Fishing Report,    Travel

Leaving on a jet plane

By Tom Chandler 5/9/2006

I've only got a few minutes before I have to leave the happy little burg of Townsend for the Knoxville airport, beginning my seemingly interminable journey home on a tiny, buzzing, sealed flying tube with wings - powered by flammable-liquid guzzling engines burning at truly galactic temperatures.

I can't wait.

Expect more on the great Slaw Dog expose, including information on how you can make your own slaw dogs at home. Ambience is everything, of course, and there's simply no way to reproduce the classic, traditional atmosphere of the Townsend Phillips 66 at your house, but dammit, we're going to try.

Yesterday I hiked three miles up the Little River trail and started fishing my way upriver. While the basic #14 Adams Parachute worked OK, I seemed to get more hookups on a #14 yellow Beetle Bug, which wasn't surprising given the number of Yellow Sallies flying around.

Little River

Ultimately, I caught a lot of fish and had a great day on the river all by myself. Big fish of the day was another surprise brown, who jumped on my Beetle Bug in the middle of the last run of the day. He was 11"-12" long, and the perfect capper to the day.

Gotta run. Expect a wrapup story when I get home, assuming I don't wig out halfway there...
AuthorPicture

Tom Chandler

As the author of the decade leading fly fishing blog Trout Underground, Tom believes that fishing is not about measuring the experience but instead of about having fun. As a staunch environmentalist, he brings to the Yobi Community thought leadership on environmental and access issues facing us today.

5 comments
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I'm unbroken. Broke a guide on the 7.5' rod. I think if I lived back there and fished those tiny brookie streams all the time, I'd own a good short fiberglass brookie rod. Good glass feels a lot like cane, but costs less and takes a beating...
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Welcome Home. I assume the rods and you are still unbroken?
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It is very green and lush back there - which is both a curse and a blessing. Some of those small streams can be a bitch to fish, and getting in and out of the streambed is often not possible due to the all the Rhododendron. I think the real beauty of the fishing lies here: there is a lot of readily accessible (read roadside) fishing if you're in a hurry, but there's even more that requires a hike. ... more You can end up fishing over relatively naive fish, though they're rarely huge.
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"I seemed to get more hookups on a #14 Yellow Beetle Bug which wasn't surprising given the number of Yellow Sallies fly(ing) around." Golly Gosh Tom, were you matching the hatch? That's a pretty advanced thing. Maybe those slaw dogs can stimulate some real epiphanies.
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Tom, your pictures streamside are great. So lush and green. Just my kind of place. I can't see getting out toward Tennessee anytime soon, but it will be sooner than I thought before, given your reports. Just tell me when you're going, so I can avoid having a hatch ruined.
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