South Holston Fish Camp

Back in my younger days, before kids were in the picture, we would do at least one fish camp trip per year if not more.  During that time we discovered a little jewel of a location up on the South Holston River, that allowed us to camp right on the river with access to some phenomenal midge and sulfur hatch water.  Unfortunately, two years ago I discovered that the property owner had passed away, and the property was in the middle of some legal and insurance disputes.  So, I figured that my opportunity to go back to this place was long gone.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the original owner's daughter was trying to commercialize the farm and allow camping.  I looked up her website, and saw that she had implemented a whole new pricing structure and that she had lost a large parcel of river frontage in the aftermath of the death.  Regardless, I was seriously needing to get away for a couple of days for some serious fishing before turkey season starts up.

Buzz and I made the drive up on Thursday after taking the afternoon off work.  It was a beautiful sunny day with temps in the 60's.  When we arrived at the river we had it all to ourselves and there was a nice little midge hatch coming off with the sporadic Baetis emerging.  About 30 minutes after I arrived Buzz pulled in, and the temptation to fish was too great.  So, we abandoned some of the camp setup procedure and got geared up to hit the water.  

I made my way upstream to a section of river that I enjoy fishing, and started swinging a Baetis soft hackle with a BHPT dropper.  Within a couple of minutes I had a tug on the end of my line and pulled in my first colorful brown trout.  Little did I know this would be the largest trout of my trip at right around 12".  

I immediately began to question my decision to leave my DSLR back in the car instead of bring it with me, as the sunlight glare was not allowing me to capture the bright coloration of the fish.  

I fished for probably another hour before going back to camp to get my dry fly box, which I also left in the car.  While at camp the property owner came by and I spent a lot of time there talking to her about how much things had changed and her plans for the property going forward.  All this time Buzz continued to fish and bring in some trout for himself.  

Eventually, the beautiful day lead way to the evening and the fishing began to slow.  Although the sunset was very nice.

The weather forecast had showed a high of 65 on Thursday, and an overnight low of 43 degrees.  However, as we sat around the fire roasting our sausage dogs we began to question the accuracy of that forecast as it began to get cold quickly.  We both got a little chilled during the night, and I discovered that my Big Agnes Insulated Air Core pad had gone down to about 1/3 full which allowed cold air to come up from beneath me through my MH Ultralamina 15 bag.  This was not because of a leak, but the reduction of air volume as a result of the cold temps.  When we rolled out of our bags Friday morning around 7:30 we discovered that everything was blanketed with a hard frost, and learned that the temps had dropped down into the 20's!  Also there was a large smoke cloud coming from just across the mountain, and appeared to be up near the lake.

Buzz quickly got a fire going to help with the chill and get some hot water for breakfast.

Breakfast of Champions

The river was still high from the pulse, so we just fished from the bank near camp.  Surprisingly Buzz found a nice little pod of young brownies willing to take his offering.

Once the water came down I took Buzz downstrean to another previously productive area, and we found the motherlode of trout sitting in a small depression about 10' in diameter.  We probably landed between 15 and 20 trout out of that one hole.  

After wearing out this pod of fish we went back to camp for a quick lunch, and the fish in front of camp continued to take midges while we ate.  While we ate we watched a couple of other people get on the water and begin to fish in front of camp, so we chose to go upstream and fish some other water.  Not only did the water look fantastic, the overall scenery was not too shabby either.

You can barely see Buzz in the photo on the far right of the picture.  He got into a pod of fish up there and probably caught 12 to 15 out of that one little run, with rarely a fishless cast in between.  It was quite a display.  So, he invited me to come on up and give it a go, and I managed to pick up a few like this guy as well.

Eventually our backs and eyes began to hurt after so many hours of fishing, and I imagine Buzz's arm was starting to get sore after catching probably 40 fish by this time.  So, we went back to camp for a snack and to just relax.  During that time we continued to question the smoke just over the mountain top, so we decided to drive up to the dam and see if we could see what it was.

