It's Good To Be King

Cat and I have been leaving the idiot box off more often lately and just turning the CD player on while we do things around the house, chill, whatever. I've been on a total 311 binge with the release of the knew CD, but a good measure of other music that we've listened to for seems to have been forever. Interesting how some CD's seem to occupy certain phases of my life, meaning one thing at one time, something else at another.

I've been listening to Tom Petty's WIldflowers CD on and off for the past two weeks. After years of lying dormant in a CD case, I'm remembering why I love that CD so much. In my opinion, Tom Petty may possibly be the greatest songwriter of our generation. A lot of his music speaks to me on a personal level, different songs having different meanings to me. I love the while CD, but some of the standouts have always been: Wildflowers (this song is a amazing), Time to Get Goin (Life song, has always meant something to me), Only a Broken Heart (sigh.... such a great song), To Find a Friend ( I don't know, but I have always loved this song), Crawling Back to You ( another great song), Wake Up Time ( epiphany song for me).

These are probably some of my favorite songs to reflect about things to, chill to, and listen to on a road trip. There is just something about his music that pulls me deeper into myself. I left one song out, one of my absolute favorite songs in the world. When I'm feeling down or even whimsical, I love to listen to it. It has the abilty to lift me up on a crappy day and even improve one that wasn't too shabby to start with. It reminds me that we all have places that we go in our heads. I'm a dreamer, so the song has a stong appeal to me.

It's Good to be King

Its good to be king, if just for a while
To be there in velvet, yeah, to give em a smile
Its good to get high, and never come down
Its good to be king of your own little town

Yeah the world would swing if I were king
Can I help it if I still dream time to time

Its good to be king and have your own way
Get a feeling of peace at the end of the day
And when your bulldog barks and your canary sings
Youre out there with winners, its good to be king

Yeah, Ill be king when dogs have wings
Can I help it if I still dream time to time

Its good to be king and have your own world
It helps to make friends, its good to meet girls
A sweet little queen, who cant run away
Its good to be king, whatever it pays

Excuse me if I have some place in my mind
Where I go time to time

Hit the water today in hopes of getting out of the house for a bit and catching some decent fish on the full moon. Fishing is what I did, bit catching was not really in the cards today. If I had hooked 1/4 of the fish I made contact with today, it would have been a spectacular Sunday. My timing was off, the fish were being funky, and I couldn't seem to keep them on the hook when I did poke one. It was like I couldn't quit get into that zone. The one where my sixth sense develops and I know a fish is gonna take the fly before I even see them. I just couldn't get there, everything seemed to be a struggle. Moving through the water, keeping droppers untangled, and staying out of the trees.

I spent a lot of the afternoon just enjoying being where I was, which is a good thing, seeing as the fish weren't co-operating. Earlier in life when having a day like today, I would become more focused and driven, trying to figure out what was going on and beating the hell out of the water, usually with negligible results. Today I just kinda ambled around some, casting now and then to likely spots, catching (missing) the occasional fish, but really soaking in my surroundings. The warm wind blowing downstream, enveloping me in the sticky smell of honey suckle blooming on the hill above me. Feeling the coolness of the water on my legs, while the sun beats down on my neck and fore arms, marveling at the beauty of a square tailed hawk as it silently glides through the forest canopy, majestic in all it's movements. Staring amazed at the whip like blooms of the galax waving in the wind like a fields of wheat.

Times like these make me contemplate life and all it's meanings and complexities. Our purpose and being, where we belong and what we do. I find a soothing simplicity to it all when I'm standing in the middle of stream, feeling it's power coursing around me. Strong enough to wear down rock, but yielding enough to give to my presence, if only for a fleeting moment. Streams are the places I go to to turn off, go into auto pilot. Sometimes they have the exact opposite effect, forcing me to recognize the unbelievable intricacy and purpose of life around me. Drawing me to find my purpose and place, my meaning for existence. Sometimes I feel like I'm looking at the answer, but I can't focus on it, like it's a note written in a language I don't understand. Painfully close, but still so far away. Far enough that it ceases to matter sometimes, for the very nearness of it makes me want to tear my hair out.

