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Lagniappe

Signs

By Tom Burnett

As I was on a 4th of July pilgrimage to find salmon flies along the Madison, I made a customary stop in West Yellowstone at Blue Ribbon Flies where a sign greeted me indicating “fishing reports” for area streams.   As you can see by the first image in the highlight video above, the good folks at Blue Ribbon Flies have a great sense of humor in their fishing reports…. yet…. if you read what they’ve said, they are spot on.  Indeed, there was no “wait” anymore on the Madison, it was full on salmon fly, stone fly, PMD, Yellow Sallie and caddis dry fly fishing.  As I walked back to the Suby, after catching a nice “walk off” rainbow, I stripped off my waders only to find THREE salmon flies INSIDE my waders with me!  Honestly, I didn’t even venture to count all the caddis, PMDs, golden stones and Sallies who’d found their way into the car.  Thick doesn’t begin to describe how much bug activity was happening on the river…. but I digress here, this post isn’t about fishing, but about the interesting, unique, funny, sometimes “salty”, significant and entertaining signs we saw along the way.  Seeing the “Fishing Report” sign at BRF simply reminded me that this was a post you all might enjoy.

Seems logical to begin with some great “Welcome” signs we encountered.   Each community we visited had the customary welcome sign, but standouts include the water town in Cotter (AK), the iconic Roosevelt Arch (Yellowstone NP), the “Best Water on Earth” in Dunsmuir (CA), the “Longest Main Street in America” in Island Park (ID), “Trout Town USA” Roscoe (NY) and the signs going into and leaving the Village of Mammoth. Of course, the “Welcome” into our newly adopted home state of Montana is great with friends, but the welcome to Ennis is priceless, they have their priorities straight.  Speaking of priorities straight, checkout the Craig (MT) sign…. it’s really just a fishing access sign, but really, that’s pretty much all Craig (MT) is….. fishing!   And who could forget our “welcomes” to certain lodging and events like the “Old Hookers” guest house or the Clinton (MT) annual “Testicle Festival”.

In traversing the country via the SaraLinda, we also found time to traverse a few trails, which without signs would have left you lost in vast places like the Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail, or even creek and ridge trails that connect to such bigger, more well know trails.  Barb did survive our hike to the Panther Creek Trail, but just barely as you can see.

Pure “informational” signs also caught our attention whether it was announcing certain historic “pools”, the Maine tradition of using old saw blades as signs and one ironic sign from a bookstore in NH.  Written in stone was “NOTHING IS WRITTEN IN STONE”.  Still makes me laugh!

Of course, the eateries we encountered had their fair share of interesting signs (and names).  We had “Love Muffins” in Moab (UT),  “SpikeBurgers” in Michigan, enjoyed “Fry Fishing” in Livingston (MT), “groovy” BBQ in Marble (CO), made a “Frostop” in Ashton (ID), found a “Cheese Corner” in where else but Wisconsin, giant cinnamon rolls at “Wheat Montana” and joined the “Breakfast Club” in Mammoth (CA) who was most welcoming to our fishing adventure.  We’re afraid to speak of what happens at the Thunderbird Inn, or even where it is….

Couldn’t resist adding the “directional” category of signs.  The first one that caught our attention was a simple pair of arrows, pointing in the same direction we encountered at a very tight mountain curve along Cedar Run in PA.   We were never really sure what they were thinking but we navigated the curve twice.

Fly fishing in the mountains, we encountered “steep grade” signs frequently…. 6% grade next 2 miles, etc….. until we started down the East Portal River Access in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison…. 16% seriously?  YES!!! YIKES!!!

On a “lighter” note, our Upper Falls view was a bit scary, the folks at Bethel Woods, where the Woodstock Festival occurred, displayed their sense of humor on their roadsigns…. and slightly associated with Woodstock was the interstate sign pointing the way to “Weed”.

The drift boats we took down the streams were often adorned with signs and stickers that made them unique.  Four drift boats that were painted stood out… Rocky Top Anglers, which while an advertisement for the guide service, was unique in its incorporation of Tennessee filled with brown trout spots… the “Casting for Recovery” drift boat with its message and mission of hope…. the “Alumaweld Boat” of Griff Marshall, well built indeed…. but taking the cake was Merritt Harris’ drift boat which had no writing on it, just spots.  Sometimes, the most subtle signs say the most… we caught a LOT of big fish with Merritt.

And then the stickers….  state bird of Michigan?  A reminder “Don’t Suck”.  And one of my favorites, a breakdown regarding “How Badass are You?”   Barb and I have enjoyed every one of these lengths. (NOTE: you may have to pause the video on this one to read it all…. LOL)

To be honest, the “sign” idea started with bathroom signs in fly shops.  We found some very unique ones along the way, including some that are a bit more “salty”….. including the “Fish Naked” series… some that spoke to why you were in the bathroom (hiccup… beer!)… and some that were instructive as to smoking and “how to”….. “Gentlemen”….”Ladies”.

Finally, “WARNING”!!!  Sometimes I wonder why on earth we fly fish given all the warning signs we encounter.  It turns out that the saying “Fish only live in beautiful places”, while so true, could also be written as “Fish, dangerous animals, rattlesnakes and raging rivers coexist in beautiful places”.  We encountered these “warning” signs everywhere… making us aware of the dangers of moose, bison, bears, hiking, swift water and weather.  My favorite is still “Grizzly Bear Area, Special Rules Apply”…. yeah… like STAY AWAY!

