is a perfect fit for you.

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featured lodge The estate is located in Old Fort, only 40 minutes from Asheville, NC. It encompasses 20 acres of beautiful private land including an active trout stream, two small stocked ponds, dozens of quiet places to sit and reflect, a beautifully renovated historic lodge with space for everyone, a wonderful large game/recreation room with flat screens, several huge fireplaces throughout, over 1000 sq. feet of outdoor living space, and so much more.

Built by Southern Railway executives in the early 1930s as a retreat, Round Knob Lodge has been expanded and remodeled to provide modern conveniences while maintaining the relaxed feel of a rustic retreat. Train enthusiasts will enjoy the many antique railroad items sprinkled throughout the lodge. The lodge is also adjacent to Andrew’s Geyser with open views of the geyser directly out of the large living room windows.

Andrew’s Geyser is a man-made fountain named for Colonel Alexander Boyd Andrews, a North Carolina native who was the VicePresident of the Southern Railway Company.

He was one of the men responsible for the construction of the railroad between Old Fort and Asheville in the late 19th century. The fountain was constructed in 1885 with a dual purpose: it was a feature of the Round Knob Hotel and a tribute to the approximately 120 men who died building the railroad through this particularly treacherous stretch of land that culminates with the crossing of the Eastern Continental Divide through the Swannanoa Tunnel.

Great fly fishing is at your fingertips at Round Knob Lodge. The private waters of Mill Creek are chocked full of 10- to 15-inch rainbow trout, while the lodge’s two ponds are regularly stocked to ensure great fishing all of the time. These waters are perfect for getting away from the crowds or for introducing someone to fly fishing. When you have had all of the fishing you want, the

featured lodge lodge is a treat to explore and enjoy.

The main level of the lodge has a great room with a magnificent fireplace and plenty of space to spread out. This large room and adjacent deck both have approximately 1000 square feet each which provide great flexibility for retreats, receptions, and family gatherings. A newly remodeled kitchen provides modern facilities with a seating capacity for over 25 people.

The game room is directly below the great room and is accessed by a wonderful spiral staircase. It has a pool table, foosball table, dart board, large card/game table, a widescreen 60 inch TV, and a great bar with ice machine.

Accommodations at Round Knob Lodge were designed with the fly fisherman in mind, but it is also quite spouse friendly. The lodge has six bedrooms and 5 1/2 baths.

The main floor has three bedrooms: the Master’s Suite has a king bed and full bath, the Captain’s Quarters has a king bed and an attached Jack and Jill with a full bath that is shared with the First Mates’ Cabin which has two single beds. The lower level of the lodge has three bedrooms: the Charleston Room has a queen bed and attached full bath, the Tackle Box Room has a queen bed and attached full bath that is shared with the Bunk House Bedroom which has 5 twin beds. There is an additional split full bath (shower behind one door and toilet/sink behind an adjacent door) off of the lower hall.

68 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

Round Knob Lodge is a classy getaway where you can take the entire family and know there is plenty to keep them busy. A number of great trout streams are accessible within a few miles of the lodge if you need

to escape the family. For more information, contact Greybeard Rentals at info@ greybeardrealty.com and 888-884-9483, or visit www.greybeardrentals.com

www.southerntrout.com | November 2013 | Southern Trout | 69

featured fly tyer

featured fly tyer

T

he Southern Appalachian Mountains has a rich fly fishing history. In recent years, a number of people have worked very hard to help preserve what is known about this tradition, especially what is remembered about the old-time fly patterns used to catch trout many years ago. Some of the best known tyers in the region, such as Roger Lowe and Kevin Howell, grew up knee deep on trout streams and were mentored from youth on how to tie flies. A few other notable modern southern fly tyers had to chart their own course from scratch. Well-known southern fly-tying expert Roger Caylor is one of those self-starting individuals.

Roger grew up in a rural area of the Florida panhandle during the 1960s and 70s. Unlike now, in those days, he says, you could fish all day on the local creeks and never see another fisherman. His youthful summers were spent wading and fishing for bass and bream. He, along with some friends, carried cane poles and Zebco 33s. Fly fishing and any sort of catch-and-release philosophy was unknown to him until the late 1980s.

“I was working in the mountains around Boone, NC in 1979 when I met and married my wife,” says Roger.

“We built a house in Watauga County near, what is now, the Elk Knob State Park. I tried my hand at fishing on nearby Meat Camp Creek a couple of times, but I did not have any luck. One day at the local library, I picked up a Fly Fisherman Magazine and began reading about trout fishing with a fly rod. A few days later I had a rod, line, and some flies, and I tried the Meat Camp Creek again. On my first cast, I sank the fly hook past the barb in my right ear lobe. This was in the late eighties when it was still considered sissy for men to wear earrings, so I went straight home before anyone saw me.”

Roger persisted in his efforts to become an accomplished fly fisherman. A couple 70 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

of years later in 1990, he enrolled in a fly tying class with Al Hines, the owner of High Country Flyfishing in Foscoe, NC. After a few lessons, Roger says, he remembers Al commenting to him, “I think you’ve found your calling.” With encouragement from Al, Roger began tying some flies and has continued to tie for Al’s shop through several successive owners.

Roger Caylor Leah Kirk

The shop is now called Foscoe Fishing Company, and, of course, they still carry a variety of flies tied by Roger Caylor. His efforts at the vise have been so popular and sought for by fly fishermen that Roger has added a few other locations in Western North Carolina. These locations include Hughes Store in Linville, Wilson Creek Outfitters in Morganton, and River’s Edge Outfitters in Cherokee and Spruce Pine.

He also ties some flies for Watauga River Anglers in Boone, Chattooga River Fly Shop in South Carolina, and a few other fly shops for whom he does custom tying orders from time to time. A prolific and talented tyer, Roger also has his own website where anglers can order them directly from him at www.caylorcustomflies.com.

CDC

Sparkle Pupa

Smoky Mountain Caddis

“Even though I specialize in southern Appalachian flies, many of my retail customers are from the upper mid-Atlantic states,” says Roger. “This business is the result of attending fly-fishing shows in those areas for over 20 years. When I first started attending the shows, I was surprised at how well known some of the Smoky Mountain flies are, especially the Yellowhammer. The pattern I use for this fly is one that was shown to me by the late Benny Joe Craig of Waynesville, NC. He said it was as close to the original Yellowhammer as you can legally get. (The Yellowhammer woodpecker is protected.) I met Benny Joe early in my fly-tying career, and he was instrumental in getting me interested in the traditional Smoky Mountain flies. Whenever I needed to know about one of the old patterns, he was the person I called.

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featured fly tyer

featured fly tyer In the mid-nineties, Roger began fly fishing on the South Holston and Watauga rivers in East Tennessee. These two rivers currently rank has his favorite trout waters, having been so since his first trip to them. The small mountain creeks are fun to fish, according to Caylor, but he says that he believes the tailwaters provide a greater opportunity for modern fly tiers to develop new flies or improve existing ones. While Roger is perhaps best known as master tyer with an incredibly deep knowledge of old southern fly patterns, he is also a cutting edge innovator.

Hellgrammite

Yellow Palmer

Mr. Rapidan “I love trout and the people who fly fish for them,” says Roger. “When we lived in the mountains I enjoyed visiting some of the trout clubs, but now, distance and some health problems make it difficult to schedule a visit. But the nice thing about sitting down to tie ten dozen identical flies is that you can reminisce about people you’ve met and fishing trips you’ve been on. The only thing missing are the mosquitoes.”

Roger’s best-selling, non-bead head nymph is the Slow Water Pheasant Tail. It is so named because he first tied it to fish the river sections that have slack water. He says he has had 20+ inch rainbows examine this fly for a few moments, then close in, and take it. The Slow Water Pheasant Tail isn’t as durable as the traditional Pheasant Tail, but for very selective trout, it is unmatched.

Parachute Hopper

Natural Muddler 72 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

“New tying materials are always coming on the market that can be coupled with experience and imagination to produce a fly that is a little more productive than its predecessor,” says Caylor. “I recall when CDC first gained popularity more than a decade ago. I never was a midge fisherman, but my son Phillip enjoyed fishing the midge hatches on the South Holston. He and I developed a little dry I call the Tailwater Midge that uses CDC for the wing. He fished it for a couple years before I began tying it commercially. Most years, this little bug is my best-selling midge fly and for good reason.”

Roger recently returned to Florida near his childhood home where he has had to be content fly fishing for the same small bass that he chased as a boy. Although he now lives near the Gulf, Roger says that he has not taken up saltwater fly tying and is not sure if he will.

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featured rod builder

L

ife can take some unexpected twists and turns and leave us in a place with which we are neither familiar, nor certain. While we may not have seen ourselves being in a certain place at a certain time of our lives, often fate draws us there because it is where we are meant to be. This is the case with William Oyster who early in his adult life found himself on a career path he never imagined was in the cards he was dealt. However, it was exactly the right hand for him.

74 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

William “Bill” Oyster grew up in northwest Wyoming with his family, but by his teen years had moved down south to Georgia where he lived until he graduated high school. Studying a wide range of subjects from engineering and philosophy to education and studio art, Oyster attended

and eventually quit school after receiving a professional license. This resulted in his traveling of the country, competing in as many as sixty races in one calendar year.

During the traveling, Oyster latched on to fly fishing which would become a passion for years to come. “As a student at UGA,” Oyster explains, “my friends and I would take trips to the north Georgia mountains to camp and fish the remote streams. I guess that was about 22 years ago now. I have been obsessed with fly fishing since that first cast.” Oyster was experiencing life in such a unique way, but it was brought to an abrupt end when he suffered a serious injury. “At that point I took up rod making,” Oyster explains, “I am now one of very few people who actually credits ‘custom bamboo fly rod maker’ as their family’s one and only source of income.”

GA Tech, the University of Florida, and the University of Georgia. Despite five full years of schooling, Oyster says he never managed to settle into one subject or course of study long enough to acquire a degree, but found he had a passion for cycling which he had taken up in his freshman year.

College, although a great option for such a dedicated person, took a back burner to the passion that became cycling. Eventually becoming a top ranked cyclist in the SEC, Oyster competed in the Olympic Trials

After an accident, Oyster found himself with an excessive amount of time and energy that he poured it all into his fly fishing hobby. “For the next two years I fished as often as I could,” Oyster said, “all across the country, in the freshwater and salt. I worked as a guide, fly casting instructor, fly tying instructor, anything that would allow me to stay involved in my passion. When I wasn’t fishing, I worked as a residential general contractor, which I despised, and only did just enough of it to get me to the

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featured rod builder next fishing trip.” At 27 and having done almost everything associated with fly fishing, Oyster took interest in what he describes as the “beauty and character” of the classic bamboo fly rod. Having never even fished with a bamboo fly rod, the writings of John Gierach (described by Oyster as Mark Twain if he was a living fly fisher and devoted bamboo aficionado) inspired him to pursue the purchase of one. “The rods however where expensive,” Oyster tells Southern Trout, “and my taste surpassed my income. When I told my wife Shannen just how much getting a custom rod would set us back, she told me to just make my own. I immediately set out to do just that.” The lack of information on the internet left Oyster searching through sources outside of the computer which more often than not led him to dead ends. “One

featured rod builder guy had made a quarter of a rod before giving up.” Oyster explains, “He sent me to a ‘real pro’ who had almost reached the halfway point before calling it quits. The guys who did know, as it turns out, weren’t talking. I decided that no matter what, I wouldn’t be a ‘half-rod wonder.’” Oyster then began his quest to understand the building of a bamboo rod and build one himself. Researching the process through books and putting the research to physical use, Oyster managed to cobble together what he describes as “the worst looking rod you’ve ever seen.” “But,” Oyster points out proudly, “it was a complete rod. My second one came out better, and the third one wasn’t too shabby. Before long, my wife was encouraging me to pursue my passion on a professional level. That encouragement and

support has helped me stick to it through ups and downs as the business developed to what it is today.”

Oyster’s appreciation for handmade things prompted his interest in traditional fly rods which are a large part of his business. Oyster takes tremendous pride in the fact that he hand engraves his own hardware, a skill that is rare and unique to his shop. “This allows me great latitude in so far as cosmetic design is concerned.

These rods have certainly become our trademark. Functionality however, hasn’t been forgotten, it’s just harder to see. We’ve developed our own system for extreme hollow building, integrated bamboo ferrules, etc.” In reference to the material used in building process, Oyster explains that 76 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

modern rod materials make for fantastic tools, however, no matter how light, fast, or advanced they are, the fact remains that they are only tools. They don’t ooze with the character that traditional rods do. “An old graphite rod is just an old rod.” Says Oyster, “Old cane rods grow with richness the more soiled the grip becomes, the more dinged the varnish, and the deeper the tip’s stress set from the memories of big fish brought to hand.”

Oyster teaches the making of split bamboo fly rods. “It’s the one thing no one would teach me,” Oyster says, “and ironically I have now taught more students the craft of rod making than anyone else—ever.”

Oyster currently instructs sixteen, week-long classes of six students a year where each

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featured rod builder student will build from scratch a custom rod of their choosing. Oyster takes them from their experience level, be it professional or beginner, to the completion of a 100% built rod ready to fish. “I would never name another angler’s home water in print,” Oyster says when asked about the waters that he enjoys fishing, “so I’ll not mention some of the more fantastic southern streams I’m so passionate about. I would, however, be happy to name my own--the Toccoa river right here in Blue Ridge. I actually moved here specifically to be near this small tail water river and the twelve month a year trout fishing it provides. This is still the place you’d be most likely to bump into me when I’m not in the workshop.”

The advice Oyster gives to someone considering buying a custom fly rod is to do your homework. “Just because they are made of bamboo doesn’t mean they’re all the same.” Oyster assures, “The vast ma jority of guys selling rods are hobby

makers who are supplementing their habit.

This is a wonderful trend that perpetuates interest in these rods and helps to ensure their future. Most of these rods are priced appropriately; some are not. Just like getting your car worked on, or a new roof put on your house, a professional outfit is more likely to give you professional service and a professional end result.” Oyster, a self-made professional, gives credit where credit is due which for Oyster means the appreciation of his wife, Shannen. “I love my wife, she is awesome. I’d be lost without her.

She is the reason I get up each morning.”

William “Bill” Oyster can be reached by phone at 706-374-4239 or through his website at www.oysterbamboo.com. Bill can also be found in person at the Oyster Bamboo showroom at 494 East Main St. Blue Ridge, GA which is open to the public seven days a week.

Traditional Flies Alaskans host an elegant Adventure B&B in historic Waynesboro; luxurious guest rooms with vintage four-poster beds… delicious, gourmet full course breakfasts… beautiful gardens. Relax, your gear is welcome!

“Can I come back tomorrow?” Lefty Kreh The Speckled Trout is the VIP Home for the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival and host home of Shenandoah Valley Trout Unlimited.

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Outstanding warmth and hospitality … “Beyond our highest expectations!”

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78 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

www.tennesseetraditionalflies.com Made In the USA shop.tennesseetraditionalflies.com www.southerntrout.com | November 2013 | Southern Trout | 79

Jason Sparks

Steve Vorkapich Don Kirk

Old Fly Patterns of the Smokies: Don Kirk Backcountry Cooking: Craig Haney Tenkara Comes to Tennessee: Jason Sparks

Admission is free to all!

Indicators for Better Nymph Fishing: Steve Vorkapich High Navigation of the Trout Streams: Fred Turner

Along with speakers, we will have a fly tying demonstration section and display tables for all of the speakers, plus a few more. The event will be held at the new FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: Fishing the Clinch: Shawn Madison

MyPigeonForge.com/wilderness

Southern Trout Fly Fishing Fair is part of Wilderness Wildlife Week

Jan. 25-Feb. 1

LeConte Center Pigeon Forge Tennessee

80 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

Shawn Madison

Fred Turner

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wanderings of the creek freak

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Bob Borgwat

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wanderings of the creek freak

wanderings of the creek freak Therein, the rub for writing what’s meant.

Is my trout fishing this fall going farther or further? Twenty-five years have passed since earning my sheepskin, and every one of them are steeped in trout fishing. I have found fortune in every step I walk farther across rocky shoals, with every stroke that floats me farther down our icy rivers, with every cast that lands my flies farther across a trout pond.

And I am fortunate for opportunities to further share my trout fishing with children, further teach trout fishing to novices, and further reveal the healing power of fly-fishing to our wounded warriors.

This fall, I’ll go farther--as in beyond or past-in my trout fishing. I’ll stretch my reach and finally arrive at places I’ve always wanted to fish. I’ll finally cross through places like Townsend, Tennessee, on my way to hooking

This fall my trout fishing is going farther...or is it further?

