Elton and David

FishTails

A Ring of Sunlight a Brown Trout

Elton and David decided to spend a day on the river fly fishing from the drift boat. The weather in Middle Tennessee has been a bit on the quirky side this year. It helps to at least take a look at the temps before doing outdoor activities. The temperature, it seems, has either been 15 degrees above normal or 10 below normal.This time it was the lower of the scale and there was a misty rain to make things more interesting.  We all met at the assigned place and at the agreed time and launched the drifter. When we pushed away from the gravel bar the misty rain was still falling and there was a blanket of fog on the river, that was thick enough to cast a fly out of eyesight. Yep it was a good day for fishing. The weather kept most of the undesirables of the crowd off the river  and when Elton hooked up early on the usual nymph, we decided it was just good to be on the river...and of course catching a few fish made it just that much better. How much better had yet to be determined but the river would give up some of its goodness before the day was complete.

Elton Stayed Hooked-Up Quite a Bit on This Day

We decided early that nymphs would be the way to go. We had the usual discussion about my theory of clear days being better than cloudy days, and how the sunlight warming the water, helps to get the bug life cycles moving...(sunny days have been better most times, unless the temps are super high, then clouds help, but you get the picture.) Anyway the guys were floating along enjoying the day and David began to get in the groove with his cast, which seemed effortless from where I was sitting. Both guys were casting good as the fog lifted and revealed partly cloudy skies. When the sun would pop through the rises, which were few, became more frequent. The rises on this day wouldn't be as frequent as most days but the fish still were feeding pretty good.

Elton and David on a Break at Mid-Day

I spoke with Mr. Currie several weeks ago and he advised the hatchery has been releasing more brookies, to be stocked, earlier in TN to make up for the rainbow shortage. The rainbow shortage is due to a water quality problem over the winter. We have found some nice brook trout already this year and if the weather and specifically rain will hold off, which will hold off the heavy generation, we could be seeing some nice brookies on the water this year. The good thing about the brook trout is, they made up the boat slam and David's slam as well. So we had good things going early in this trip, thanks to the efforts of TWRA and the Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery. 

Healthy Brook Trout

David Scores a Nice Rainbow

As I said...Elton Stayed Hooked-Up Quite a Bit on This Day

After lunch we had a run of fishing that was a bit hit and miss. We picked up a couple nice browns and some decent rainbows. We also began to see the miniature browns that were recently stocked. The small browns do not have their instincts yet and can be aggressive toward a moving fly. We decided to end the day fishing dries for stocked fish, especially after bringing several freshly stocked browns that were in the 12" + range.

Fins to the Right

The guys ended the day on dries. We chose a couple Parachute Adams A fly that seems to catch more fish than any other dry fly and some say all others added together. As I said last week the fresh browns were aggressive and will even let you get a little sloppy on the drift. I highly recommend trying to be a little sloppy when fishing the access points of Middle Tennessee rivers, at least until these little hatchery brats get their wits about them. Oh and there was one more fish I forgot to mention. 

                       

Like I said a couple times in this report Elton was hooked up quite a bit. David was too, but Elton produced a large number of fish. So, as we floated down the river David noticed a deep trough. I had never fished that trough or for that matter never really paid attention to it at all. David was fishing the middle of the river and pulled up some line, then launched a beautiful cast that landed at the top of the trough. Elton watched for a second and then he dropped his nymph right on the line that David was fishing before David chose the new water. As we drifted slowly along David and I watched in anticipation of the indicator taking a dive. The indicator drifted along and Elton said "there's one". His fly had drifter down the gut of the river and was picked up by a head-shaker. The fish had to finish the first run before it turned on its side to show us its length. That s when a lot of stuff happened in the boat. The net came out, the oars began to work and Elton played the fish, keeping it away from an old blowdown that had been in the river for several years. The fish would make a run and Elton would make a stop, the fish would turn away, only to turn back toward the blowdown and Elton get the head turned away again. This fish had done this dance before, but we were fishing some heavy tippet and Elton was in control. Elton got the head up and we decided that was the time to slide the big brown into the net. We netted the fish and right when the fish got to the net the fly popped loose. Although this fish was a bit heavy and tough to hold, we took the usual photos. Elton earned the fly and 24" of tippet to mark the length of the brown trout he just landed. Handshakes and headshakes were given by all, then we headed off down the river looking for the next fish. This day was a good day. David caught the largest bow and earned a slam. Elton landed the big brown of the trip and made the 20 + Club. The guys were a lot of fun to fish with and float with over the course of a long day and I look forward to a Fall trip and the search for other big fish.

