Fred reached out to me somewhere around mid-week seeing if I wanted to get out this weekend. I said, heck yes, was already planning on hitting the Harpeth and exploring some places I haven't fished before on the river so we agreed to hook up and head out.
Reached out to Todd to see if the upper reaches were good and he advised that the flow was a little low and for us to head lower. He also gave us a tip on a No Name creek (actually it has a name but...well you know -
thanks Todd). Fred and I hooked up Saturday morning at my house and loaded all his gear in my truck and off we went. My goal was to avoid the "Peoplechase" traffic. So we headed off to accomplish that. After an egregious navigation error by the driver (yes that would be me), we made the necessary correction and were on track for our destination.
Once we arrived, we found some very inviting looking water. We found what we thought was the right way in and after what seemed to be a rappelling option to access the water. I scoped what was actually the way into the water. Mind you, while I was traipsing around looking for the actual access point, Fred was catching fish.
Once we waded in on No Name Creek, we were quickly into some "red eye" but then I leap-frogged Fred and on my second cast I caught this sweet smallie (sorry for the bad photo, I have been focusing more on fishing and less on photog).
Untitled by
flyfishtn, on Flickr
We continued to fish No Name creek and catch a good number of Smallmouth and good numbers of Bucketmouths. All were willing to take the Tartar Sauce fly, it was definitely the fly of the day for me. Here is a nice shot of the beauty we were fishing in and shot of Fred hooked up.
Untitled by
flyfishtn, on Flickr
Untitled by
flyfishtn, on Flickr
After we reached a bend that we couldn't navigate around due to water depth (remind me to ask you about that Todd), we decided to wade out and head to another spot. BTW, that shot of Fred hooked up is on the way out. He said, "I want to give this hole a try." Bam, fish on. I had moved up a little look for a fish I had spotted earlier. Then I hear him say with another fish on, "I don't even know how he got that in his mouth." Good times.
We headed over to Hidden Lakes to wade in there, and along the road, Fred breaks out some killer sandwiches. Just so you know, if you ever fish with Fred, he makes some great food. Once at Hidden Lakes, we rigged up and waded in. The Harpeth at this point was pretty stained, we moved down river and fished hard and I moved way down river to cover some good looking water. After fishing hard, losing a couple of flies, trying some different patterns and mind you, all for naught, I started moving back up river. I met Fred and asked the question we all like to hear, "how have you done", he answers the same way I do, "I haven't caught a thing, and haven't even had a bump or a love tap." We chalked it up to pressure and impending front that had put the bite down.
Again, we loaded up and I said let's head over to the Highway 100 access point and take a look at the water. Once there, the water was much clearer and more inviting. We waded up to the Little Harpeth confluence and waded across and into the Little Harpeth and started heading upstream. With the serious lack of rain, the Little Harpeth was too low to fish. We could have pushed hard and headed up further to where there are some deeper pools but the clouds were starting to push in and we knew and front was nearby.
We called it and said, "let's fish our way out." We made it back to the Harpeth and started pushing downstream. I was casting the Tartar Sauce to some very tasty lies and stripping it back, just knowing there was a fish there. I spotted a nice rock ledge and punched Tartar Sauce across the river with my TFO Clouser, strip, strip, strip.....BAM! Gotcha!!
Untitled by
flyfishtn, on Flickr
This Smallie absolutely inhaled the Tartar Sauce and I knew, at least for me, I could in good conscience call the day knowing we had fished hard and enjoyed some beautiful water and some very nice fish.
We headed back to the truck to take our waders off and enjoy a cold beverage before heading home, as we were finishing up getting the gear loaded, the rain started to fall. Good timing on our part. What a great day on the water and Fred, would love to get out again and enjoy those waters.
Lessons learned:
1. If Fred hands you some trail mix, don't put the bag in your chest pocket, it probably has chocolate in it and it will melt.
2. The flat rocks in the Little Harpeth are slick (I made a nice save).
3. If you think you hear banjos, make sure and pack large.
4. Always look for the fisherman's path first.
5. Don't make bonehead navigation errors that cost you 20 minutes.
