TR 2 - TENN, part 1

I'll never be able to convey adequately the uniqueness and enjoyment of
the tenn leg of the trip, but here goes.

after spending a few days with rachel and me at the snowbird place last
october, Dan'l and Cindy invited us to visit them at their retirement
home in tennessee. my mountain tour seemed a good bookend for a visit
with them this year, and it seemed a good opportunity to test their
mettle.

Having only recently recovered from PGSD ("post gatlinburg stress
disorder") suffered as a consequence of an unwitting stumble into
Gatlinburg in 1978, I've successfully avoided repeating the error,
rarely crossing into the Tenn side of the smokies since. however, for
those similarly afflicted, let me assure you that if one is going to
venture into tenn, and if there is any hope of a quick cure for PGSD,
there is no better reason or sure cure than spending time with dan'l and
cindy. as a plus, willi was scheduled to be visiting at danl's to fish
the lake and to travel with dan to penns.

the finn lake manse is, well, superb...a spacious and comfortable haven
perched in a woodsy setting on a western bluff overlooking watts bar
lake. dan and cindy have created a terrific home. the only things
lacking are a masseuse, valet service, and an escalator to and from the
boathouse on the lake. well-situated for immediate lake fishing and
within an hour or so drive for forays to several mountain trout streams,
i quickly pronounced the place a fisherman's valhalla. it even came
furnished with a stalwart fishing dog, the incomparable
"sarge"...watcher of bobbers and defender of piscators.

anyway, i plopped my disruptive self into their serene scene on sunday
and enjoyed their hospitality until the following friday...actually, i
wallowed in their hospitality. i reckon i tested their kindness and
patience right crisply, but they never winced. ...at least not openly.
thanks dan, and a huge---can't say it enough--- thanks to cindy.

on monday, dan, willi and i headed back to nc to fish slickrock creek.
i had fished it with indian joe in oct 06 and discovered some nice fish,
plus it's a creek shielded from the majority of day fishermen because
of difficulty in access. we launched the gheenoe into calderwood and
putted across under the sleek mercury power of my 2.5 hp motor to the
mouth of slickrock. fished all day without sight of another fisherman,
caught several unusually colored rainbows almost immediately, but none
of the big brookies i saw and caught in october. though the stream is
reported to hold browns in the lower stretch, we caught only rainbows.
i've heard others remark on the unusual colors of the rainbows in this
stream, and it's true. some had such a yellow tint to their bellies that
we thought they were browns from a distance in the water as we were
reeling them in. we fished up to the falls, but didn't catch much other
than chubs in the last half of the stretch. the water felt uncommonly
warm, especially as compared to every other stream i fished during the
trip.

i've posted a few pics of slickrock on abpf...

jeff

On May 25, 5:59 pm, jeff wrote:
I'll never be able to convey adequately the uniqueness and enjoyment of
the tenn leg of the trip, but here goes.

(snip)

on monday, dan, willi and i headed back to nc to fish slickrock creek.
i had fished it with indian joe in oct 06 and discovered some nice fish,
plus it's a creek shielded from the majority of day fishermen because
of difficulty in access. we launched the gheenoe into calderwood and
putted across under the sleek mercury power of my 2.5 hp motor to the
mouth of slickrock.

i can't express my disappointment at not being able to fish
slickrock with the boys from out west. i have only fished it two
times, but i consider it to be a mystical place--a place that tolkien
would have woven into some part of a tale or two. my first time there
was by way of a trip across calderwood in barry paul jenkins' bass
boat, at a speed of about 70mph, in the midst of a fog laden morning
about twenty years ago. the image of you and the guys in the gheenoe
laboring across that green expanse is both humorous and inspirational.
my most vivid memory from the place was the breathtaking clarity
of the water, and the light tones of the rocks that lined the bedrock
of the stream. perhaps the color of the fish is a reflection of that
condition. i remember watching pods of big browns in the first few
big pools upstream from the lake, knowing that they were impossible to
catch, not even trying to fish for them; not even jim tried.
even now i recall the amazing pace at which barry paul moved up
that trail--i had to jog to stay even with his walk. after about a
half mile, we began to hopschotch the stream, staying low, fishing
dry. an hour went by before, fishless, i realized that this was the
final exam. i got on my hands and knees, and laid the line off to the
left of streamside, knowing i had only one chance, with only five or
six feet of line outside the rod, one float of maybe ten feet. i
caught less than a dozen trout, the largest maybe ten inches, in a day
of hard fishing. that's less than one fish an hour, on water that, at
the time, maybe only a handfull of people had fished in the previous
couple months.
it took jim and barry paul nearly three hours to hike back to the
mouth of the creek. strangely enough, although it was early evening
in the early summer, there was still a layer of mist hovering just
above the water. we piled in the boat, and drifted offshore,
preparing for the ride back to highway 28. with the timing possessed
only by those who create legends, jim stripped naked, and dove into
the lake. he reappeared in a mass of bubbles of his own making,
screaming, and with a heart nearly frozen. we guessed the water
temperature, which was drawn from the bottom of fontana lake, over a
hundred feet deep, to be about forty degrees.
barry paul jenkins died about five years later, in a fall from a
tree he was attempting to cut down for the power company in graham
county. he was the best trout fisherman i have ever seen, and a boy
of matchless innocence. all of us who knew him, miss him.