Elton's Fish of the Trip

The Ride Home...and Before Dark!

Caney Fork and Elk River Fishing Report

Midges 

There have been some fish caught this week. Both the Elk and Caney Fork are producing fish, but anglers need to know where to look and have patience. Staying focused can be as much of a challenge as anything else. The photo above speaks volumes about the insect life on Middle Tennessee rivers. Midges are still the largest hatch on both rivers and the toughest to match and certainly the toughest to  tie to a hook because of the size of the eye on these hooks and an angler's aging eyes. 

Another Reason to Get Out and Fish

The Elk River- This river needs a good flush of water to clean the bottom and release the scum and algae from some of the banks. The water temps are holding steady at about 50 degrees. However, the air temperatures are rising and soon the water temps will no doubt follow.  The brook trout that were stocked recently are adapting pretty well and are taking flies with some regularity. Who knows how long they will last? Nobody, nobody really knows. There is some speculation that they will not last the Summer and that may be true, but if the water temps stay below 60 some anglers could be surprised.

Fish Tails

Nymphs under a indicator continue to produce very good results on the Elk River. The lower reaches of the river are producing some interesting caddis and several different types of mayflies. The recent stocked fish are keying in on small dries and are still taking a dry with a little drag. Not sure how long that will last but it is a good excuse to fish a dry and even a chance be a little sloppy with the presentation. Midges (as from the photo above) are still the largest hatch on the river. Fishing the riffles and the front edge of the holes is also a good place to pick up the bite.

Healthy Brook Trout

Some Holdover Rainbows Are Still Around

Mr. No Shoulders and His Sculpin/Lunch

The Caney Fork- We have been picking up more fish on the Caney Fork. The Hatchery Brats, browns in this case, are taking dries. A small Adams is a good way to work on your reflexes. These browns are the best bet for a dry, but they catch on quick and after a couple fish are taken from the pod, they tend to wise up. When they wise up just go to the next pod and get one of two there. 
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The water temps are holding about 58 degrees, depending on where the measurement is taken. There are fish holding in the dam pool, no doubt taking advantage of the cooler oxygen rich (well you know what I mean) sluice release. Nymphs are still hard to beat, but we had some looks on a hopper this week and brought some fish to the boat on streamers.
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Generation is only one hour per day and the release has been steadily starting at noon. There have been some pop-up thunderstorms in Middle TN as of late and Center Hill Lake is rising although somewhat slowly. The low water in the river also produces an opportunity to fish more dries. It is still tough, but rewarding when a larger fish temporarily loses it's mind and takes a dry fly! Pretty much we are catching fish on most types of flies, but the bite isn't what I would call epic. We did get into a stretch of river last week that produced like I haven't seen in a long time. Now if we can just put a string of good sections together we will find what we are all looking for! 

Catch, Revive and Release

Caney Fork and Elk River Reports

Revived and Waiting for Release

 Elk River- The Elk continues to fish well for us. The hatchery has released some fish, but there are less hatchery brats than usual at this time, because they missed the first stocking of the year. All that said there are still some fish at the access points. If you see the small browns rising, try running a soft hackle in front of their face or try a Stealth Bomber because they cannot resist this fly. The holdovers are still in the river, but it takes patience and it helps to know where they are located. Nymphs fished deep will bring these fish to hand. 