Flash back to the days when I walked the halls of college and journalism school. As a full-time student at 28-years old, I was fighting off the results of a career choice that left me one of a relative handful of folks who can claim they were fired by the President of the United States. Six years earlier I participated in the unprecedented action of federal employees striking against the federal government when, on Aug. 1, 1981, about 12,000 air traffic controllers walked off the job. Ronald Reagan laid the hammer down. Had I stayed, I would be retiring just about now.

No regrets. A degree in English literature and journalism led me across two decades

my first Little River brown trout. I’ll finally take-up an invitation to float-fish for holdover rainbows on the Watauga with old friends in Elizabethton, TN. I’ll finally cross Fontana Lake to ascend Hazel Creek in Great Smokey Mountains National Park. And I’ll finally discover that a thin blue line along a trail that stretches through a remote section of the Nantahala National Forest is, perhaps, the finest brook trout stream I’ve ever fished.

This fall, I’ll also go further--as in foster or promote--in my trout fishing. I’ll share many days with young anglers, bright and eager to learn how to cast a fly rod, drift a nymph, mend a line, land their first trout. I’ll tie flies for visitors whose interest in trout fishing is sparked when they, too, sit astride the vice and wrap together feathers and chenille and tinsel and thread to create their first Wooly

of writing about fishing. “That’s not much of anywhere,” may say those who see me as little more than a fishing bum. But because of my college experience and the publishing jobs I’ve since held, I’ve lived the last 25 years traveling farther across the horizon and further into my timeline to write about fishing.

Those words--farther and further--challenged me when writing my first news stories for the college daily as a student reporter. Was the new stadium’s location farther across campus or further from the parking lot?

To be sure, I was taught to seek guidance in my professional bible: The Associated Press Stylebook, a reference manual that provides direction to ensure (or is it insure) among many other things that proper word use conveys intended thoughts and correct meanings.

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wanderings of the creek freak

Bugger. I’ll write again about the cast, the drift, the strike, the thrill of taking trout on flytackle.

Most important, this fall I’ll have the honor to further the well-being embodied in fly-fishing as I hold an arm, provide a shoulder, mend

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a tangle, share a story with our wounded warriors whose pains of war--physical or otherwise -are shared with me as recovery grows ever closer with every cast farther stretched across a trout stream.

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new fly guy

new fly guy and crankbaits. A plastic worm–those require patience. (Not one of my strengths.) But, looking down the long rows at Bass Pro, I realized that most of the lures were plastic– worms, creature baits, crawfish, whatever.

At that point, I loaded my cart with a nasty looking pile, never looked back and started catching more fish!

plastic grubs, tiny one inch long nymphs, little floating worms–I found the solution. I grabbed a few packets and coupled the purchase with some bullet shaped weights (1/32 oz) to use instead of normal split shot.

In short, I just downsized what I had used previously as a spin fisherman.

The Fly Rod Bass Rig In 2007, I graduated from spin to fly fishing and, even though I was deep in the throes of adopting the most puritanical set of angling ethics, I realized that the weedless solutions for flies were simply not effective in the tall and tight grass of the Rapidan, Rappahannock or Potomac. Plastics. It came back. They had to be small and light, castable and effective. I scoured the aisles on my next visit to Bass Pro and stumbled across the crappie section. Bingo! Small

F

rustrated yet? It’s the tail end of summer. Experts recommend avoiding the small mountain trout streams since they have probably warmed to the threshold of mortal stress for sensitive brookies; the exertion of catch and release would put a nail in the coffin. So, they tell us, “Fish someplace else; protect the brookies.”

Where? For trout anglers, “someplace else” means the stocked trout water that only holds trout until it warms up, matching the mountain situation–no trout. But, that same water holds plenty of bass! Of the choices, a mean, cranky smallmouth is an acceptable trout surrogate until the water cools in the late fall and stocking resumes.

A quick look at the good smallmouth bass water reveals a sad, seasonal truth. By September, underwater vegetation has exploded to its maximum extent, waving

Steve Moore

The technique is simple. Texas rig these small lures with the hook point gently buried in the plastic to be completely weedless, put the appropriate amount of weight to match whether you are using a 6wt or 8wt line and fish them exactly like a streamer. One more VERY important trick. The first time I used this rig, I noticed that my leader came back twisted and kinked. The grub spins a bit in the current and can wrap your line into a tight, balled mess. The solution was to add

lazily in the sluggish current, clogging the good holes and happily decorating any streamer with festive shades of green and brown–even those alleged to be weedless.

Rather than stowing your fishing gear and going bowling, continue fishing by grabbing some new, very inexpensive “flies” that are inherently weedless.

I first wrote about this simple approach on my blog back in 2008, a solution that built on an epiphany I had at Bass Pro Shops in 1999. At that point in my fishing career, I was still exclusively a spin fisherman and was wandering aimlessly through their fishing section, enjoying the small thrill of implied opportunity represented by shiny packets of lures and baits hanging in neat rows. All of a sudden, it hit me. Plastics. What? Was this my “The Graduate” moment? Up until that point, I had fished exclusively with spinners

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new fly guy

Flyfisher’s Guide to™

TENNESSEE Don KirK

AVA I L A B L E F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 3 The 37th book in our best-selling Flyfisher's Guide series CONTENT Flyfisher’s Guide to™ Tennessee

By Don Kirk

a very small, size 20 swivel to the end of the leader. Tie the tippet to the other end and you are in business! In fact, the small swivel worked so well that I started using one on poppers as well. Depending on the current, they can spin and cause the same problem.

When casting this rig, you need to account for the increase in weight. You may want to “hurry up and stop” faster to put more energy in the backcast and the same on the forward stroke. Don’t. Doing that will cause your line to move far too fast and land with an explosive splat. Practice a bit to

determine the right amount of effort–start as gently as you would using a heavy streamer, observe the results and work up to the right amount of energy. From then on, it’s just muscle memory.

Bottom line–no need to hang up your fly rod when the mountain streams warm up. Grab a few small plastics and hit some smallmouth water! September and October are great fishing months for smallies while you wait for the fall stocking program begins again.

Softcover 6 x 9 inches 380 pages, 40+ maps 50+ B&W/color photos ISBN: 978-1-932098-96-9

UPC: 8-09206-98969-6 Retail Price: $29.95 Case Quantity: 16 Available February 2013

Tennessee has long hosted some of the United States' best big-brown-trout fisheries, yet somehow it has managed to stay under the radar. Until now. Longtime writer and flyfishing guide Don Kirk covers everything in his all new guide book the Flyfisher's Guide to Tennessee.

Productive tailwaters like the Clinch River, South Holston River and Watauga River are covered in full detail, as are their tributaries and reservoirs. And Kirk goes well beyond the major drainages, deep into the Cherokee National Forest uncovering some gorgeous gems that will give up trout for days.

From brook, brown and rainbow trout to bass and panfish, Kirk covers all the gamefish. Hatch charts, detailed maps, recommended flies, specialized techniques, accommodations, sporting goods and fly shops, restaurants and all other relevant information is included. Kirk gives you tips from a lifetime of flyfishing in Tennessee in this comprehensive volume.

If you're ready to give the tailwater pigs a shot, or even if you just want to pluck some brookies from an idyllic mountain brook, you'll want this book. Tennessee is the next great destination - get in while you can.

AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE FROM AMAZON.COM, FLY SHOPS, BOOK STORES OR DIRECT FROM PUBLISHER.

Wilderness Adventures Press, Inc. Order Toll Free: 1-866-400-2012 Fax: 1-866-400-2013 Email: books@wildadvpress.com 45 Buckskin Rd. Belgrade, MT 59714 http://store.wildadvpress.com 96 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

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Slowing Down: Artist, Cindy Day

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P

eople with talents that surpass those of the average person often are aware of their gifts long before those gifts are utilized in a professional manner. Cindy Day, freelancer and wildlife artist, knew from a very young age that the fates would guide her to where she is today--making a living on the talents that were prevalent years ago.

“I have always drawn and painted,” Day tells Southern Trout, “I don’t remember a time when I didn’t. I have a childhood stick figure self-portrait I drew when I was four or five, and next to my head in big colorful childlike crayon letters I labeled it “Artist.”

Since graduating from college in 1990 with a degree in graphic design, Day has worked a number of jobs including working in the technical training department of Alcoa Aluminum. After working for a while, Day became a full-time, free-lance artist, often inspired by her surroundings and by everything nature has to offer.

Loryn Patterson

“I love to paint flowers and wildlife,” Day states, “animals, birds, fish and all kinds of nature. The colors and patterns of nature are infinite, challenging, and forever interesting to me.

I like to record a moment in time or portray a scene that I’ve noticed, like in some of my bird paintings.

Sometimes I like to focus the viewer’s attention on certain details of a subject that you wouldn’t necessarily see unless it was in a photo or a painting. It’s nice to really slow down and notice something in close like that.”

Fishermen in particular are drawn not only to Day’s artwork, but also to that of other 98 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

wildlife artists. When asked why she might think that is true, Day replied, “I’m sure it’s different for different people, but I imagine it’s to capture a memory of a wonderful time. Fish are hard to see swimming across underneath in the water. I like to have a painting or photo to really see the detail and to reflect back on an interesting subject or a great time I had.” It is obvious that Day’s work has made its mark in the wildlife artist community. “I haven’t entered any shows in the last few years,” Day explains, “but in 2010 I was selected to be the featured artist in the Artsclamation show in Knoxville, TN. I won a Silver Regional Advertising Addy award in 2009, a Gold Knoxville Addy advertising award in 2009 and a Silver Knoxville Addy advertising award in 2007. I was the first place winner of the Arrowmont Great Smoky Mountains Wildflower Pilgrimage Art Competition and the Arrowmont Wildflower Artist of the year in 2008 and a 2005 Award of Merit winner in the Dogwood Arts Festival Show and Competition.”

While every artist is unique in the composition of his or her works, all artists work in a certain way through their own creative process.

Day explains to Southern Trout that her creative process starts with the trek into nature to inspire herself. “I go to a garden nursery or to flower shops, farmers markets and trails in the city parks. If I have a little more time I go for a hike in the mountains just to see what I see. Every season is different, every day is different; you never know what you’ll see.”

Next in the process comes the research and the collection of reference material that will aid in the creation of the artwork. The work takes its first complete form in a sketch before being transferred to the final paper

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feature or canvas for painting. “Mostly I’m a watercolorist,” Day says on the subject of artistic mediums, “I like the portability and flexibility of that medium. Lately I’ve been painting watercolors on canvas.

I like the look of a watercolor that isn’t behind glass. It’s really quite different– you can look really close without the glass being in the way.”

Day was asked about what pieces of advice she would offer to artists that are up and coming and said, “You should draw and paint as much as you can, create what appeals to your sensibility the most. Don’t copy others, try to be the best ‘you’ you can be. Try to express your art exactly in your own individual way as best you can. As an artist, you should try to do your very best work every time you do a piece, even if it doesn’t make practical sense at the time to expend so much time and effort. You learn so much from each piece and sometimes someone sees it and it leads to much bigger things.”

Southern Trout

For Readers of For a LIMITED TIME click here to enjoy this excerpt on the Rapidan River in Virginia from

Fly Fishing the

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by Beau Beasley ISBN 978-1-892469-24-3 208 pages 8.5 × 10.875 in.

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NO NONSENSE

FLY FISHING GUIDEBOOKS

Available through your favorite flyshop or direct from No Nonsense Fly Fishing Guidebooks www.nononsenseguides.com 888-511-1530

Day’s artwork can be seen on her website www.cindyday.com, and she can be contacted by emailing her at cindyjday@ cindyday.com or by phone at 865-237-4722.

Limited Collector’s Edition also available • Signed and numbered with author bookplate • Hardcover sewn bound • Silver-foil stamped cover and spine

• Silvered book edges • Satin ribbon marker • Retail $49.95

(dealer discounts available)

This Limited Collector’s Edition of only 150 makes a great gift!

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BIRTHPLACE OF RIVERS NATIONAL MONUMENT

OUR HERITAGE OUR FUTURE

PRESERVING AN ICONIC APPALACHIAN LANDSCAPE

Williams River Valley

High in the mountains of the southern Monongahela National Forest lies one of the largest expanses of contiguous wild forest in the eastern United States. As the largest federally-protected Wilderness Area in the East, Cranberry Wilderness has become a storied destination for those seeking a most primitive backcountry experience. Surrounding Cranberry Wilderness is a tightly-packaged complex of some of West Virginia’s most iconic natural treasures. With its rugged terrain, rich biodiversity and dense red spruce forests, the region has been identified as an important stronghold against climate change. The fragile headwaters of six-regionally significant waterways are located within this truly incredible wild landscape. Unfortunately, most of these special places are managed under temporary guidelines, leaving their futures uncertain, with a number of industrial threats on the horizon.

The Birthplace of Rivers National Monument initiative is a citizen-driven campaign to forever preserve this magnificent landscape, which means so much to the Greenbrier Valley and West Virginia as a whole.

National Monument designation would provide strong, lasting protections to these sensitive areas, while allowing all currently-permitted recreational activities to continue. The monument, comprised entirely of existing federal lands on the Monongahela National Forest, would be the first of it’s kind in the Mountain State, and would continue to be managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Some of the features in the potential monument include: -Cranberry Wilderness -Falls of Hills Creek -Cranberry Glades

-Tea Creek Backcountry -Cranberry Backcountry -Highland Scenic Highway

-Turkey Mountain Backcountry -Historic Mill Point Federal Prison Site -Headwaters of six critical watersheds

Cranberry Glades

River's Edge Outfitters has you covered when it comes to fly fishing. With two shops we guide on more than 3000 miles of trout and smallie waters. For the experience of a lifetime give us a call and book your trip today!

LEARN FLY FISHING FROM OUR EXPERT INSTRUCTORS

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We will supply you with all of the tackle and flies while teaching you valuable skills and techniques.

Casting strokes, knots, fly selection, reading water, presentation techniques, wading safety, and tips for safely handling and releasing trophy size trout are all part of our program.

Our "Private Waters" offer guaranteed solitude and the chance to catch trophy-sized trout (up to 25 inches) in a pristine mountain stream environment.

River's Edge Outfitters manages these private waters with fishermen regularly catching browns and rainbows up 25 inches.

All three of our fly shops are located in the heart of the best trout fishing in the country. Here in Western NC we fish 365 days a year. Whether you are after high country wild brookies, trophy brown trout, or chasing smallmouth bass, our guides are dedicated to putting their clients on fish.

Our full day local wade trips take place on wild and hatchery supported/delayed harvest trout streams. However these trips allow our guide to take you to places that could not be reached with the time allowed on a half day trip. You will also be able to fish an assortment of great locations if the conditions allow.

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WHAT IS A NATIONAL MONUMENT?

Native Brook Trout

National Monument status is a special designation which preserves special places possessing unique scientific, scenic, geological, cultural or historic values. There is no true standard for how all national monuments are managed, as they range from historic urban buildings to multi-million acre western landscapes. Monuments are managed by a variety of federal agencies, and Birthplace of Rivers would be the first U.S. Forest Service-managed national monument in the East. National Monuments may be designated by an act of Congress, or they may created by presidential proclamation, through use of the Antiquities Act of 1906. Since the passage of the Antiquities Act, all but three presidents -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- have created national monuments to preserve special features for the discovery and enjoyment of future generations.

The current Birthplace of Rivers National Monument proposal is the result of an ongoing collaborative process to define a recommended management scheme that provides enhanced protection from industrial activities, while allowing continued ecological restoration, recreational access and management of the area as a high-quality hunting and fishing destination. The goals of the Birthplace of Rivers initiative are not aimed at fundamentally changing the way this special landscape is managed, accessed or enjoyed. In actuality, monument designation is a viable, broadly-support tool to ensure that future West Virginians and our visitors will forever be able to pass on time-honored outdoor traditions and experience their unique natural and cultural heritage on one of Appalachia’s most extraordinary treasures.

River’s Edge Outfitters Carries the Best Flies and Gear Williams River Tributary

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)

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Yes, yes I do!

Adriano Manocchia

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T

he first solid hints of fall exposed themselves a few days prior. Lacy designs of curling frost flowers in the deepest Ozark hollows and tints of orange on a scattering of oaks high on the Shannon County ridges above Barren Fork Creek painted an idyllic landscape.

Shannon County, in the southern Missouri Ozarks, is 90 percent publicly owned land.

The region, covering several counties, is the largest, remote block of wild lands between the Appalachians and the Rockies. High ridges, steep valleys and crystal clear, freeflowing streams are the marks of this enchanted place where time seems to have forgotten.

Early settlers, many of whom found areas similar to the territories they had left in Virginia, Tennessee and the Carolinas, settled in the small alluvial valleys between the ridges. Here, among the rugged hills, hardy pioneers eked out a living by farming, running free ranging livestock and cutting timber.

feature wild, stream-bred rainbow trout and are never stocked.