We really hope you enjoy our “signs” as much as we have.  Putting this together, I kept humming the Five Man Electrical Band’s “Sign” song.  However, not having the rights to use it, I created an original tune….  Ramble On!

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Firehole, Road Trip, YNP

Opening Day Road Trip

By Tom Burnett

The phrase “Opening Day” conjures up a variety of images and emotions.  For baseball fans like our dear friend James Kelley, it’s all about baseball.  I’m sure for hunters, “opening day” brings vivid memories of deer, elk, pheasant and more.  For anglers, it’s the promise of hungry, eager, more gullible fish who’ve not seen any pressure from fishermen for many months.  Opening Day for fishing in Yellowstone National Park is always the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.  Since I was in Bozeman this year…… ROAD TRIP!

Before I begin, a quick thought about “Road Trips”.   They aren’t totally about the destination you’re heading toward…. and….. in many cases they are MORE about the journey than the destination.  So, while my destination was the Firehole River in YNP, the journey to get there was just as important.

Having fuel is, of course, a requirement for any road trip but I’m not talking about gasoline, I’m talking about the kind of fuel that keeps YOU going…. food!  My first stop on the way to the West Entrance of YNP was our regular spot, Mama Mac’s at Four Corners.  Four Corners really isn’t a town at all; officially, it is termed a “census-designated place”  at the intersection of US Highway 191, MT 85 and MT 84…. 29 miles to the west is Norris Hot Springs and the Madison River, to the east 7 miles is downtown Bozeman, to the north 9 miles is Belgrade and 82 miles south is the West Entrance of Yellowstone National Park.

At Four Corners you’ll find gas stations on three of the corners, a bar/restaurant/casino on the other corner and two great fly fishing shops, Fins and Feathers and River’s Edge West, right next to Simms Fishing headquarters.  But I digress, this first stop is really about fuel for the stomach and Mama Mac’s.  When do we most often stop here…. breakfast….. for what?… a giant breakfast burrito or their special breakfast consisting of eggs, meat of your choice, hash browns, biscuits and gravy.   If you go, I’d recommend splitting either of these with your fishing buddy, the servings are huge.   It’s all cooked to order, served with a smile and stick to your ribs good.

After fueling up at Mama Mac’s, it was back onto US 191 heading south.  After crossing Spanish Creek just before it enters the Gallatin (a fav fishing spot) you enter the “Canyon” area in which US 191 parallels the river with usually only a guard rail between you and the river.  This whole section of the river fishes very well at certain times of the year and we have many pull off spots where we park and drop down into the river to fish.  This trip, I was alone as Barb was back in Missouri visiting family over the Memorial Day weekend.  However, all along the drive on this stretch, I could STILL hear Barb saying “keep your eyes on the road!”.  She knows I like to take a peek to see how the river flows are looking.  Barb…. I was good….. well, ok…. pretty good.

In fact, I was so good that when I wanted to really look, I pulled over and got out of the car to take a peek at the river.  There was this one spot I really wanted to see how the river was flowing; the rapids at House Rock.  As you can see when you look at the House Rock Rapids Video I’ve posted on Vimeo, the rock is literally as big as a small home and at this flow, you really can’t see it all.  Amazingly, with our good friends Ted/Deborah Watson and Don/Kim Freeman, we actually rafted this area a couple of years ago, and while it was definitely NOT at this flow, it was still a bit scary, especially as half of our boat (Ted, Kim and I) had already been tossed into the river at a much less treacherous spot.  Anyway, Watsons and Freemans… I hope you are watching this…. and cringing like I was when I shot the video.

The next stop along the way is often the Big Sky Conoco Travel Shoppe at the turnoff to the Big Sky Resort.  It’s about half way between Four Corners and West Yellowstone.  While we rarely get gas here, having already filled up at Four Corners, it has a great convenience store, a respectable little grill for burgers with a few tables and most importantly, pretty clean bathrooms.  I’m sure you can see the logistics in all of this, right?  Four Corners…. Mama Mac’s…. pit stop half way…. it just works perfectly.

Back on the road, still headed south toward West Yellowstone, you actually cross into Yellowstone National Park for a bit.  Not exactly sure why at this point you pop into the park and then back out before West Yellowstone, but you do.   There is some great fishing in the park section of the Gallatin, and if you’re ever this way, make sure to stop in at Wild Trout Outfitters in Big Sky, right on 191, and see JD Bingham.  He’ll get you the right bugs and give you great Gallatin River fishing tips.  His best one is “walk to fishing spots where you cannot see the road”.

When I finally pulled into West Yellowstone (MT), I did a U-Turn on 191 and pulled up in front of Blue Ribbon Flies.  I was greeted by our friend, Aaron Freed, who has been an invaluable resource in getting us the right flies and sending us to the best locations to fish.  While we talked a lot about our past fishing adventures and caught up on present activities, I was excited to tour the fly stand to pick out some flies for the day’s fishing.  After picking up a few dries and a few wet flies for swinging, I jumped back in the Suby and headed for the West Entrance to YNP…..

And stopped!  Traffic to get into the park was horrendous and backed up past the stop sign back in downtown West…. at least for a mile.  However, being the experienced traveler to these parts, I knew a secret way to cut a bit of time off the wait… and having a Senior park pass, I was able to get into the “fast lane” and make it into the park in about 10 minutes, which as it turned out, really didn’t help me much.