Stealth Bombers and Stocker Browns

The water temps continue to be good on the Elk even with the low flows of 100 CFS. The river could use a good round of generation to clean the slime off the rocks, but it is difficult for TVA to turn loose of water with the lake level at 882 feet. If you don't have a boat, be careful wading because every step sends a plume of algae and scum downstream.

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The Caney Fork- The river is a bit stingy right now. The holdovers are there, well some of the holdovers are there, but it appears the constant generation over the Winter took it's toll on the slot rainbows and smaller fish. One of the results is the shoals that get a lot of pressure are not producing like a normal year. There are some fish in the deeper pools, if you can get in there between the watercraft that are on the river. The temps are a bit higher on the Caney and the US Army Corps says the lake could run out of cold water. The Army Corps hasn't done their best this year with water management, considering the drought was predicted months ago. But, sometimes anglers just have to take what they can get and  get on with figuring out the fish that are in the river and that is what we are doing. 
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As for the hatches, the low water is producing some better hatches. The caddis are out in numbers in the afternoons as are several other types of mayflies. Nymphs have been working, as have the hopper/droppers.  The fish are not necessarily keyed into dries, however late in the evening there have been some takes on the dry fly game. It doesn't matter which fly you use, fish to rising fish and make sure to rest them every so often to get all you can out of a pod.

Holdover Rainbows

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fishing Report

Saturday Morning at Elkmont

Calvary Outfitters went to Townsend for the weekend and I was fortunate to tag along with the group. These guys are all a lot of fun and know how to enjoy themselves. Some fished for 3 days and some fished for two days. My trip started on Friday after lunch as Barry, Brent and me started up Thunderhead Prong looking for some rainbows. Barry and Brent found the rainbows and much to my surprise I got into the brook trout. Sams Creek is a little ways up Thunderhead and apparently some of the brookies have made their way into Thunderhead. Now catching brook trout isn't all bad and those fish reveal the positive results from the Park's re-introduction of this native species. 

The Beginning or the End?

The fly of choice was a #10 Thunderhead, after all we were fishing Thunderhead and the afternoon sun was behind the hills, so I couldn't see anything much smaller than that. Dinner was scheduled for 8:00 p.m. sharp for the other Calvary Outfitters guys and our group made it back to town at about 9:00 p.m. (this is pretty much normal for us). There aren't too many places open in Townsend at 9:00 but we found a hot meal and took our abuse from the others the following morning. 

A Rubber Leg Bead Head Pheasant Tail

...the following morning we set out to fish Elkmont. It was pretty early with a heavy fog. To say it was a tough morning was an understatement. Even Barry, who always catches Smokies trout had a tough time. Before lunch we decided to make a move and went to the Alum Cave Trail area. The fish were a bit tight lipped but as the sun came out and the hatches started, the fish came to the top and also were feeding on nymphs. The day started to turn around. We gathered again and made a second move toward Sugarlands. We fished the Little Pigeon and again the fish responded to dries, but were mostly taken on nymphs under the dries. After we had enough, it was time to head back to the motel and this time we would make the evening dinner call. Flies that worked were Thunderheads, Prince nymphs and BHPT's. A variety of dries were used to as indictaors and the bigger and bushier the better.

Sunday morning was our last day. This time Barry, Brent and I, went to Little River and fished our way high up into the backcountry. And, this time we were fishing that "last day before we have to go home" trip. You know the trip, it's the trip that makes an angler focus on the water ahead and try to forget about any problems left behind. It's just you and the rod, and the fly, and the environment, and the fish. 

**

The day started with a #12 Thunderhead as an indicator and a BHPT with rubber legs, then the switch to a Tellico. Added to the Tellico were several split shot and no indicator, to get down deep/ With the number of stone flies we had seen coming off, this fly just seemed like the logical choice. I caught up with Barry and Brent after a couple hours and switched to  a Hi-Vis Adams and it produced fish. By this time it felt like the drifts were good and in the right places...