yfitp
wayno

wrote in message i can't express my
disappointment at not being able to fish
slickrock with the boys from out west. i have only fished it two
times, but i consider it to be a mystical place--a place that tolkien
would have woven into some part of a tale or two.

Indian Joe offers---think I have fished Slickrock six or seven times in last
ten years--first time I dropped down from fat-gap trail and almost expired
on hike out after a full day of rock hopping in stream.
Remember it as worse than some back pack training runs in paratrooper
training. Got on wrong trail for an hour going up and had to drop back down
and start up again. Was so tired when I achieved van that I could hardly
untie my boots. Memory of second trip down includes hearing what I thought
was a hornets nest beside trail and finding instead under a bush a five or
six foot timber rattler. Guess he is still there as I did not interfere.
Next trip I hiked in by lakeside trail --Middleton in his book " On The
Spine of Time"
writes about hiking this route almost daily with his friend "Tewkbury".
Think this portion of his writing extends very much toward fiction. My
next trip was a streamside hike in with Fontenberry.---I was so worn out
after three days of claving that I stopped half way upstream to have sardine
lunch while Ken went of next waterfall to see large browns leaping the
falls. Sorry I missed that sight as the history of Slickrock is built
around the large browns that inhabit the pools there. Last fall I again
hiked along lakeside into steam with Jeff but found as I had grown older
the trail had almost doubled in length and the hills were almost twice as
high .
fish were few until I took rest to ponder hike out and Miller went
upstream to find a big pool of brookies.
best memories of year I kayaked over , caught a big rainbow { cherished
belief in area says. they are descendants of steelhead stocked long ago in
the lake ]---pulled kayak on bank and hiked upstream to second falls.Even
caught a few fish. If you have suffered thru all these words think you can
tell Slickrock is on of my favorite mountain streams----and I hope to paddle
over and camp for a couple of nights this fall---as Middleton says----"The
flyfisherman comes to a mountain stream and knows it as he knows a good
friend."

on my arrival, cindy and sarge and a neighbor's dog greeted me. if
there's a better welcome to a new place than a lovely woman and two
friendly dogs, i'm damned if i know it. danl and willi were gone
fishing on the tellico. i spent a few hours on the dock trying to trick
a bass with some spinnerbaits, but no luck. i noticed danl's minnow
bucket in the water, but refrained from old habits and addictions (for a
while...and unsuccessfully). we did our slickrock trip on monday.

on tuesday, danl took us to a trib of the tellico. after a hike of about
a half mile or so, we dropped into a little gorge section of the river.
the water did not have the clarity of some of the other mountain
streams, but it had plenty of fish and more bug life and variety of bugs
than most of the appalachian streams i'm accustomed to. again...sulphurs
and big yellow stoneflies seemed to predominate, though there were
plenty of caddis and other than yellow-colored mayflies too. we fished
through the gorge and up to a big waterfall. most of the fish i caught
were rainbows, with a few browns. nice, healthy fish. the stream had a
lot of character, and it's located off the cherohala skyway, so it's
close enough to include in one's meanderings when in graham county. but
the $30+ three day nonres license is a drawback. posted pics of the
waterfall on abpf. when we hiked out, we observed a parade of miatas,
occupied by folks who appeared to have had the cars constructed around
them. the skyway and the tail of the dragon are nearby, and sports car
clubs frequent both. these folks apparently made a guided side trip to
see the lower of falls along the road where this stream meets the
tellico. fishing the upper tellico requires purchase of a special daily
permit and is allowed only on limited days during the week...perhaps a
sign of things to come. we dallied in the lower section on our way back
to tellico plains. willi caught several, including a smallmouth...i
managed a stocker rainbow of about 13", caught on a western stonefly nymph.

on the return from the stream, danl suggested we dine at a barbecue
joint he had seen along the route. i think we knew we were in trouble
when i asked the hostess which meal she recommended and she said "the
chicken tenders." based on the patrons observed in the place, it's clear
that the sawg ball is not a delicacy limited to nc's graham and hyde
county residents.

jeff

i forgot to mention the tangerine darters we saw in the trib to the
tellico. i'd never seen a fish in fresh water, other than koi or
goldfish, that was solid orange. these little guys were solid orange,
guarding a nest. the females fled as i approached, but not these neon
protectors. we had seen other fish (dace, suckers, chubs, redsides??) in
slickrock that had built up a huge nest of rocks, but none were orange.
an unusual sight among many others experienced during this trip...