About a mile after entering the park, and being able to drive at the posted park speed limit of 45 mph, I again came to a full stop.  And for the next 12 miles, never got out of second gear (yes, the Suby Crosstrek is a stick so we can tow it behind the SaraLinda).  As a matter of fact, I drove in first most of the way, when we were actually moving.  I knew it had to be an animal jam but thought this one must be big… bears? wolves? moose?  After nearly an hour of “driving” along the road from West to Madison Junction in the park, I came upon what was causing the delays, two bison, just walking down the road, oblivious to the traffic; they were both walking the center line, letting cars pass SLOWLY (aka. stopping to take pictures) as they sashayed their way down the road.  The old saying from the classic Seinfeld episode kept playing in my mind “Serinity Now! Serinity Now!”, but I was already at “Hoochie Mama!”.

Which brings me to our next regular stop (yes Barb, I really missed you this trip, but we’ll be back when you return to Bozeman), the Madison Junction “rest stop”.  I truly needed a stretch after “driving” for well over an hour to traverse the 14 miles from West to the junction as well as a “rest” after drinking the coffee I’d filled into my Yeti at one of those coffee huts.   And while this “rest stop” is a fixture on our trips into the west side of YNP, stopping here always makes us smile, which is why you’ll find a picture of the trash container in the video above.  On one trip, we’d brought some trash in a black trash bag with us, as well as good friend James Kelley’s boots and waders, also in a black trash bag…. can you see where this is going yet?  Yes….  I tossed the wrong bag into this dumpster, and in went Kelley’s wading attire.  The dumpster will live in infamy.

Turning right out of the Madison Junction “rest stop” parking lot, I ventured onto the southern loop road toward Old Faithful, crossing the Gibbon River and climbing up a long winding hill before reaching a plateau.  At this point, the road joins the Firehole River.  The Firehole really only fishes well from Opening Day until it just gets too warm in August, and then cools down in the fall to fish well again.  It’s not just the warm temps that make this river get too warm to fish in summer, it’s because so many thermal features in the park empty into the Firehole.  Aaron had hinted I should fish soft water near the banks, so, the first pull off I found, I parked in a spot Barb would have never let me pull off, given it had a 4-6” lip that dropped onto gravel just about the width of the Suby before falling down rocks into the Firehole.  The spot wasn’t one we’d ever fished before, as we often went for slower flow sections to spot rising fish.  As you see when you watch the video, this spot had fast rushing water that slowed only partially, but slowed enough.

Scrambling down the rock embankment, I found a spot to stand, tied on one of the wet flies Aaron had recommended, and on the first cast felt a slight tug.  Hmmmmmmm… I thought… I have to remember how to set when swinging wet flies.  Another few casts and I actually saw the trout come up to eat the wet fly as it rose on the swing.  A beautiful, 12” brown trout had been enticed as the fly had risen in the water column.  After a brief fight, I got him in, kept him in the water, removed the fly and let him go.  Yes James!….. I mistakenly threw your waders and boots away and do realize that a fish without a picture is JUST a story…. lol… You see, James is one of our dearest fishing buddies (a post on this subject to come soon) and his line about “just a fish story” is always with us.  In this case,  I was fortunate to repeat this cast a quarter downstream….. hold tight… swing… and fish one one more time before deciding to move on.

Moving on, I found another thing Aaron warned me about, the river was going to be crawling with anglers…. after all…. it was Opening Day!  Every single pullout along the road between my first stop and the turn off to Old Faithful was filled with cars, not sightseeing mind you, but fishing.  I saw anglers in various stages of suiting up and gearing up at each spot, or looking toward the water, already in what seemed good holding water.   Given it was already 2:00 and the Mama Mac’s burrito was wearing off, I decided to head to another of our “must stop” spots along this route, Old Faithful Inn and the Hamilton Store.

This is hallowed ground to us that draws us back every time we are even close to it.  We’ve had friends who’ve worked here and our daughter Krista even worked a summer and WINTER here at Old Faithful… the summer at OFI and the winter at Snow Lodge.  If there is one thing you do once you get into the park, it’s just step inside the Old Faithful Inn… and take it all in.  But again, sorry, I digress.

I decided to stop in the Hamilton Store and grab a sandwich, chips, cookie and drink to go; it’s what Barb and I always do if we haven’t made our own sandwiches.  I wanted to take it back to the Firehole, find a spot to pull off if I could, and have lunch next to the river, scouting for rising fish.  As I was checking out, I couldn’t help but notice tables of diners eating their lunches in waders.  What I realized at that moment was, Opening Day really wasn’t about the fishing, it was about the experience of Opening Day…. the camaraderie, the bonding, families together, parents and children fishing for perhaps the first time or the hundredth time.  Truly, “Its Not About the Fish”.

I found a parking spot near a tall stand of pine trees, and after I found a spot to put my chair that didn’t have a mound of somewhat fresh bison “poop” near it, I settled in for lunch.  It was peaceful and relaxing to just watch the river flow by.  A few years back, at this very spot, Barb and I were fishing when two bears appeared on the opposite bank. It’s always fun to be the first to spot animals, especially bears, as they emerge into the open.  That time, within minutes, there were bear jams in both directions, but we’d gotten to watch them for a minute or two, just us.  Again digressing here, but it really isn’t just about fishing, but the memories.

This time, no memories in this spot, other than of a great, store bought chicken salad sandwich.  There were no rising fish, no bears, nada, zip, zilch, nothing…. which in some respects made it….. perfect!  Just lunch and a lazy Firehole River flowing.