Every once in awhile, I get a clear glimpse of that answer. Never enough to see it in its entirety, but enough to re orientate myself back to true North. I sat for a bit, just watching the creek flow past me while gazing at a laurel bush in full bloom, contemplating, searching. I'd like to say that I found an answer while surrounded my so much inspiration and beauty, but it didn't come. Just that warm breeze, full of the sticky sweet smell of honey suckle.

Uplifter

After much wait and anticipation, my Deluxe copy of 311's new cd Uplifter, with 2 bonus tracks and a dvd, arrived at my doorstep yesterday afternoon. I have been listening to it nonstop in my waking hours. What an incredible piece of work, absolutely wonderful!

A little more relaxed than some of their previous cd's, I can still see this one turning into a fav! I had big fears that this would be Nick Hexum's wedding album, he just got married, and it is to some extent, but still.... timely for me. It seems I can always find a 311 song that fits my mood, feelings, whatever, this cd did not dissapoint. On my first run through, I liked 60% of the songs, which is a bit unusual. They're new music usually has to grow on me, not this time though! Some of the standouts for me are, Hey You, It's Alright, Never Ending Summer, Two Drops in the Ocean, My Heart Sings, and Get Down. If you go here, you can listen to the stream of the CD, if you've never listened to 311, listen to Get Down. Give it chance, you never know what might happen. This band LOVES their fans, their fans love them. Seeing them in concert is incredible. As a matter of fact, we just made our reservations in N.O. for 311 day next year! I can't wait!!!

So, I'm going to leave you with what might possibly the most meaningful 311 song to me. This song hit me like a ton of bricks when I heard it. Besides being a jammin tune, the lyrics blew me away.


"Get Down"

I got this great idea about why I got stuck in reverse
I was so out of control it just got worse
I hope you got more sense than I, side step the curse
I don't know which came first
In the spiral threatening me, my survival
It's come, time to get down

It's time to get down
Boots to the ground
Know we don't stop 'til they hear the bell sound
Keep your head up
Cause the truth just cut
No quick fix when I'm caught in a rut
What I got to do to get right size
Think I'm despised when I look through the eyes
Of another
Not mine to discover
What the next man think is none of my fucking business

And then I say what is this
Illusion I can't fix it
You name it, hey
The story stays the same
Any trouble you can name
Just goes straight into accepted
You name it, hey

It's time to get down
To the ground
So simple yet profound
In the now
Is why we're here
Inspiration
I've been waiting all my life
I'm set free, it's happened
I won't look back and think twice
It's how it's meant to be
Something's happened
A sudden slap in the right place
In my face, I thank you
You always came through for me
It's how it's meant to be

Gonna get down because I can't stay high
All of the time, cause I see the sign
So I re-align with an open mind
Adamant and circumvent
I get by every night and day
Get by with my comfort way
An Open space to an open way
I just unwind, I just unwind

And then I say what is this
Illusion I can't fix it
You name it, hey
The story stays the same
Any trouble you can name
Just goes straight into accepted
You name it, hey

It's time to get down
To the ground
So simple yet profound
In the now
Is why we're here

Inspiration
I've been waiting all my life
I'm set free, it's happened
I won't look back and think twice
It's how it's meant to be
Something's happened
A sudden slap in the right place
In my face, I thank you
You always came through for me
It's how it's meant to be

Adicus Badicus- Bestest Dog EVER!!!

I've been meaning to do a post on Adicus, the most incredible dog I've ever known! His birthday was last week (he turned 3) and what a three years it has been! We got him from a breeder from Tennessee and got a hell of a bargain looking back on it, plus, we always get to make fun of him for being from Tennessee. When we got him, he was little more than a ball of fuzz, full of energy and curiosity. Little did I know that I was about to form one of the closest bonds of my life.

I can still remember the first time I took him out to start training him to fish with me. There are some shallow gravel runs below the damn at the lake near the house, so I figured I would take him down there for his introduction to moving water. We had had Asdicus over 2 weeks at this point, so he was responding pretty well to tennis balls, getting him to follow me into the water wasn't that hard. In what would turn out to be his natural fashion, he bit off more than he could chew, ended up head over heals and underwater! A quick grab of the collar and back on the gravel bar he goes.

