TR: My Cabin in the hills of Caroline (pt. 2)

Monday and Tuesday:

I decided to take it easy, so I drove up through Bryson City and
Cherokkee to fish the 'Luftee. Cherokee was extremely depressing; all
the "Big Chief" motels that look like something out of the fifties (and
some look as if they haven't had any guests since around that time), and
the tacky giftshops ... it was very sad.

Anyhow, after one wrong turn I found the 'Luftee where it enters the
park. I drove past the info center, turned around at Mingus Mill and
retruned to look for a good pullout. When I got down to the water, it
turned out I was still in the "Indian enterprise water", even though
from the raod it looked like I was out of the reservation. No big deal
I figured, as there was a nice walking path. I figured i'd just hike on
upstream until I found the park boundary. Up near the bridge that
crosses the river to go to the Blue Ridge Parkway, I got into the water
and started casting. This wass "big water" and I was able to let some
line out. I immediately got some action ... from fish that were about
the same size as the Woolly Buggers I tie for bass.

I was still using my chopped-down leader, but figured that the fish
here were probably pounded pretty heavily, so I swapped leaders for a
full-length 5x, swapped my #16 para Adams for a #16 Royal Wulff, and
started letting out some nice casts and getting decent drifts.
Unfortunately, that's when the first rumbles of thunder started. I made
a few more casts before the thunder really picked up and then spotted a
fast-moving bank of clouds moving in. One more (closer) crack of
thunder and I was out of the water.

I hiked a little further up the trail, looking for somehwere to wait
out the impending storm, and scope out some more of the water when I saw
another "Indian enterprise" sign. ****, still in injun territory ...
better circle the wagons. Back to the car with the intent to do some
exploring in the park. Somewhere along the way the sky opened up ...
not just rain, but hail (and very close lightning). I pulled off at a
turnout and waited ... and waited ... and waited. During a slight lull
I retreated from the park to Bryson City where I took a lunch break (it
was raining all the while) and decided to scope out the area at Noland
Creek. It looked nice, so plans were made to return later in the week.

Back at the cabin the BS was high and offcolor. Not a good sign,
but as I was to learn, the creeks clear up awfully fast for you NC
folks. The kind of rains we'd experienced would have made fishing tough
for days on our limestone rivers down here.

Tuesday:

I decided to head to the Br*dl*y F*rk of the 'Luftee and the 'Luftee
itself (within the park this time). If things didn't look good there,
the Little River and Abrams Creek were withing driving distance.
Arrived at the Smokemont campground at about 8:30 and headed up the
trail towards Chasteen Creek. (I had gotten no recommendations for BF
from any ROFFians, but the two books I've been reading on fishing the
area both recommended it, as long as you hike well above the campground.
And I'm just contrary-enough to not follow y'alls' advice completely
anyhow.)

I started prospecting just above the creek, and almost every
likely-looking spot held fish, but they were tiny. I missed more than I
hit, but the ones I did catch were lovely miniatures; perfectly-formed
with a hint of parr marks still on their sides. I popped in and out of
the creek working upstream, having fun but hoping for bigger fish.
After going up to where the trail crosses the creek, it was time to head
back towards the lower reaches and give the 'Luftee a try near the
conflunece of BF and the river.

On the way back down there was a run that was simply too nice to
pass up. At water's-edge I was struck by the awesome beauty of the
spot. At the risk of sounding corny, it was a cathedral-like setting.
I paused for a cig break, and to slow myself down and take it all in.
Here's a picture of the downstream view:
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/bradley01.jpg And the upstream view
looked like this: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/bradley02.jpg

Once done with the cig, I turned my attention to the run in front of
me. I had a tree serving as camoflage, but no rhodos or mountain
laurels to restrict casting. My second cast was rewarded with a strong
take, and the fish immediately took to the air, giving me three jumps
before trying to bore for the bottom. Before it even got close, I could
see the bright red stripe on its side, and once it was led in close, I
made an attempt at taking a pic. Due to the low-light and fish
thrashing about, I was left with this impressionistic painting:
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/rainbow.jpg It was 9"+ of beautiful wild
'bow, and he was promptly sent on his way without even being removed
from the water.

There's no shame in admitting to the excitement I felt over this
fish. While 9" may not seem large for some of our western brethren,
this was the hardest-fighting, prettiest fish I've ever caught. Period.

Figuring every fish within a half-mile had been spooked, I continued
down the creek. On the way there was another spot that proved
irresistable. It was a set of mini-boulders coming out from the shore
with a fairly deep run right at the point rock. Jeffy would have been
proud of how I approached this run, as I went way downstream and crawled
up to where a boulder on shore provided cover. From there it was just a
little sidearmed flip just above the edge of the point rock. The fly
hadn't gone two feet before a fish nailed it. This turned out to be a
brown of about 6", speckled with bright halos of red and green. If
possible, he was evne prettier than his larger cousin.

From there it was back to the car, and noticing building clouds, the
"luftee was put on hold for the time begin. Instead it off to Newfound
Gap and environs for some picture-taking. A view from the Gap:
http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/newfound.jpg and another view from in the
park: http://uweb.txstate.edu/~cv01/mountains01.jpg

The rains started again shortly thereafer, but back on the NC side
of the park it was still dry. Took a while to fish the 'Luftee with no
luck, but the day had been fabulous, and it seemed like I was starting
to come around to this Nawth Cackalacky style of fishing.

Next up: Big Santeetlah


Chuck Vance