After lunch I headed back to the spot where I’d caught the two brown trout earlier, partly because I knew if two fish were there, the likelihood of even more fish being there was good….. and partly because again, all the other pullouts were taken.  This time, after a dozen or so casts, and trying two different wet flies, finding no takers, I moved on.

When I’d originally driven into the park, I noticed someone fishing a spot on the Madison River where in the past, Barb and I had slayed’em, thanks to our guide, Patrick Daigle, out of Blue Ribbon Flies.  Granted, when we fished with Patrick it was in October, and big fish had moved out of Hebgen Lake into the Madison and this was late May.  However, I had to stop and try, right?  Also, there was a herd of bison directly across from me, so I had built in fishing buddies…. sort of.  They seemed much more interested in just resting and every so often, nibbling at the grass or butting heads with one another.  After no bites, and realizing I had a two hour drive back to Bozeman, I decided to head out.

It had been a great “Opening Day”, not because of the fishing, but all of the other things encountered along the way.   The sights, the sounds, the air, the water…. even the SLOW traffic all contributed to a memorable day.  But I knew there was one more stop to be made, another of our favs.

Often, after a day in the park, we’ll be heading back to Bozeman, feeling a bit hungry or thirsty, and make a stop at The Corral.  It’s a friendly spot where locals and tourists alike are welcome.  It’s great food, cold beer and right up our alley.  There are snazzier places along the route back, but this one seems like home to us.  This trip, just to quench a thirst, I stopped in for a cold PBR.  You might be thinking, PBR?  Really?  To paraphrase a famous beer drinker, “I always drink local beer…. but when I cannot drink local…. I drink PBR.”  It’s the “go to” beer of fly fishermen and fisherwomen in these parts.

Cheers to Opening Days everywhere… and….

Ramble On
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Lagniappe, YNP

Yellowstone Spring 2018

By Tom Burnett

We started 2018 on the Guadalupe in Texas (Guadalupe River Update), then visited Arizona to see our daughter in Phoenix, play some pickle ball and watch some Cactus League games.  After Phoenix, we headed up to fish the Lees Ferry again (Lees Ferry Redux).  Finally, we packed up the SaraLinda and headed back to our second home, Bozeman (MT). 

Since we arrived,  the weather has been crazy.  One day we see sunshine and 50-60 degrees…. the next, we awaken to a fresh 2-3 inches of snow on the ground.  What we’ve learned is that this is “typical” for a Bozeman spring.  We also learned that the winter here was anything but typical, as Bozeman and the surrounding mountains experienced almost record setting snowfall.  The snowpack is tremendous which means runoff, when it happens, will likely bring flooding, but will also hopefully bring good water conditions for fishing throughout the year.  Fingers crossed!

While we’ve been out fishing a couple of times on the Gallatin and Madison Rivers, we’ve been spending time unpacking some boxes and getting our place here ready for an extended stay.  However, we always get the urge to take a road trip when we’ve been here for more than a week, and that usually means Yellowstone,  here we come.  You can find our previous Yellowstone adventures at: Yellowstone Spring 2017, Snow Day and YNP Magic.

For now, please enjoy the short music video above chronicling our most recent trip across the northern section of the park.  For details regarding the video, please continue reading below.  

While both the north and west entrances to Yellowstone are equidistant from Bozeman, in springtime, the only entrance that is open is the north entrance where the famous Roosevelt Arch welcomes visitors.   We always pause here, take a few pictures (yes, we’re always tourists here) and make our way up the mountain to the Mammoth Hot Springs area.  

Springtime brings many different animals into view as you travel through the park from Mammoth Hot Springs to Tower Junction. We found small herds of elk near the Arch, as well as along the roadway to Tower.  At one point, we saw a herd meandering its way through a group of bison who were grazing in a small open space near the roadway.  Neither the bison or the elk seemed to mind they were intermixed together as they migrated through the area.

We stopped and had lunch overlooking a valley with a view of what was to come on our journey through the park….. snow!  There were small patches of snow still on the ground as we drove the road between Mammoth and Tower, but only patches.  However, when we stopped for lunch and looked in the distance at the mountains, they were still snow covered.

After lunch, we made it to Tower Junction and continued on the road toward Cooke City (MT), crossing the Yellowstone River.  This north road in YNP is kept open the entire winter to allow the residents (and visitors) to Cooke City to get back and forth to civilization.  This YNP road is the ONLY road open to Cooke City in the winter.  

The road to Cooke City eventually meets up and follows along the Lamar River for a stretch, including a canyon section of the Lamar where we ran across an osprey couple getting their nest ready for the babies to come.  Last summer when we drove by this spot, a pair of eagles were raising their young in this nest.  Turns out, sometimes eagles “steal” osprey nests before they come back to nest in the spring.  The eagles got the best of this nest in 2017, but the osprey beat them to the punch in 2018.

As we continued along the roadway, the amount of snow continued to show itself.  No longer were there simply patches, but snow everywhere.  We were gaining elevation each mile we drove toward Cooke City.

The Lamar River is one of our favorite fishing destinations in Yellowstone, so we stopped at various spots to take pictures of some favorite fishing holes.  We’re not too concerned about giving anything away however, since at this elevation, the river was shrouded in snow.  You’d be hard pressed to see the photo and find it again come summer, when the fishing gets going on these stretches.  

At the point along the road the Lamar breaks away and heads up into the distant mountains, Soda Butte comes into the Lamar, and the roadway follows it all the way to Cooke City.  Soda Butte is another of our favorite fishing spots in the park.  It’s also the favorite of many anglers who head here in summer to catch native Yellowstone Cutthroats.  