After that day, I started taking Adicus with me whenever I went fishing, feeling very guilty if I went out without him, leaving him in the crate alone. The first few months, there was not just a lot of fishing going on. More me cussin and trying to teach him that he is never allowed to get in front of me. Watching him learn the boundaries of what he was willing to do, and me learning where he could go. Over the months an understanding and a partnership was developed, as well as an incredible fishing companion being gained. It is rare that I am seen on the water without him. I have a tendency to feel even more guilty these days if I leave him at home, because he knows when I've been fishing without him, and the look of betrayal he gives me breaks my heart. People who don't know me say hi because they recognize Adicus. I guess he's just that type of dog!

Anyone who has ever owned a German Shepard knows how smart they are, people who haven't sometimes have a hard time comprehending it. Trust me on this, if they had thumbs and pockets, we'd all be in trouble! He has come to recognize the sound of the computer shut down and heads for the door, knowing it means mom or dad are FINALLY getting of off "the silver box" and will finally pay him some attention. Attention = Fetch, Frisbee, or Stick. In that order. Adicus is a fetch fanatic. If I had the some dedication to anything in my life as he does when it comes down t us throwing something, God only knows where I would be. Cat and I trained Adicus with tennis balls, so from the early days of his life, he was wired that tennis balls, and eventually Frisbees, were his reward.

I have always wanted a dog that played fetch. Standing in the back yard in the evening, throwing a ball while watching my loyal companion bring it to his master... We got that and some!I took me 6 months to get him to quit running after EVERY ball that rolled by. (many apologies issued at the park!) I have seen him stare a a tennis ball for 4 hours in hopes, just an inkling, that someone might throw it. He is constantly bringing sticks up to us and throwing them at our feet. It is well beyond obsession and traveling towards a neurosis! A couple of winters ago, I was playing with him on a snowy parking lot, throwing a tennis ball around. So focused on what he was doing, it was not until he stopped for a few minutes that I realized that he had tore the skin off of the main pads on his front paws and he finally realized that he was in pain. Never a limp or skip in the step, I don't think he realized until he stopped long enough to feel it. We ended up having to bandage his paws for a week or so. He spent most of that time lounging on the couch with his momma.

Adicus and his momma have a very special relationship. He turns to butter around her! Always getting scritch and special loving from her and food. For those of you that may not know her well, my wife will feed anything, and I mean anything! Adicus knows this. Hell, animals that don't know her know this! He can look at her with those big brown eyes while she's eating, knowing mamma rarely cleans her plate, or that he can "rinse" the plates when she's putting dishes in the dishwasher. Unfortunately for him, he is on total human food restriction because he has very sensitive digestive system. i.e. he gets the shits!!! Hence one of his other names, MudButt. Enough said!

Adicus is now three years old and maturing into the dog I've always dreamed of. There were times that I didn't think we were going to make it through the puppy stage. On many more times than one occasion, I've come home to see him napping in random piles of destruction. Ranging from digital cameras, X-Box controllers, Cats expensive/new shoes, the list could go in for awhile! he is by no means perfect, but at the same time he is in my eyes. People comment on him when we're on the water, at the lake, a restaurant, wherever we might take him. Everything from what a beautiful dog he is to how well behaved he is. I'm so proud sometimes, my heart could just explode out of my chest! He is a marvelous dog!

And what post all about Adicus would be complete without discussing a little bit about his bestest friend in the world, Scooter. Scooter is a cat that we brought hame at two weeks old and had to be bottle fed. I think Adicus was just over a year old when we got Scooter and devoloped a somewhat unusual bond with him. Adicus started carrying Scooter around in his mouth when we got him, making sure he was where ever we where. Adicus also protected him from the other cats in the house and anything else that might try to harm him. They sleep together, Scooter cleans Adicus' ears. If Adicus hears Scooter scream, he totaly freaks out. Granted, he does this with all our cats, but Scooter in particular. Scooter is the only cat allowed near Adicus' food dish, it's so cute to see them eating together! Even cuter to see them cuddling together in the bed or on the couch. Adicus + Scooter = Bestest Friends Forevers!!!

So that's Adicus. A dog that makes me wish I could be all that he thinks I am. He loves his pops, there is no doubt in the world about that! I love him. He most definately loves his momma, there is no question there. He listens most of the time and he stays out of the garden. On rainy days, he's more than content to lay on the couch doing absolutely nothing. On nice days when I'm going fishing, he'll wait by the truck door so I don't forget him. What more could you want out of a dog?