...so I kept working on technique and positioning within the long pools. Finally, after discussing the fishing and getting additional tips from Barry, I decided not to fish from the bottom of the pools upstream, but to keep a low profile and fish the pool from top to bottom. Meaning: position myself halfway up the pool without getting in the water and fish upstream and downstream in the same drift. It took some self-convincing but when that adjustment was made the fish began to respond with flashes, takes and even some more catching. One more adjustment was to get more of the fly in the water. After digging through the fly box I found a #14 Hi-Vis Parachute Adams. This fly is one of the most popular flies ever and in my humble opinion produces more fish because more of the fly body is in the film, where the trout can see an easy meal. It is easier to tie o Parachute Adams on than it is to cut the bottom of the hackle off another fly. The first cast after the change was a fish on and then a  sportsman release. We continued up the river hopping from pool to pool. The fishing picked up and so did the size of the trout. Finally we made it to a backcountry campsite and checked the time. It was time to make our way back down the river to the truck, then onto the road out of Townsend and finally back to I-40 West to Middle Tennessee. 

I know I don't get there often enough

But God knows I surely try

It's a magic kind of medicine

That no doctor could prescribe

                                                                                                           Jimmy Buffett

Fly Fishing Adventures at Ridgecrest

Fly Fishing Adventures at Ridgecrest Conference Center

In November of last year, I took a trip to the Asheville, NC area with Calvary Outfitters. The trip was relaxing and enjoyable, and the accommodations at Ridgecrest were clean, comfortable and clean. That's right I said clean twice on purpose. Well, Lifeway Books is putting together a fellowship and fly fishing trip May 21, 2012 - May 24, 2012. My friends Anthony and Blake, who also were hosts on the Calvary Outfitters trip, are helping with the hosting of this trip as well and it promises to be a good one.

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As most of you are aware there is a lot of water in Western North Carolina.  Anglers can fish  the Davidson,  North Mills,  Curtis Creek, The Tuck and Cherokee, oh and the Smoky Mountains National Park and the list goes on. And, the fellowship promises to be as good as the fishing.  So if you are looking for a place to recharge your batteries, this is an excellent opportunity. You can read about the trip here and there are a few spots available.

Call It & Catch It

Revived and Waiting for Release

 "There's one working on the left up there"...."If you can call it, then catch it". Butch came in from Mississippi for a family visit with Ronnie. They both enjoy fly fishing and enjoy the outdoors, so they ended up on the drifter stalking trout. It was apparent from the their first casts, both Ronnie and Butch are no strangers to the long rods. While I ran the shuttle the guys warmed up their casting arms for the day's events.

Ronnie's First Rainbow of the Day

Butch and Ronnie, Just Above the Anthony Hole

 Last week we found out the hatchery was a little behind on the stocking. They have since visited all the tailwaters we fish in Middle TN. Early in this trip Butch landed his nymph in the right spot at the right time, a rainbow came to the fly and ate. Butch brought the hatchery brat to the net and before we knew it the skunk was off. Ronnie was up next and landed a cast between two limbs of an old blowdown. The fly settled and the indicator went under. This is a shallow stretch of river and at first I thought the fly might have snagged the bottom. Ronnie had other ideas and quickly hooked up with a rainbow of his own. He raised the rod tip and the rainbow came out and over the snags of the blowdown. This fight was a little longer than our first rainbow, but finally the fish gave up and came to the net. After a quick photo the fish was revived and released. 

The First Brown of the Day

Bow Dorsal

Ronnie backed up his first rainbow with a brown, then the guys hit the likely spots as we kept moving down the river. They settled into casting from a drift boat, while making the appropriate mends at the right time and all the other stuff that goes along with a day in the drifter.  As we continued downstream, the fishing  was going a bit better than the catching. Then we entered one of my favorite stretches of river and we started picking up a few more fish. The catching seemed to come in groups on this float. If you caught one and stayed with it, then there would be another a short time later.  We stayed with nymphs because the rises were sporadic and lets face it, this time of year nymphs just work. 