Despite the spectacular environs of the Barren Fork, there exists a hidden treasure within its boundaries. Wild Creeks, LLC owns a mile of frontage on both sides of the Barren Fork. Public access ends at the property lines. Avid anglers longed to fish these secretive waters.

I could hear the trickle of Roaring Springs only yards away as it tumbled into Barren Fork. The spring belched its cold water from within the boundaries of the Sunklands Conservation Area and entered the stream on Wild Creeks property.

This October day, Mother Nature flaunted her whims and reverted to the heat of August. Sweat trickled down my back as I struggled to pull on the lightest pair of waders I own. The right stocking foot leaked, but it did not matter as I took a deep breath, inhaling the aromas of an Ozark fall and the moving waters in the Wild Creeks section of

Secrets of the Barren Fork at Wild Creeks Bill Cooper The big timber companies arrived in the region in the late 1880’s. Railroads pushed westward, opening up remote areas for commerce and trade. A few far sighted individuals, however, recognized the grandeur of the spring-fed, cold water streams which coursed their way through the Ozark plateau. Railroad crews often carried milk cans holding rainbow trout and stopped at likely looking streams to seed their waters.

Tens of thousands of acres of public lands managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, the U.S. Forest Service and the Roger Pryor Backcountry, owned by Pioneer Forest, surround the diminutive Barren Fork Creek, one of eight Blue Ribbon Trout Streams in Missouri. These streams support

the Barren Fork. I fished as the guest of Mrs. Mary Dwyer, the owner. Her deep devotion to the wild lands her father, George Helmuth, had preserved birthed a desire to share her love of nature with others. I would determine if fishing the Wild Creek section of Barren Fork Creek warranted inclusion in her planned list of activities for visitors. I thrilled at the opportunity to test the waters for long lost hidden treasures.

The Barren Fork is a minuscule stream and one which most anglers would never dream of fishing, because of its diminutive size and thick, streamside vegetation. Veteran anglers seldom return to her waters because of her nature. The name “Barren Fork” most likely stems from the impressions of early settlers who saw her dry upper reaches. However, the silence of the dry gravel bed is hushed

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The Barren Fork is a small, wild trout stream located deep in the Ozark Mountains of Shannon County. by the babbling of Twin Springs near Chrisco Cemetery just off Highway A. Here 8 million gallons of 58 degree water breathe life into the Barren Fork each day. Wild Creek’s property lies downstream.

The scenery on the Barren Fork makes a fishing trip worthwhile.

To the untrained eye, the Barren Fork appears uninteresting and lifeless. Quite the opposite is true, however. Lush aquatic vegetation and a host of aquatic insects, invertebrates and crustaceans provide superb trout habitat. The down side is that the stream is very small and, therefore, limited in available habitat which equates to relatively few fish being supported by Barren Fork.

included the Twin Springs area and about a half mile of coldwater frontage. Later, another 160 acres were purchased downstream and includes a half mile of Barren Fork and a one-third mile section of Sinking Creek. MDC manages the trout population under its Blue Ribbon Trout Stream regulations which include a daily limit of one fish at least 18 inches long and use of artificial flies and lures only. All regulations apply to the entire length of the Barren Fork, but like other small waters, the landowners between public holdings control trespass rights on their property. All boundaries between public and private lands are clearly marked on the stream.

The sun remained overhead at 3 p.m. and I knew the intense light had forced trout to the darkest recesses they could find beneath logs, bank cuts and rootwads in the deepest waters. To my delight, I began seeing abundant life in the stream from the very beginning. Rainbow darters, sculpins and crayfish darted to and fro. Snails dotted the rocky bottoms and a myriad of aquatic insects clung to underwater rocks. Stoneflies, caddis flies, mayflies and midges all inhabit the Barren Fork. And at the right time of year, I would expect to see black clusters of fairy shrimp, a minute variety of freshwater shrimp which fly fishermen commonly call scuds.

The Missouri Department of Conservation has purchased two tracts of land along the Barren Fork. The early purchase of 268 acres

I eased into the Barren Fork slowly. Trout in tiny streams are paranoid to the hilt and scurry for cover at the slightest disturbance.

I moved steadily but stealthy downstream, my goal being to check out the most likely lairs that might hold fish. I would get serious

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about fishing on the return trip while traveling upstream.

My first encounter with a Barren Fork Rainbow trout caught me by surprise. A seven-inch fish flashed its white belly as it chased my number 18 Griffith’s Gnat as it drifted through a swift run and tumbled off into a deep pocket. I missed the strike, but felt confident that I would soon connect with a wild, stream-bred rainbow trout.

As I began wading back upstream, I employed a fishing tactic I learned from a grizzled old fly fisherman many years ago.

He hunted trout much like fall turkey hunters pursue their quarry. Fall turkeys can be scattered out and then called back. My old friend surmised that an angler could essentially do the same with wild trout. “If

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feature I remembered the old angler’s advice as I waded back up stream with little action going on. I pushed water with my waders as I picked up my pace as I waded by a couple of holes with dark water. On my third attempt, an 18-inch rainbow sped by me. It flashed from behind me where it had posted itself in a shallow riffle. While moving quietly, I had waded right by the Goliath fish. However, when I began making noise, the fish bolted for deeper water. I just happened to be between it and its favorite lair.

The brightly colored trout slowed to a halt, as if to say “aaaahhh” as it gained the safety of deeper water. I watched as the big fish slowly drifted up underneath a log. I slowly backed out of the area planning to return an hour or two later. I now knew where that fish lived.

I returned to the tailgate of my pickup. There I ate a sandwich and drank a bottle of water. I then searched though all six boxes of flies I had brought along for the trip, Dark pockets of water hold wild rainbows up to 20-inches. tormenting myself with the myriad of flies from which I had to select. After much muttering under you are having trouble catching trout, you have to find ‘em,” he advised. “The best way my breath and weighing the pros and cons to do that is to make a lot of noise and scare of each fly, I settled on a bead-headed them out of their hiding place so you can see nymph Pheasant Tail pattern. They have been the undoing of many trout over the them. Sometimes they are hiding in plain years, particularly ones which like to sulk in sight right under your feet.” deep holes.

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Barren Fork trout are descendants of stockings made in the 1880’s by railroad crews.

As a final preparation for approaching the big trout, I switched out my flyrod. I exchanged the tiny 2-weight for a 4-weight rod equipped with a 3.5-pound leader. I had to intentionally hold myself back from charging down the stream to the lair of the big fish. It had been well over an hour since I flushed the big boy from its hide. The fish had time to settle down, but I seriously doubted that it had yet left the comfort of its lair. I approached to within 40-feet of the head of the 10-foot long hole where the fish hid. The water was not more than 2 1/2-feet deep. It swept up under a half dozen spindly sycamore trees leaning heavily over the stream. I wanted my first cast to be at the head of the pocket and slightly outside of it so that the current could carry my offering as naturally as possible right into the belly of the dark pocket.

The gold, beaded fly had scarcely made it to the edge of the drop when a fish struck. I

immediately knew it was not the big fish. A 10-inch Rainbow went airborne and my line went limp.

I hauled my fly line in, made two false casts and laid the nymph two feet further down the hole. The fly followed the classic swing and drifted to the end of my line. I slowly twitched the fly. Nothing.

I picked up again and placed the fly two more feet down the whole. The nymph had just begun the swing on the tail out of the hole when I felt the powerful jolt of the big, wild, rainbow trout. My rod arched unmercifully as the powerful fish raced downstream. My mind raced. I knew the fish would pop my leader with a powerful lunge.

The fish paused, but I knew it had lots of energy left. I readied myself for its next lunge. As I felt the fish’s power surging up my rod, I bowed at the waist and extended my arm to relieve the instant pressure on my leader.

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An assortment of flies will work for trout of the Barren Fork.

The next surge came in seconds. I watched the crimson stripe zoom upstream, under a log and continue ripping line from my fly reel as it sped 20 yards up stream. I slogged to the log, thrust the length of my rod underneath and reached over with my free hand to grasp the rod. Fortunately, the big fish had paused again. A surge while I negotiated the log could have been final.

This wild fish would not relent. A dozen more powerful runs ripped line from my reel over the next ten minutes. My fears grew with each surge. I fully expected the leader to give way due to rubbing on rocks and logs. If that didn’t happen, I would have bet a week’s paycheck that the number 14 hook would tear out of the mighty fish’s maw.

Relief swept over me as I witnessed the fish’s first sign of tiring. However, I didn’t let my

guard down. My gray matter had successfully stored the many episodes of fish beating me at the last second.

I could not believe my good fortune as I slid the magnificently colored 18-inch rainbow to hand. I began yelling for Dian, my wife. She soon rounded the bend with camera in hand.

We both marveled at the beauty of that wild creature while she snapped photos. We shared the moment as I released that trout to be wild and free once again.

Wild, stream bred trout are far stronger than their pen reared brethren. And, this day I had done battle with a Barren Fork trout whose image will forever remained burned in my memory along with the experience of enjoying the splendid beauty of a minute, wild trout stream on a warm, fall day without seeing another soul.

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Accommodations at Wild Creeks LLC are fitting for wild trout fishing adventure.

Dian and I traveled a short distance through the splendor of the autumn hills to one of Dwyer’s tastefully done cabins, tucked away in the woods, for a splendid evening meal.

Tomorrow would be another day.

I found the hidden treasures! You can, too.

Wild Creeks, LLC is now open to a limited number of visitors. Visit their Web site at: www.wildcreeks.com or call 573-858-3352 to make reservations for your own secluded getaway in the back country of Shannon County.

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virginia

Southern Trout and American Pride Beau Beasley

Rookie fly angler Josh Dickey seemed to catch on fast with the help of Project Healing Waters.

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sk anyone for what the American South is known, and you’ll get a variety of responses—most of which will include humidity and some form of fried or barbequed comfort food. But what makes just about every southerner’s list? Love of family, faith in God, love of country, and a warrior culture that translates into steadfast support for our military men and women.

I was sitting in a restaurant with artist Alan Folger and Warren Philips (who was then the CEO of Project Healing Waters) when an effervescent young woman named Valerie Dickey approached our table and said, “I can’t begin to thank you enough!” She quickly hugged and kissed both Folger and Philips on the cheek, deftly turning both men a lovely shade of purple in a matter of moments. “You have no idea what this means to me and my husband, Josh. We never knew organizations like this even existed, and I can’t begin to express our gratitude and appreciation for your allowing us to be here.” Visibly discomposed, Philips and Folger demurred, insisting that our veterans deserve all the support they can get and crediting others—Georgia Trout Unlimited (TU) members; Carl Riggs, president of the Blue Ridge Mountain Chapter of TU; and local Blue Ridge, Georgia, business leaders—with bringing joy into the Dickeys’ lives.

Alan Folger is the coordinator of TU’s Veterans Service Program which partners TU chapters with Project Healing Waters and other veterans service organizations in an effort to get wounded veterans onstream.

In so doing, volunteers meet veterans, veterans reconnect with nature, and wounded warriors receive the therapeutic benefits of the quiet sport of fly fishing.

Folger invited me to Riverence (a mashup of “river” and “reverence”) which is the brainchild of businessman and TU life member Peter Kuntzen and his son. In an effort to show their appreciation for our veterans, they have garnered the support 120 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

of the local Georgia Council of TU; the Blue Ridge Mountain, Foothills, Gold Rush, and Chattahoochee/Nantahala Chapters of TU; local Blue Ridge businesses and restaurants; area fishing guides; and Project Healing Waters for an event honoring our warriors.

An award-winning Florida band, One Night Rodeo, got in on the act, traveling 10 hours one way to give a free performance for the veterans and the town of Blue Ridge.

Among those attending Riverence was Charlie Trawick, an Army veteran who had participated in the invasion of Panama. “I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I knew we were going fishing, but I didn’t have any idea how much they were going to roll out the red carpet for us. The town was literally shut down for us, and it was awesome! It makes your heart feel good when folks respect you so much.”

An honor guard brought in the flag and not surprisingly all the attendees stood in honor.

Indeed, Blue Ridge did fete the vets: live music, a downtown cookout complete with a grill outfitted in the shape of a trout, street vendors, and even a local sightseeing train for those who wished to take in the local scenery. And let us not forget the fishing. Some vets fished for trout on the famed Toccoa River, while others made do in privately owned ponds. One TU member after another opened up a home to visiting veterans, provided food, offered transportation around town, or guided a vet on the water. Valerie and Josh Dickey were on the water together with their own individual guides. A little friendly competition sparked between husband and wife as they experienced the exhilaration of fly fishing for the first time. Charlie Trawick mused, “It was really humbling to be hosted like this. I would have never sought out any special recognition for myself, nor would any of the other guys I was with. But it was great to feel that appreciated, and I’ll never forget it.” continued on page 122

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What cookout wouldn’t be complete without a grill? Especially a trout grill!

The town of Blue Ridge Georgia has many unique stores within easy walking distance of downtown.

Families of young and old seem to enjoy a vintage train ride and observe the beautiful Georgia countryside.

The Georgia Council of Trout Unlimited was a big player at the first annual Riverence event.

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Valerie Dickey the wife of PHWFF Veteran gets a tip from one of the local guides.

Trout Fishing on the Tocoa can be excellent.

On the battlefield, America’s veterans face dangers that most of us can scarcely comprehend. And the challenges don’t end when vets come home—they merely change: physical and emotional trauma; difficulty finding work in a weak economy; and the struggle to connect with family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers who cannot understand how war has changed them.

In communities like Blue Ridge, some have stepped into the breach, considering it their sacred duty to honor those whose sacred duty has been to defend, and honoring, they hope, might eventually lead to healing.

Blue Ridge, Georgia, will once again roll out the red carpet for veterans on October 1820, 2013. If you find yourself in the Southland this fall, don’t miss the fun. The fishing is superb, the town is welcoming, and you couldn’t possibly be in better company.

The Blue Ridge Fly Fishing Shop is a must see when visiting this little town. Of course when isn’t a good time to stop in to your local fly shop?

Project Healing Waters

Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing (PHWFF) began in 2005 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, when Ed Nicholson (US Navy, Ret.) decided that injured Iraq war veterans were probably tired of being confined to the hospital and that a day on the water would do them some good—so he took them fly fishing. The rest is history.

Today PHWFF has more than 146 programs in nearly every state in the county.

Its generous sponsors ensure that participants receive fly fishing and fly tying equipment and one-day and even multi-day fishing trips at no cost.

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Beau Beasley is the editor at large for Southern Trout and the author of Fly Fishing Virginia and Fly Fishing the Mid-Atlantic. His next book, Project Healing Waters, is due out in early 2015.

Photos by Beau Beasley

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Carolina’s Fly Girl

by Don Kirk

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D

ixie’s ly-fishing revolution has brought sweeping social reform to many of the cold water fisheries of the region, and I am not just talking about the demise of corn plunkers and worm dabblers. Without a lot of fanfare anywhere, prime southern trout fishing waters have been the lair of generations of anglers.

Unlike the old-school southern trouters, this band of fly casters is quite at home with niceties such as lipstick and fly-fishing vests trimmed in pink.

feature and expert service. Oh yeah, Reba is also responsible for coordinating the annual WNC Fly Fishing Expo which has been successfully running for five years. Each year, this expo brings an average of 1000 anglers to Western North Carolina.

Reba’s effervescent enthusiasm for fly fishing and the outdoors gives one the impression that she grew up in the woods around a campfire. However, this could not be further from the truth. She was not

This new, female cadre of casters take fly fishing as seriously as any professional bass anglers. In fact, it’s almost dangerous on my part to mention gender.

But, I’m so old that I get a few passes when it comes to political correctness. The sport is growing among women for a number of reasons. In recent years, a handful of lady fly fishers in the South has risen to the top of the sport, and among them is Reba Brinkman. If you fly fish in the South, the odds are pretty good you know this dynamic young woman who is known to many as Fly Girl.

Reba Brinkman wears many hats in the world of fly fishing. Her role as a Programs Director at Hunter Banks Company makes her responsible for bringing the Fly Fishing Film Tour, The International Fly Fishing Film Festival, a handful of fishing clinics, and guest speakers to our area. She also helps manage the Hunter Banks fly shop, and she will greet you with a friendly smile

but it has always been with her.

“I was fiercely independent after high school,” says Reba, who now calls Western North Carolina home. “I put myself through college, all the while having two jobs. This was not sustainable, and I knew I needed to make a change. On a whim and with just enough gas money in the bank, I moved myself to Boulder, Colorado. Being near the Rocky Mountains was magnificent, and it was there where I finally felt like I was home.

That is when my life’s path changed forever.”

Reba did not have a fly-fishing mentor to teach her the ropes the way she now introduces so many other people to the sport. She says that she vaguely remembers catching her first trout in the Sequoia National Park when she was about fouryears old. However, although that catch was not on a fly, it did instill a lifelong sense of wonder for what lives under the water’s surface.

