Fishing the Clinch

Fished the Clinch near Miller's Island.  Caught a couple of 16+ inch Trout fishing with two nymphs.  I put a weighted copper john nymph on the bottom to get them deep.

I am ready to go fishing!

Just needing some time on a stream somewhere!!!!  I also get to go learn how to really tie some flies in a couple of weeks.  If I do that I may actually catch some fish one day.

Update:  I completed a fly tying class at Orvis the day where I tied some of the ugliest flies ever seen.

Here is the set up.

 Practicing utilizing the Whip Finisher tool to tie off a fly.

My first fly. The Green Weenie.  I also tied a pink one.

 The next several flies we tied were Whooly Buggers.

The five flies I tied during the class.

I also purchased one of their fly tying kits to see if I could actually tie some on my own (http://www.orvis.com/p/orvis-fly-tying-kit-with-manual/08xz).  I will post the results of my efforts and if I manage to catch a fish on a fly that I tie myself.

October Camping & Fishing in Citico Creek

Some pictures from my October camping and fishing trip in Citico Creek.

The Creek:  The colors are coming out and the leaves are falling.  The water levels were a bit low, but that made wading easy.

Fish On!  I caught several nice trout like this one in the various pools and runs.

Big Salamander:  This salamander was huge.  He just sat there sunning himself while I took pictures.

The fire and tools  (Stove, Canteen Cup, and Spoon).  Nothing like a good fire and some warm food while sitting next to the fire.

We also collected a couple of bags of trash.  I can't figure out why folks need to go camping and then throw their beer cans, booze bottles, candy wrappers, etc... around their camp site.  I wonder what they do at home.

Fish with Me

If you are interested in fishing some of the small streams and rivers in the East Tennessee area drop me a line at outdoorswithbill@gmail.com.  I will share with you what I know and if you want a guide I will show you where to go.

Weird Things I have Seen when Hiking and Fishing

I have seen some weird things while I have been hiking, fishing, etc...   I am going to start posting pictures of things as I find them.

I have stumbled upon a couple of folks "getting it on" on a rock in the middle of a river.  That was not a pretty sight.  I have walked up on people answering the call of nature.  Remember, you shouldn't poop on the trail.  I have found fishing equipment and gear such as flies, tackle boxes, and fishing rod parts.  I have found tools such as screw drivers and pliers.  I have found camping equipment including tents.  I have also found shoes, boots, clothing, flip flops (I always wonder if someone is out there walking around with one shoe or flip flop), crayons, etc... and lots and lots of just trash.

I have found moonshine.  Yes, I left it where is was.  No, I won't tell you where it was.

 

 I have found nasty uncleaned camping sites.  Folks don't seem to realize, or care, that someone gets to clean that up.

This camp site has all kinds of clothing, pants, etc... and other trash just left behind.  I am not too sure I want to know why you are going to leave your pants at a camp site.  Also, the whole area was covered in broken crayons.

 

Here is a tent that I found.  On the same trip I found another one in the middle of the river, but I didn't take a pic.

Swimmer made dam.  Ruined a good fishing spot by destroying the flow.

Trash, Trash, Trash, etc...

Abrams Creek Hike

This hike stared at the Abrams Creek parking area.  It was warm, maybe in the mid 80s and a little humid.  It had rained the day before.  There were several cars in the parking area, and a couple eating lunch on the picnic tables.  The gate to the camp site was closed and locked since the camping area is closed due to the Sequester.  As I started my hike up Cane Creek Trail, I passed one person on the gravel road between the gate and the camping area.  Other than that one older man, I didn't see anyone the rest of the hike.  I did see this odd looking fungus growing on a log at the bend in the gravel road.

I did note a lot of footprints in some of the fresh mud that seemed to be heading in the same direction I was going, east on the trail.  The trail generally follows the creek heading NE, but turns away from it after about 1/2 mile.  It is a wide trail that is well maintained and is graveled , wide enough for a truck or jeep to drive up and I noted that someone had driven up the trail recently.  After about a mile I turned off of Cane Creek Trail to Little Bottoms Trail.  At this point I was heading due East, I waded a small creek and followed the trail through a Rhododendron thicket. It smelled good.  Nice and fresh.  It also looked like the Rhododendrons were about to bloom.  After I passed out of the ticket, I started up the ridge.  The ridge is steep and the trail switches back and forth a couple of times.  From the trail, you can see down into camp site 1.  There wasn't anyone camping there.  About mid way up I saw this little guy (Ring Neck Snake - http://www.tnwatchablewildlife.org/) sitting the middle of the trail.  I took his picture a couple of times and shooed him into the woods some some crazy hiker wouldn't stomp on him or smash him with a stick.

The trail up the ridge is pretty steep, you can see the Look Rock Tower through the trees on your left as you climb, and as you crest the ridge it opens up into a nice sitting area with a couple of logs where you can see the trail going down in both directions and you can hear Abrams Creek in the distance.  One thing that I noticed was there was A LOT of poison Ivy, and it was everywhere!  All the rain has created a great growing environment for it.  From the sitting area I made my way down the trail toward the river.  Some of the wild flowers were blooming along the trail.  I thought this one was colorful.  I have no idea what it is called.

I got down to the creek, it should be called Abrams River,  and saw it was running high.  I fished a little without much luck.  I stuck to fishing from the bank.  The rocks in that river are so slick and due to the geology most of them are flat and angled one way or another.  That combination of high water and slick rocks doesn't make for a good wading experience.  I hiked and along the river up to camp site 17.  Along the way I saw lots of lizards, butterflies, and this great big Hellgrammite.  I have never seen one that big before! 

I also saw a lot of brush piles that were several feet above the trail.  The water looks to have been several feet over the level of the trail during some of the big rain events that we had.

When I got to camp site 17 I and turned around and hiked out.  I figured I would be out just before dark and I made it.  On my dive out I stopped at the corner of Happy Valley Road and Abrams Creek Road and took this picture looking across Happy Valley towards the Foothills Parkway.

On my way out I took Happy Valley Road over the ridge line and got these pictures about 2/3rd of the way up the ridge.  This is looking SE across Chilhowee Lake into the Citico area.            

These are looking NE into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park