Grow Garden, Grow

The benefit of all the rain we've been getting is that the garden is growing like gang busters these days! Unlike the past couple of years where we've struggled to keep the garden watered, this year is the exact opposite. I don't think the soil has dried out in two weeks, mushrooms are growing all over the garden and we're starting to have some fungus issues from all the moisture. I need to spray, both Neem and a general fungicide, but we can't get period of time that's dry long enough to do so. I have some leaf spot attacking my tomatoes and another type of leaf spot on my taters. Not out of control by any means, but if the humidity and rain don't take a break, it's gonna be a problem!

We've been harvesting lettuce for the past few weeks and have been enjoying the fresh salad, although it would be better if the cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots didn't have to be bought. The cabbage plants are starting to head up. We bought an early variety that has a smaller head in hopes of harvesting them before it gets too warm. We will defiantly be replanting cabbage around late August for a fall crop this year, along with broccoli, spinach, and another run of lettuce. Onions are kickin right along, They are growing good tops, although they need to be weeded thoroughly.

Ah, the potatoes! My potatoes seem to be doing very well, despite being assaulted by flea beetles and some kind of leaf spot. Cat says root crops a lesson from nature to me about trusting what I can't see. I always have visions of scab covering my beloved tubers or wire worms devouring their insides while I can't see. I haven't dug into any of the hills yet, trying to have enough patience to wait until they flower and I can harvest a few new potatoes. All of the squash, zucchini, and cucumbers that were planted are doing good. If there is one thing that grows in the garden is squash! We had it comin out of our ears last year! I'm anticipating having some of them by the 4th of July at the latest. Mmmmm, fried squash..... The beans are up and puttin out true leaves, with more growth anticipated soon. For 2 people, we probably planted more beans than we need, but we are also hoping to can and freeze some this year. One of the reasons we planted so many potatoes and onions this year, we eat alot of em, so we devoted a lot of space for em!

And so another attempt at corn will be made this year after last years dismal results. I would like to blame it on the drought, which played a role no doubt, but more to due with not having quite enough direct light to grow it properly. We'll see, some changes have been made and maybe the all the rain will make a difference. That is, if we keep getting it into the summer. The first couple of rows I planted are about 5-6" tall and the other 4 rows that I planted last week are just breaking through the ground now. Most of the marigold, nastrium, and other random wildflowers are starting to develop into plants or are just coming up. So, as you can see the garden is growing right along nicely.

Now, if we could only get enough of a break in the rain for me to do some prevention. I need to put some dishes with beer out tonight after it rains..... again, to knock off the slug population a bit. They've been merrily eating away at the black seeded simpson lettuce for the past week, they must die! We're trying to keep as organic as we possibly can, using Neem Insecticidal soap, organic fungicides, and what not. But I am more than prepared to escalate this affair to some seven dust if I can't keep the buggies under control. They will not win, I will defeat them!

Side dressings of the compost we made last year are being applied to most plants, with some mulch being thrown on afterwards. A lesson we learned form last year, dirt constantly splashing on the veggies and plants causes lots of problems and makes cleaning them later alot more work. So there it is, what's going on in the garden and we transition into summer over the next couple of weeks. I can almost taste the fresh BLT's!

Bows and Browns

I decided to get out for a bit today to hit some new water above Canton that I've been eyeing for a while. The skies were overcast with rain threatening. I was happy to see this, hoping that it would keep the tourons at bay that flood the area this time of the year and help turn up some nice sized fish. I was fishing water that is a little larger than what I normally prefer, but you don't normally catch big fish in the small streams that I frequent.

Armed with my 3 wt., I tied on a new leader and then a size 12 Elk Hair Caddis with a size 12 yellow Harey Moose hanging 16" off the dry. There was a light drizzle starting as I moved down the road, looking for a convenient entry spot. Dropping down to the river bank, I noticed a large clump of fire pink blooming amongst the underbrush. This is the first of the summer wildflowers that I've seen this year. Somewhat disappointing, as it signals the end of spring is drawing near, but exciting at the same time, as we get into terrestrial season. Hoppers, beetles, ants and inch worms will be the norm at the end of my leader in not too long of a time.

