# Much needed TN weekend



## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

I just got back late last night from a pretty stellar 2.5 day weekend trip to TN. We drove down late Friday morning and went straight to the water. Not so much in preparation for this trip, but I just completed my first rod build and took it down for a solid test drive. I built a 9' 4wt primarily to be a crappie fly rod. The process wasn't that hard and I don't think I screwed anything up too badly. I even added a crappie decal, well, because.



















We hit a wadable spot on the Watauga when we got there. Builds a fly rod for crappies, catches brown trout on it.










The rivers were running water (tailwaters, TVA-controlled) so wading access was limited on Day 1. We fished the drop at the South Holston that night when they shut the water off at 8PM and had a pretty fun last hour of light. A well-placed dry-dropper rig with a split case sulfur nymph was money.










Saturday we fished the South Holston at some private access we've got permission on. Same story as the night before, dry/dropper to rising fish (they were eating emergers) and the split case wore them out. We fought intermittent rain all day but the fish kept eating so who cares?




























That night we fished the drop again after the water shut off at 8PM. Fishing was slow until last light when a sulfur Klinkhamer popped 3 fish in 4 casts. All cookie cutter fat browns.










Yesterday we had a good wading schedule for the Watauga, my favorite trout stream I've ever fished. The morning started a little slow but picked up in a hurry. Mostly the same story, dry/dropper with 99% of the fish eating the dropper. For a little while I fished a size 20 midge on the dropper and caught some fish, then switched back to the split case while the sulfurs started coming off.




























After we fished a long stretch there we hit the Soho one last time as a big line of storms was about to hit. I found a few rising fish I couldn't seem to cast to without spooking, so I started working from above and casting down-and-across, swinging a little soft hackle sulfur emerger. I caught two more before the storm chased us off the water and out of the state.










Of course, we had to stock up on Dr Enuf before we came home. If you know, you know.










Can't wait to be back down there already.


----------



## rickerd (Jul 16, 2008)

Wow a trip like that will make you feel like a trout god. Nice report!
Rickerd


----------



## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

rickerd said:


> Wow a trip like that will make you feel like a trout god. Nice report!
> Rickerd


To an extent, you can make that fishing as easy or as hard as you want to. I enjoy trying to pick off fish that are rising, targeting a fish that keeps feeding at the surface. It's harder to do, but it's fun, to me. A buddy of mine that goes on all of these trips, 95% of the time he's casting and stripping a small wooly bugger. It's about as easy as you can get, and he catches fish. A simple down-and-across cast and swinging a soft hackle is deadly, too. I was swinging a soft hackle when the rain started on Saturday. I had just casted and the rain started. I shoved the rod between my legs and was getting my rain coat out of my pack when I felt the rod thump. I got the coat on, and the fish was still hooked. Hands-free fish catching.


----------



## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

Rod looks great and sounds like the kind of trip that will be tough to top.
Good luck and good fishing !


----------



## 18inchBrown (May 1, 2016)

A trip that will keep you going until you go back down. Did you make a video?


----------



## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

18inchBrown said:


> A trip that will keep you going until you go back down. Did you make a video?


No video.


----------



## Patricio (Feb 2, 2007)

Troutski.


----------



## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

Tennessee trout fishing rarely disappoints. With all the wildlife coupled with the beauty of the rivers and surroundings, makes an outing even better…..it's not all about catching fish. Great report and good looking rod, I see you are well stocked on Dr. Enuf now.


----------



## OptOutside440 (Feb 3, 2019)

Looks like an absolute memorable time!


----------



## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

Reminds me of the trips I used to the Little Manistee and Boardman rivers in Michigan. I had a beautiful 3/4 weight, 7'-4" fiberglass rod built in 1971 and really enjoyed the trout and also used it for pan fish. Been thinking of selling it but having a hard time parting with it.


----------



## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

flyman01 said:


> Tennessee trout fishing rarely disappoints. With all the wildlife coupled with the beauty of the rivers and surroundings, makes an outing even better…..it's not all about catching fish. Great report and good looking rod, I see you are well stocked on Dr. Enuf now.


Are there many bears in the area (east TN)? I've only seen one in all the trips, a cub that swam the Soho and ran through our private access yard. I am always blown away by the number of deer in that area. I've never seen a large buck but there seems to be a really large deer population there.


----------



## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

TheCream said:


> Are there many bears in the area (east TN)? I've only seen one in all the trips, a cub that swam the Soho and ran through our private access yard. I am always blown away by the number of deer in that area. I've never seen a large buck but there seems to be a really large deer population there.


Yes, there is a very large bear population in east TN, they are actually very shy and will avoid humans unless around the Gatlinburg area where they have been domesticated from tourists feeding them. Rule of thumb is if you see a cub, momma is close by so keep your distance and eyes open, she WILL become aggressive if she feels her cub is threatened. Deer, they are in fact much smaller in east TN than the "grain" feed Ohio deer, in the east, not as much corn for them to feed on and due to the terrain, they are more difficult to harvest, thus the high population and breeding that comes into affect. In east TN, dogs are used for hunting large game, deer, bear and feral pigs. Because of the difficult terrain, dogs with radio collars are sent up into the foothills/mountains and they will surround and push the quarry toward the owners location, he will be standing at the base of the hill/mountain with his center fire rifle and drop it as it comes down toward his location; seems like cheating but that is how it is done down yonder and it's legal. During the season, you will always come across a wayward dog with a radio collar on it that got separated from the pack. You just leave it be, you will also see owners driving up and down the road with antennas looking like an old TV aerial pointing it in all directions trying to find the pooch, the eventually do. Oh an by the way, in east Tn, bear is pronounced...Barr.


----------



## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Took me a while to find it but here's my blurry cell phone pic of said bear cub that swam the Soho.


----------



## gotribe (May 5, 2006)

Nice fish and great report. Those waters have been on my list for sometime, better start planning a fall trip!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

gotribe said:


> Nice fish and great report. Those waters have been on my list for sometime, better start planning a fall trip!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


It sounds too good to be true, but I don't really believe there's a bad time to go down there. I've fished the area virtually every month, definitely every season. The water temps stay pretty constant on the tailwaters. I've had really good winter trips in Jan-Feb. We almost always make a Halloween-ish time frame trip, which is also usually good. Good weather and good fishing.


----------