“Growing up on the Pacific Ocean, I would tag along on offshore fishing trips,” says Reba. “I loved the open waters but never quite connected to it. I was always drawn to the rivers in the mountains. I spent my early 20s spin fishing for trout in nearby streams around Big Bear, California. One summer, I went on a fishing trip to Northern California, and it was there where I cast a fly rod for the first time. I had no instruction. It was more like, ‘Here, this is a fly pole. I don’t know what it does, so if you can figure it out, good on you.’ I was intrigued, but without direction, it was pointless. I was curious from that moment on.”

raised in the great outdoors surrounded by hunting and fishing. She grew up in a small suburban town outside of Los Angeles, surrounded by concrete and urban development. In her own words, Reba says that she really doesn’t know where this inherent love for the outdoors came from,

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It wasn’t until a couple of years later that Reba was formally introduced to fly fishing while playing hooky from her job at the local newspaper. She was invited to a “Learn How to Fly Fish” clinic at a fishing lodge outside of Boulder, Colorado. Telling about it, Reba says that she remembers the female instructor had beautifully manicured nails, was impeccably dressed, and wasn’t afraid

to get dirty. In between teaching sessions, the instructor spoke epically of the places she traveled to fish all over the world. She showed Reba how to tie on a fly and cast onto the water.

“It only took one not-so-pretty cast,” continued Reba, “and a not-so-perfect drift over a not-so-smart trout that took my fly before the whole world disappeared, and I was completely submerged into something magical and purposeful. I was instantly connected to this style of fishing. A day later, I proudly marched into the local hardware store and bought myself a crappy fly-rod outfit, and I fished as frequently as I could, often skipping out from work to do so.

It wasn’t long after I met my future husband that together we fished all over Colorado, Wyoming, and parts of Utah. To this day, I still consider that region my ‘home waters.’a”

Like so many ambitious young people, Reba’s first “real” job befell her at a very young age when she entered the corporate world. By the time most people her age were getting their first real job, she found herself already on a path to burnout. Hence, she played hooky more often than she says she is proud to admit. Looking for fresh challenges, Reba and her husband moved to Asheville, North Carolina in 2005. Their first home was a block away from Hunter Banks Company, a long-standing fly shop in the area. It quickly became their local “go to” place to restock on goods and get info on fishing in the area.

“One day, I broke my fly rod and brought it into Hunter Banks Company for repair,” explains Reba. “I inquired if they’d be interested in hiring me for part-time work.

Two days later, I had a job at the fly shop.

What I found was that this business really benefited from all the experience I had at my big corporate jobs. Finding a job that is fulfilling and rewarding is something everyone should seek. I am still as excited about working in the shop today as I was that first day. And, I certainly don’t need to play hooky as often.”

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feature

feature Casting for RecoveryCarolinas for the past couple of years.

Along with a terrific CFR staff, she spends two weekends a year volunteering to help teach a group of cancer survivors how to fly fish.

Reba says that this is by far one of the most rewarding and emotional experiences for her.

“These women teach me how to live with strength and perseverance,” confides the Fly Girl.

To say that Reba is a fly-fishing enthusiast who works at a fly shop is a gross understatement. She is one of those people who sees a task and responds by rolling up her sleeves and not waiting to be asked to lend a hand. On that note, the result of her position and involvement in the fly-fishing industry, she has been given opportunities to get heavily involved with Trout

Unlimited. She serves in the capacity of the conservation chair where she is responsible for seeking out opportunities to support the cold water conservation efforts in her area, hosting river clean ups, and stream restoration projects.

Reba also has long been involved with the efforts of Casting for Recovery. She has volunteered her time and expertise to

132 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

As with so many fly fishers, Reba Brinkman has a passion for sharing the sport. She not only teaches fly fishing, but she is also an accomplished flyfishing guide as well. “In my career, I have never felt a greater sense of fulfillment than I do when I am teaching someone to fly fish for the first time. Teaching is deeply rewarding, and it brings a great sense of pride when I see my students evolve as anglers. Though I am not guiding as much these days, I still take the time to teach flyfishing schools when my schedule allows,” she says.

“I am most in awe of the people I meet through fly fishing. Most all have a positive story and a gleam in their eyes when they tell it. Being involved with Hunter Banks Co. as well as the WNC Fly Fishing Expo has allowed me to work directly with many flyfishing businesses and field experts. Each has exceptional talent and a distinctive

niche. Through these connections, I have been able to see familiar faces when I travel all over the country, thus making the world slightly smaller.”

When asked how she has seen fly fishing change in the South since she entered into this world, she explained that she has noticed that the fly-fishing media is trending towards more emphasis on fly fishing for anything but trout. “The Southeast region is notoriously rich in fish diversity; therefore, there is a lot of attention to the area simply because we are fishing for the uncommon,” she says. “For me, it has provided opportunities to fly fish for everything from Trout to Musky, Redfish to Tarpon. And everything in between. For fly rodders, it truly is a utopia.”

Of course, I had to pose the question to Reba if she sensed more parity of the genders in fly fishing now than in the past, and if there is greater parity, to what does she credit it?

“It’s all how you see it I guess,” she responded. “I would be lying to say that the genders are treated equally in fly fishing. I certainly have been given opportunities, and I get attention simply because I am a female. With that said, some people can be very critical, thinking that is the only reason one gets opportunities. That can be very frustrating to hear. Being a true professional, I’m not in this to look the part. I am constantly seeking opportunities to learn more about techniques, different strategies and putting them into practice. It keeps me relevant, too. “ Reba continued, “Yes, women are still in the minority when it comes to participating in the sport. Like most outdoor sports, we are seeing a rise in involvement from women.

Most women I know that do fish can care less if they catch the biggest fish or ‘out cast’ anyone. Fly fishing is simply an activity that provides a sense of contentment--an opportunity to connect to something wild.

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Second, buy new gear just for them. Using old gear that is uncomfortable or decrepit won’t encourage anyone to stay with fishing. This gives them a sense of pride and possession, too. Even if they don’t stay with it, fly fishing gear holds its value pretty well, and you can always resell to get your money back.

Third, allow them to find their rhythm on their own, without embedding what you want them to get out of the sport. Fly fishing is different for everyone. Fourth, go watch fly fishing travel movies together.

There are so many great ones out there that provoke curiosity that will sustain interest.

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Reba has some advice to guys who might be interested in introducing a wife, girlfriend or daughter to fly fishing. First, according to Reba, hire a professional instructor.

According to her, this should not be up for discussion. A third party is necessary.

Otherwise, you open yourself up for an opportunity for a whole lot of bickering.

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I’m sure you can say that about most anglers regardless of gender.

I think if more women gave fly fishing a try, they would quickly find the magic in it.”

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Last, go on a guided float trip together. You will both get attention at your individual level. Again, the third party is key.

When asked where Reba sees the sport of fly fishing going in the South going in the next decade, she said that she would like to see Redfish receive game fish status in North Carolina and watch that fishery become something amazing. Reba also hopes to see more schools embrace TU’s Trout in the Classroom and fly-fishing classes for our youth. Finally, she hopes to see the outdoor community address the desperate need to protect our watersheds. “Get involved and stay active. Clean water is not just essential for fish, it’s essential for life,” says Reba.

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Color coding indicates waters believed to Deep hold the Creek game fish species depicted in at least certain stretches of the streams. Due to ever changing stream conditions the extents of the color coding must be viewed as a snapshot in time. Drought and wet weather 74 year extremes can affect normal species ranges up to several miles in some cases. A coded stream is not necessarily “fishable” in part or in whole due to small size, restricted accessibility, casting room limitations, etc.

BRYSON CITY

Other products include 11x17 weatherproof and tear-resistant printed versions of all 44 park stream maps and a dozen more of these great East Tennessee tailwaters: • Hiwassee River – Below Powerhouse to Quinn Springs* • Holston River – Cherokee Dam to Nances Ferry • French Broad River – Douglas Dam to Knoxville • Clinch River – Norris Dam to Clinton • South Fork Holston River – S. Holston Dam to Bluff City • Watauga River – Watauga Dam to town of Watauga

Reba is also a proud ambassador for Free Fly Apparel. Go to www.freeflyapparel.com/ pros/details/625 to learn more.

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CFRF

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Maps are enhancements of USGS 7.5 Minute Series Quadrangle topographic at scales equal to 1:24,000. * Thumbnail example is that of the section of the Hiwassee from the Powerhouse to Reliance.

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www.southerntrout.com | section Southern Trout | 135 * Thumbnail example is that|of November the Powerhouse2013 to Reliance of the Hiwassee.

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I

grew up in a family where fishing was a way of life. My father (Don R. Howell) was one of the premier fly tiers of his generation. What a lot of people don’t know is that he was also an exceptional Bass Angler. When I was six years old, I awoke early one Sunday morning in August to a trophy that my father had won on the Saturday before. The massive trophy stood nearly 5 feet tall and had a big fish on top of it. My father had won the United Bass Fishermen Silver Cup Trail by beating Bill Dance, Roland Martin, Jimmy Houston, and all of the other well-known bass anglers.

I knew the moment I saw that trophy that I wanted to be a part of the fishing industry.

Less than a year later, he walked away from professional bass fishing and the BASS tour so that he could spend time taking me fishing. For the next 21 years I was fortunate enough to fish, hunt tie flies, and build rods beside my father.

Since there were not any fly shops in the area, my father and uncle opened Dwight and Don’s Custom Tackle in 1970 in the basement of our house.

I would spend countless hours watching them tie flies for hours. By the time I was four, I had managed to aggravate them enough so they sat up a fly tying vise, and they would give me all of their scrap material, so I would time alongside them. My grandfather would then buy my flies from me at $0.25 each.

Thinking back on it, I never saw him tie one on his rod. After a year or so, I had saved

feature enough money to buy a better vise of my own. At age eight, I was introduced by my father to Charlie down at the local tire store.

Charlie was a big crappie fisherman, so we bartered a deal. I would supply him with doll flies for crappie fishing, and he would give me all the broken tire weights to melt down and make the heads for the doll flies.

Using the excess doll flies heads, I started selling the flies to all the shops around the lakes in South Carolina and making a little money to buy more fishing gear.

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I was ten when I contracted the chicken pox, and my parents left me with my uncle for two days while they went to Dalton Georgia and got new carpet for the house. I pestered him until he broke down and taught me how to tie a Royal Wulff and a Parachute Wulff. That summer, my father and uncle went to the remote backcountry of Canada. Upon their return, they said they wanted to take me back the following summer. So, I set in tying Doll Flies and Bass Jigs for local guys. After my summer trip to Canada, I was hooked. Those years of staring at the back of the Outdoor Life and dreaming of fishing in these locations was starting to come to life.

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I remember in May of 1982, Sir Arthur Oglesby came to write an article on my father and uncle. Sir Arthur was the editor-inchief of Outdoor Life Magazine. Sir Arthur would spend several hours telling me about fishing around the world, and all I could do is drool and dream of the fish that were out there to catch. Later that summer, I got my first graphite rod blank from an Upstart Company in

Washington State that my father had heard of earlier that year while in Montana on a fishing trip.

That Sage RP fly rod was one of the first in the southeast behind the one my uncle and father had built for themselves.

During in 1983, I would begin tying flies commercially with my father and uncle, their commercial accounts included Orvis, Blue Ribbon Flies, Yellowstone Anglers and other well know western shops. From that point on, my destiny in the fly-fishing industry was set. I would tie at FFF conclaves that Featured Lefty Kreh, Farrow Allen and all of the famous tiers.

By the time I reached 16, I was starting to fish my way around the world. My routine with my father would be as follows. As

soon as school was out, we would head to Canada for two weeks of Smallmouth Bass Fishing. Then, we would head home and onto the beach with the rest of the family where we would proceed to spend at least 3/4 of the vacation fishing in saltwater. Next, we would head back to the house for a few days before we left for Montana and two weeks in the West. So, when school started back, we came home and tied flies commercially for the winter and resupply our travel budget so that we could start the whole process over again the next year.

After graduating high school, I went to Appalachian State University for my undergraduate degree, mainly because it was close to my grandparents and to some good fishing and hunting. Little to my parent’s knowledge, as soon as I would get out of class, I would often leave campus and drive to meet my grandfather on a nearby trout stream. I would slip my rods and stuff into the dorm room and literally sleep with them under my mattress so no one would still them.

After marrying my wife, Mellissa, and leaving the education profession and a short three-year stint in the Engineering and Construction Industry, I came home one night and told my wife that I wanted to work in the fishing industry. So at age 26, I left a well-paying job for the life of a fishing

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and editor-at-large for Field & Stream

“Wendy and Terry Gunn have identified the best tailwaters in North America and distilled each fishery into a succinct and helpful guide with no fluff—just good solid info. The maps of each river are alone worth the price of admission.”

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—KirK Deeter , editor of TROUT magazine,

The Orvis Company, and author of The Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide

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“Nobody, but nobody, is more dialed in on the nuances of tailwater fishing than are Terry and Wendy Gunn.

And nobody is more connected to others who understand the best places and methods involved in effective tailwater fishing…. If you want to play big-league ball and catch large trout, this book will be key. It’s the most comprehensive ‘where-to’ with some ‘how-to’ I’ve ever seen.”

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With Davidson River Outfitters doing well, one night in late May of 2008, I came home to my wife and asked “What do know about

I don’t think my parent ever thought that me sitting beside my father and tying flies out of scrap material would ever end with me owning a fly-fishing operation on two separate continents and spending nearly 8 weeks annually in exotic fishing locations around the world.

There have been plenty of bumps in the road, like the time I dyed my wife’s brand new white porcelain sink yellow while trying to duplicate yellow hammer feathers, but that is a whole different story.

Cold water, big trout, year round!

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A year after buying Davidson River Outfitters, I hired Walker Parrott whom I am pretty sure is almost as crazy as I am to be my shop manager. For nearly 16 years now, he and I have built the reputation of being the best fly shop and guide service in the Southeastern U.S., not to mention the fact that we have won countless fishing tournament fishing as team Davidson River Outfitters.

Argentina?” “Not much,” she said. “Why you ask?”

Boy, she really wasn’t expecting the answer she got. I said, “Well, I have two tickets for us to go to San Martin de los Andes, Argentina and meet with Gustavo Hiebaum who wants me to be a partner in his outfitting operation.”

I will admit that I intentionally forgot to tell her that June, in Argentina, is the dead of winter, I’m not sure she would have gone had I mentioned that.

Nevertheless, three months later, Andes Drifters was born.

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guide and commercial fly tier and a job which paid me $14,000 the first year I was there. Then two years later with a newborn on my lap, I told my wife I thought we should buy the business I was working for and combine it with father’s fly-tying business which I had taken over after his passing. To my surprise, she agreed to the crazy idea. After meeting with some friends, most of whom thought I gone off the deep end, I bought a fledgling fly fishing business in Pisgah Forest.

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“

Mr. Joe! How’s it goin’ mon?” Bug man! I pull up and Joe’s two purebred German Shepherds come rushing towards me. I keep a bag of dog treats under the driver side seat of the truck at all times mostly for the purpose of distracting Joe’s dogs right after they approach. I’ll be honest, they’re both a bit scary, and I have found that this technique both calms them down and keeps my mind at ease. I’ve learned to trust the darker colored one, but the tan one can’t be trusted. This is a fact that I’ve decided to live with, and believe me, the fishing near Joe’s Island outweighs the scare and possible injury one could receive from his dogs.

It’s the middle of March, and I’m late into the early spring blue wing olive emergence (Baetis tricaudatus) on the Southeast’s best trout river, the South Holston Tailwater.

Mayflies are emerging in the run above me and are gliding into a riffle approximately 15 feet below my wading boats. It’s weird, you see. The trout hardly notice the additional micro currents that the boots give off and have developed an impressionistic one-track minded persona where all of their available energy is focused on consuming emerging nymphs and subimagos off the river’s surface. I would have to deem myself an idiot if I am to think that they are not aware of my presence as they probably receive more angling pressure than any other trout in the south. These browns and rainbows are used to fishermen and have learned to block out the negative and stick with the positive.

They are focused on their task much like the angler is focused on his. Eagerly feeding trout have positioned themselves in the riffle below me and like clockwork they are feeding in the same feeding lanes that they have fed in for years. They are predictable, but yet they are not easy fish for they are the epitome of the selective trout. I tie on a special fly named the “heavenly” BWO a cross between the “Dawayne” originally tied

by Mr. Terry Melvin and the “comparadun” made famous by Al Caucci and Bob Nastasi on the upper Delaware River. The fly is a

management during the winter-closed season. Leaving the water as to not disturb or intrude upon more redds, I find my friend Mr. Joe upstream in a rocking chair overlooking the flat that I named after him.