It turns out that the forestry service was doing a controlled burn over an area greater than 3,800 acres.  By far the largest controlled burn I have seen in my lifetime, and quite impressive considering the gusty winds we had experienced all day long.  We then returned to camp and found the river all to ourselves again, and fish taking midges in front of us was too tempting.  So we geared up and went back after them.  Once again, Buzz had the magic fly that the fish were just crazy over.  I picked up a couple here and there, but his midge was easily collecing 5 fish to my 1, if not more in some spots.  Upon later examination, while I thought we were fishing the same fly as we both referred to it by the same name, it turns out that his fly was significantly different than mine.  Needless to say, I will be tying up some just like this for future trips, as it obviously was what they preferred.  I have had days like that on the South Holston before where the trout were so selective that they would only take a #22 stripper midge with a brown bead.  If I tried using a #22 stripper with a black bead, my strike rate would easily be reduced to 1/3 or less...  This trip Buzz had the fly and the technique that allowed him to have a phenomenal day on the water.  I would guess his fish count at somewhere around 50 for Friday alone.

By the time dinner came around we were both exhausted, but I had planned something different for dinner that night.  Original plans was for there to be 3 or 4 of us on this trip, but David Knapp was unable to make it and my other buddy Dave had to cancel at the last minute for personal reasons.  However, I had planned to make deer steak fajitas for everybody, and I was going to make them for Buzz and I.

The final product turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.  Although, next time I will tenderize and marinate the meat at home so it may be a little better for fajitas.

That night we both slept extremely peacefully, and the temps only got down to probably the mid 30's so we were much more comfortable.  Buzz actually got a little warm in his sleeping arrangement, and for the record that was the largest sleeping pad I have ever seen...  :)  Saturday morning we woke up to smoke choked valley and increasing cloud cover.  Also, apparently TVA had changed the generation schedule from what we thought it was supposed to be and our fishing chances were dramatically limited.  So we chose to just break down camp and start our drive back to Knoxville.  All-in-all it was a very nice trip, with lots of fish brought to hand.  I really wish David and Dave could have made the trip as well, and Buzz and I found ourselves joking the first evening about WWDKD (what would David Knapp do) while trying to figure out what they were taking.  Unfortunately, this camping area has dramatically declined from what it used to be.  The area available for camping is easily 1/3 of what it originally was, and there is no longer a bathroom.  While this would not normally be a concern, it is when you consider that you are camping basically in the middle of a field with houses on both sides of you.  So, you can't just go do your business anywhere.  Additionally, there is no longer running water available at the campsite, unless you want to do your dishes in river water...  Although, these inconveniences may be too much for some people, I think the proximity to the river with quality water nearby outweighs these negatives.

I hope you have enjoyed this report, and stay tuned for more reports.  Turkey season opens this coming weekend, and I hope to have some early reports from those trips with my two kids to share with you.  Until next time, tight lines and God bless.

March Father-Son Camping Trip

I thought I would share a few pictures from my recent father-son camping trip in the Smokies a couple of weeks ago.  I try to do a couple of these trips with Trey each year, and as he gets older I am going to try and do even more of them.  He really enjoys our little trips, as he always has lots of questions about the animals, plants, and rocks...  I try to answer as many of those as I can, but sometimes he asks questions that requires me to do a little research and respond later.  So, in a way we both have an educational experience as well..  I hope you enjoy!

The weather was beautiful

We did a little fishing

Trey caught his first trout on a fly

Spent a little time sitting by the fire

Trey's favorite camping meal - sausage dogs

You can't take a kid camping without smores

We woke up to a chilly 35 degree morning, but Trey didn't complain

Even Trey's animals wanted to be near the fire...

A warm bowl of oatmeal was comforting

Trey enjoying the scenery

Felt like we had the place to ourselves, so nice to not have to deal with the hoards of tourists

Signs of Spring....

The number one sign of Spring I have been waiting for!