As we progressed toward Cooke City, the snow piled up about 3-4 feet along the road.  This part of the park isn’t going to be “clear” for some time to come.  However, we had to stop and take a few pics of how beautiful the snow covered meadows and mountains were.  

On the way back, we of course encountered more elk and bison, but also, a lone coyote ambling along the highway, scrounging for food while taking drinks out of the runoff streams that seemed to be flowing everywhere.  What is so special about visiting the park during this time is how quiet it is.  We drove miles at a time without seeing another car, yet the scenery, geological features and animals that people come from the world around to see in summer, are all on display.  Can’t wait for fishing season to open in the park Memorial Day weekend!

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Lagniappe, Tennessee

Gone Fishin’

By Tom Burnett

When we drove south out of Virginia on a beautiful autumn day, our first stop was Bristol, home of one of NASCAR’s most famous tracks, the Bristol Motor Speedway.  We had to make a pilgrimage to this legendary half-mile oval and a somewhat legendary Cootie Brown’s for lunch.

Our 19 days in Tennessee featured not only a chance to fish the 6 TU Top 100 trout streams in the state, but also to visit the Great Smokey Mountain National Park with dear friends James and Janice Kelley.  We fished four big rivers more suited to floating than wading (Watauga, South Holston, Hiwassee and Clinch) and two small mountain streams (Tellico and Little).   The fall foliage was in bloom…. mornings were crisp… and it was an ideal time to be in the Volunteer state.

We hope you enjoy this short highlight video above regarding our time here.  Below you’ll find a bit of info on each of the rivers (and GSMNP) we visited along with links to information, “Guide Talks”, fly shops and more.

Watauga

Like every stop along our River Ramble adventure, our first stop was at the local fly shop, the South Holston Fly Shop, to meet up with our guide, Matt “Scooter” Gwynn.  After getting everything ready, we were off “Scootin’ the Watauga” with Matt.

South Holston

We had the pleasure of fishing the South Holston with Matt Champion, the owner and outfitter for the South Holston Fly Shop.  When I mentioned “crisp” morning above, this morning was so cold, we hung out in the shop for an hour waiting for warmer weather before embarking.  Once we did, it was “FISH ON” all day.  We truly had some beautiful “South Holston Views“.

Hiwassee

Our meeting spot for our Hiwassee float trip was a riverside park under a train bridge near Reliance (TN).  When we met our guide, Jeff Flake, of Southeastern Anglers at the park, we knew we were in for a great day full of “Hiwassee Hijinks“.   It all started with a trip to the Reliance Fly and Tackle where the hijinks began and just kept coming all day, including some really gorgeous trout!

Tellico

If you thought naming our first “Guide Talk” with Jeff, “Hiwassee Hijinks” was unique… just imagine what our chat with Jeff after fishing the Tellico “Don’t Ever Ever Fish Past the Barricade” was like!  If you missed this one the first time, give it a listen.  Amazing!

GSMNP

Townsend (TN) is know as being the “quiet” entrance to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park.  We met up with James & Janice Kelley (both native Tennesseans) here and began our “Smoky’s Adventure with the Kelleys“.   We toured several historic sites and structures inside the park as well as some of the most beautiful waterfalls anywhere.

Little

James also came to Townsend to fish with us on the Little River inside GSMNP, so, off we went with our guide, Chad Williams of The Smokey Mountain Angler.  The beauty of this small mountain stream is evident in the video above, including its trout.  Highlights of our time with Chad can be found in our post, “Little River, Little Fish”.

Clinch

Our last (but definitely not least) stop on our 2018 “Ramble” was Knoxville (TN) to fish the Clinch with Michael “Rocky” Cox, owner/lead guide for Rocky Top Anglers.   We had so much fun fishing the Clinch with Rocky and hanging out in/around Knoxville, we know we’ll be coming back…. “Rocky Tops!“

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Lagniappe

The Virginias

By Tom Burnett

There are three rivers listed in the Trout Unlimited’s Guide to America’s 100 Best Trout Streams that hail from Virginia (Rapidan) and West Virginia (Seneca Creek, Cranberry).  As we traversed these two states we couldn’t help but imagine there were many more rivers that could have been on the list, especially given that two of these rivers are very small mountain streams of which there are many in the mountains here.  We actually did fish another, Hazel Creek in Virginia, when we found we couldn’t get to the spot on the Rapidan that our guide, Carson Oldham of Albemarle Angler in Charlottesville had originally intended to take us due to the road being blown out.  Luckily, Barb and I had hiked up the Rapidan the day prior to fish it from another access point.

One of the things we were most struck by in both VA and WV was the natural beauty of these states.  As you’ll see when you watch our music video of The Virginias (above), this natural beauty was for us, the highlight of fishing here.  While we did hook into fish in each of these streams, the fishing was not spectacular from a “catching” or “size” perspective.  We fished Seneca Creek and the Rapidan in the fall and the Cranberry in the spring, so perhaps it was our timing.  We did enjoy our “Creek Stompin’ in West Virginia” and the “Wild and Wonderful” Cranberry.  However, one of the things we found fishing the two WV streams was the lack of guides and fly shops to assist us in our fishing.  We did get great help for the Rapidan and Hazel having Carson along with us on our “Oh Shenandoah” journey.  In a downpour of rain, we fished small pockets of water along these beautiful streams hooking into beautiful small trout.

We hope you enjoy this short video chronicling our time in The Virginias.  We’re sure to come back and find more of these small mountain streams to explore.

