Fulfilling a Request

I enjoy looking at outdoor pictures, especially those posted by fellow bloggers. Howard at Windknots and Tangled Lines has shared some great blog images from his recent post. In his response to my comment about the post, he suggested that everyone should do a post like his image post. So I’m going to be the first blogger to fulfill his suggestion. I hope the rest of you guys will submit an “image post” in the coming days as well.

Beautiful rainbow was taken from the crystal clear waters of the Sipsey, I will miss fishing this outstanding tailrace.

Charles and I at our last Troutfest

Kyle was one of my former students, who love to fly fish

Viewing the set of Dances With Wolves out west a couple of summers ago. This western in my opinion was the greatest western ever made; as most of you know I am a HUGE western fan!!

My fishing buddy Ivan; love to watch him make those roll cast under the many overhanging branches on Smith Lake

Our first snow in Spring Hill this year---I've recorded 16 different bird species feeding at my feeders

Blogger David Knapp on the Caney enjoyed my day fishing with David 

Monster bull bluegill was taken last year

Vintage cypress boat, built by my older brothers, one who is no longer with us, but still in memory in this boat

How could I forget Jenny's big catfish

What can I say!!

I still remember this spotted bass

B.T. with one of his best bows from the Caney last year

So many memories from this little pond; located a short distance from our house where my family lived. This little pond is where my brother and I learned to fish catching large bluegill using redworms and grasshoppers for bait. 

Jason home for a short time, a couple of years ago, he loved to fish Smith

The Crystal Mill located in Carbondale west of Denver

Special Grandchildren!!

The bluegill hunter will soon be on the water

Jason and I fishing the Caney a couple of years ago

My older brother who is in bad health now and will never make any more fishing trips--this image was taken from one of many trips I made with him crappie fishing on his home lake in Winona Miss.

Guys I had a lot of fun sorting through hundreds of images from my hard drive to put this post together, brought back a lot of memories

Time Spent When I'm Not Fishing

For the past couple of weeks we have had overcast skies with periods of rain, which pretty much covers the forecast for the region here. These kinds of days usually have me at the computer reading blogs, watching fly fishing videos, working on my ancestry tree, downloading seventies music on my USB MP3 player, or watching some of my favorite western movies.

Reading fly fishing blogs has become one of my go-to activities just about every morning after breakfast. I am one of those guys who gravitate towards people who have things in common with me. That is why I like blogging so much because it gives me a chance to converse with other fly fishermen who love the sport as much as me.  

I really enjoy watching fly fishing videos, especially the ones that pass along bits of information that will help me land more fish. I think one of the best fly fishing videos series for the beginner and the seasoned angler is The New Fly Fisher with Bill Spicer.

How could I go through the winter without working on my Ancestry tree? I sign up for the three months on the first of November and leave the site at the end of January. During those months I catch up on all the information that has been submitted concerning my ancestries. Ancestry recently added DNA testing and that is something I may consider while on the site this time.

As most of you know I am an avid western movie fan. If I could have lived another life it would have been during the 1800s. I know times were tuff back then but my love of the outdoors and the adventure that period offered would have made it perfect for me. I am more of a fan of the ’70s through present day westerns as opposed to the earlier westerns. The earlier westerns were not as realistic as the Eastwood era and Duvall era movies. Any western with Robert Duvall in it is considered a classic in my book. Three of his best were Lonesome Dove, Open Range, and Broken Trail. 

So I will end this rambling episode by saying if you guys haven’t tried some of these overcast day activities, then I highly recommend you give one a try.

Cathey and I Road Trip Back to Ellijay Georgia

Cathey and I decided Wednesday that we wanted to go back and visit Ellijay Georgia where we live for a short time over 30 years ago. It is a small mountain town located in northwest Georgia. Ellijay is known as the apple capital of Georgia. We picked this weekend to make the trip because of the huge apple festival and craft show taking place there. We left Friday morning and made a detour through a few areas in Alabama we hadn’t visited before driving to the festival. The trip really brought back some fond memories of when we were younger and our daughter was two and our son six; how fast time passes.

The first stop on our journey was Little River Canyon in northwest Alabama. This plaque was at the entrance of the River Falls explaining the plight of the Cherokee Indians who inhabited the area when Hernando De Soto explored the region.

