Showing posts with label Natchez Trace Parkway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Natchez Trace Parkway. Show all posts

Monday, April 18, 2016

Natchez Trace,Little Jewel,Branch Streams

I spent last weekend in Mississippi visiting my brother and his wife. Thank goodness this trip occurred before my fall at the gym on the following Monday.
My brother wanted to spend Saturday revising some of the boyhood places we fished in Choctaw County, Mississippi which is where we were born. We find as we get older we like going back in time and reliving those moments in our lives. Our main objective this trip was to connect with some of the streams we fished years ago and hopefully find new ones that could be fished with the fly rod. Sorry to say we didn’t find any small stream that a fly rod would work well on; so on to our backup plan which enabled us to use our low-grade Tenkara rods. When I say low grade that doesn’t mean this rod is cheap in the form of performance but cheap in the wallet. We paid ten bucks each for our Little Jewel telescopic 10 ft. bream poles on clearance last year. These little light rods were the perfect match for the small streams we found throughout the afternoon.  
Fast water drops off into a nice pool here, which had numerous shiners that inhaled our wax worms. The Little Jewel was rigged with a 4lb test line tagged with a trout indicator float and a bb shot above a tiny bream hook. We were hoping to land some colorful sunfish, but none were present in this pool.
The wax worm doubles as a wasp grub; making these shiners take notice. One big drawback to using wax worms is temperature, they need to be kept in the refrigerator when not being used; they die when exposed to warm temps for 4 to 5 hours.
Some of the roadways are lined with creek channels which overflow across the gavel roads during the rainy season.
Nice hole in the bend of Hamrick Branch, which is located right off the Natchez Trace Parkway; fun using the Little Jewel in this pool. Even small shiners can put a bend in this pole.
Another scenic stream off the Natchez Trace Parkway, which probably could have been fished with the fly rod, but at the end of the day I just choose to stay with my newfound Tenkara.
This stream is located just off the parkway with easy access to its sandbars along its banks. Today’s road trip was not about landing a bunch of fish; it was more about time well spent exploring and finding future fishing streams along the beautiful Natchez Trace Parkway. As we headed back home we both agreed that today’s outing would have been an excellent field trip for young kids to get in touch with nature.   
Thanks to all you guys for giving me encouragement after my fall last week, the ankle is getting better.

Friday, January 23, 2015

Scouting the Scenic Small Streams along the Natchez Trace Parkway

My brother and I recently spent a rewarding Saturday scouting some of the scenic small streams that are found along the historic Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi. We decided to zero in on a few streams that flow along the Choctaw County stretch of the Trace. These streams years ago were a source of food for all those who lived near them. Today those who drive over the many bridges that cross all these streams seldom pay any attention to their beauty and what species of fish they whole. My brothers and I use to fish all these streams as boys when we lived in the area; now the streams are void of any fishing; how times have changed.
We wanted to spend the day to see which streams would be fishable in the summer when all the streams are flowing at their normal level. As you view the images below you will notice that the streams were somewhat stained and showed signs of some high water. Even with an elevation in water level, we could see some excellent pocket water and drop-offs that will be perfect to fish with the fly rod come summer.
Big Sand the name of this stream was one we selected to fish come summer because of its easy access from its banks. We found some nice pocket holes along its banks.
Little Bywy creek is one of our favorites and one we fished as boys; notice the inside cut bank, which is where Redeye Bass hang out in the summer months. A dry fly floated along the edge of the bank would get a reaction.
Jenkins Creek pictured here is probably the easier stream to access. There were some fast runs as well as drop-offs into deep pools in this creek, which would whole redeye bass, as well as Sun Perch. Casting upstream and letting a dry or nymph float through the deep runs would be deadly.
Little Bywy just on the Trace Parkway looks so good I just had to give it a cast or two. I know the bass and sun perch were there, but on this day blue skies and cold temps kept them at bay. 
Middle Bywy could be a bit more difficult to fish compared to the other streams because of its high banks. One would need to wade this stream in places to have success. The ideal tackle here would be the Little Jewel 10 ft. rod rigged with a nymph or dry. Catfish are abundant in all these streams and a red worm tipped on a size six hook will yield some nice channel catfish using the Little Jewel. As boys, we always used a cane pole and red worms. Our cane pole will be replaced come summer with the Little Jewel and our 7 ½ ft. fly rods. I guess you could say we have moved up in the world of fishing.