Okay, I hate to do this....

Wolfgang wrote:

"Conan The Librarian" wrote in message
...

...and what did we find when nearing the trailhead, but Wolf back in the
stream catching fish. :-)

Well, not so much catching as fishing. Um.....truth to tell, not so much
fishing as casting. I DO love fly casting!

And it shows. :-) I hope to one day reach that point myself. And
actually, I did somewhat on the evening when you were "coaching" me.
Working with that long leader and casting across my body forced me to
abandon my preconceived notions (mostly gained from casting oversized
"flies" for bass), and "go with the flow". And of course it didn't hurt
that there were cooperative fish in the area. :-)

Hey, that's right. Whatever happened to that photo, anyway? :-)

I'm checking over my list of lame excuses. I'll get back to you on that
pretty soon now.

No worries. It's just that I told Carol that there was *some*
evidence that my whole time there wasn't spent drinking beer around the
campfire. :-)

Again, to be fair, this was shortly after Wolfgang arrived at my
campsite. We were sitting around chatting when some bug activity started
on the river right below the site. He insisted *I* fish the mini-hatch,
and not only coached me on a long-leader technique, but re-rigged his rod
and handed it to me with one of his flies tied on, and proceeded to direct
my casts to willing fish.

It's astonishing how easy fly fishing becomes when one assumes the role of
sage advisor and stands on the bank pontificating while the fish are
actively rising during a substantial hatch.

IIRC, you were actually stretched out on a boulder the size of a
large sofa, but that doesn't affect your point in the slightest. :-)

Anyway, the irony wasn't lost on me that after four solid days of
fishing, I caught the most and biggest fish of the trip within 40' of my
campsite, while being given casting advice and using a borrowed rod and
fly. :-)

I figured the least I could do was try to catch one. :-)

Why every sniper has a spotter.

My only problem was I felt like I needed a semi-automatic to keep up
with the rises of the fish. :-)


Chuck Vance (of course that would have made C&R a bit more difficult)

"Conan The Librarian" wrote in message
...
Wolfgang wrote:

"Conan The Librarian" wrote in message
...

...and what did we find when nearing the trailhead, but Wolf back in the
stream catching fish. :-)
Well, not so much catching as fishing. Um.....truth to tell, not so
much fishing as casting. I DO love fly casting!

And it shows. :-) I hope to one day reach that point myself. And
actually, I did somewhat on the evening when you were "coaching" me.
Working with that long leader and casting across my body forced me to
abandon my preconceived notions (mostly gained from casting oversized
"flies" for bass), and "go with the flow". And of course it didn't hurt
that there were cooperative fish in the area. :-)

Catching fish is the ostensible raison d'etre of the whole exercise, to be
sure, and even I would have to raise a bemused eyebrow at a fly fisher who
claimed that he didn't like it when the fish bite because it interferes with
his fishing, but there is a great deal more to what Mr. Miller so incisively
refers to as "the mystery" than outwitting and outfighting a six inch brook
trout. But the attempt to outwit and outfight a six inch brook trout can,
done properly (well, for some of us anyway), encompass and even justify all
that is explicit and implicit in that mystery.....and, yeah, cooperative
fish are indeed a boon to the riparian philosopher.


Hey, that's right. Whatever happened to that photo, anyway? :-)
I'm checking over my list of lame excuses. I'll get back to you on that
pretty soon now.

No worries. It's just that I told Carol that there was *some* evidence
that my whole time there wasn't spent drinking beer around the campfire.
:-)

I believe I only have the one photo in which a fish is clearly and
indisputably identifiable. I'll send it, but I strongly advise saving it
for one of those times.....you know.

It's astonishing how easy fly fishing becomes when one assumes the role
of sage advisor and stands on the bank pontificating while the fish are
actively rising during a substantial hatch.

IIRC, you were actually stretched out on a boulder the size of a large
sofa....

And more comfortable than some sofas to which I've been subjected, although
I got a good night's sleep on one last night.

Anyway, the irony wasn't lost on me that after four solid days of
fishing, I caught the most and biggest fish of the trip within 40' of my
campsite, while being given casting advice and using a borrowed rod and
fly. :-)

Timing is the key element in casting with a fly rod. Cast when the fish are
indisputably hungry and actively doing something about it.