In 1838 and 1839, as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. The Cherokee people called this journey the "Trail of Tears," because of its devastating effects

 The 45 foot Little RiverCanyon falls at the base of the canyon. The Little River runs through the canyon and has numerous smaller falls throughout the canyon.

The river below the falls flowing at the base of the canyon, it will be stocked with rainbow trout in December. The trout will survive through the winter months.  

These are the De Soto Falls in the De Soto State Park north of Little River Canyon.

This is the main De Soto Fall in the De Soto State Park north of Little River Canyon. Sorry, I didn’t take this image; my image had too much glare to post, so I am using a Google image of the fall. This is the highest waterfall in the state of Alabama located directly below the upper falls, an absolutely beautiful area.

I can't believe we have waterfalls like this in Alabama

Saving on the Fluorocarbon Leaders

Back in 2011 I did a post concerning the advantages of using the fluorocarbon leader. At that time I was using a traditional mono leader, which was giving me problems with line twist at times; also the mono could be seen in really clear water. The fluorocarbon solved both those issues for me. My only complaint with the fluorocarbon leader was the price ranging from 13.00 to 25.00.

 

I did save some when I starting using the tippet ring, which enables me to use the same leader for a year. The only part of the leader that is replaced is the tippet end of the leader. I simply tie in 2 ½ ft. of tippet into the ring and I am good to go. I use a lot of tippet because every time I tied on a new fly I lose tippet. I use a 9 ft. leader and like to keep the leader as close to 9 ft. as possible. After I have lost nine to ten inches I am ready for another tippet.

I’ve recently discovered another way to save on the tippet spools I am always buying to supply my seven fly reels. I have started using the Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon fishing line. One 250 yard spool will last for years and at eight bucks a spool that is a bargain. I have been using the line for a couple of months and really impressed with its performance. I can’t see the line in the waters at the tailrace, which is what got my attention. Another thing that impressed me was the limp low memory characteristic the line possesses.  I use 5X, 3X and 1X tippets which are 4, 6 and 8 lb. test line; these 3 spools will last me much longer than a few tippet spools, with line left over for my spinning reels; what a saving.    
 

I Can’t Believe I Fish This Water

I had to want to fish really bad Tuesday to wet a fly in this messy slim and brown film cover water on Walker Lake. I drove up to the bait shop to get my fishing permit and really didn’t pay that much attention to the lake water, because I had big bull bluegills on my mind. The caretaker told me that he had fertilized the lake fourteen days earlier, so I thought surely it had cleared up some since my last visit the week before, man was I wrong. As I approached the launch I saw that the water looked a little cloudy, but that didn’t alarm me so I proceeded to launch the Pelican and troll to the east side of the lake as I always do. As I approached the east side I kept noticing the slim was getting thicker and the brown film was covering much more water surface, in fact the entire east side of the lake was completely cover with the brown film. With no wind the film would only move if it was broken with the fly, fly line, paddle, or the boat moving. In fact after I got home I had to wash both lines in soapy water to remove the slim. One would think fish would not hit anything in this slimy miss.

This would be the only bluegill I would land in the 20 minutes of misery I would spend in this place today. This is killing my bluegill quest!!!

It takes a dedicated fisherman to endure fishing in this over fertilized water. I will not wet another fly in this place until the lake is clear.   



Enduring The Aches and Pain to Land Fish

As we get older whether we are the young guys or the more seasoned anglers, we experience some aches and pains. With each aging year brings another arch mainly in our backs, legs, necks, or shoulders. There are numerous prescriptions to help with the pain in the form of pills, shots, therapy, and as a last resort surgery. I watched my Dad, Mom, Father-in-law, and Mother-in-law all use one or more of these prescription pain killers mentioned above with limited results. The end result is one can’t fool time and we all will eventually succumb to old age.

Why I am rambling on about such a depressing subject, because as I get older I feel all these aches and pain, whether I am doing yard work or out on the water casting my favorite fly. I have noticed the past couple of years I have more tendonitis in my knees and arms, but what is really annoying is the tendonitis in my shoulders. It really acts up in my right shoulder on days when I am on the water for four or five hours. So to help ease the pain on those fishing days, I decided to do some research concerning shoulder tendonitis. I found that there are ways one can help relieve shoulder tendonitis, by a simple rub message or a back stretch exercise. I have tried both procedures and they have helped relieve the pain in both my shoulders. No way is a little pain going to keep me off the water!!!