 

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Henry's Fork, Lagniappe, Silver Creek, South Fork

Idyllic Idaho

By Tom Burnett

Idaho is one of those states we’d heard a lot about, but had never fished prior to going on our River Ramble adventure.  We’d heard the legendary stories about two of the most technical rivers on the list, the Henry’s Fork of the Snake and Silver Creek.  Our good friend Tim Smith had for years tried to get us to come fish with him on the South Fork of the Snake.  All three of these famous trout streams are of course, in the Trout Unlimited’s Guide to America’s Top 100 Trout Streams book, so off we went to Idaho.

Our first stop took us over the high mountain pass between Montana and Idaho and into our campground in Picabo, ID.  Great little RV campsite but even better little store in town that served as the gas station, post office, store, great grill and a first rate fly shop to boot!  After setting up camp we drove to the Silver Creek Preserve to see where we’d be fishing the next day.  Scenery was gorgeous as sunset approached but as a bonus, we saw a bull moose munching on branches along the creek.

The next morning we met Carl Evenson, Silver Creek Outfitters, at the Silver Creek Preserve Visitors Center, got wadered up and headed down to fish Silver Creek.  Silver Creek is a meandering spring creek that is gin clear and you have to use your stealth powers to get near big fish;  they spook and run at the slightest sound or shadow on the water.  We saw some massive fish but were only able to land a few small browns and a beautiful rainbow during our day with Carl.  We did however stumble upon that bull moose again by accident.  We all jumped when we noticed him just lying on the bank about 20’ from a 2 foot brown trout lazily feeding near the same bank.   Overall, we got a “Silver Creek Schooling“.

It wasn’t only fishing that made our time on Silver Creek special.  We took a day to visit Craters of the Moon National Park.  It was spectacular and eerie at the same time.  If you’re ever passing through this area, this is a must see.  We also made a stop in the little town of Arco which has the distinction of being the first US city lit entirely by nuclear energy.   Dinner one evening in nearby Ketchum, a bustling ski town in winter and outdoor enthusiasts mecca in summer, took us to Sawtooth Brewery for some burgers and brews.

After fishing Silver Creek, we made it to the famed Henry’s Fork of the Snake River and Island Park, ID, which boasts the “longest main street” in America.  To try and paint a picture with words of what that means, imagine about 17 miles of road (US 26) running through tall evergreens and at every point along the road a feeder road comes in, leading to fishable water.  A few times when these feeder roads come in, you’ll find a gas station, and finally at one point a few gas stations and even more fly shops appear at the infamous Harriman Ranch section of the river.  One of the most famed of those fly shops is TroutHunter.

We had the pleasure of meeting up with TJ Powell, a guide for TroutHunter, and fishing the Henry’s Fork below the falls.  TJ put us on fish with great regularity and we had an awesome float.  Later, we joined our good friends, Sue Doss and Dud Lutton for dinner at the TroutHunter Lodge and then fished the river just below the dam with their dog, Solomon.  We had a blast and we can’t wait to go back again to fish with “Trouthunter TJ Powell“.

Finally, our trip took us to see Tim and fish the South Fork of the Snake.  Tim’s description of the fishery and his persistence in getting us to come fish it were spot on!  We’d driven the road that parallels the river many times before but had never gone down to the river.  When we put in with Tim and started downstream, this whole incredible vista was revealed…. beautiful bluffs, soaring eagles, runs and pools full of cutthroat trout and even this small little backwater area that was like walking into a room with air conditioning.  We had the most amazing day fishing with Tim on the “SF Snake” and will be coming back soon to fish it again.  If you’re in this area to fish, be sure to stop by the Lodge at Palisades Creek and say “hi”.

The three streams were all amazing and deserving of being in the TU Top 100 book.  However, we heard a lot of rumblings about the Teton River so we’re sure to follow up there as well on our next trip back to Idyllic Idaho.

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Lagniappe

Maine Events

By Tom Burnett

We’d been looking forward to fishing in Maine from the moment we planned our River Ramble.  We even scheduled it so we’d be in Maine during fall colors.  There were three rivers to be fished in Maine that are a part of the Trout Unlimited’s Guide to the Greatest 100 Trout Streams book:  West Branch, Penobscot; Grand Lake Stream; and Kennebec.  Looking at where these three rivers were located, we knew we were in for an adventure.

Our first stop was the West Branch of the Penobscot River.  Bob Mallard, who you’ll read about in a bit, recommended we fish with Boz…. aka… Greg “Boz” Bostater.  Greg is the owner/head guide for Maine River Guides.  When we contacted Boz and asked him about what section we’d be fishing and where we should setup the SaraLinda, without hesitation he said “Big Eddy Campground”.  We looked up the campground and realized three things;  First,  it was in a beautiful location, right on the river at a very popular fishing spot aptly named, Big Eddy, which is exactly what it was, a huge back eddy on the West Branch.  Second, we’d be dry camping.  There were no electric hookups for the SaraLinda and no dump station either, but there was potable water so we could fill the RV tank for showers, drinking water, washing dishes and toilet flushes.  Third, and something we didn’t fully comprehend until we actually drove to Big Eddy Campground, was just how scary the road was from just outside Millinocket (ME) to the campground.   It was a logging road whose primary traffic was oversized logging trucks, primarily going to and from Canada.  We found ourselves driving around 30mph, dodging both potholes and the giant trucks to get to the campground. However, once we arrived, it was absolutely perfect…. Boz was spot on in his recommendation.