I typically avoid Cades Cove like the plague, however this weekend just prior to the start of Spring Break was quite nice.  Crowds were extremely low, and the campgound was not busy at all.  Unfortunately, we did manage to have a couple of large RV's pull in beside us and fire up their generators for hours.  Trey kept walking around saying "I wish they would turn that noise off!  What are they doing over there?".  I had to explain to him that camping means different things to different people, and although we don't camp that way other people do.  Those of you who know me know that I personally don't care for large RV's and despise generators when camping.  In the words of Jase Robertson "Once you bring something with wheels and that's enclosed, you are no longer camping.  You're parking!"  I completely agree!  However, in an attempt to not bias his opinion one way or the other, I tried to keep my opinion out of the discussion.

I hope you enjoyed the photo post, and my next post will be about a South Holston River trout fish camp trip.  Stay tuned!

The Outdoorsman's Conumdrum

I like to think of myself as an outdoorsman.  I have always considered myself to be an outdoor type of person, especially since I grew up on a farm.  As a kid we only had 4 television channels, and those only got reception occasionally.  At a young age my dad introduced me to fishing, then a little later to hunting.  He taught my brother and I how to take care of the land or water, and it will provide for you.  We cared for the farm and the animals that lived on it, and we always picked up trash alongside the lake while fishing.  We were just doing our part to try and keep things as natural as possible, and protect the resources we enjoyed.  In my mid to late teens I discovered fly fishing and fly tying, and it quickly consumed all of my attention I had previously devoted to other outdoor hobbies.  I found myself falling into the dilemma that is so common today, I enjoyed one hobby more than the others and thought I would not succeed at that one hobby if my attention was divided among multiple others.  I actually carried this philosophy along for easily 10 years.  As all of my hunting and high end bass fishing gear lay around collecting dust, I focused 100% of my attention on fly fishing - primarily for trout.

A good percentage of time fly fishing was spent in Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP), where I chased wild brook, rainbow, and brown trout.  This also allowed me to soak in the beautiful scenery and enjoy catching fish simultaneously.  As I continued to explore fishing in GSMNP, I learned that the fishing seemed to be easier the farther one separated himself from civilization.  So, as a result I began to gain interest in hiking and backpacking.  It was inevitable, because many trips required a 4+ mile hike one way to prime fishing areas, and this hike was made easier by implementing the most recent innovations and gear used in the hiking community.  Eventually, this lead to me developing relationships with other people who enjoy hiking, and some of those also enjoyed fishing.  Occasionally, I would have a hiking buddy come along with me, and then they would just hang out at our destination while I fished for a couple hours before making the return hike to the car.  This past year I actually expanded my fishing routine into overnight fishing trips in the back-country where I once again utilized technology and gear developed for the backpacking crowd.  My gear and clothing selection seemed to now include as much Patagonia and Mountain Hardwear as it did Orvis and Fishpond.  Not a bad thing, as I do consider myself a gear junkie and these items were quite flexible.

Somewhere along the way I re-discovered my passion for hunting.  Not just deer hunting, but turkey hunting as well.  Additionally, I am now making plans for a future antelope hunt out west.  Unfortunately, all of my clothes were too small after sitting in storage for 10 years, so I had to restock my entire wardrobe.  This is the point where things began to start getting a little strange for me, and I noticed a significant division in the mentality of "Sportsmen".  I figured I would re-purpose some of my Patagonia and Mtn Hardwear clothing into my hunting wardrobe.  As, most of the high performance hunting clothing was quite expensive.  Especially considering I buy all of my clothing during end of year clearance sales for 50% off....  I found myself in a local hiking store one day looking at some items to purchase, and mentioned that the item I was looking at would work wonderfully for my fishing trips to GSMNP as it was breathable enough to hike in but also warm once I arrived.  The salesperson agreed with me.  However, next I mentioned that I could also use if for late season deer hunting, and you would have thought I had just strangled the person's puppy.  A look of shock and disgust came across his face.  He basically nodded his head, and excused himself to help somebody else.  I found it quite odd, but continued to browse through the store.  Later that night, I did a search of websites looking for reviews of the particular item I was searching for, and discovered that somebody else was being ridiculed on a hiking blog for mentioning hunting.  This peaked my interest, so my search then changed from a product review to something entirely different.

