Ian & Charity Rutter — who just posted a cool fly fishing the smokies in winter report on their blog — know it’s been a somewhat trying winter at Trout Underground World Headquarters.
Crippled by a succession of colds (well, my own incessant whining about it), I’ve struggled with balky computers, power outages, Satan’s Snowblower, […]

Fly fishing is a series of decisions; what do you fish, and where do you fish for them?
It’s a decision not made any easier when you’ve got the Smokies at your doorstep, not to mention a series of top-flight tailwaters and even some long, narrow lakes I hadn’t seen until my “barf on my own […]

After the Hazel Creek backpacking trip ended on Sunday (and yes, a lot of laundry was done), Monday appeared.
What to do?
Hey — Good guess! Ian and I fly fished the Little River (later, Charity joined us on the river), but the story begins elsewhere. Indeed, it begins where all great fly fishing stories begin:
Lunch.

A box […]

Fly fishing a river tunes you into its water, bugs, and trout.
You gain a sense of the moment, hopefully catch a few trout, and walk away with what amounts to a frozen snapshot of what you think the river is all about, though most of the time we’re wrong about that.

Hazel Creek through the trees. […]

Fishing trips are no time to relax. I’ve got to finish this report, hit the store for backcountry supplies, and jam my poor, overstuffed backpack with even more gear.
Apparently, I won’t be the only thing on this trip that weighs too much.
Yesterday’s Holst0n float trip with Ian and Rich was fun; lots of caddis and […]

It’s after 11:00 pm and tomorrow we’re meeting Ian early for a float trip — which is my way of saying this is going to be brief.
Today, after running errands (license, backpacking goodies, etc), Rich and I drove, hiked, sweated, hiked, sweated some more, and hiked again — all to fish a small brookie stream.

Rich […]

This will be short (I’m writing instead of fishing, a tough sell to most fly fishers), but I had a chance to see the 7′ 3wt Diamondglass rod (wrapped by Rich) in the morning light.

Rich Margiotta’s Emerald wraps on a 7′ 3wt Diamondglass (fiberglass).
Pretty job, and while we’ve still got to test-cast the thing, it […]

Travel being the dismal exercise that it is, it’s hard to label today anything but a success.
I wasn’t cavity searched, waited in line no longer than usual (which is still a lot), didn’t avail myself of any airsickness bags, met up with Rich Margiotta — a classy guy and one of my favorite people — […]

Working largely day and night, I managed to get my projects written and shipped, threw a bunch of gear — which may or may not have been the right stuff — into a couple duffles, and headed out of town.
It’s pretty apparent I’ve forgotten some vital piece of gear, but waiting for that “special” moment […]

It’s human nature to complicate even the simplest of activities – to the point that I’ve got a closet full of fly rods, several trunks of fly tying materials, and a gordian assemblage of other stuff.
Eventually you realize collecting all the extra gear is helping the fly fishing industry a lot more than it is […]

The Flyfishmagazine blog posted this tidbit about the Atlanta fly fishing festival, which features none other than the Underground’s Vice President of Slaw Dog Consumption - Ian Rutter.
The list of attending experts and guides includes Lefty Kreh( all around fly fishing legend), Theo Copeland (of Appalachian Angler), Kevin Howell (of Davidson River Outfitters) and Ian […]

Ian Rutter sorted out his computer problems enough to post another fishing report, this one jammed with several fishing trips to places I have yet to fish in Tennessee.
In a clear attempt to taunt the Underground - a known connoisseur of big brook trout - Rutter actually described catching a big Brookie in excruciating detail, […]