Fish Tails

Butch was starting to pick up fish with more consistency, while Ronnie was holding his own. We decided to make a move to a hole just before lunch. This hole usually holds some nice fish, but it lacks a name... We slipped in and Butch picked up a bow off the shoals, almost immediately. We had a couple other opportunities, but couldn't hook up. I put the drifter into position for Ronnie to work a group of tree roots. He landed the cast, but didn't connect. He had to re-position the fly and when he came out for the backcast the tippet tangled at the fly. Butch didn't waste any time moving into Ronnie's tree roots and "bogarted" the water for himself. As we tended to the tangle, Butch set the hook on a fish and we had a good laugh, then we saw the fish which was now pulling us around the pool. We realized it was a brown, a really nice brown. The fish even looked big in the water and made a few runs just to show off. After a few more stunts the fish jumped, turned its head to make another run, then broke the tippet... It was over, and Butch was standing there with a tippet and indicator. Ronnie and I made the appropriate comments about moving into another angler's water and taking another man's fish. Then it was time to eat, so we stopped to grill some burgers... and let Butch stew on a lost fish. I have to admit I stewed with him! We ate lunch while we went through all the what if's and soon we were back in the boat.

Redemption

 Sometimes it is just your day... After lunch we hit a couple more likely spots. The guys were settled in to their routine of casting, mending, and drifting. Then the guys cast, mended and drifted the nymphs some more. Ronnie and Butch resumed fishing the seams after lunch. Butch hooked up again. When he set the hook and started the fight, the fish pulled back. This fish was sitting on the outside of the seam and when Butch's fly came down the feeding lane the fish must have moved in and took the fly. The fish made a run further into the moving water, but Butch was on it. The fish made the usual run under the boat, but a pull on the oar spun Butch around and he brought the fish out and into the slack water. The fish wasn't done. When Butch got the rainbow's head up and coming toward the net, the first two times, it made a break again. Finally the fish gave up and came to the net.  Butch had recovered from the earlier brown. We laughed that he even fished his own water to get this one. This fish just missed the 20 + Club, but it is still a healthy rainbow, with all it's fins and a defined pink stripe. The top of the fish is the dark green color that we all like to see.  We took the photos and revived the fish in the moving water. When this rainbow was ready to go there was no mistaking and we released it back into the area from which it came.

As usual daylight was becoming a problem, so we started for the take out. The guys fished off and on through the various shoals and pools. Both anglers boated fish, but at some point  the guys were just riding in the drifter taking in the day. Butch spotted a fish rising downstream and casually mentioned  "there's one working on the left up there".  Ronnie said "If you can call it, then catch it, we will be impressed" and I chimed in with "well it is his day". We all laughed as the drifter glided toward the rise ring. Butch unhooked the fly from the keeper, stripped off some line and raised the rod. He made a couple false casts and dropped the fly just above the rise and right inline. The fly drifted along for a while and just when we thought it wasn't going to happen, Butch proved us wrong by sticking with the drift and showing some persistence. The fish ate and Butch set the hook on a nice brook trout. He brought a nice colored brookie to the net. Butch called it and caught it...and we were impressed.

Elk River Report, Warmwater Report & Caney Fork Report

Other River Residents

Hatchery Update- For those who are wondering about the fate of the Hatchery Brats, I called and talked with the folks at the Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery this week. They advised there was a water quality problem over the Winter and a portion of the rainbows died, also the fish that did survive are not growing at the usual pace. Therefore, the hatchery did not begin stocking and they may not be able to make up what was lost in the die-off. The browns were not affected nor were the brookies, but apparently those species were not growing at a normal pace either. So, that explains why the rivers do not have the usual Hatchery Brat numbers, which we have all grown accustom. 