I discovered after reviewing various websites consisting of outdoor forums, backpacking forums, and hunting forums that there is vast discrepancy in philosophy and perception among outdoor groups.  I learned that hunters generally consider hikers and backpackers to be tree hugging, overly-sensitive, yuppies who want nothing more than to protect everything.  Conversely, hikers and backpackers view hunters as redneck trophy hunters who only want to kill an animal and stick the head on their wall.  Not only that, but they seemed to have moral objections to wearing clothing that is geared toward the other side of the divide.  For example, hunters for the most part disliked eco-friendly high performance clothing, and backpackers would rather go naked than to sport apparel from a company like Under Armour who has an extensive hunting line and minimal green practices.

I like to think of myself as an outdoors-man, because of all the activities I previously mentioned.  In my discussions with non-hunters I have learned that most are passionate about the land and animals that they like to enjoy in nature, but unfortunately most are uneducated about the role hunters play in animal population control.  Hunters are conservationists by nature (A tiny subset are just blood thirsty or trophy hunters), as it would defeat the purpose if we eliminated the population in a localized area.  Once I take the time to explain to non-hunters how I utilize almost all parts of the deer they begin to understand.  I eat all of the meat that I can possibly salvage (we even eat the heart and liver) and I use hair from various areas to tie flies with. My family can go all year on about 100 lbs of deer meat, so once I get that much meat I stop killing deer.  Regardless of when during deer season that is.

Unfortunately, I feel that in today's society groups are more divided than ever, and it carries through in so many areas of our lives.  Why can't I (or you) cross these self imposed boundaries and be an all around outdoorsman?  I have friends who insist that I cannot do all of this, as it is too complicated.  I enjoy camping and backpacking even if I am not on a fishing or hunting trip, and I am trying to teach my son how to enjoy nature these same ways while also protecting it for the future.  Now, don't misinterpret what I am saying.  I enjoy the outdoors and practice time proven practices, I am not advocating animal rights nor am I an environmentalist with a skewed view on US energy policies.  I just find it strange that it seems like these divisions seems to be growing increasingly larger every year.  Take a look around next time you are in your local sporting goods store, and see if you notice what I am talking about.  Remember though that next time you meet somebody who has a different viewpoint than you, take the time to talk to them about how and why you do what you do.  I think that we all will realize that we have a lot more in common that we think, and much of this divide has been created by media and industry to fuel emotions and drive market shares upward.  This is my opinion, and I may be way off course here, although I have a feeling there are quite a few others out there who see things the same way I do...

Click the link below for another story along these same lines...

http://www.backpacker.com/hiking-and-hunting/destinations/14747/

Until next time, tight lines and God bless!

Smokies Camping Trip September 2013

I have been anxious to get back into the mountains on a camping trip, and had an entire weekend planned recently.  However, I then was informed of my nomination as my son's kickball coach and the pending schedule, and thought my chances for another trip this year were lost.  Thankfully, my wife was willing to agree to my terms, and I found myself packing our vehicle.  The plan was for my wife and I to take both our kids on this trip to meet a co-worker and her family at the campground so they could all play together.  My son loves to go camping and fish with me, but this would be our 2-yr old daughter's first camping experience.  Unfortunately, she started having allergy and sinus problems late in the week, so mamaw to the rescue.  We quickly wrapped up my son's practice and game on Saturday morning and hauled tail for Elkmont.  I knew from looking at the reservation system that the place would be more than half empty, and would allow lots of space for the kids.  Just what I like to see when I go camping!

We found our site, and true to my expectations most of the sites around us were vacant.  My wife and I got everything setup while my son quickly started setting up his "gold mining operation" in the nearby trickle of a stream.  Thanks Gold Rush!  :) 

Last time I took my son he was disappointed when he realized all the other kids had their bikes with them, so I made sure to bring it along this time.  Soon thereafter, he was off riding around the entire vacant section of campground.

Eventually, our camp mates showed up, and a friendly game of forest soccer ensued.

