Sunday, June 30, 2019

Fishing for Native Trout

Jason and I spent the day this past Wednesday fishing the  Little River in the Great Smoky Mountains. The beauty of this place at times out weights the fishing if you can imagine that. We met David Knapp of the Trout Zone at Little Rivers Outfitters at 9 AM. After rigging our fly rods and suiting up at the fly shop we were off on the adventure. I had fished with David before on the Caney so I knew we were in for an awesome trip. 
I knew we were going to be fishing fast water which is the reason both of us had our wading staffs with us. We move higher in the mountains to avoid landing stock trout. The fast water is where the native trout are found in the warmer months of the year in the Smokies. I can't say enough about the beauty of this river, with all the lush greenery and the high canyon walls. 
Jason using his IM10 ft. nymphing fly rod to reach a small narrow seam in one of many we would fish for the morning. David had suggested using longer fly rods to nymph areas in the river that couldn't be fished effectively using a shorter fly rod. 
Beautiful rainbow landed in a narrow seam at the end of some fast pocket water where Jason was fishing. I'm glad Jason and I had some experience fishing fast water while fishing the Sipsey. Fishing for wild trout versus stocked trout takes you to another level. 
The Rhododendrons were in full bloom all along the river banks.
We were on the move all morning hitting all the fast water seams and pocket water we could find. David told us that the fast water is where the trout had access to the most oxygen this time of year. 
The sun had hit this area so I decided to fish it on my knees. These trout are extremely spooky so concealment is a must under bright conditions. I have landed stock trout on the Sipsey close by but not here.
Beautiful wild rainbow landed using my 9 ft. Hardy Streamflex. This fly rod with its lightweight at less than 3 oz. was perfect for the nymphing areas I was fishing. Jason and I will put this trip in our memory bank as one we both will remember. I'm so glad Jason has a job where he can come home at least 6 times a year to fish with me. 
  

10 comments:

  1. Great trip report, looks like my kind of water! The Smokies are awesome, so happy you guys had a fantastic outing!

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  2. Michael
    We were amazed where the trout were found; the seams at times were no wider than 6" ----glad we were using indicators. Thanks for the comment

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  3. Bill nice trip, with some lively rainbows to boot.

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  4. Alan
    A first for sure for Jason and I and hopefully will not be the last---thanks for the comment

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  5. Thanks for sharing a report on fishing for wild ones in the beautiful Smokies. Glad you guys had a memorable experience.

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  6. Walt
    A trip worth the taking for both of us, hope we can make another one in the coming years. Thanks for the comment

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  7. Bill - Nice to see you fishing with David! I bet you really enjoyed fishing a smaller mountain stream!

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  8. Mark
    David put us on some awesome wild trout and the scenery was beyond what we thought we would see high in the smokies. Thanks for the comment

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  9. What a great time you guys had out on the water! Love the smokies. Wading staffs are us! I used mine all the time. Slow water too! I kind of lost track of time for the blog. But, there is another post now. Haha. Have a great summer, my friend!

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  10. Emily
    Nothing like fishing with your children, especially in a beautiful place like the Smokies. Glad to hear from you---Sorry to say my blogging is taking a hit right now because of the extremely hot weather---hope to improve on posting as the weather gets cooler. Thanks for the comment

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