I figured the least I could do was try to catch one. :-)
Why every sniper has a spotter.

My only problem was I felt like I needed a semi-automatic to keep up
with the rises of the fish. :-)


Chuck Vance (of course that would have made C&R a bit more
difficult)

I'm pretty sure I had as much fun in the watching and jumping up and down as
you did in the catching.

Wolfgang

Wolfgang wrote:

"Conan The Librarian" wrote in message
...

And it shows. :-) I hope to one day reach that point myself. And
actually, I did somewhat on the evening when you were "coaching" me.
Working with that long leader and casting across my body forced me to
abandon my preconceived notions (mostly gained from casting oversized
"flies" for bass), and "go with the flow". And of course it didn't hurt
that there were cooperative fish in the area. :-)

Catching fish is the ostensible raison d'etre of the whole exercise, to be
sure, and even I would have to raise a bemused eyebrow at a fly fisher who
claimed that he didn't like it when the fish bite because it interferes with
his fishing, but there is a great deal more to what Mr. Miller so incisively
refers to as "the mystery" than outwitting and outfighting a six inch brook
trout. But the attempt to outwit and outfight a six inch brook trout can,
done properly (well, for some of us anyway), encompass and even justify all
that is explicit and implicit in that mystery.....and, yeah, cooperative
fish are indeed a boon to the riparian philosopher.

In my (much too limited) experience, the *search* for those
cooperative fish seems to be enough justification. That's what lead me
3 or 4 miles up various trails in the GSMNP, when as I later found out,
I could have found just as many fish (and possibly larger ones at
that) within a few feet from my campsite.

No worries. It's just that I told Carol that there was *some* evidence
that my whole time there wasn't spent drinking beer around the campfire.
:-)

I believe I only have the one photo in which a fish is clearly and
indisputably identifiable. I'll send it, but I strongly advise saving it
for one of those times.....you know.

Oh dear ... yes, I *do* know.

IIRC, you were actually stretched out on a boulder the size of a large
sofa....

And more comfortable than some sofas to which I've been subjected, although
I got a good night's sleep on one last night.

I assume that's related to your comment above? :-|

Anyway, the irony wasn't lost on me that after four solid days of
fishing, I caught the most and biggest fish of the trip within 40' of my
campsite, while being given casting advice and using a borrowed rod and
fly. :-)

Timing is the key element in casting with a fly rod. Cast when the fish are
indisputably hungry and actively doing something about it.

And we return to your statement about cooperative fish. :-) And of
course there was that discussion we had about how we so often approach
the whole thing wrong. The next trip I take I think I'll try the "fish
in the morning, return to camp mid-afternoon for some eating/drinking,
get back on the water near dusk" approach.

My only problem was I felt like I needed a semi-automatic to keep up
with the rises of the fish. :-)

Chuck Vance (of course that would have made C&R a bit more
difficult)

I'm pretty sure I had as much fun in the watching and jumping up and down as
you did in the catching.

And that sums up a lot of what was so enjoyable about the time I
spent with you and Jeff. You both encouraged me to cast to prime lies
first. At the same time, I was having fun watching how you two
approached the water, and I was just as happy to see one of you catch a
fish as I was to get one myself.


Chuck Vance (well, *almost* as happy :-)

Conan The Librarian wrote:

And of
course there was that discussion we had about how we so often approach
the whole thing wrong. The next trip I take I think I'll try the "fish
in the morning, return to camp mid-afternoon for some eating/drinking,
get back on the water near dusk" approach.

....and here's where i differ with most about the whole deal. that
mid-day break/return to camp stuff interrupts a fine day's activity.
i've no problem with taking breaks by the stream, but damned if i want
to backtrack to camp or cabin or cafe when i'm in such pretty places. i
always want to keep going, to see what's around the next bend, what
might be in the next run, what the landscape offers, wildlife, quiet,
....away...

jeff

jeff wrote:

Conan The Librarian wrote:

And of
course there was that discussion we had about how we so often approach
the whole thing wrong. The next trip I take I think I'll try the
"fish in the morning, return to camp mid-afternoon for some
eating/drinking, get back on the water near dusk" approach.

