Time in the mountains....

[mrl0004]

Time in the mountains is one of the few things that allows me to truly reset and relax. There's been a lot going on lately, some good and some not so good. Sometimes the only cure is to get away, and unplug from the world. Somewhere that I can focus only on getting the right drift, or which stream to fish. So a good buddy and myself headed to the mountains last week. As soon as we arrived I wanted to hit a small stream that I don't fish very often, because it's so small, but it's been a few years since I last fished it, so it was time.

A brief walk through this....



And you find yourself here...



This place is like a hidden gem. It's very difficult to fish due to all the overgrown rhodo. But because of that, you'll rarely encounter another fisherman.





However, with some stealthiness, technical casting and covering enough ground, you can fool one of the smoky's greatest treasures.



Truth be known, the scenery alone is worth the effort.





Almost every other visit to this stream, I am rewarded with a larger than average specimen for this small flow. I'm glad this was one of those trips!



After that, we rode around and did the touristy thing for a while.

[mrl0004]

Then it was time to set up camp and enjoy some adult beverages before time to cook dinner.











My buddy must have thought we were in grizzly country. Spray and pray...



The next morning we woke up before daylight to ensure that we would be the first ones on the stream of probably my favorite brook trout stream in the park. Unfortunately more people fish it now than a few years ago. I fear it will only get worse. But I digress....

[mrl0004]

The stream was just as beautiful as I remembered.



If the increase in fisherman weren't problem enough, the cockroaches have moved up farther than usual...



However, once climbing a few high waterfalls, I found what I came for.



Then another.




Almost every pool I cast a fly in held a beautiful brook trout.

[mrl0004]

It probably helped that these guys were hatching all over the place...





There was also some other trout food buzzing around...



This will give you an idea of how much elevation change you will encounter on this stream...



I found a fly buried deep in a rhodo branch. Since I donated several myself, I thought it was ok to take this one.

[mrl0004]

I came to this hole that didn't look exceptional, and with that fallen limb there presented quite the casting obstacle. I surprised myself and put the fly exactly where I wanted to and saw the fish slowly rise and take the fly from about 4ft away. This might be a new personal best brookie for me and by far one of the most colorful.

















What a rush. I am amazed at how colorful these fish can be. After a short photo session, I sent him back on his way...

[mrl0004]

After that, we pressed on upstream. This stream is notorious for some pretty serious obstacles in the stream that you have to get around. This was a lot more substantial than it may look.



A view from the top...



Came across a salamander, although I'm not sure what kind.



This stream really has some nice views.



One last major obstacle to climb...





We came to the next bridge crossing around lunchtime, so I sat on a big boulder and had a streamside MRE.



I thought about fishing up to the next bridge crossing, but I was whooped. So we hopped out and booked it down the trail. Along the way, we ran into these two. First spin fisherman I've ever seen on this water.



Stopped at some scenic overlooks on the way back to the camp.





With my two favorite brook trout streams out of the way, I wanted to spend the rest of the trip on exploratory water. Try some water that I've never fished before. Once we got back to camp, I did some stream scouting and also noticed it may be time for a new pair of wading boots soon.

[mrl0004]

After taking a nap, we loaded up the rental car and headed to a stream I had never even seen before.





It was a beautiful stream, but we didn't have much time to fish it before we needed to get back and start a fire for dinner.





The next morning we didn't have to jump up and be anywhere early. So I finally got to sleep in a little and took my time making some coffee to enjoy.





After morning coffee, I set out for another new to me stream. The fishing was less than stellar, but I did find a crayfish that wanted to play.





After coming back to camp for a quick lunch, we decided to end the trip on a pretty long hike to a brook trout stream I wanted to try. We set out for the 4 mile hike and stopped and fished some along the way.





I finally caught my first wild brown in the park.





Of course, the cockroaches were present too.



After catching several more fish, it was time to keep hiking. The further up, the more enticing the water looked, but I had another stream in mind.







I wish I had brought my map on the hike, because I wasn't exactly sure where the stream hit the trail. We basically hiked over 4 miles and just decided to turn around and come back. We hiked 8.4 miles in wet wading boots. Once we got back to camp, I looked at the map and saw we did find the stream, but I didn't know it at the time. Oh well, I'll try again someday.

Enjoyed the last night by a fire and headed back yesterday. Until my next time in the mountains...

[Bfish]

Great pics and a great place to fish too.

[Steve H]

What an exceptional TR. I feel transported to a location that brings great joy to my heart.

[Glenn Hawkins]

Awesome report & photos!  Thanks for sharing.

[icthus]

Awesome, report..Thank you for taking the time to post that.  I wouldn't mind a cold stream right now and some brookies


-Pal

[dbradyh]

Awesome trip!

[fairweatherfish]

Great job keeping the record of your trip. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[bee]

BEAUTIFUL PICS.  Please do to be offended but I have to say I am constantly amazed that people who obviously love brookies and their  environs choose to flat hand (dry?) photograph so many of them before releasing them. The large one is beautiful and worthy of a photo to me.  The plentitude of the others need to be spared the ordeal. Just me.  Not flaming.  Another forum in the state is flat eat up with the flat hand small broke pictures to the point of silliness. Not  a rant worthy of a response from anyone.  Just an  observation from someone who has fished those places for more than half a century .    To go back in those places and catch a beautiful fish with an obvious hand print on it …….headscratcher.  But then I am out of tune with the rest of the world it seems.

[mrl0004]

BEAUTIFUL PICS.  Please do to be offended but I have to say I am constantly amazed that people who obviously love brookies and their  environs choose to flat hand (dry?) photograph so many of them before releasing them. The large one is beautiful and worthy of a photo to me.  The plentitude of the others need to be spared the ordeal. Just me.  Not flaming.  Another forum in the state is flat eat up with the flat hand small broke pictures to the point of silliness. Not  a rant worthy of a response from anyone.  Just an  observation from someone who has fished those places for more than half a century .    To go back in those places and catch a beautiful fish with an obvious hand print on it …….headscratcher.  But then I am out of tune with the rest of the world it seems.

I'm not offended and I agree with you to an extent. I'm unsure what you are most upset about though. Is it the fact that I photographed multiple brook trout that are small in your eyes? Or is it that you think I didn't handle them properly? If it's that you think I didn't handle them properly, I'm guessing you think my hands are not wet by the pictures? It may look that way in some, and it may actually be in some. I get a little excited when I catch one and want to preserve the moment. I assure you that in most of the pictures, my hand was wet, even if it doesn't look like it from the pictures.

As for why even bothering with a picture, to each his own. Some people like to photograph a lot of the fish they catch (there were plenty I didn't photograph) and some don't. I am someone that does because this is the first time I've been able to get up there and do that in about 3 years. It might be that long (or longer) before I get to go again. So I respect your opinion, but the circumstances are different for everyone. I hope you can respect that too.