As I approach him, I find that is he watching two large browns chase banded sculpins (Cottus carolinae) into the musk grass that lines the submersed banks of the section of river he calls “the glory stretch, the god’s country stretch, where legends are made.”

trout killer, and just like its parents it too meets the conditions to which all good fly patterns must conform. That is, the fly must represent a type pattern where style predominates color with respect to catch rate.

As the emergence begins to die down and as I proceed to forfeit my fishing hole to my friend Joe, I ease my way into a channel created by the division of a rather large island. There, on the downstream point of the island’s largest half, I spy a trout spawning redd that measures 2ft wide and 5ft long. I wonder to myself if I am the first to notice it or if any other anglers for that matter even know what it is. There were no signs to alert anglers of redds. Therefore, how could fishermen ever be expected to watch their step or know what it is that they should be watching for? The redd appears to be intact, but, of course, this is March, and nearly 4 months after the November spawn. I shake my head, slightly confused as to why this river section was not closed to fishing by

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Spawning Trout and The Functional Biology and Ecology of Trout Redds It is somewhat understandable as to why management does not close the entire river to harvest during the spawn. Wildlife resource agencies have to make money just like everyone else. However, if river sections are to remain open to wade fishing during the spawn, anglers must understand the potential negative ramifications that both wading and fishing can have on the biology of the spawn and the future productivity of tailwater fisheries. In order to do this, fishermen must first understand the spawn in its entirety so that they can properly evaluate the effects of angler induced spawning habitat fragmentation on trout reproduction and recruitment.

Prior to spawning, trout undergo astronomical morphological changes.

Males experience the most radical of these changes as their lower jaw extends outward and over their upper jaw to form a kype.

Males and females also undergo significant changes in coloration. Male brown trout (Salmo trutta) become more orange and brown much like their fall surroundings.

Their girth becomes more yellow, their sides turn deep orange, and their black spots get darker with halos of crème, yellow, and orange hues surrounding them. Female browns do not seem to color up as much and remain golden or light tan, crème with black spots. I have noticed, particularly on the South Holston, that spawning male and female brown trout fresh from Boone Lake are almost always tan or light crème colored with black spots and look similar to the “sea trout” of the British Isles. Resident non-lake run spawning brown trout of both sexes rarely eclipse the ghostly appearance of the lake run browns. Male and female rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) develop a reddish pink stripe that runs parallel against the lateral line to the tip of the operculum with lighter silvers, whites, and greenish hues bordering the stripe to the north and south. I have always felt that this particular coloration meshed perfectly with the darker, somber tones of winter and the white snows that can often compliment a late winter and early spring rainbow spawn.

Throughout the scientific literature, it is noted that trout choose spawning locations that meet stringent demands. Of these demands, oxygen availability is perhaps the most important followed closely behind by substrate size. Researchers have demonstrated that trout prefer to construct

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feature redds in wide, shallow river sections that receive high amounts of dissolved oxygen including the heads of pools at riffles and at the tailend of pools where the next riffle series begins. New research has shown that trout construct redds in stream zones with significant hyporheic groundwater exchange. This is not surprising given that at the South Holston most stream sections where spawning trout concentrate are nestled just above limestone caverns.

The upwelling and spring influence from these caverns provides cold, nutrient rich (pH 7.0-8.0) water for the eggs within the redds. Faster currents within riffles prevent the buildup of fine, sandy sediments (1-2mm) that gather in between the pore spaces of fine gravel (~6.5mm) where eggs are lodged after being deposited by the female. Fine sediment can negatively effect oxygen uptake by the eggs by reducing the amount of groundwater exchange between the

feature redd and the hyporheos as well as reducing the input of water coming from upstream.

Fine sediments can also act as reservoirs for heavy metals and pollutants that are acutely toxic to eggs in the short term and potentially chronically toxic to eggs in the long term. From my research, I have not seen any demonstrated evidence of toxicity in the South Holston. However, it would be unprofessional to completely rule out the event from ever occurring.

In general, redds are mounds constructed by salmonid fishes like trout, char (except lake trout), and salmon that provide a safe refuge for fertilized eggs. Mature redds are composed of two parts a “pit or pot” and a “tailspill” (Figure 1). To construct the pit, the female trout turns on her side and beats her tail against the bottom substrate to create a depression free of fine sediment and debris exposing larger cobble (76-300mm). The

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female then waits for a dominate male to approach who lays next to the her while hovering over the pit and releases milt (the equivalent of sperm) at the same time that she releases her eggs. Successive bouts of spawning ensue as eggs are deposited progressively upstream and subsequently moved by the female into the lower half of the redd called the “tailspill.” As the pair spawn and move progressively upstream, the female is quick to cover the fertilized eggs with loose gravel (i.e. tailspill material) creating multiple layers or beds of eggs shaped in the form of a mound. Studies have shown that the ma jority of the 2-5mm wide eggs are found at a 9-12cm depth within the upper half of the tailspill deposit. This finding is of great importance to anglers who fish on the South Holston and other eastern tailwater rivers. If you happen to encounter a redd in the field, it is imperative that you avoid smashing the tailspill mound that

contains a significant ma jority of the eggs.

Deliberately or accidentally destructing the tailspill mound can burst trout eggs and expose the entire redd or individual eggs to predators.

The incubation time for trout eggs is typically 1 to 5 months and is dependent on changes in water temperature and photoperiod. Upon reaching embryonic maturity, the eggs hatch inside the tailspill gravel refuge as sac-fry (also referred to as “alevin”) where they gain nutrients from an attached yolk sac and are rarely mobile.

Several weeks later, the sac-fry emerge from the tailspill mound to feed on phytoplankton after using up the last of their yolk reserves.

At this life stage, less than 2% of all fry will reach 1-year in age. Therefore, it is critical that anglers understand how vulnerable sac-fry are in redds, and how critical the structural integrity of tailspill mounds are

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feature to the future sustainability of wild trout populations. The act of responsible wading goes further than just the spawn or during the closed season (November-January).

Anglers must also practice responsible wading into the months of February, March, and April in stream sections utilized by spawning trout. These sections still harbor developing eggs and newly hatched sac-fry within tailspill mounds with the possibility of newly developed fry residing close by. As a general rule of thumb on the South Holston, I usually remain cautious of tailspill mounds while wading until the blue wing olive emergence ends in the upper river and the sulphur mayfly emergence begins in the lower. I feel that this length of time is adequate for sac-fry to have developed into fry, and thus vacated the gravel tailspill mounds that can easily be crushed and stepped on.

Consequences of Fishing During the Spawn Since the dawn of southern angling, fly fishermen have pondered fishing the spawn by labeling it as an ethical decision based solely on one’s personal interests and how they think the resource should be utilized. However, in consideration of our sport’s growing interest in the south, is it not fair to reconsider how we must responsibly use the resource that we have been blessed with? Most anglers do not realize the harm they can pose to spawning trout and how exploiting them can have negative effects to the sustainability of the fishery. These negative consequences for future trout populations are deeply routed in how angling during the spawn disrupts the spawning process—a disruption of the natural order of the nonhuman biological world.

For example, it usually takes a female trout more than one day (sometimes three

feature days) to complete egg deposition on the redd. The egg deposition process includes digging the pit, laying the eggs, covering the first egg pocket with gravel to form the tailspill, and repeating these steps two to four times. During this stage of reproduction, the eggs are virtually loose and vulnerable and pulling the hen off the entire redd leaves the eggs open to predation from sculpins, suckers, trout, and various nongame fish. In addition, trout mortality rates from fishing increase during the spawn as compared to the non-spawning season.

For instance, the same trout caught during the spawn has a higher chance of experiencing fishing mortality as opposed to being caught outside the spawn. Female trout can undergo significant physiological stress if caught during the spawn given that they are simply exhausted from the process of egg deposition. Some females may even release their eggs while being played or being landed. Female trout, which typically weigh in the neighborhood of 5 lbs., carry 2,000 eggs on average. The amount of energy she has invested in the eggs is paramount, and if she expels them, she will not receive another opportunity in the same season to spawn again. Every time a female trout releases her eggs prematurely as a product of angling stress, 2,000 possible individuals are instantly removed the total population.

Although the natural mortality rate for trout within the first year of life is greater than 98% (due to significant density--dependent mortality acting on age--0 trout within the redd), there are still 40 total individuals (2% of the population) per female that are theoretically absent from the total population as a function of angling pressure.

the female begins to dig and clear substrate for the pit, she is often accompanied by more than one male. The males compete for the female trout by using their kypes as javelins to knock their opponents from side to side to defend the pit. If a dominant male is taken off the pit during this critical time, the female is at risk of mating with an individual who is less fit. An unfit male is one whose genes are less favored by the ma jority of the females within the population and one whose offspring are less likely to survive to adulthood. Usually, the qualities that determine the fitness and selection of mates by trout are the result of favored phenotypic (morphological) characteristics that are passed down from parent to offspring. These can include the length and size of the male’s kype, spawning coloration, intact fins, the condition of the trout’s eye, and scales (all signs of good health). A gene pool marked with individuals who are less fit are at risk of being outcompeted or extirpated by competing species. Dominant males are more competitive than normal

during the spawn and are more likely to be easily hooked as a result of the aggression they display while defending the pit from non-dominant males and predators. Also, just as it is the case for females, male trout are likely to release milt upon being played or while being landed. Although the energetic cost of expelling milt prematurely is not equal to the cost endured by the females, the loss of reproductive energy, fat, and protein due to angling stress is a negative stressor that could easily be avoided by simply letting the fish be.

There Are Alternatives in SoHo Some SoHo anglers consider the act of fishing during the spawn to be unsporting citing that spawning trout are actually easier to catch than fish eating midges just downstream of them. Why this is certainly true, I have come to view the spawn in this light. I find that it is unfair for me to fish for trout that are vulnerable during what many might consider a scared act.

The spawn is a beautiful moment in the fly

Male trout cannot be excluded from these consequences and during the time at which

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fishing season where large trout anglers rarely see gather in skinny water to put on the greatest spectacle of the entire winter season. The spawn is similar to a big going away party. The trout have one last hurrah to celebrate the end of the sulphur season before the meatless midges of winter fill the mouths of those trout who are less fortunate.

Now, largely in part to my understanding of how angling disrupts the biology of the spawn, I sit on the SoHo’s islands and watch trout that I dream of catching in the spring and summer stick their backs out of the skinny water and into the November fog.

Marveling at their power and jealous of their springtime cunning I sit starry-eyed in a lover’s gaze while daydreaming to a particular point in time when I’ll fish for them more ethically.

with mayflies, he has become a connoisseur of great eastern emergences particularly on spring creeks and tailwater rivers.

Matt Green is a graduate of North Carolina State University. His past research with aquatic insects has led him to pursue fly-fishing opportunities across the entire east coast. Having developed a love affair

Grost, R.T., Hubert, W.A., and T.A. Wesche. 1990. Redd Site Selection by Brown Trout in Douglas Creek, Wyoming. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 5(3): 365-371.

*Note: Figure 1 modified from: Burner, CJ. 1951. Characteristics of spawning nests of Columbia River salmon. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fisheries Bulletin 61: 987-110 Suggested Reading: Baxter, C.V., and F.R. Hauer. 2011. Geomorphology, hyporheic exchange, and selection of spawning habitat by bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57(7): 1470-1481.

Beard, Jr., T.D., and R.F. Carline. 1991. Influence of Spawning and Other Stream Habitat Features on the Spatial Variability of Wild Brown Trout. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 120(6): 711-722.

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situational fly fishing in the great smoky mountains

Choosing A Productive Fishery Ron Gaddy

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here should be much more research prior to any fishing venture than just going to your favorite stretch of creek and beginning to sling flies. That may work occasionally, but if that’s how you do it, then it’s going to be a crap shoot. If you have only one day a month or one week a year to fish, then you are surely going to fish, and sometimes, a little research and forward thinking will make a big difference in how productive your fishing day is. There are many considerations, as we will explore, that if carefully evaluated, can prove extremely beneficial in choosing a productive fishery. You may not be able choose your weather, moon phase, water level or water temperature, but you can, and should choose your fishery. In my article “Fly Fishing Time Management” in the June/July issue of Southern Trout, I noted that choosing my fishery is what keeps me up at night. In this article, I will do my very best to articulate (using the English language and a little bit of hillbilly) how to use every tool available and some common sense in choosing a productive fishery.

Weather The weather will be your most important consideration in choosing your fishery and is something to keep an eye on until you head out the door. I will drive from my house in

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Waynesville, NC in any direction across two counties to find the best weather conditions for fishing. To determine that, I will check the local weather, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) or the Weather Channel for a prediction on weather events.

For example, if the water levels are running high, and a rain event is moving through north of Haywood County, I will drive south to fish the upper Pigeon River watershed or even to Translyvania County. If the water levels are low, I may choose a watershed with a prediction of a 40 to 50 percent chance of rain. Past weather is an important consideration as well. If your target watershed has collected enough rain in the last day or two to keep the water levels up a few inches, then you may want to consider a different fishery. A shower event is like ringing the dinner bell for wild trout, however, if the rain event lasts for a few days, the fishery will fill up with worms, bugs and insects, and trout will stay full thereby reducing your chances of having a productive day of fishing. During these extended rain events and after trout get a taste for worms, a good red worm pattern like the San Ron Worm may be the only nymph pattern that will catch fish.

Water Levels Water levels may be the second most important consideration in choosing a fishery, and doing that research in advance could save you some gas. I have arrived at my fishery after an hour’s drive only to see chocolate milk colored water with white caps. Sometimes a fishery with higher than normal water levels can be treacherous to wade and make your day of fishing less than fun. I use the USGS Water Data Website to keep an eye on the water levels right up until my departure. For example, I fish lower Cataloochee on a regular basis, so I know if the water levels are above 2.6 feet, I will choose a different fishery where the water levels are more conducive to wading. If your target fishery is not listed on the USGS Water Data Website, then look at surrounding watershed levels to make an educated guess.

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situational fly fishing in the great smoky mountains Water Temperature Water temperature is another important factor in choosing where you fish. Temperatures between 50 and 65 degrees tend to be ideal for the feeding trout. Since you will not be able to check the water temperatures in advance of your fishing day, you will have to make an educated guess depending on where you are fishing. Logging air temperature along with water temperature from year to year will give you some idea on what are the water temperatures. You will find water temperatures below 45 degrees and above 70 degrees mostly non-productive. This could vary a few degrees from one drainage to another, and it depends on the species of trout that you are stalking.

Summer Fishing Creeks and rivers in lower elevations will be warmer during the summer months, and as water temperatures go above the high sixties, the percentage of trout feeding will taper off. If you are fishing a few hours early or late, then it can still be productive, but if you want to catch fish all day, you should choose a fishery in the higher elevations above 3000 feet where water temperatures stay cooler. Creeks with a good canopy will also tend to be cooler. Tail water is always a good choice in the hot summer months.

Winter Fishing During the winter, fisheries in lower elevations will be a little warmer and normally a better choice for fishing on colder days. Larger creeks and rivers tend to be warmer than the smaller streams in the winter, and trout will migrate downstream to slower water that is more comfortable. Hatchery fish will feed in colder temperatures more so than wild trout, so choosing a delayed harvest or catch and release could be a good choice. Stalking native

eye on the generation schedule. Power plants normally have a dynamic schedule. I have arrived at the Nantahala tail water section only to find that the generation schedule has changed. Then it’s off to plan B. Low Water Water levels running low and clear can make for some spooky fish. When water levels get low and clear, I will choose fisheries that tend to have a little color. Lower reaches of trout streams will normally start to pick up a little color, especially if the drainage meanders through some farmland and urban sprawl. Streams that have stained water will be more productive when watersheds are running low, but this is the dilemma. When watersheds are running low, it’s normally during the summer with high water temperatures. Then, your task will be to find a fishery in a higher elevation that has a little color and cooler water temperatures.

High Water If all surrounding water levels are higher than normal, then you should look for a fishery in the higher elevations that tends to wash out a little faster. It has been my experience that smaller fisheries in higher elevations can be very productive when the water is a little higher than normal. During high water run-off, stalking brook trout in high elevations could prove to be a very good option.

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brook trout is always a good option in the winter since they feed in colder water more so then the brown or rainbow trout.

Full Moon If you are planning a fishing vacation or weekend, the only thing besides choosing your place to fish is planning around the full moon. If the moon is bright enough for fish to get a good feeding in at night, then they will not be hungry during the day. It’s not uncommon to get skunked around the full moon. If it just works out that you are fishing around a full moon, you should choose a drainage that has stained water, a good canopy, a gorge, or all three, if possible. Also, keep in mind that hatchery fish will feed about all the time.

Summary I have studied and experimented with all these influences on catching trout over the years, and although not an exact science, putting these considerations into your planning equation and making an educated choice on your fishery will definitely increase your fun in the creek. A day of fishing is always good, but a day of catching fish is better.

You can find a link to all the websites discussed in this article on my website. http://jonathancreekschoolofflyfishing.com Fish Responsibly.