We had a great time fishing with Big Eddy Boz as well as wading several spots on the river.  While the fishing wasn’t “on fire” while we were there, the temps sure were.  We had days in late September in northern Maine that exceeded 90 degrees.  We wet waded everywhere we went and relished standing in the cool waters as we fished.  Boz explained that most of the fish were hiding in the deep, cold waters of the lakes that were a part of the entire Penobscot drainage.

While the fishing wasn’t epic while we were there, our time at the Big Eddy Campground sure was.  We had so much fun cooking most of our meals on an open campfire each night and some mornings as you can see from the video above.  We hated leaving the area, again for multiple reasons.  First, we had so much fun fishing and camping here…. and second, we knew we had to drive the logging road back to Millinocket to head to our next destination, Grand Lake Stream.

Grand Lake Stream (GLS) was incredibly memorable to us for a number of reasons.  Before I share more, know that GLS is both the name of the fishery and the name of the town we stayed.  The fishery, while again wasn’t fishing well at the time we were there due to the temps, was in a beautiful small section of the river that was easily accessible.  Our lodging, since there were no campgrounds nearby, was a cabin at Canal Side Cabins, right in the town of GLS.  Our hosts, John and Mary Arcaro, made our stay and fishing so memorable.  John was our guide on the river and gave us an incredible day of fishing and fun.  John was the epitome of “It’s Not About the Fish”.  While he’s a first class, Maine Registered Fishing Guide, he’s also an awesome storyteller, jokester and host, as is his wife Mary.  Finally, one more memorable facet of our time in GLS was the Pine Tree Store, the only store in GLS.  The store provides a gathering place for everyone in GLS, locals and visitors alike.  It is a grocery, tackle shop and restaurant right at the main intersection of town, population 82.  We enjoyed breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Pine Tree Store and loved the hospitality everyone working there showed us.

Our last fishing stop in Maine took us to the Kennebec River to fish with Bob Mallard.   Bob is not only a Maine Registered Guide, but also a prolific writer of several books, Fly Fishing America magazine founder/editor and an amazingly passionate conservationist.   We learned so much from Bob about efforts to restore native fish populations, especially in Maine.  He was also kind enough to share the history of the river as we floated and fished the Kennebec, even ferrying us over at the beginning of our float to see petroglyphs carved into a large rock in the river.

We will definitely be back to fish Maine again, hoping the temperatures on our next trip are more “normal” than we encountered this time.  But again, Maine for us was not about the fish as much as it was about the experiences we shared and the people we met, making our time in Maine so memorable and why we’ll be coming back to see them as much as to fish.  Can’t wait!

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Lagniappe

Smoky’s Adventure with the Kelleys

By TB

When we were planning our Tennessee swing through the Volunteer State, we also planned to meet up with James and Janice Kelley of Hendersonville, TN.   Our rendezvous location was Townsend, TN, a small town outside the “quiet” entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP).   James and Janice stayed in a little cabin at our campground while Barb and I were in the SaraLinda.  We met for dinner, caught up a bit and talked about plans, which first included fishing… at least for James, Barb and me.

James, Barb and I met the next morning and headed out to fish the Little River in GSMNP.  We met our guide, Chad Williams, at the “Y” in the park where you either go toward Gatlinburg or Cade’s Cove.  We had a great day of fishing in the park that’s chronicled in “Little River, Little Fish“.  As you can see in the gallery, James had a great day catching beautiful, small native rainbow trout.  Afterward, we headed back to the campground to hear how Janice’s day went and to head to dinner at the Trailhead Steak and Trout House in Townsend.   Great dinner and lots of fish stories and laughs to share, especially of James’ “river dance” and swimming session.  We even got a nice pic of James and Janice outside the restaurant with an old, spooky wagon.

While day one was all about the fishing, day 2 was all about touring GSMNP and the area.  We started inside the park, driving up to the Elkmont area which is rich with history, including the Appalachian Clubhouse pictured in the gallery above.  In the early 1900’s, the Little River Lumber Company began promoting this area as a resort.  A group of nearby civic leaders and businessmen created a clubhouse first as a sportsman’s club which morphed over time into a social club.  Its members included the elite of Knoxville.   The lumber company not only logged the area around Elkmont and the clubhouse, but also provided train service for members to travel to and from the area.

After we toured the Elkmont area, we slipped just outside the park into Gatlinburg.  After having a huge brunch at the Pancake Pantry, which was hopping at 10:45 in the morning, we took a few moments to explore town.  We visited some local stores before finding a nice spot for a quick Halloween/Fall pic in “the Village”.  Next, we headed up the mountain above town to view the damage done by the fires of a year ago.  You could still see the burned out homes, businesses and landscape and were amazed at how the fire jumped and moved about, scorching one spot before jumping over and ignoring others.

We took a different route back into the park, touring Pigeon Forge (TN), home of Dollywood.  The whole Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge area reminded Barb and I of the Lake of the Ozarks area in southern Missouri.  As you drove down the main streets of each town, you saw restaurants, theaters, t-shirt shops, mini-golf courses, go-kart tracks, taffy shops, and more.  I’m sure both cities are bustling in summer with families, but this was late October and it was an “older” crowd, touring the area and enjoying the fall colors blanketing the mountains.

Our next stop was the Cade’s Cove section of GSMNP, one of the most visited spots in the park.   This valley was a thriving community in the early 1800’s with churches, mills and many families residing here.  Cade’s Cove contains more historic buildings than any other area of GSMNP.   Wildlife were abundant here as well, as we saw numerous turkey, deer and even a small bear jam (although the bear was already out of our sight).

