Natahala River 11/15/2005

Took a firend from work out fly fishing for the first time. He recently moved to the TN area from MS, where he was an avid bass fisherman. We arrived on the Natahala around 8:00am after battling fog as thick as pea soup on the New Found Gap Road. After that we drove in circles looking for somewhere to sell us fishing lisenses. We finally had luck at the ACE Hardware store in Bryson City. Once we suited up I gave buddy a crash course in fly fishing, entomology, knots and fishing mountain streams while I rigged our rods up. Buddy had fortunately been practicing his casting prior to our trip. With in 30 minutes he was getting strikes on a parachute adams. By lunch time we had both managed to catch a decent number of fish and Buddy was starting to look like a fly fisherman. Buddy figuring out things for himself Nice Bow Buddy's first trout on a fly rod, taken on a parachute BWO One of many Brookies that we caught throughout the day We had a great day of fishing and Buddy had an exceptional day for his first time out. We caught fish on parachute adams, BWO, Stimulators, BH Nymphs and soft hackles. Towards the end of the day I found a pocket of brookies that were hitting a partridge and orange soft hackle on almost every cast. Check out the My Flies section for a pick of the Partridge and Orange soft hackle.

Little River 11/11/2005

Fished the Little River from 7am to 11am with Zach Matthews. We were looking for browns that are in the process of moving up to Metcalf Bottoms to spawn. We had a couple shots at good sized brownies but no real hookups. Zach had some good follows by decent browns and I did as well. The fish are definately in there but being stealthy and pinpoint presentation is key. Below are some pics that Zach took while we were out. Check out his site The Itinerant Angler for additional info on fishing TN and photography. You can also see some of Zach's work in various fly fishing magazines.

Little River 11/09/2005

Fished the Little River today below Metcalf Bottoms. Caught a good amount of rainbows on small stimulators and parachute adams, as well as a small hot wired Prince Nymph. I also picked up this small brown on a clouser minnow. The river is still low and clear with a lot of freshly fallen leaves in the stream. Which can make fishing a bit fustrating. Little River Brown

Middle Prong of the Pigeon river at Greenbrier Oct

I fished the Middle Prong of the Pigeon towards the end of October. A good amount of rainbows were caught on parachute adams, BWO and Caddis. Middle Prong of the Pigeon

Natahala River Oct

On my way back home from Atlanta I hit the delayed harvest strech of the Natahala. Good numbers of Browns, Brookies and Bows came on everything from Parachute Adams, Caddis, and hot wired Prince Nymphs.

Chattahoche River Oct.

On a recent work trip to Atlanta I took a friend named Eric fly fishing for the first time. After having some difficulties and falling into the river he managed to land his first trout on a fly rod. Eric works a nice run Eric's first trout on a fly rod

West Prong of the Pigeon River Oct.

Took a guide trip with Ian Rutter and a friend named Kevin. We fished the West Prong of the Pigeon River, and the Little River. Kevin and Ian stalk some brookies on the West Prong of the Pigeon. My first Smokey Mountain Brookie

Wyoming Sept 23 - Oct 3

On a recent work trip to Jackson, WY I had the opportunity to fish on the Gros Vente, Flat Creek, Black tail and the Madison. Below are some photos from those trips. Blacktail Ponds Cutthroat Blacktail Ponds Overlook Madison River Bow Madison River Bow