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georgia

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all is the season for brown trout in North Georgia. It’s the season when these fish get the spawning urge.

The males become more territorial while also feeding more in anticipation of the coming lean months of winter.

With only a few exceptions, Georgia’s high country streams all hold brown trout. That’s particularly true of the roughly 1,500 miles of water where trout naturally reproduce.

In most cases, those browns also make up the largest fish in the streams. That’s partially because of the brown’s method of dealing with competing fish in the creek.

Once a brown reaches 12 to 15 inches, he simply eats his competition.

For anglers the appeal of fall brown trout undoubtedly is also tied to spawning colors.

When it’s time to build redds, browns take on a pallet of brown and golden hues, flecked with large ebony spots and a smaller number of blazing

Brown Trout Time in North Georgia

So, how does one target fall browns in North Georgia and particularly the larger fish?

First of all, fish with streamers and toss them into the deeper pools. Big browns also spend most of their time in the deeper areas of the creek, so weigh the offering to get it down to the fish.

The streamers imitating small fish appeal to the brown’s predatory instincts. The deeper water gives them more security and a greater range of prey species nearby.

Jimmy Jacobs

georgia in that number. Rounded up to the nearest ounce, his brown tipped the scales at 18 pounds, 7 ounces.

brown trout, as well as the possibility of tangling with a monster.

For more details on fishing the Hooch, check out Chris Scalley’s Web site at riverthroughatlanta.com.

The roughly 30 miles of water downstream to Morgan Falls Dam at Roswell has gone through a metamorphosis in during the late decade or so. That change was based on the discovery that brown trout stocked in the river had begun to reproduce.

UPPER CHATTOOGA RIVER The Chattooga River forms the border between Georgia and South Carolina, with both states stocking the river with rainbows, browns and brook trout. In recent years the delayed harvest section of the river has

Fortunately, Georgia has a few waters where your odds of tangling with a gotten most of the publicity.

red dots.

For fishermen, just knowing that browns are in a stream isn’t much help in catching them. While present, they rarely are found in large numbers.

Often the ratio of rainbows to browns caught runs from 5 to 1 to as much as 10 to 1.

And that assumes that any browns at all are fooled.

brown are much higher than average. If you are targeting brown trout, you should try these streams.

After a few years of reproduction was documented, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources ended the stocking of browns, yet the population of the fish has continued to increase. If you fish away from the stocking areas where rainbows are released in the river, your catch is virtually assured to be predominately the wild browns.

Jones Creek holds wild and colorful stream bred browns.

CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER TAILWATER The tailwater on the Chattahoochee River below Buford Dam at Lake Sidney Lanier offer the chance to catch numbers of wild

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As to size, the “Hooch” as locals call it, has given up several browns in excess of 15 pounds over the years. Charlie Ford’s 2001 catch of the state record fish was included

However, the wild trout section in the Ellicott Rock Wilderness Area to the north of Burrells Ford offers a very different fishery. The roughly 4.5 miles of water up to the North Carolina border is almost totally a wild brown trout stream. In fishing that section for four decades, I’ve caught only two rainbows there. Both of those were at the mouth of the East Fork of the river, downstream of South Carolina’s Wallhalla Fish Hatchery.

The Chattooga has many deep slow pools, separated by riffle areas. For more than half a century it has been noted for the 20-plusinch browns it occasionally gives up. But, the staples of this fishery are wild, stream bred browns measuring from 6 to 15 inches.

Although access to the river is by foot only

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The deep pools on the Chattooga are broken up by riffle areas.

On the Chattooga River the area from Burrells Ford to the North Carolina border at Ellicott Rock is brown trout water.

The Chattooga is a large stream by Georgia standards at Burrells Ford.

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georgia

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By Jimmy Jacobs Jones is a small stream, but easily waded in a relatively level valley. in the wilderness area, the presence of the Chattooga River Trail along the shore makes reaching the better fishing areas easy.

JONES CREEK Jones Creek is a true anomaly in North Georgia. Jones is a small stream running through what used to be the southern portion of the Blue Ridge Wildlife Management Area (the state gave up management for budgetary concerns) in the Chattahoochee National Forest.

The cause is uncertain, but for some reason, brown trout have always dominated the trout population in the creek. Again, in the last 40 years, I’ve caught only one rainbow from Jones Creek. Everything else has been wild brown trout measuring from 5 to 12 inches long. There have been reports of fish up to 18 inches taken on the creek.

Fishing pressure on the Jones has remained relatively light over the years for a couple of reasons. Only artificial lures are allowed on the stream. Also, you have to drive a very long distance on sometimes rough Forest Service Roads to reach the stream.

Once there, however, the creek is at roadside for several miles and runs through a relatively level valley, making wading easy.

Jones Creek is situated north of State Route 52, just west of Dahlonega. It can be reached by driving FS 42, to FS 77 and then on Jones Creek Road (FS 77A).

Photos courtesy of Jimmy Jacobs

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80 Watersheds On Public Land $15.95

Autographed copies available.

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te Sta ! i r T ion Reg

Georgia -- Tennesssee -- North Carolina

Trout -- Bass -- Striped Bass -- Panfish

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! ing ! h s i g F Fly- Fishin n Spi

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feature subfamily, they each belong to a different genus and species. Consequently, even though all three species are categorized as Salmonoids, brown trout are members of the Atlantic salmon genus whereas, rainbow trout are members of the Pacific salmon genus, and brook trout are members of the “char” genus. Therefore, neither brook trout nor speckled trout are really trout after all because they are both members of a different genus (Sal velinus) than that of trout (Oncorhynchus and Salmo). On the other hand, both the speckled trout and the brook trout are widely considered by ichthyologist to be the only native eastern “trout” species

Speckled Trout: Our Very Own Southern Trout Species Bill Bernhardt

W

hile it is not unusual for most fly fishermen who live outside of the southern Appalachian mountains to have never heard tell of a speckled trout, it has been my experience that even most southern fly anglers don’t realize that we have our very own southern trout species! However, beginning in 1967, a National Park Service Biologist by the name of Robert E. Lennon began a study to catalog the characteristics of the northern brook trout and to compare them to that of the southern speckled trout.

Consequently, his studies led him to believe that the differences between the two fish were so great that speckled trout should be classified as a separate species from, or at least a sub-species of, brook trout. In fact, Lennon’s reason for adopting this point of view is that native southern speckled trout are normally somewhat smaller than northern brook trout, and they display more speckles which are of a brighter color red than those found on Brook Trout. In addition, southern Speckled Trout consistently display larger eyes, a larger snout, a larger lower jaw, and a larger pectoral fin than does the brook trout. Thus, Lennon felt that according to the Toxicology classification rules of his day, this was enough evidence for speckled trout to be classified as a separate, southern, trout species.

However, this knowledge seems to have been lost even here in the South over the years as the brook trout has slowly displaced and/or hybridized our native speckled trout species to the point where the speckled trout is considered more a legend or even a myth than it is a reality, since so few fly anglers have actually seen one. Furthermore, this matter of toxicology classification is increasingly complicated by the common misconception that both speckled trout and brook trout are members of the “trout” genus when in fact, both are actually members of the “char” genus instead. So, why the heck do we call them trout if they are not actually trout? Well, the short answer to that is that is they look like trout. But, while both brook trout and speckled trout are salmonoids just like rainbow trout and brown trout, both brook trout and speckled trout are presently classified as members of Salmoninae salvelinus fontinali instead of Salmoninae oncorhynchus mykiss (rainbow trout) or Salmoninae salmo trutta (brown trout). In fact, the name “trout” is commonly used for some species of fish in three of the seven different genera in the subfamily Salmoninae which consist of Salmo (Atlantic genus); Oncorhynchus (Pacific genus); and Sal velinus (char or charr genus). Therefore, although rainbow trout, brown trout, and brook trout are all members of the same Salmoninae

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since both rainbow trout and brown trout are believed to have migrated into our streams via the world’s oceans. So, although the specked trout isn’t really a “trout” after all, it is our very own southern “trout” species!

Now that we have all of that cleared up,

you may be wondering, “If the brook trout is a native northern trout species, then how the heck did they come to inhabit our southern trout streams, and how did they come to displace the native speckled trout in most of our southern trout streams?”

Well, the answer to that question is man’s insatiable avarice combined with the way that people used to view natural resources in this country. You see, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, most Americans viewed the land as something to be conquered and tamed and the natural resources it held to be endless and ours for the taking. Thus, the people of the time, who had both wealth and positions of power in our society used their considerable means and influence to harvest the country’s natural resources en masse without regard to the well being of future generations while couching it in the guise of progress. Consequently, many of the older mountain folk living here in the southern Appalachians clearly recall (and still resent) the overzealous and unregulated logging and mining operations that took

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feature they not only differed in appearance from our native speckled trout, they often lacked the instincts that wild trout need to survive, and therefore, they were far easier for anglers to catch. In addition, once the new, pen-raised, brook trout were released into our local waters, the ones that did manage to survive began to interbreed with our native southern speckled trout; thus they created a hybrid species. As a result, endemic populations of speckled trout can only be found today in the headwaters of southern Appalachian trout streams that have impassable barriers such as tall waterfalls provided that people have refrained from transplanting trout from below the barrier to above it.

So, although the hatchery managers of old may or may not have done us a disservice

by importing and releasing a non-native “trout” species into our local trout streams, quite frankly, they really had no choice if they were to fulfill their charge of creating fishable trout populations here in the Southeast. Unfortunately, this also had the effect of causing the venerable speckled trout to fade into the annals of history where they have become an obscure legend instead of being recognized as part of our Southern heritage. Thus, let it be known that in addition to our very own, southern, fly fishing magazine, we also have our very own, southern, trout species!

Bill Bernhardt Professional Guide & Instructor Harper Creek Fly Fishing Company www.nc-flyfishing.com

Harper Creek Fly Fishing Company

Your small stream specialist

place here in the South that completely denuded their beloved mountain ranges. In addition, this widespread and indiscriminate clear-cutting of the dense forest canopy removed the large ma jority of the mature shade trees and trampled the undergrowth necessary to anchor the top soil which in turn caused the streams to become clogged with silt. Furthermore, the lack of shade during the summer months caused water temperatures to soar well beyond the point where our native speckled trout were able to survive. Thus, many southern states were forced to build hatcheries and establish stocking programs in order to create fishable populations of trout in their mountain streams. However, most attempts to rear native speckled trout in hatcheries proved to be a disaster because our wild

speckled trout are highly susceptible to aquatic diseases when they are held in concrete pens and forced live together in close proximity. Therefore, in self-defense, many frustrated hatchery managers started importing northern brook trout as a substitute from hatcheries located in states such as Michigan, Massachusetts, and New York. However, due to the fact that those imported, northern, brook trout had been raised in hatcheries over many generations, they had become specifically adapted to the hatchery environment and thus, the new trout species that southern hatchery managers were importing noticeably differed from our native speckled trout species. So, when these newly imported northern brook trout were released into our local, southern Appalachian, trout streams,

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www.nc-flyfishing.com

We are North Carolina’s Premier Backcountry Fly Fishing Guide Service!

Harper Creek Fly Fishing Company is a professional fly fishing guide service specializing in back-country, walk/wade, fly fishing trips for experienced anglers and guided fly fishing instructional trips for novices. We also offer summertime fly fishing or light spin-tackle kayak fishing trips for Smallmouth Bass on the New River.

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arkansas

I

n 2013 I reached a couple of milestones.

First, I turned (if that’s the right word) 70 in May. Then, I celebrated (if that’s the right word) 50 years in the media, either writing or broadcasting, in August.

So what? You ask.

Well, it’s for these two reasons that I decided to junk my original column for this issue of Southern Trout and reflect on one of the highlights of my lengthy career.

There are a lot of memories after five decades: good ones, and, yes, some bad ones. Thankfully, the good far outnumber the bad. You name it; I’ve probably written about it, and not just in the outdoors but indoors, too.

From gyms to football stadiums to race tracks (horses and motor-powered vehicles) to mountains, lakes and rivers and once on top of a school bus covering a high school football game and from cold type to hot type to no type, it has been a long, long ride.

But, there’s no doubt about my number one memory.

It came in 1990 when the Outdoor Writers Association of America selected one of my photographs as the winner of that year’s scenic black-and-white competition.

The plaque signed by OWAA 172 | Southern Trout | October 2013 | www.southerntrout.com

13 Memories

Larry Rea

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arkansas president Joel Vance and award chairman Mike Simmons hangs on a wall in my office adjacent to the award-winning photo.

Guess where that photo was taken?

It was taken on a cool, foggy morning on the White River on a family trout fishing vacation based out of Gaston’s White River Resort. Three anglers, including one standing in the middle of the boat, are featured in the photo.

But it wasn’t necessarily the anglers who made the photo special. It was the fact that at the time I snapped the photo with my small company owned camera; it was almost like time had stood still.

When the folks in the photo lab at the newspaper where I worked at the time developed the photo, they couldn’t decide which way to turn it. The reflection on the crystal clear, cold water of the White River, along with the clouds and early morning fog, captured the moment. You can’t tell which way is up or down.

I was, as my daddy always said, in the right place at the right time.

Only trouble was I never saw the photo before it appeared in the newspaper. After catching one trout after another on the day the photo was taken, my family left for an extended vacation on Lake Catherine near Hot Springs, Ark. It was while we were at Lake Catherine that everything seemed to go downhill. That’s where my wife, Miriam, broke her leg, and I injured my back. She ended up having a steel rod inserted in her leg, and had an extended hospital stay while I recuperated at the home of my aunt and uncle in North Little Rock.

Once we finally got back home to Memphis, I got my first look at the photo, one of several I had shipped to the newspaper before leaving Gaston’s for Hot Springs.

The newspaper’s photo editor made the selection.

It turned out to be a good choice.

Not only did I get a plaque and cash, I later on was asked if I’d be interested in being part of a photo seminar panel on how to take “award-winning” photos.

The only thing I did was point and shoot.

In 50 years in the business, it is the only photo award I have ever won. Yet, there I was with the stars of the business being asked to tell people how to take photos.

I can talk all day about hunting and fishing, but in those days (long before digital photos) I was the low man on the totem pole when it came to taking photos for the newspaper.

Jim Gaston and the good folks at Gaston’s White River Resort made a big deal about the photo, too, which is nice considering that Gaston has a passion for taking good photos. He doesn’t just love a good story. He loves a good photo to go with the story. Go to www.gastons.com and check out some of his photos.

The White River below Bull Shoals Lake Dam is one of those places that produce countless numbers of memories each year; not necessarily from the fish that is caught but the photo that is taken.

Don’t ever leave home for a trout fishing trip without a camera, whether it’s big or small; kind of like the fish you’ll probably catch. No matter the size of the fish, it is the memory that counts.

There’s no place better to make a memory than on the White River or the Little Red River or the Spring River, Arkansas’ Triple Play for amazing trout fishing experiences and photo opportunities.

My day came on the White River.

I got my memory.

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tenkara

Tenkara: On The Rise

Jason Sparks

I

tenkara

was fishing on the Elk River a few weeks ago when a small car pulled onto the gravel behind me. The gentleman sat and watched a few minutes, then approached. “Looks like you are doing some tenkara today. Any luck?” It is not often that you come across someone that recognizes my reel-less rod.

After talking a few minutes, he went into his convertible and pulled out a short dark green rod tube that I quickly recognized.

We talked about some local waters and where he could find some easy casting action while he was learning on his Tenkara USA Iwana rod.

Last week at work, I was talking with some clients from Charlotte that were about to close on a new home purchase in the Linville, NC area. I asked them to tell what had drawn them into this area of the mountains here in North Carolina. “Hiking and trail running” were the husband’s words. The wife responded that she “wanted to learn how to fish.” She had never tried before. I told her that the Linville area had wonderful fisheries and she had found a great place to learn.

After she mentioned she wanted to see what fly-fishing was all about, I suggested that she look into tenkara. The husband stated they had heard exactly the same thing from a friend in Charlotte. That friend must know about how easy it is to learn fly casting on a tenkara rod. I told them they were given good advice.

Nearby, the Outdoor Recreation Program Director at a local college is interested in hosting several tenkara presentations for the students. He is looking at setting up classroom time to cover the origins of this old Japanese style of fly fishing and bringing it current with a modern flare. Presentations will include time on the water with casting clinics to show everyone the ease and application of this style. I am developing a similar program for the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education outside of Brevard, NC that will

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tenkara

run next year. What started as one event there has become a two-part production that will have dates starting in May and will run through November. Tenkara will also be showcased at the 24th Annual Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge, TN in early 2014. We’ve been approached by angling groups in Atlanta, Raleigh, Knoxville, Charlotte and other cities interested in bringing presentations to their members.