Getting my Daily Dose of Country Music

I have to admit I am a YouTube junkie and when I am not blogging I am usually watching fly fishing video clips or music videos. The music I really enjoy is the 70’s and 80’s country and soft rock.

Recently I was searching Lionel Richie, one of my favorite artists of the 70's on YouTube and found this Lionel Richie concert that was set live at the MGM Grand in Vegas in 2012. What was special about the concert was the fact Richie used some of the biggest names in country music to join him on stage and sing some of his hits back in the 70’s and 80’s.
Some of the artist that was featured were; Kenny Rodgers, Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, Sara Evans, The Band Perry, Lady Antebellum, Tim McGraw, Blake Sheldon, Luke Bryan, and others,----so to kill about 45 minutes snowed in I recommend this free concert.
 “Lady” song by Kenny Rodgers and Lionel Richie was a classic!!

Snow Down in The Deep South

When it snows in Alabama or any of the adjoining states around us, it becomes a big deal. We are expected to receive snow until midnight, which will gives us between 5 to 6 inches. In other words one of the biggest snows we’ve had in years.

 

Eagle Parents Stay Busy Tending the Young

The Bald Eagles are really active on Guntersville Lake in the north Alabama now. There is a lot of activity around this nest which houses two baby Eagles.

Another Fishing Accessory I Just Can’t Live Without!!





I read a post the other day concerning fly fishing accessories. It got me to thinking about just how much we as fishermen whether its cold water or warm water spend on all these add-ons we place in our fishing arsenal.  If I read about or see a fishing item I think I just can’t live without then most of the time I buy it; well here is another fishing accessory I decided I just couldn't live without, the fly fishing license plate.
I know how all of us love this great sport of fishing, so I thought why not spread the word, especially to the young,  as we drive to and from our favorite fishing destinations. The following plates were some of my favorites I found online and thought you guys might want to see:

Really impressed with this plate

Outstanding Brook Trout Plate

For all of us who love the Bluegill

Awesome Brown Trout



Bass on the Boogle Bug Poppers

Can’t forgot the Crappie Fishermen

 

Catchy fly license plate

My favorite---all these license plates and many more can be found at Café Express

  

A Good Road Trip in Choctaw County Mississippi

My fishing trips have taken a hit here lately with my wife and me helping our daughter and husband out with the grandchildren and the newborn. I took a break from the babysitting with my wife last week and spent the week in Mississippi visiting my brother. We didn’t do any fishing but made a couple of road trips that proved to be very productive.  One of the days involved selling my brother's older bass boat, and traveling to the Mississippi Tennessee line to purchase a 1985 Bass Tracker TX in great condition. It needs some minor work before he puts it on the water, but it will prove much safer than what he had. Thursday the day before I left for home we decided we would make a trip to our old home place where we were raised as boys.  Going back to these places always brings back some fond memories. We also paid a visit to our Great Great Grandfathers cemetery; which is located at his old home place now isolated in a wooded area in Choctaw county Mississippi. I did a post about the cemetery sometime back, but I wanted to share some new photos of our restoration work in the cemetery.

We finally located all the pieces of the headstone of our GG Grandfather, which shows his birth 1800—1874—74 years is a remarkable age to survive in that day and time

This is a concrete slab placed over the grave with a long inscription engraved in the top part ---the slab was 4” thick and has broken over the years

James’s wife Mary is buried beside him with a 4” concrete slab covering her grave with an inscription as well---1808—1874---66 years of age at her death

Placing treated 4 X 4’s around the cemetery will ensure it stays intact, for years to come. My brother's son will take care of the cemetery after we are gone.

I thought it would be appropriate to make a sign indicating the name of the cemetery.

This is one of four other graves with rock headstones and footstones with no names on them buried to the left of James Trussell’s grave. We know this is not any of the children, because I have accounted for all of them when I did the research for our family tree. 

My brother’s Badboy proved to be the way to reach the cemetery and haul all the posts and equipment we needed to restore it. We have found out that one can go on a great road trip with this vehicle; an enjoyable day for both of us.