On Sun, 27 May 2007 16:32:32 -0400, jeff wrote:


i forgot to mention the tangerine darters we saw in the trib to the
tellico. i'd never seen a fish in fresh water, other than koi or
goldfish, that was solid orange. these little guys were solid orange,
guarding a nest. the females fled as i approached, but not these neon
protectors. we had seen other fish (dace, suckers, chubs, redsides??) in
slickrock that had built up a huge nest of rocks, but none were orange.
an unusual sight among many others experienced during this trip...

That's actually pretty darned cool.

"The tangerine darter is native to North Carolina, and it occurs only in the
Tennessee River drain-age within the Appalachian Mountain region. It tends to
occupy large creeks and small rivers with clear water, which further limits
its range and abundance.Because this species has a restricted range and
inhabits specific types of waterways, the tangerine darter is currently on the
N.C.Natural Heritage Program’s Watch List."

Good picture here - wicked colorful fish, like a yellow perch on acid...
http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/Sites/wildlifesociety/darter.html

/daytripper

Good picture here - wicked colorful fish, like a yellow perch on acid...http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/Sites/wildlifesociety/darter.html

/daytripper

takes one to know one, i reckon...

yfitons
wayno

typed:
Good picture here - wicked colorful fish, like a yellow perch on
acid...http://fwf.ag.utk.edu/Sites/wildlifesociety/darter.html

/daytripper

takes one to know one, i reckon...

I find the phrase "sloth on qualudes" more descriptive. Although he can
move quickly when provoked, that is one laid back dude. . . the sloth, I
mean. ;-)
--
TL,
Tim
---------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj/

i've no experience fishing reservoirs and figured it took local
knowledge of the structure and fish to be successful. wrong...well,
sorta wrong. danl had the local knowledge about minnows. g

one thing i've learned from my tenn experience... live minnows trump
every other trick a fisherman might devise in the effort to catch a
fish. while i was tossing metal and plastics, danl and willi were
catching every species of fish swimming in watts bar. i managed only a
few largemouth bass while they caught drum, catfish, crappie, bluegill,
largemouth, and smallmouth. danl caught the largest smallmouth i've ever
seen on a hook. we originally thought it was a huge carp when he first
hooked it, but then the monster leaped out of the water about 3 feet
into the air right next to the boat. magnificent... unfortunately,
before he could lip it, the lunker shook the hook at the boat. willi
and i enjoyed tellin danl that it was easily a citation smallmouth...if
only he could have landed it. i'll remember that fish for a long time,
but i expect danl will remember it longer, and figure he'll frequent
that little point in the reservoir.

we traveled in style, fishing the reservoir leisurely on wednesday and
thursday in danl's bass boat...after monday and tuesday's trips that
required hiking and climbing up and over rocks, and after taking several
half-reids, it was relaxing and pleasant to tour portions of the
reservoir and to fish from the comfort of a boat. willi used a flyrod
half the time, but without a lot of success.

in the evenings, we ate remarkable gourmet fare prepared by cindy,
fished from the boat dock, and generally sated ourselves til dark. sarge
reigned over the boatdock fishing ventures. a fascinating canine. he
monitored all of the bobbers, kept us alert, and helped release the
fish...well, after he talked harshly to them a bit. i enjoyed using a
bamboo pole and bobber again...something i hadn't done since my preteen
years on slocum creek...and even managed to catch a few bluegill.

it was an exceptionally good time among terrific folks in a beautiful
setting. posted a few pics on abpf...

jeff

"jeff" wrote in message
...

fishing the upper tellico requires purchase of a special daily permit and
is allowed only on limited days during the week...perhaps a sign of things
to come. we dallied in the lower section on our way back to tellico
plains.

Those permit rules were in place back when I used to fish the area (I left
Atlanta 10 years ago) and originally were used to help support the efforts
to re-introduce/protect/strengthen the native brookies in the permit
stretch.