There are Some Hatchery Rainbows in the Caney

The Caney Fork- The Army Corps turned the water off, for the most part. Well, let me explain in a little more detail. Over the Winter we saw releases of 10,000 + CFS, remember? Yep, so do I, and we all went to other venues and chased different fish while waiting to get back on the tailwaters. Then the rain slowed and the Army Corp continued the releases, finally backing off and then... the generators were backed off more and the sluice was shut down. After that we saw releases of one generator for a few hours a day and no releases additional releases, other than the water by-passing the dam through the waterfall and other cavities in the limestone that have not been filled by the repairs. So, essentially anglers had the low water, but it was so low there was not a lot of moving water. If you found moving water, you would find a fish. 

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Recently, the Army Corps decided to release water through the sluice to supplement the generator releases and continued running the sluice 24-7. This is helping with the dissolved oxygen and giving everyone's flies some drift. The result? The fishing is picking up. Oh, and the folks from Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery made a stocking run to the Caney and dumped in some small browns and some rainbows that just barely made the size limit for stocking. We measured the water temps and they are running 59 degrees by our thermometer. 

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The water remains pretty darned clear, which is good. Anglers need to work on "their stealthy" because if you can see the fish, the fish can probably see you too. So anglers shouldn't go marching through the water like they are on a combat mission.   Nymphs are working as well as midges. The river is showing hatches of caddis, a variety of mayflies as well as some sulphers.  Long tippets help and dry/droppers are worth throwing.

Fish Tails

 The Elk River- The temperature of the Elk is running at 49 degrees. The water is cool and the water clarity looks good. Rain events, even the smaller ones, have an affect on water clarity. But, catch this river after several days of no rain and it can be gin clear.  The stocking truck has been a little slower to get to the Elk. There are still some holdovers that can be caught and don't be surprised if you end up with a brook trout on the fly. 
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The fish are taking nymphs fished deep. A hopper/dropper will work on this river, but expect many, many more fish on the dropper. The hopper is really more for show. The fish will come up and take a look from time to time, then they turn and take the nymph. It is easy to mistake the turn of the tail for strike on the hopper.  When a fish eats a hopper, they do not miss!

Warm Water Report- The freestone rivers in Middle Tennessee could use some additional water too. The low water conditions make it easy for the fish to see poppers and even dries. Try some large dries in the evening and you never know what will come to the top and take the offering. Cumberland Transit has a good selection of warm water flies. Grumpy and Leo will help you with your selections. Girdle bugs are working as a dropper for us and I would say they will bring your catch rate up as well.

This Bow is Very Healthy

David K. in the Trout Zone and Hard at Work with a Nice Brown

Transitions From Clear to Cloudy

David and I hit the river this week and had a good day. We had a discussion about an Orvis Clearwater that I brought along. I had it on board the drifter for some recent trips. Anglers who haven't fished a lot or who have never fly fished before, sometimes do better with this rod. The reason, in my opinion, is because the rod softer and this slows down a beginners cast.  Now I am not saying that it cures every casting habit, but it does suit some anglers better than other anglers. David and I were using the Clearwater rod for a single nymph rig, under an indicator. As usual we had several rods on the boat, and even caught fish on them, but eventually we went mind-numb watching the indicator bob up and down in the wind.  

As we floated along David tried to remember where a log was located, a log that last year he picked a trout from on a nymph. We located the log, David gave a false cast and dropped the nymph just upstream. The indicator settled in and floated along. The tungsten bead had plenty of time to send the fly to the end of the line. Just when I thought it was going to bottom out on the gravel, the indicator dove and pulled a bit sideways. David set the hook and pulled the fish into open water. The fish came to the net, changed its mind and started back to the log. After a short game of tug-of-war, David got the head up and into the net. The fish didn't look like a monster, possibly because of the head, but we measured the fish and David is again on the 20 + Club page. 

The Orvis Clearwater Single Nymph Rig

Fishing is picking up here in Middle Tennessee. We are booking tailwater trips into May and some dates in June are starting to get looks as well. If the weather and water hold, this could be a great hopper season. If you are thinking about booking a trip, give us a call, send an email or text and we can start looking at available dates. Don't forget about the warmwater trips either as those species are coming on strong as well.