When we got back to Townsend, we grabbed ice cream at the drive-in restaurant next to our campground, sitting out in the sun to keep warm.  Janice then led us to the river behind our campground causing James to grab his fly rod once again and yes, catching perhaps the smallest fish of the trip… maybe it was 2 inches long?  Maybe.  Afterward, we enjoyed dinner at a local Mexican restaurant, which for Tennessee, was actually pretty good.

Our last morning consisted of packing up, getting the SaraLinda ready to roll, and making a drive to the entrance to GSMNP for our obligatory picture in front of the park sign.  We had such a great time with James and Janice and are already looking forward to our next adventure with them.  This area of Tennessee is one we’ll be returning to visit again… great fishing, beautiful scenery and most importantly, great friends for sharing it all.  Thanks James and Janice!

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Guide Talk, Watauga

Scootin’ the Watauga

By TB

Our first stop in Tennessee brought us to the Bristol area, home of one of the most famous NASCAR racetracks, and, home of two of the TU Greatest 100 Trout Streams, the Watauga and the South Holston.  Both rivers are tailwater fisheries with dams that generate power for the area.  The scheduling trick for the gang at the South Holston River Fly Shop / Champion Outfitters & Guides was which river would be generating, and hence, pumping water downstream, that would allow us to best float the river on which day.  Turned out, we hit the Watauga first.

We met our guide for the day, Matt “Scooter” Gwynn, at the fly shop on a foggy morning and headed for the river.  We put in at a spot where a couple of guys were trying to corral a bunch of leaves that had littered the boat launch.  We didn’t realize that sight was a harbinger of things to come.

We had a great morning fishing, catching several beautiful brown and rainbow trout.  As we broke for lunch, we noticed the weather changing as the wind picked up and the temperature cooled a bit.  The cooling was fine, but the wind began to blow even more leaves off the trees into the river.  As we set out after lunch, you could see leaves not just on the surface of the river, but, up and down the water column as well.  It was difficult casting and trying to keep our flies from  hooking leaves.  More importantly, it was equally difficult for the fish to even see our nymphs as they floated downstream  among the leaves.  Needless to say, fishing, or the “bite” as it’s called, turned off in the afternoon, but, we still hooked into a few fish.   The Watauga was a beautiful river with high cliffs and lots of fall colors (and did I mention…. leaves?).

We decided to try the GoPro in the truck “Guide Talk” with Scooter as we drove back after a great day on the Watauga.  We hope you enjoy his insights on the river, fishing and tips for a great day.

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Lagniappe, Seneca Creek

Creek Stompin’ in WV

By TB

There are two streams in West Virginia that are on the Trout Unlimited’s Guide to America’s 100 Best Trout Streams, the Cranberry River and Seneca Creek.  Last year we fished the Cranberry River, which proved challenging given we’d never fished the river and we had no guide.  As we approached fishing Seneca Creek, we found ourselves in the same position, never seen it and no guides around.  We started to wonder just why these two streams were on the list in the first place, but undaunted, we headed to Seneca Rocks, WV, to fish Seneca Creek.

When we arrived in the area around noon, we talked with some of the staff at the Smokehole Resort where we were staying. They indicated that the water levels in Seneca Creek weren’t too good.  In fact, the river running right behind the SaraLinda, the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River, which Seneca Creek runs into, was incredibly low, a great indicator that Seneca Creek wouldn’t be any better.   We also learned that there was a large fire in the mountain above us, with around 50 firefighters deployed and another 50-100 more firefighters on their way and would be checking into the cabins next to us.

We hooked up the SaraLinda and decided to go checkout Seneca Creek, following the directions written in the TU book. When we reached Seneca Rocks, we turned onto Highway 33 and drove until we saw White’s Run Road.   We turned onto the road and headed up the mountain until we found the parking area next to the Seneca Creek trailhead.   We were the only car there.

We got out in a light drizzle, rigged up our 7′ rods and began hiking up the trail.  The book said to hike up a ways before beginning to fish, but as we checked out the stream as we hiked deeper into the woods, there was not a soul in sight.  After about 1.4 miles, we came to a spot where the trail crossed Seneca Creek.  We stopped, looked up and down the creek, not seeing much water to fish.  After walking another .3 mile further upstream, seeing no deep holes to fish, we came back to the crossing and waded in, deciding we’d find the deepest holes we could and drift a small stimulator through it.

After trying this in 3 or 4 small holes, a small brook trout took the stimulator… we had a fish on Seneca Creek.  We fished a bit more, but decided that the water was just too low to fish more so we headed back to the SaraLinda.  We talked that night and decided we’d give Seneca Creek a rest, not wanting to stress the small brookies that might be hiding in any water they could.

The next day, we went over the mountain on Smoke Hole Road to fish the South Branch of the Potomac, which we’d heard had some water in it.   We fished near Eagle Rocks in a beautiful fall setting.  We hooked into some creek chubs on dry flies, so, the fishing was fun.  As we headed back over the mountain to the SaraLinda, we came across a staging area full of firefighters.  The road was still open, but was now being used as a basecamp for fighting the fire.  Further along the road a light rain began to fall.  As we rounded a corner, this incredible double rainbow appeared out of nowhere.  It was so close we felt like we could touch it.

While we found the fishing in West Virginia very challenging, we found the natural beauty of the state amazing.

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