Tenkara is finding a place to call home in our Southern waters. It is well suited for our mountain streams, as we chase wild trout through headwaters and toss flies at the big boys, too. Delayed Harvest season begins soon in many areas, and you can bet I’ll be tracking some big fish on my tenkara rods this fall. It is a blast to get into some warm water with these rods, too. Hoppers for bass, poppers for sunfish, and some modified dropper rigs for Crappie will get the job

tenkara

done. These precise casting tools are great for working spawning beds, lily pads and reeds. Tenkara fishermen have seen dozens of fish species targeted here in the South, and we hear great stories from fisherman with great results, all the time.

Are you ready to give it a try? Where do you even begin to know what you need, what rod to get your hands on, or how to choose flies and what are the line options?

I’ve talked over this before and any tenkara angler will confirm it, these rods are not cane poles or bream busters. You can’t substitute a $13 fiberglass rod for these high modulus carbon rods. It would be like Moe Norman swinging broomstick in the tee box or Peyton Manning tossing a sponge football on a down and out. You can try it and see quickly that you need something more. Let’s look at some options.

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Tenkara Rods: Tenkara USA 12’ Iwana is a very capable and well-balanced rod. This is my “go to” rod, and I fish it typically four days a week. There are dozens of options on the market these days like: Fountainhead, Tenkara Times, Diawa, Nissin, Temple Fork Outfitters, and the list goes on. Yet, the Iwana is very light at 2.7 ounces and collapses down to 20 inches. It will handle big fish like the 22” rainbow I landed with it. Its versatility will cast a variety of line types and maintain a strong performance. At just under $160.00, it is a great choice to step into tenkara with. The Tenkara USA Lifetime Warranty is top-notch, and you can rest assured their customer service and support is industry leading. A nice feature for the Iwana is the optional “short” handle. This corked unit shortens the 12’ rod to 9’3” by removing the lower three sections of the rod and replacing with this one. The handle is about $35.00 and provides two distinctly different rods for a very low price. I use the 9’3” Iwana on local headwaters like the New, Elk and Toe rivers and smaller creeks like Dutch and Little Wilson.

Choose this rod to get started and you will see what I mean.

Tenkara Rod

Tenkara USA http://www.tenkarausa.com Tenkara USA Dealers http://www.tenkarausa.com/contact_us.php

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tenkara

Tenkara Lines: The Japanese fly rods use two main types of lines.

There is “level-line” and “furled lines” and each have their time and place for use. I prefer the furled lines most of the time. They come in a variety of materials from fluorocarbon to mono to kevlar. It is the yellow kevlar lines I want to recommend.

Kelvar is an ideal material that is supple, durable and stretch resistant. They are available from several sources online. The Tenkara USA kevlar line currently comes at 10 feet and 13.5 feet lengths and are both very nice lines. Over at Streamside Leaders, Mike and his crew are putting out a great kevlar line, also. He is offering a large variety of lengths. I’ve tried them from 8 feet long to well passed 20 feet. I have settled in on using a 17 foot line from Streamside as my everyday line. If you are looking or getting started, you should really match your line to the length of your rod. You will be adding about 4 feet of 5X tippet to it. With the 12 feet Iwana, take a look at a 10 feet to 13 feet line. Don’t think of this as a “beginner’s length.” This is what typical conditions will call for. I use my 10 foot line a great deal, also. Start her,e and you will be ready for quick learning.

Tenkara Flies: We do like to call our flies “kebari,” since it is the generalized Japanese term for flies. The most recognizable is the “Sakasa Kebari” with its reverse hackle. These flies can be tied in any color combination, but most often are natural in color to look like any nondescript bugs along the water. Tenkara anglers typically focus their attention on specific techniques in presentation rather than the “match the hatch” approach to fly choice. Even with a box full of kebari, I have tossed many a “conventional” fly on my Iwana. There is no need to revamp your fly-box

Tenkara continues to grow very quickly across America. I am seeing it firsthand here in the mountains of North Carolina and our surrounding areas. The online tenkara community is active and growing daily in forums and Facebook pages. Find us online and join up in the conversation. There are anglers all over the country that would love to share information about equipment, techniques, kebari patterns, good water and of course the big catch. We might even be able to set up a demonstration near you and

get a rod in your hands for an afternoon.

Take a good look at the Iwana and a matching furled line for starters. You’ll find yourself watching videos on how to really get into the action with the new tool in your arsenal. It won’t be long before we bump into each other out on the creek.

Jason Sparks Founder, Appalachian Tenkara Anglers jason@applachiantenkara.com

Tenkara Rods

Tenkara USA http://www.tenkarausa.com Tenkara USA Dealers http://www.tenkarausa.com/contact_us.php

Tenkara Lines

Streamside Leaders http://www.streamsideleaders.com

Tenkara Flies

Loften Deprez http://www.latackleflies.com/tenkara-flies.php

Appalachian Tenkara Anglers

https://www.facebook.com/groups/427767453947927/

for tenkara. You will do very well tossing caddis, cahill, adams, renegades, hoppers, spiders, soft hackle wets, parachutes and just about anything else you can get your hands on.

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Gatlinburg on the Fly!

Beau Beasley

Tight cover is often the norm when fishing for mountain trout.

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“

OK, Beau, keep your leader tight,” my guide instructed me. “No, tighter than that… and keep your rod tip up a bit more than that, too. Okay, be ready to set the hook when it’s time—which means anytime you see the forward movement of your leader, stop.” I tried to imagine where my subsurface pattern was as it traveled downstream, and I carefully watched my leader for the slightest twitch. I was standing thigh-deep in the middle of the Little River in Tennessee and doing my dead-level best not to be distracted by my breathtaking surroundings on this, only my second fishing foray into the Great Keeping a low profile and wearing muted colors can help when fishing for mountain trout.

Smoky Mountains National Park (SMNP). My patient guide, Chad My quarry was as eager to be free as I Williams, continued to instruct. was to bring him to hand, and he fought “Okay, that was a good drift—but let’s put accordingly. I struggled to maintain solid your pattern through there again because that’s an area that usually holds fish.” I made footing on a rock-strewn river bottom but finally brought in the brightly-colored another short cast, held my leader tight 9-inch-long rainbow trout. I was all smiles, and watched carefully—and again, no dice. and even Chad commented, “He isn’t real I was about to bring my line in for another cast when the leader dove below the water’s long, but he’s got some good heft to him.”

It was an appropriate catch for an angler surface. I set the hook, and the fight was on. who is a respectable 5’10” but whose waders seem to shrink in the waistband every season.

We snapped a quick picture, and then Chad gingerly released my catch back into the Little River, one of a handful of beautiful waterways hidden within the park.

Brown trout like this can be easily caught in the SMNP

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I’d driven to Tennessee to fish the SMNP and to visit Gatlinburg, a small city that explodes in population every summer because of its remarkable location on the edge of the country’s most visited national park. Now, I could happily fish for a week straight—but my long-suffering wife deserves a

break, too. And in today’s economy, who can afford to take separate family vacations?

Today, many of us are looking for vacation destinations that can do double and triple duty, serving up excellent angling opportunities at the same time that they provide shopping and other recreation opportunities and attractions that appeal to the spouse and the kids. Gatlinburg is one such destination.

hop-off trolley throughout Gatlinburg, the SMNP, and the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community, an 8-mile loop just outside downtown Gatlinburg that boasts the largest group of independent artisans in North America.

When summer hits, the tourists hit Gatlinburg. Between June and August, the city’s population swells with tourists, so visitors should make lodging and other reservations well in advance—particularly if you’re interested in staying in a cabin. Among many summer attractions, Gatlinburg hosts the first Fourth of July parade in the country each year. How do they manage this distinction? Simple: The parade commences at the stroke of midnight on July 4th!

Dinner theaters abound in Pigeon Forge, just outside of Gatlinburg Gatlinburg seems to have something for everyone. While I fished, my wife and children walked from our hotel to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Aquarium with its popular shark exhibit (and some very large sea turtles) and enjoyed shopping, ice cream, and several attractions in town. The children gazed in wonder at the vintage General Lee stunt car inside of Cooter’s Place Gatlinburg, the elaborately designed mini-golf courses, and the many quaint and curious wedding chapels that dot the town. Those who prefer to be chauffeured can ride an inexpensive, hop-on/

Some might be tempted to consider Gatlinburg and nearby Pigeon Forge as the Las Vegas of the East—with their wedding chapels and attractions and dinner shows—but the differences are marked. There is no gambling, but perhaps

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feature shoulder seasons of February to mid-May or mid-August to early November.

Chad Williams has guided in the SMNP for over a decade most significantly, the Tennessee towns are proudly family friendly. We took in three separate dinner shows, all of which kicked off with pre-dinner prayer, recognized and honored the veterans in the audience, offered up copious quantities of country cooking, and included music, dancing, humor, and dialogue appropriate for even my young son.

Chad, who rarely has the opportunity to fish himself while guiding, was delighted to fish while I got in some action shots. He managed to land some rainbows and a few nice brookies. Anglers might see browns here as well, although they aren’t stocked anywhere in the park. The city of Gatlinburg is so angler-friendly that it has its own hatchery (and allows fishing in town with a special town fishing license), and the hatchery fish don’t recognize the city limits and have been known to move up rather than downstream. Occasionally, a lucky angler will land a brown up to 20 inches long. Fishing opportunities in and around the park are tremendous, since the park boasts more than 2,000 miles of fishable water. Finding a place to fish isn’t hard, and there are plenty of pull-offs all along the roads that lead in and out of the park.

The SMNP is open year round for fishing, and Chad Williams, who has been guiding for more than a decade, believes that experienced anglers can catch trout here any day of the year. While he readily admits that winter fishing in the mountains of Tennessee is not for the faint of heart, the nearly constant temperatures of the local rivers keep the trout happy and relatively hungry all year. The fish average 6 to 12 inches in length. The easiest fishing in the SMNP is between late March to early November, and late May, June, and July are prime time. If you’re primarily looking for solitude on the water, however, you won’t want to come during the summer. Consider bringing the family to Gatlinburg Chad Williams with a typical SMNP rainbow trout and enjoying the SMNP during the

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Fishing the Smokies Eager to take on mountain trout fishing but don’t know where to begin? No problem! Many fine fly shops service the park. If you’re staying in Gatlinburg, you can have the home-court advantage. First, stop by the Smoky Mountain Angler to get the inside scoop from Harold Thompson. Thompson opened his fly shop in 1988, and he been fly fishing for more than half a century. He knows the area like few others. “People misjudge how difficult the fishing can be here,” says Thompson. “They think that smaller streams with wild trout are a sure sign that the fishing will be easy, when a lot of times it takes even the best fisherman a long time to adjust to fishing in the Smokies. But once you figure out the proper approach, it does get easier.”

Smoky Mountain Angler is a full-service fly shop, carrying everything you need including spinning gear for your spin-fishing buddies. The shop’s friendly guides can tell you where to fish and how to be successful on the water. They offer many instructive, guided trips—but they will also provide maps and know-how for more independent anglers.

You’ll need to break out those 3- to 5-weight, 7- to 9-foot long rods here in the Smokies. Bring a box stocked with pheasant tail nymphs, beadhead prince nymphs, tellico nymphs, yallar hammers, stimulators in various colors, and the all-purpose parachute adams. Other attractor patterns will work, and terrestrials are good all summer long. Increase your chances of a successful fishing trip in the Tennessee portion of the park by contacting one of these fly shops before you hit the water: Smoky Mountain Angler Gatlinburg, TN (856) 436-8746 www.smokymountainangler.com Little River Outfitters Townsend, TN (877) 448-3474 www.littleriveroutfitters.com Orvis Sevierville Sevierville, TN (856) 774-4162 www.orvis.com/sevierville

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What can you do to ensure a great SMNP fishing experience, even during prime tourist season? First, walk a few hundred yards away from the last person you see on the stream. Hard as it is to believe, the same guy who drives 400 miles to get to the park often won’t think to walk more than 400 feet from where he enters the stream. Some of these hapless anglers never stray far enough along the stream to lose sight of their car. Keep this in mind, and wear comfortable clothes to fish in. Hip boots like Chota’s chotaoutdoorgear.com Caney Fork Breathable KneeHigh Wading Socks are perfect Water on Jewel Weed has the appearance of tiny diamonds, thus the for this type of fishing. You can name Jewel Weed wear them as you make your way olives and browns—to blend in with the upstream, or carry them over your surroundings. Watch where you walk! Don’t shoulder and put them on once you arrive be in a rush to pass perfectly good water streamside. on your way to great water.

Instead, fish as you go. Finally, this isn’t the spot to practice your distance cast. “Casting a fly line 60 feet is great on a casting DVD,” said Chad, “but it has little benefit here. With all the microcurrents and challenges of small streams, being able to effectively manage your line is what it’s all about in the park. You should come here knowing the fish are wild, and it’s not a numbers game.”

Small patterns can be very effective when fishing correctly If possible, be on the water before 8 am.

Since many tourists sleep in on vacation, the early riser gets the first shot at hungry fish— fish that won’t have been spooked by earlier anglers. Wear dark-toned clothing—earthy

Consider an extended stay in Gatlinburg. With a week, an angler is no longer at the mercy of changeable weather. He or she can unwind, fish early, or fish later and really learn the water.

Fish in the morning and then spend the afternoon in town with the family taking in the attractions and enjoying an evening dinner show. Ride an aerial tram to Ober Gatlinburg, Tennessee’s only ski resort,

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where in the summer, the kids can still enjoy a scenic chairlift and an alpine slide. Save a day or two for family hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My children may not remember the mirror maze or minigolf, but they’ll never forget the sassafras tea we drank during our park nature walk….and I’ll never forget Chad introducing me to the local trout.

Beau Beasley (www.beaubeasley.com) is the editor at large for Southern Trout Magazine and the director of programs for the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival (www.vaflyfishingfestival. org). The author of two popular guide books, Beau is best known for his work on public access and use issues and his conservationrelated investigative reporting. He lives with his wife and children in Warrenton, Virginia.

All photos by Beau Beasley

Smoky Mountains Time Machine If you find yourself in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I recommend that you drop everything and take a walk in the woods.

The highlight of our SMNP trip was the guided nature walk we took with Charles Savidge of A Walk in the Woods (www.awalkinthewoods.com) who specializes in customizing such walks for its clients. Charles is as comfortable spending a couple of hours fascinating children with park facts as he is on a multi-day backwoods adventure. We opted for “A Walk Back in Time,” an easy stroll through the forest that took us up to the site of an old homestead.

Along the way, Charles pointed out a variety of plants ranging from edible leaves that tasted like sour apple to jewelweed, which provides a natural salve to the effects of poison ivy. He called our attention to snails, butterflies, woodpecker signs, and millipedes that smell like cherries. We turned over rocks in a small stream in a hunt for crayfish. On the walk, we passed through an old graveyard where generations of mountain folk were buried; we noted that several headstones were placed for children who lived only a few days or a few years and for loved ones who had served in the Civil War. When we ducked into an old stable to escape a midmorning rain shower, Charles offered us all some sassafras tea that he’d made from forest leaves.

With his vast knowledge of park plant and animal life—and his well-timed tea and trail mix—Charles won my children’s hearts. He also secured a permanent place in our family memory book for A Walk in the Woods and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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What all will you do?

In Pigeon Forge, we are firm believers in the family vacation. It’s the perfect way for families to reconnect, grow stronger and flourish. With so many ways to entertain people of all ages, we also believe our city is the perfect place for your next vacation or short getaway.

T

he Southeast’s largest fly-fishing event, the 5th Annual WNC Fly Fishing Expo, returns again this year to the WNC Agricultural Center in Asheville, North Carolina. The two day event is set for December 6 and 7. This one-ofa-kind, fly-fishing extravaganza provides anglers a forum to sharpen their skills and learn about the latest innovations in their sport.

Since its inception five years ago, the Annual WNC Fly Fishing Expo has become the Southeast’s largest event for fly-fishers, averaging more than 1,300 visitors over the course of the weekend. As in the past, the expo again will feature local fly shops, angling organizations, and fly-fishing art, and companies such as Simms, Orvis, Scientific Anglers, Fishpond, Nautilus Reels, Montana Fly Company and Sage will showcase the newest gear for 2014.

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Dr. Jim Casada The featured speakers at the 5th Annual WNC Fly Fishing Expo will be regional experts addressing the distinctive tactics for fishing in this area. The program includes Dr. Jim Casada, well-known author of Fly Fishing In The Great Smoky Mountain National Park: An Insider’s Guide To A Pursuit

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feature

feature of Passion, talking about trout fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains. Casada’s unique understanding of the lore of fly fishing these pristine waters makes attendance to his presentation a must for those attending the expo.

