Going Light on The Sipsey

I’ve been waiting about a week to make today’s trip to the Sipsey because my game plan was to go super light using my new 7 ½ ft. 2 weight. I purchase the fly rod mainly to fish in the Smokies, but I decided I would use it today to break it in on the Sipsey rainbow. June of last year was the last time that I wet a fly in the Sipsey since we moved to Tennessee.  

Upon arrival, I found one other truck, so I knew I would have the place pretty much to myself most of the afternoon. The skies were a crystal blue with a slight breeze out of the northeast most of the afternoon. I entered the gorge at access six and saw no surface movement, so most of the afternoon was spent fishing nymphs. I did manage to take a few trout on top but I think the trout were annoyed with the presence of the fly as opposed to really eating the fly. The drift had to be near perfect to get a take on any pattern. I’m really glad I had numerous boulders to sit on because I did a lot of experimenting with different patterns most of the afternoon. A lot of fun takes and a lot of trout lost today.

This was the size trout today that broke the 2 weight in on its first outing. I kept wondering on the way home why I missed a lot of takes today; could be slow reflex and learning to fish a lighter fly rod. Whatever it was I enjoyed the afternoon on one of my favorite tailraces.

Special!!

Childhood Memories

Cathey and I made a trip a few weeks ago that really brought back a lot of childhood memories. We were in Bryson City North Carolina getting ready to ride the Great Smoky Mountain Train Express through parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains. The scenery on the train ride was spectacular along the Nantahala River, but what really got my attention was the huge Lionel Train display in Bryson City. The display was a theme recreation of the ’50s and 60’s complete with a working drive-in theater and numerous other displays that were present in those early years. I spent over an hour filming and talking to the conductor of the six trains that were running and viewing the hundreds of models that Lionel has on display there. The little model train sets my brother and I played with back in the day were not on this level.