As the afternoon wore on, I soon got the urge to go wet a fly.  So, I geared up and my son came along with me.  We slowly worked our way upstream, with him wading along right behind me.  I managed to hook two small bows on a yellow sparkle caddis dry, but they both came unhooked while trying to get my son up with me to see them.  Then, the inevitable happened, he fell up to his chest in that cold mountain water, and he was done fishing then.  I did make it out later for another 30 minutes or so of fishing about 1/2 mile up Jakes Creek.  No fish brought to hand, although I did let a couple more come unbuttoned before I got them to hand.

That night we dined on hot dogs, grilled okra, and a dessert of camp apple cobbler.  It was quite tasty!

After everybody turned in for the night, I hung out in the hammock outside enjoying the night air.  Around 9:00, I heard something nearby and looked up to see a shadow walking through the woods near our camp.  I snapped on my headlight and saw a coyote standing about 20' away just staring at me.  It turned and trotted away to somebody else's campsite.  Later on that night I was awakened by the howling of a coyote up on the hillside from the campground.  That was a pretty neat experience, as I have never been that close to a coyote.  I have seen them while hunting before, but never anything like that.

I later learned that a son of our camp mates had seen a wild hog in their campsite the evening before.  He didn't tell anybody, because he didn't really think anything of it.

The next morning, I had planned a treat for my wife and son.  I woke up early and got a campfire going, and began cooking bacon, eggs, and camp biscuits.

Just before we broke camp to head home I went back up Jakes Creek to try my hand on some better water.  I managed to bring 3 to hand, including a surprising tiny brown.  All three were very small, but I did have a couple chances at better fish but couldn't connect.

The water was a little skinny, and the fish were a little skittish.  However, it was a great pre-autumn camping trip with the family and some friends.  Hopefully, we will get another one in this year before the campgrounds begin to close.

The next few weeks will find me with two trips to Colorado, and I am hoping to get some on the water time with the illustrious Mr. David Knapp.  Stay tuned for reports from those trips...

Tight Lines and God Bless
Travis

Three Generations Camping Trip

I have been trying to get my dad out on a camping trip for a couple years now, and with this past weekend being Father's Day he finally gave in.  Now, it should be known that my dad used to camp on a regular basis back when I was a little tike, but now he rarely takes the time to do something for himself.  So, I was shocked when he told me that he was planning on going along.  Unfortunately, I was concerned when I heard that the campground we intended to stay at had taken a hit from an F1 tornado and 60% of the sites were closed.  A quick call to the campground confirmed that there were some open sites, so away we went. 

Not long after arriving, we had the tent setup and were getting settled in.

Big Agnes King Creek 4 in Fastfly Setup

My dad and son were anxious to watch me fish.  Not expecting much success, we hopped in the stream near the campground.  You can imagine my surprise when I landed this guy on the first cast.

Imagine my surprise when I pulled in this 7" brookie from a spot numerous people swim in daily.  Even greater to my surprise was that we continued working our way upstream and I hooked a brookie in every likely hole I presented my yellow sally fly to.  I ended up landing 4 more that we only about 3" long, and had 3 more get off as I was trying to land them.  Considering that I only fished for 30 minutes, I consider those to be good results.  By this time we were getting into some areas that my son was having difficulty keeping up, so we called it a day.

walking back from our successful excursion

Then we started thinking about dinner, and knew we needed to get some good coals before we could cook.  My dad seems to be amazed by bonfires, so I left him in charge of the fire.

Tending the fire and cooking potatoes & onions

We had to pass some time while waiting for the potatoes to cook and coals to form.  So, nothing says camping quite like badminton and football...

Eventually, it was time to put dinner on the fire.  Tonight's menu is deer steak, potatoes, and onions.

Deer steak, potatoes, and onions

For desert, is there anything more a kid would want than marshmallows?

Excited about roasted marshmallows

Shortly after dinner and desert it was time to turn in for the night.  It was a little warm, even sleeping outside of my bag.  After a restful nights sleep, the next morning brought more activity and games around camp with my son.  We just mainly took our time eating breakfast, breaking camp, and then roasting sausages for lunch.  On the way out, dad asked if I was going to fish anymore, so I stopped at a convenient pullout and geared up.  You can imagine my surprise when once again on my first cast I brought this guy to hand...

