Fly Fishing BS thread

Went to the Owen’s river and finally caught something on a fly rod. Managed to get 3 of these(Owens sucker?) in 15 minutes on a fly I found in a tree last summer

 

I wish we had water like that in west TN.

 

Suckers are great practice, that’s how got better.

 

Heading up there again next week for a few days so hopefully I get a trout

 

Ya i love all the water around us in Colorado

 

Drug my dad to one of my favorite little creeks today chasing cutts.

 

Made it to California Saturday evening. Was able to get my license and fish the upper truckee before headed into sac for week. Only got this little rainbow.
Pardon the dirty hands and dirty fish. He was quite squirmy...

 

This made the trip worth it. Lahontan Cutthroat.

 

You should come back in Oct. That's when Pyramid opens back up. Those Lahontan's put all other fisheries to shame. It really is a special place.

 

Anyone have experience or opinions on far east TN trout fishing? Out near NC state line.
Looks like a lot of small streams maybe?
Any streams or rivers where I can pack a lunch and wade all day (Not subject to dam releases or at least easy to get out of water in a hurry without fighting steep banks)?
Any that are especially good for kids if I take them?
I don't mind walking a while down trails to get to good water.

I won't get my usual trip to montana this fall so im looking at places I can do for a 3 day weekend. Drive out, still have time for fishing before sunset, fish all of day 2, fish a bit on day 3 before heading home. Plus, if I stay in TN I don't have to buy an out of state permit. Ive done arkansas (White river and Little Red river) before and it was ok but not great for wading. Plus, I want something new and to see what else my own state has.

 

Thought I read something about the Cumberland River. Or lake. Not certain. Never been out there fishing.

 

So I’m trying to put together a trip across the upper peninsula this fall. I’ve never been to MI (I know there’s a ton of wilderness and water lol) so this trip will be more about exploring than anything.

I will be camping out of the minivan (awd sienna)

I’ve decided to focus on big brook trout in the UP and am undecided about bringing the canoe, raft, or no boat at all

If anybody has any experience with this region and would like to share some details I’d be very appreciative . I’m shooting for late sept/early oct so hopefully everything won’t be frozen over lol

oh yeah..... @koditten you’re from MI right?

 

Sure am.

The only thing I could suggest is you will have to share with the bird hunters and bear hunters. The weather will be great. Occasionally there will be a below freezing night. Daytime is low 40's to upper 60's.

I've camped a lot in the Crystal Falls area while bear hunting. We would sneak in some fishing from shore if we felt like a fish dinner. I always wished we had a fishing boat.

There are tons of forest trails in this area. I wish we would have tracked how many miles we traveled on these trails in a front wheel drive car. Very little need for a 4 x 4 truck.

I would think a 14' fishing boat with a small outboard or even an electric trolling motor would be the way to go. There are tons of little lakes that get little fishing pressure. In addition, a boat with a cover is a great way to carry extra gear for camping.

The ground is very rocky, bring a good sleeping pad. At the moment these are the things I can think of that strike me as good to know.

It's beautiful in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

 

Sounds great

I’ll most likely be sleeping on a cot in the van lol, so no worries there

I hadn’t even thought about lake fishing maybe I’ll pack a trolling motor with the canoe. I bet there are some big brookies in the still water and some tasty walleye too. As long as there aren’t 2’ whitecaps

as far as the bear hunters I’m pretty used to that around here lol. Maybe I’ll bring the 870 and get after a grouse dinner one evening (properly licensed of course)

I went to Bayfield WI last October and would like to start hitting up the north woods every fall kinda welcoming in the cold seasons I guess

 

Caught two on the Owen’s with my brand new rod and it snapped while setting the hook. At least it was 50% off lol. Ended up catching 6 at an alpine lake with my cheap echo starter rod the next day

 

The Tellico River is your spot if you want some great fishing on the TN/NC state line.

I've been fishing there for about 25 years. Up until the last few years, it's been a somewhat unknown spot for the fly fishing community. Over the last two years a new guy started running the hatcheries and is working on getting it converted to a trophy steam. Essentially, that means they're stocking 25 inch browns and over 60,000 rainbows a year. During the summer months it's very crowded. There are a bunch of folks throwing powerbait, kayakers are all over the lower part of the river, and it can be hard to find a empty stretch of water on the weekends. What was once a secluded annual retreat for my family is now a major attraction for the area.

That said there are a ton of small feeder creeks and tribs that have great wild brookie and brown fishing. North river is just a few miles off the Tellico...it's got a lot less traffic. Citico creek is another 30 minutes away and also has great fishing...they stock about 40,000 rainbows a year there.

I personally wouldn't visit during the summer months, but early spring or mid/late fall would be fantastic. I make the trek back East every March or April to wet a few lines on the Tellico and North River. If you want some pics to drool over, check out @tellico.outfitters on instagram.

 

A new era in my float fishing... used my ebike to get back to the launch after shuttling my truck/trailer downstream. Took about half the time versus my usual road bike ride and maybe 78.2% less sweaty.

 

West slope cutty. Hit the Chubby Chernobyl.

 

I miss MT. Best 5 years of my life we’re spent there lol

or is that ID?

 

2 nice Connecticut brown trout yesterday. Both on tiny #22 Tricos