Tom and Paul

Tom wanted to take his Father-In-Law Paul fishing. So. when Paul's birthday rolled around, Tom booked the trip. Things started off well when they showed up 10 minutes early. We loaded up and went to the river. The plan was for Tom to fly fish and Paul to take the rear of the boat and enjoy a day of fishing gear. The river was clear and low. The flow is extremely slow, which made nymphing without drag, even more critical. Tom is an experienced small stream angler and was ready to take those skills and adapt them to the tailwaters. Paul brought his own bag of spinners and deeper running lures. The weather was partly cloud and low 70's for the high. The water temps began and ended the day below 50 degrees.

What's the Real Problem Here and Why Is Tom So Happy?

Everything was in place or so we thought. I took the guys straight to a good stretch of water. A stretch that has produced nice fish almost every trip and has never let me down by producing at least something worth noting. This time however,  we had some hits and follows, flashes and losses. When the indicator would dive, Tom would set the hook, sometimes play the fish for a short time and then, the fish would throw the fly. This went on in the front of the boat, while in the rear Paul would produce a fish or two on gear, but things were just not clicking. Tom appeared to be doing everything right and so did Paul. I made the decision to stop the float and re-fish that good stretch of river... The guys were looking to me for answers, I couldn't figure it out. About that time the answer appeared!

The Real Problem? Bananas On A Boat!

The boat was now back at the upper end of the stretch that we had just fished. As we waited for a group of recreational boaters to pass through, we all grabbed a snack and that is when it became apparent there was a banana on the boat. Not only was there one banana on the drifter, but there were three bananas. The story behind bananas on watercraft is almost as old as watercraft themselves. I explained to Paul and Tom that bananas were not just bad luck but were also why we were not bringing fish to the net. When the first banana was finished I took the peel and disposed of it! The guys were not convinced I was being truthful, but the more I talked, the easier it was for them to understand I was not happy. They fished a bit longer,but the banana theory began to get into Tom's head He finally couldn't stand my griping any longer couldn't stand the thought that I might be right. So, he took the other bananas and disposed of them as well... Tom set up for his first "nanner free cast"...

Finally!

...the fly landed and the indicator turned over, then settled into a slow drift. The indicator dove, Tom set the hooked and the fish flashed. The fish made several runs and a few jumps, but Tom got the head up and brought his catch to the net. The guys had a good laugh and there was relief from the rowers bench. While I revived the fish the guys discussed out loud that there could be some truth to the "banana theory". We revisited the recent catch, but I am not sure they were convinced.  So, Tom stepped back into the casting brace, stripped off some line and cast again. The fly landed and the indicator turned over. Then it floated a short distance and dove again. That cast produced another fish in the boat and while this was happening in the front, Paul was hooked up in the back casting brace. This time the guys produced a double. There would be no more bananas on any fishing trip with these guys.

Paul Joined In With Spinning Gear

The guys continued to fish throughout the day and at times it was a bit slow. Just when it seemed like the front, that was moving through the area, was going to completely put the fish down, one of them would bring a fish to the net. The morning turned to afternoon. Afternoon was getting late when Paul hooked a fish that fought differently. When he got the fish to the top we found a crappie on the line. Paul had the slam. The slam for this trip was a brown, rainbow and crappie!

Tom Hooked Up

A Good Day On The River

Fishtails.....

The tree lines began to make some long shadows on the river as the sun began to fall. We were well into the float and the takeout was about an hour away. Paul was bombing the bank with a shallow running rooster tail and he picked out another species. This time a rock bass came to the net and I guess Paul completed his super slam. Overall the fishing was good and the catching was good. Paul and Tom were enjoyable to fish with and they were open to suggestions that hopefully made their day and future fishing better. If none of us learned anything else, we did learn the "banana theory" was no theory at all.

Tom With A Rarity