I was skeptical about the quality of the water I was about to work. Running next to a road with a RV campground next to it, I didn't have high hopes for decent fish, if any fish at all. My first cast in to an eddy behind a rock, I saw nice rainbow swirl at my dry and miss. I made a second cast and he did the exact same thing. Third cast and he was finally able to get the Caddis into his mouth, netting a nice 10" wold rainbow. The smallest fish that I caught all day. Adicus and I continued moving upstream, picking up the occasional fish, most looking like twins with the one I caught earlier. The pocket water gave way to long slicks, making me a bit nervous, as I don't tend to catch many fish out of big pools.

Standing on a rock, I was casting to a seam in one of these large holes. Watching the drift, a large bow came up and nosed my caddis, one of the more frustrating things about trout. I made a few more casts, hoping to beat the odds and get that rainbow to come back up and take the fly or my nymph. To my surprise, on my 4th cast to the same location, I got a perfect drift and Mr. Rainbow came up and smacked the crap out of my dry! Fish on! After a nice fight, I was able to land this beauty of a bow, bringing a smile to my face.

After releasing, we continued to move upstream, picking up 10" browns and bows with surprising regularity. I was having a great time despite the drizzle that was soaking me to the bone. Why I left the Gore-Tex at home I have no idea. Despite the rain, I continued fishing, because.... well, it was on! Coming to the next hole, I had a feeling that something big was living in there. It was one of those holes that just looks fishy as all get out, and it had a deep trough with a mild current running through it. On my third cast, my caddis stopped in mid stream before shooting down and my line began to zip through the water. I heard something I don't get to hear often fishing for my small jewels, my drag! Not a lot, but he had enough back bone to get my drag singing for a minute. After one heck of a fight, I was able to land this beauty of a brown, probably my largest this year. If you look close, you can see the harey moose hanging out of the corner of his mouth.

Fighting the rain and having caught quit a few quality fish, I decided I had had enough fun for the day and decided to head back to the truck and try to dry out some. I had about a mile walk back to my truck, but luckily it was along a road and not a trail or back country. Unfortunately, the skies opened up completely by the time I reached the road, so I had the privilege of walking back in a complete downpour. I thought I was wet before. I was wrong, now I was wet, thoroughly. I was even soaked under my waders, but it was worth it!

The Cedar Cliffs

Today is Adicus' birthday, so I thought I would take him on a hike since he prefers to do that over fishing. More on the birthday boy in another post. A bit of background on this hike. First, it starts in the back of my "neighborhood" and climbs about 1000ft in 1 1/2 miles, topping out at an rock outcrop overlooking the Crabtree Valley. I love this hike for many reasons. One being that I have NEVER seen another soul up there, two being that I can see from the Pisgah ledge to the East and the Cataloochee ridge to the west, with the Snowbirds and Balsams tucked in the middle. I think it might be one of the best views around, but I might be a little biased at the same time. I try to make this hike multiple times a year, noticing new things each time I do.

This is one of the places I go just to contemplate the intricacies of life. I find that the peace and solitude, along with the view helps me put things into perspective most of the time. Looking down at the world from 4000+ feet can help me realize how insignificant I (we) really am and how fleeting our time on this earth is, so we better make the best of the run we have. There are no do overs.

Like most of our hikes together, this one started out impressively. It's really not much more than a hard grind up the side of a mountain up some of the old logging roads that litter this area like the Interstates in Atlanta. ( I like the old logging roads better!) This is a spring or fall hike as the old roads have a tendency to get overgrown with grass, briars, and poison ivy during the summer. Anyone who knows me knows that I can look at poison ivy and break out with it! God forbid I actually get into the stuff, and it grows like fire up here. I have NEVER seen as much poison ivy as I do in Western North Carolina. The blueberries were blooming as were a few other miscellaneous wildflowers, but not a whole lot as we wind down from spring into summer around here.

I'm never disappointed by the view that greets me each time I pop out of the rhododendron onto the cliffs. My favorite spot is a rock that hangs out over the cliffs about 20 ft giving me a 200 degree view with a 800ft vertical drop below me. Most of the times I'm up here I see all types of different raptors gliding on the warm up currents rising from the valley. Today was no different, I was graced by the presence of a red tailed hawk that floated from the valley below me to rise and crossed the mountain top less than 25ft above my head. What a magnificent animal!