Paul Bourcq

Blane Chocklett Fly fishing for musky is the current rage, and the 5th Annual WNC Fly Fishing Expo is bringing the country’s two leading expert in this arena to the show. Brad Bohen and Blane Chocklett will present “Musky on the Fly.” Blane Chocklett began fly fishing in 1985 on a small mountain stream not far from his home in Blue Ridge, Virginia. He operates New Angle Fishing Company and specializes in float trips on three of Virginia’s premiere rivers: James, New and Jackson Rivers. He has also been featured by many outdoor writers in books and magazine articles over the years.

Besides a great program list, the 5th Annual WNC Fly Fishing Expo has much more to keep you busy all day. The International Federation of Fly Fishers is hosting a free 3,200 square-foot indoor casting pond.

Certified casting instructors will instruct attendees of all skill levels on technical casts and guide them through the course.

There will also be fly-tying demonstrations and instruction from area fly-tying experts.

Rounding out the event will be food from Little Pigs Bar-B-Q with Highland Brewing Company beer tastings.

Brad Bohen is a leading force behind the Musky Mania that is presently burning through the fly-fishing world. Based out of Hayward, Wisconsin, the Home of World Record Muskies, Brad has been a passionate fly-fishing guide, educator, outfitter, fly tier and communicator for over a decade. Brad’s passion and enthusiastic sharing of his hardearned knowledge of targeting predator species with a fly has introduced literally thousands of anglers to the darker aspects of the sport.

Hours for the 5th Annual WNC Fly Fishing Expo will be Friday, Dec. 6 from 2 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 7 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tickets are $15 for adults and free for children 15 years of age and younger.

For more information, visit www. wncflyfishingexpo.com.

Scott Davis Capt. Scott Davis of Lowcountry Fly Shop in Mount Pleasant, SC will present a program titled “Carolina Redfish” devoted to fly casting for redfish in the Low Country. Based out of Charleston, Davis is coastal Carolina’s best known fly-fishing guide who targets redfish almost exclusively.

Expert fly fisherman Paul Bourcq will give a presentation titled “Euro Style Nymphing”.

Paul was raised in Franklin, NC, the heart of some of the best trout fishing in the southern Appalachian Mountains. As a selftaught fisherman, Paul learned from an early age how to catch fish with very little gear or formal training. This adaptive “outside the box” style has been a crucial element in his success in competitive fly fishing.

He will discuss the differences in various “euro” styles of nymph fishing, including the differences between Polish, Czech, and Spanish Nymphing.

Download it now from the App Store (for iPhone) or Google Play (for Android)

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contributors

contributors Beau Beasley, Virginia Editor Beau Beasley is a well-known name among readers of fly angling magazines.

His work has appeared in nearly every ma jor fly fishing periodical in the country. He is the author of Fly Fishing Virginia. Recently he won the TalbotDenmade Memorial Award for Best Conservation Article from the MasonDixon Outdoor Writers Association for his investigative piece “Where Have All The Menhaden Gone?” He’s also the director of the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival www.vaflyfishingfestival.org and lives with his wife and children in Warrenton, VA.

Bill Bernhardt Bill Bernhardt, 52, is the owner of and guide, instructor, and custom rod builder for Harper Creek Fly Fishing Company (www.nc-flyfishing.com) located in Lenoir, North Carolina. In addition, Bill is somewhat unusual in that he specialize in small streams, wild trout, and back county, remote access, walk/wade trips into the Blue Ridge Mountains. Consequently, his freelance outdoor articles along with his nature photography focus specifically on the exceptional beauty and excellent trout fishing opportunities available to fly fishermen in western North Carolina.

John Berry Located in Cotter, Arkansas, “Trout Capital USA,” John Berry provides wade and float trips on the White, Norfork, Spring, and Little Red Rivers for trout and Crooked Creek for Smallmouth Bass. A retired CPA, he has been a professional fly-fishing guide in the Ozarks for almost two decades. An active conservationist, he has taught fly fishing and fly casting at a long list of colleges and events.

Bob Borgwat, Columnist Bob Borgwat, 55, leads the team of Reel Angling Adventures at ReelAnglingAdventures.com as owner, administrator, webmaster and guide.

His freelance writing, editing, and photography covers fishing across the US, but his daily piscatorial adventures take place with fly-rod in hand just outside his doorstep in the southern reach of the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. He is a former senior editor for Game & Fish Magazines, Primedia and Intermedia Outdoors, and is an active member of the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association.

Soc Clay Soc Clay was first published in Field & Stream and Outdoor Life magazines in the 1950s. He was one of the first members of the SEOPA, served as director for the OWAA, founded the Kentucky Outdoor Press Association, an inductee of the Freshwater Fishing Hall, and he is a poet laureate of Kentucky. A lifelong resident of South Shore, Kentucky, Clay is also known as an outdoor photographer. His photography has graced the covers of scores of magazines including in one year 11 of 12 issues of the fabled Bassmaster magazine. His latest book Soc Clay’s Mad Trapper Sourdough Baking Book, portrays the romantic history of the use of sourdough starters and recipes used to sustain rugged prospector during the Alaska Gold Rush. It is the authority for the use of sourdough in baking in the world. (www.WhitefishPress.com)

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Bill Cooper Living in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks, Bill Cooper has experienced the magic of the long rod from the Allegheny in the East to the Yellowstone in the West, and from the Quetico in Canada to the North to the Yucatan in the South. With an MS in Outdoor Education, his experience as a park superintendent and teacher of outdoor skills at Bass Pro Shop’s Wonders of Wildlife School has served him well as he serves as a tourism consultant to Campeche State, Mexico and Maya Amazing Outfitters. He is the author of the Outdoor Celebrities Cookbook and is writing experience spans writing for Cabela’s Outfitter Journal, Basspro1sours.com, Game and Fish, Trophy Whitetail World, Turkey Country and Union Sportsman.

Dave Ezell Dave Ezell grew up fishing on East Tennessee rivers and lakes and in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Lucky enough to make a living in sales and as a scribe for business publications, he also has enjoyed fishing a variety of waters from steelhead on the Sol Duc to tarpon off North Captiva, Florida. Dave is one of the sparkplugs in the Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited, he has been intimately involved with Troutfest since its inception.

Currently he finds himself just outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Maryville, Tennessee.

Ron Gaddy Ron Gaddy grew up in Waynesville, North Carolina and started fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains at an early age. He grew up fishing Cataloochee, East and West Fork of the Pigeon River, Little East Fork of the Pigeon River, Nantahala River and Jonathan Creek. Ron left North Carolina at age 24 for a career with the Department of Defense at Charleston, SC and Norfolk, Virginia. After retiring from DOD in 2009 he returned to Waynesville, North Carolina to be close to all the great trout fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains. Since retirement, Ron has consistently fished in the Smoky Mountains for trout. When not fishing, Ron is tying flies or building fly rods.

George Grant George Grant lives in Johnson City with his wife and earnestly wades upstream through his sixth decade. Mountain streams large and small are his first love, but he regards the South Holston and Watauga tailwaters to be his mistresses. In addition to actually fly fishing, he enjoys the history and the craft of fly tying, especially “resurrecting” patterns that have passed from common use. For many years Grant worked in local fly shops.

He also wrote columns about fly fishing for a local sports magazine and for the Bristol Herald Courier.

Matt Green One of the most knowledgeable authorities in the South on cold water aquatic insects, Matt Green is a graduate student at North Carolina State University. That is of course when he is not fishing, speaking at seminars on trout stream aquatic insect life, or fly fishing for trout on his favorite waters, the South Holston River. A prolific writer published in a number of fishing journals, Matt has also launched the South Holston Aquatic Insect School.

For more info on this contact Matt at mwgreen2@ncsu.edu

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contributors

contributors Craig Haney, Editor-at-Large Craig Haney has spent a lifetime chasing trout on the streams, headwaters and tailwaters of the southern Appalachians and elsewhere. After graduating from Auburn University with an animal science degree, Craig has spent the ma jority of his career in the outdoor industry as a manufacturers’ rep for fishing, boating, camping and hunting gear as well as operating partner of Riverwoods Outfitters / Haney-Mullins Orvis for eight years. He has taught fly tying and fly casting at his shops and community colleges. Additionally, he has written on fly fishing and other outdoor subjects for a variety on national and regional magazines. Craig and his wife Lynn live on Shades Mountain in Hoover, AL in the southern Appalachian foothills.

Kevin Howell Kevin Howell fished 38 states before college. In 1997 Kevin took a job as Manager of Davidson River Outfitters. He was also helping his father run Dwight and Don’s Custom Tackle. After his father passed away in 1998, Kevin took over the operation of Dwight and Don’s Custom Tackle while remaining the Manager of Davidson River Outfitters. In 2000 Kevin purchased Davidson River Outfitters and combined the operation of the two businesses. He is also a Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Casting Instructor. Kevin is also a nationally known fly tyer and is currently the FlyTying Editor for Fly-Fishing the Mid Atlantic States. He has also had several of his original patterns published in various magazines as well as being produced by some of the national tying companies.

Jimmy Jacobs, Georgia Editor Jimmy Jacobs is with Game & Fish Magazines. He also is the Outdoor Columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper and online Atlanta Outdoor Travel Writer for Examiner.com. Jacobs has authored five guidebooks to fishing in the southeastern United States, including Trout Streams of Southern Appalachia; Trout Fishing in North Georgia; and Tailwater Trout in the South. His writing and photography have earned Excellence In Craft awards from the Florida Outdoor Writers Association, Georgia Outdoor Writers Association and the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association.

Roger Lowe Roger Lowe is the owner of Lowe Guide Service & Outfitters, located in the heart of the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains in Waynesville, North Carolina.

The area offers some of the best fishing in the eastern United States. Being a native of Waynesville, he spent his childhood summers camping and fishing with his father and grandfather in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. He learned about insects indigenous to local streams and the trout’s feeding habits. Roger developed his own technique for tying effective imitator patterns and became a master at catching the wild and wary mountain trout. He has been tying for forty years and fishing all his life. Today, as a professional guide, his fly patterns are used extensively by local fishermen. Roger’s book, Roger Lowe’s Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains is a fly tying and identification guide. He also has a tying video, Smoky Mountain Fly Patterns. It shows how to tie a lot of the Smoky Mountain Patterns. He also has a hatch book, Smoky Mountain Fly Patterns which is a guide to the patterns to use each month.

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Shawn Madison A Clinch River, fly-fishing fanatic, Shawn Madison is also a passionate entrepreneur and experienced boat builder. Using his vast experience in design, engineering, and manufacturing in the boat building industry, Shawn is currently finalizing the production plan for a Southern Style Drift Boat.

An avid photographer, fly tyer, and inventor, he also maintains The Clinch River, TN Facebook Page which promotes one of East Tennessee’s greatest resources. His goal is to help promote the sport of fly fishing, increase conservation, and to help others find the joy of tricking trout. Watch for his current project soon, a book titled Find the Joy of Fly Fishing!

Steve Moore A native of northern Virginia, Steve Moore grew up fishing in a fishing family. Steve’s father, much to his mother’s chagrin, was fishing in a local bass tournament the morning Steve was born. Steve has published five books on fishing in Virginia and Maryland including Maryland Trout Fishing, Wade and Shoreline Fishing the Potomac River for Smallmouth Bass, Wade Fishing the Rappahannock River and Wade Fishing the Rapidan River. Steve provides frequent updates on fishing these waters and others on his popular blog at www.CatchGuide.com.

Marc Payne Marc is a Knoxville, Tennessee based fly fishing enthusiast. His popular blog, The Perfect Drift, has been up and running since 2009. Riverdale Classics Bamboo is a one man company Marc started seven years ago. His first stab at bamboo rods was purely economic, as he says that he could not afford a bamboo rod but wanted one badly. So he read on techniques, took a couple of gratuitous classes with rod makers, and bought several old rods to restore. From there, he began repairing and restoring old rods for friends, and as word of his skills grew, he began building for others. Now he is repairing, restoring, and building new rods for folks from all over the country. His email address is riverdaleclassicsbamboo@gmail.com Larry Rea, Arkansas Editor Larry Rea is the seasoned, retired Outdoors Editor for The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, TN, where he held that post between 1967 and 2001.

Currently he is the host of Outdoors with Larry Rea on Sports 790-AM in Memphis; www.lroutdoors.com. He is also free-lance writer for The Commercial Appeal’s DeSoto Appeal (Sunday outdoors column). A master scribe, for five consecutive years he was a double award winner (first and second place) in Tennessee Outdoor Writers Association’s Excellence in Craft Broadcast category. He was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s Hall of Fame in 2010 where he is now an honored lifetime member. Larry also serves on the board of directors for Southeastern Outdoor Press Association (2010-present).

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contributors Jason Sparks Jason Sparks is the founder of Southern Appalachian Tenkara Anglers, a growing community of fishermen that embrace the elegant simplicity of the traditional Japanese method of fly-fishing. As an ambassador in promoting tenkara across the South, he often conducts clinics, instructs techniques and speaks to groups on the subject. A Navy Veteran, he has fished the world in waters from the Azores to the Appalachians. Now living near Banner Elk, North Carolina, he is recognized by Tenkara USA as a Certified Tenkara Guide and a leading instructional resource in the Southeast for inquiring anglers and fly fishing clubs.

Scott Spencer Scott Spencer is a freelance writer who was born and raised in Alabama.

An avid hunter and fisherman, he learned about fly fishing nearly 40 years ago when he first picked up the flyrod at the age of 12. He was tutored in the art of casting and fly fishing using my father’s 1952 Phillipson bamboo flyrod. A banker by profession, he has hunted across the United States and has done both television hunting programs and hunting DVD’s. A passionate fly fisherman, Spencer frequently fishes the streams and tailwaters of North Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. He is married with three children.

Benjamin VanDevender President of Team Dead Drift, Georgia’s Competitive Fly Fishing Team, Benjamin VanDevender, fell in love with fly fishing and chasing trout across Georgia. In recent years he has won accolades and awards for his fly-fishing expertise. Ben started fly fishing competitively a few years ago. Through competitive fly fishing, Ben learned more advanced tactics than some have ever thought possible. Already a fan of fly fishing for trout, his entry into its competitive side has given him a new appreciation for all aspects of the sport we call fly fishing.

Greg Ward, Tennessee Editor Greg Ward lives in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains, where he has been a full-time hunting and fishing guide since 1989. He owns and operates Rocky Top Outfitters, a hunting and fishing guide service specializing in stream fly-fishing, spin fishing, and guided turkey and bear hunts. His articles have appeared in numerous newspapers and outdoor magazines.

He is the co-author of the Ultimate Fly Fishing Guide to the Great Smoky Mountains. Greg has hosted several radio shows and has been a popular presenter at Pigeon Forge’s annual Wilderness Wildlife Week. He lives in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, with his wife and daughter.

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F

The Southern Trout Fly Fishing Tackle Give-Away is the easiest in the world to enter. Register once and you're entered for the entire 2013 and 2014 seasons.

We will email our Newsletter and notice of publication of Southern Trout Magazine reminding you to check back to see if you are the winner.

Registering to win is as easy as signing up for our Newsletter and notices of the publication of Southern Trout Magazine. Removing later if you change your mind is simple and one click away. Your email address will never be used for any other purpose.

lyfishing for trout is a mystical, almost spiritual event for many southern fly fishermen. G.Loomis put a bit of that spirit, along with a little of the mystique into each these fly rods. It's the experience of making a nice loop or the satisfaction of a delicate presentation that fulfills a need deep in our souls. It's the expectation and exhilaration of watching a small dry fly floating high on the water as it makes it way through the likely feeding station of a big rainbow. It truly is a "dance on water" and it's what inspired G.Loomis to create the StreamDance Series. G.Loomis ventured down a new path cosmetically with these rods - shifting from the stark look of technology, embracing the beauty and spirit of what they know is truly the essence of flyfishing. G.Loomis added subtle colors to mirror the memories in our mind's eye of the streamside experience.

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They added the magic of Steve Rajeff's intimate understanding of blank design and GLX, along with the lightest, most durable guides in the industry to complete a true work of art dubbed StreamDance.

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Contest Rules: No purchase necessary. Contest Contest void void where where prohibited prohibited by by law. law. One One entry entry per per person. person. To To enter enter the the Southern SouthernTrout TroutFly Fishing Tackle Giveaway, you must either fill out the online entry form or register in person at the Southern Trout Trout booth booth at at shows shows before before midnight midnight on on the the date date listed listed above. above. Chances Chances of of winning winning determined determin by the number of entrants. Duplicate entries will be discarded. Incomplete entries will be disqualified. To be eligible to win, entrants must be U. S. citizens, residents of one of the fifty United States or the District of Columbia, and be at least 18 years of age. The prize, as described above, will be awarded to a single contest.

The|winner winner will be be selected selected in in aa random random drawing drawing held held on on or or after after the thedeadline deadlinelisted listed above. a winner the only Trout prize in|this contest.

The will The winner will be notified by e-mail within www.southerntrout.com 30 days of the drawing. Item will be shipped charge Trout to winner.

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