Then about 5 minutes later this guy...

Once again, I worked my way upstream fishing every little riffle and run I saw.  I called it quits after about 20 minutes because we really needed to get back home, but managed to land three bows in that time frame.  Once again, this was in a location that regularly has swimmers, waders, and fishermen.  So, I was surprised at how fruitful this small stream was, even after hearing one less than positive comment from somebody in a site nearby.

It was great getting my dad and Trey out camping together on this trip, my dad really enjoyed himself.  Trey is now asking for a fly rod of his own so that he can fish with daddy.  My little buddy is getting big, and I may have myself a little fishing buddy from now on.  I have an upcoming trip to the South Holston planned for this week, assuming my work schedule allows me to go.  However, we are already planning our next family trip, and I am sure it will be a blast.

First Overnight Backcountry Trip

I have been wanting to do a backcountry trip for a year or, so sometime back around January a buddy and I exchanged emails about doing a backcountry trip. Well, work and weather got in the way, and that trip seemed to fizzle away. Thankfully, things seemed to start looking better and we made plans for this weekend. As the date drew closer, the trip shrunk from a two night trip to just Friday night. However, we wanted to make the most of the day, so we planned to set out from the trailhead around 10AM. This would allow us to fish all afternoon and evening. Surprisingly, the online booking tool showed that Thursday was completely booked up, but Friday only had five occupants including us. So, it was with some anxiety that we began the day on Friday not knowing whether the camp had been inhabited by a party crowd that would leave it trashed, a group of boyscouts, or worse fly fishermen...

A quick stop at Little River Outfitters to get some last minute supplies and Daniel told me about a group that had just stopped in and had some success fishing the day before. Although, I also talked with others who had poor luck and I didn't know what to expect. Additionally, the weather forecast had changed significantly, and the chance of storms had increased.

When we arrived at the trailhead, we saw a large group of guys leaving. We stopped to chat for a while and learned that they were the group from the camp and only one of them in the group had fished the day before with some success. Things were starting to look up.

The mandatory hike in photo:


Hanging out around camp, planning our fishing day.


It wasn't long before we got into the water. I can honestly say there was more fishable water in this area than I have ever seen before. Buzz working the first run as soon as we stepped into the water.


While I was putting my camera away I hear, "this is what we are here for". He had already hooked up and landed a rainbow, not 30 seconds into our fishing day. This got me excited. So I moved on up to the next little stretch, and hooked into this guy on my second cast.


I pulled this little guy from this tiny little side run that probably 90% of the fishermen would pass right over to reach the bigger water.


Five minutes later, I had this guy to hand.


Buzz and I continued to play leap frog up the river hitting every other hole and landing many fish in the process. Almost exactly one hour after landing my rainbow I completed my slam with this guy.


Amazingly, it took one hour and ten minutes to achieve my slam and all within a couple hundred yards of each other. It wasn't long afterward that we began to hear the rumble of thunder, and so we hoofed it back to camp just in case. Thankfully it passed north of us and we ate some dinner and got back on the water. About 7:00 the yellow sallies started coming off heavily, and there was a very large light cahill spinner fall. We fished until we couldn't see where we were walking and called it a day.

Around 1AM it began to rain, and continued to do so until we reached our vehicles at 11AM. As I was driving back to Knoxville, the sun popped out briefly only to quickly be overcome by rain clouds for the rest of the afternoon. All my gear is currently setup in the garage trying to dry out, but it was all worth it.

Buzz caught a lot more fish than I did, and completed a slam himself shortly after I did. Unfortunately, it was quite evident that my lack of fishing last year really hurt my presentation efficiency. However, I would consider this a tremendously successful outing regardless of how poor my presentation was. This was also my first real overnight backcountry trip, and I think I am hooked. Can't wait to do it again!  I got to try out some new camping gear, that I hope to do a video review on and post in the near future.