Tuesday I was able to go on a float trip with one of the guides from the Cumberland River. We started our trip at the Happy Hollow launch and ended the day at Betty's Island. The only negative aspect of the trip was the heat; at times the temps were reaching 98. We had only one way of combating the heat and that was to get in the cool waters of the Caney, which was reading in the mid 50's.
Steve Gardner our guide was using his drift boat, which made for a relaxing float down the scenic Caney. We were using the trout magnet with spinning gear to start the float when Steve landed a nice 18" brown using the 1/64 oz. jig early on. With the Caney fishing quite well at times we manage to land around 15 browns and rainbows. We ended the trip using zebra midges under an indicator and picked up some of the better stockers, which was running between 10" to 12”. This was my first float trip in a drift boat and proved to be a relaxing and memorable trip. The dry fly action was non existence, no rises to speak of and the nymph action at times was good but you had to be at the right seam or pocket at the right time to have any action. Steve is a very capable guide and is guiding now on the Caney as well as the Cumberland. If you are interested in booking a trip with Steve you can contact him at his
Email. I hope to be back on the Caney in a couple of weeks wading in some of my favorite spots.
Steve Garnder sent me some images of some of his recent trips on the Caney Fork. I made a trip with him last week on the Caney and had a great time floating in areas of the river I had never seen. One thing about fishing the Caney you should know is there are areas of the river that just don't hold as many fish as some of the bends and cut banks do. Steve's Dad is shown below with a nice brown he caught with Steve in his drift boat. Steve took his Granddaughter out on a trip and she landed a nice brown. Nothing like grand kids!!
Steve's Dad with a nice brown
Steve with his Granddaughter--getting her started at trout fishing
Steve with a nice brown using the trout magnet
Rainbow on the midge
The comfort of the drift boat--notice the crystal clear waters of the Caney
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Love that last picture, you're right, water looks gin clear. I took special interest in your use of trout magnets, I've never had any luck with those whatsoever.
ReplyDeletetroutrageous
ReplyDeleteSteve the guide was using this trip to scout the river. He had not fish the portion of river we fished Tuesday. I was only along for the ride--in other words the trip didn't cost me anything. He also was using the trip to test the trout magnet with the spin cast for clients who don't use the fly rod. With him and his son using the spin cast with the magnet it made it difficult for me to use the fly rod in the boat. So the only time I could use the fly rod was when we were out of the boat. I am not a fan of the spin cast for trout, so I spent as much time as I could wading and using the fly rod. It was good to just be in the water and cool off.
Looks like a good time! Nice brown!!
ReplyDeleteWanderingowloutside
ReplyDeleteAs I stated in the post the heat was the only negative factor. The Caney is one of the best rivers to fish in northern Tennessee. The browns are awesome and a real fight on the fly. I will be headed back in a couple of weeks.
That is one great looking Brown! Healthy to be sure. Awesome pictures, great read. Thanks...Bill.
ReplyDeleteBill
ReplyDeleteThe Caney has got some big browns in it, especially close to the dam. Steve our guide caught this one on the trout magnet, using micro-light spinning gear. He had a time landing it. Thanks for the comment.