...and here's where i differ with most about the whole deal. that
mid-day break/return to camp stuff interrupts a fine day's activity.
i've no problem with taking breaks by the stream, but damned if i want
to backtrack to camp or cabin or cafe when i'm in such pretty places. i
always want to keep going, to see what's around the next bend, what
might be in the next run, what the landscape offers, wildlife, quiet,
...away...

I certainly can't argue that point. In fact, that's exactly the
approach I have taken on my trips to your beautiful area of the country.

My average day on the water was: Get up at/slightly before daylight,
make some coffee, get on the road, drive to whatever stream I'm fishing
that day, hike for an hour or two (or three), fish upstream from there,
re-trace my steps hitting water I passed on my way up the trail, stumble
back to car, drink cold beer, drive back to camp, make dinner, fall
asleep, rinse, repeat ...

But when staying at a place like Elkmont, I could see adjusting my
schedule so that I was back in camp in the p.m., and then back on the
water in the vicinity of the campground until dark.

So I guess a lot depends on where you are staying.


Chuck Vance (and if you're fishing familiar or new water, as well)

Conan The Librarian wrote:

... And of
course there was that discussion we had about how we so often approach
the whole thing wrong. The next trip I take I think I'll try the "fish
in the morning, return to camp mid-afternoon for some eating/drinking,
get back on the water near dusk" approach.

There is no "wrong" approach to the whole thing, only personal
preference. I went through my gung-ho, fish from dawn to dark
phase but anymore my preference is to get on the water around
10:30 or 11 after a leisurely breakfast and then call it a day
in time to be back in camp for Happy Hour. This approach greatly
reduces the number of folks who want to fish with me and whether
that's a bug or a feature, I haven't really decided. ;-)

--
Ken Fortenberry

Ken Fortenberry wrote:

Conan The Librarian wrote:

... And of course there was that discussion we had about how we so
often approach the whole thing wrong. The next trip I take I think
I'll try the "fish in the morning, return to camp mid-afternoon for
some eating/drinking, get back on the water near dusk" approach.

There is no "wrong" approach to the whole thing, only personal
preference.

OK, a poor choice of words on my part. But it was obvious during my
last trip that fishing was best around dusk, as that was the one time of
day when there were bugs on the water, and fish were actively working on
the surface.

Hey, being a dry fly purist and all, I'd think you'd want to be on
the water when the fish were actively pursuing bugs on the surface. :-)

I went through my gung-ho, fish from dawn to dark
phase but anymore my preference is to get on the water around
10:30 or 11 after a leisurely breakfast and then call it a day
in time to be back in camp for Happy Hour. This approach greatly
reduces the number of folks who want to fish with me and whether
that's a bug or a feature, I haven't really decided. ;-)

I don't worry about whether folks want to fish with me or not (I'm
pretty much a loner anyway, but did enjoy my time on the water with
Wolfgang and Jeff). However, if I were to start my fishing day around
10:30 or 11:00 it would greatly reduce the amount of water I got to
cover. (And in those Smokies streams, it would likely mean that I was
fishing behind someone all day.)

I only get to fish good trout water once or twice a year, so I tend
to be eager to get out and explore a lot in the limited time I have.
But as I discovered on my last trip, if I'm camped right on good water,
I can still have some time to fish late in the day if I simply plan to
take a little rest in the afternoon.


Chuck Vance

"Conan The Librarian" wrote in message
...
Wolfgang wrote:


And more comfortable than some sofas to which I've been subjected,
although I got a good night's sleep on one last night.

I assume that's related to your comment above? :-|

Nah. Despite his advanced years, Cullen makes a point of trudging up the
stairs each night to maintain his vigil at the foot of his mumma's bed.
Becky was in Colorado and I could think of no good reason to subject him to
that long climb, only to be torn between company on the one hand (or, paw, I
guess) and loyalty on the other. As long as I stayed downstairs on the
couch he was able to overcome the urge to climb the stairs, and remain
peacefully asleep on the rug.

Wolfgang