Musky on the Fly

Brent with the Days Catch

The latest Middle Tennessee Fishing Report:

The Caney Fork River- 10,000 + CFS (blown out)

The Obey River- 5000 +CFS (a fast ride and deep water- blown out)

The Elk River\- 3000 + CFS (fast ride, deep water, hard to row and harder to fish)

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With all that water David and Brent met me, we loaded up the big rods and went on a musky hunt.  The mornings have been cold lately with frost, ice in the guides and in the bottom of the drifter. The full moon and clear nights turn into cold mornings, which make us appreciate those Summer days of shorts and sandals. The rivers however are vacant of other anglers and that is some consolation. 

Toothy Critters

I had some large musky flies and some big trout streamers that I wanted to try. Brent and David were up first and Brent hooked up in the first 45 minutes of the trip. We tried several patterns. Some patterns looked better in the water than others and white was the color of the day.  I have been moving away from articulated patterns just a bit.  The head of the fly is important and the correct size is critical. The head of the fly pushes the water and some say gets the attention of the fish.  Wool, deer hair and buck tail have been just a few of the materials that work well. Pushing water has been the theme as of late and on this trip pushing water was also a priority.

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With Christmas just around the corner, trips to the river will probably be few and far between. The high water actually makes not getting out there a little more tolerable. This week will be a week of tying flies and buying Christmas presents. This has been a very good year; cicadas, brown trout in Michigan, more fish over 20" than any other year, North Carolina, big rainbows - bigger browns, skip jack and lots of friends fishing while having a good time. Yep, lots of good times! Thanks for stopping by and hopefully your Holidays will be an enjoyable time with family and friends. Merry Christmas!