I did what I normally do when I'm up there. I sit on my rock, turn on some 311 and just sit back and relax, soaking up the world around me. I can see clouds envelope Mount Pisgah 30 miles SE of me, I can see cars the size of ants driving down Hwy 209. Everything just seems to be perfect when I'm up here. I really don't have a lot of words that can describe this place, so I'll just give you some photo's to soak up. Adicus and I had a great time, he got to play fetch and I got to empty my head a bit. Hurray for beautiful places, my life would be much less fulfilling without them!


View to the ESE, Mount Pisgah is in the center, barely visible in the distance.


View to the S, the Balsam range in to the left and the dairy farms of the Crabtree valley below me.

View to the W, the main ridge of the Cataloochee divide is on the right marking the boundary for Smoky Mountain National Park.


A red tailed hawk floating on the warm updrafts.

The Stimulator

Another very effective around here, the stimulator is a fly that I tend to fish a little later in the season. They generally make their first appearance at the end of my leader in May when the yellow sallies begin to hatch around here and become more common as we get into hopper season. A fairly big fly, it's a favorite of mine to hang heavy dropper nymphs off of. An acceptable imitation of a hopper, so I fish it quit a bit in the summer when I'm near fields.

The stimulator is not much more complicated to tie than the elk hair caddis, but it does include additional steps and I think that proper proportions are very important on this fly. I prefer non bleached elk hair and I'm starting to tie them with x-stitching thread to get a tighter, cleaner look. This fly can be tied in a variety of different color combinations. My favorite combos are yellow and olive, yellow, orange and yellow, black and yellow. Seeing a pattern here?

Stimulator

hook: Mustad C53S long curved 3x shank (8-16)
thread: Tan 8/0
Tail : elk hair (I'm using bull elk hair natural)
body hackle: Brown hackle
body: green rayon x-stitch thread
wing: elk hair
head: yellow rayon x-stitch thread
hackle: grizzly

step 1: start your thread about an 1/8" back from the hook eye and wrap to the back of the
hook. I tend to start my thread where I want to put the wing in at. Take a small clump
of elk hair, remove the underfur, stack, and tie in as the tail. I generally make my tails
about a third of the hook length. Trim the excess hair off at the point that the wing will be tied in at and then wrap the thread back over the the leftover hair to clean it up.











step 2: tie the rayon and then the hackle towards the back of the fly.










step 3: wrap the rayon towards the tie off point for the wing. Get the wrap tight and even.
Next, wrap the brown hackle the opposite direction to the same point on the hook.












Step 4: Take a larger clump of elk hair and tie it in as the wing. Keep the first few wraps loose to keep the hair from flaring excessively. After securing the wing, trim it in a tapered
fashion towards the hook eye, leaving room to finish off the fly.













step 5: Tie in the grizzly hackle and rayon thread in front of the wing. Wrap the rayon thread to the hook eye and then follow that with 2-3 wraps of the grizzly hackle, leaving room to
finish off the fly cleanly.












There you have it, the stimulator!










This one is olive/ yellow, one of my favorite combos for this fly. I've found that the smaller sizes can be absolutely deadly in the right situations. I keep sizes 12- 16 in my box at all times and a few larger ones in another box for those, "just in case" moments. With some rubber legs tied in at the wing, I've had bass and bluegill devour this fly in a size 6 pattern. They seem to be particularly fond of them tied in a red/ yellow combo with chartreuse legs.

Mmmm.... I love brownies!

We've been in a drought so long, normal amounts of rain make it seem like it will never stop. It's been rainig for what seemed to be non stop, so I took the first opportunity I got with a break in the weather of a couple of days to spend some time in the water. I hit one of my favorite stream West Prong, is a beautiful piece of water that winds it way in and out of long steep drops into large plunge pools, while at the same time has large amounts of pocket water and long large, pools. Spring is slowly turning into late spring, so the trees have most of their leaves and have lost most of their vibrant green. Settling down into the darker color that symbolizes summer and lazy days under shady trees.

This stream can be difficult to wade and although near a road can be quit isolated in many locations. I never catch many fish, but usually what I do is of quality. I love spending time on this stream, although it doesn't have the highest catch rates, it's just beautiful. After a moderate walk down the road, I ducked into the woods and followed trail that petered out into the dense brush. Fighting my way through a this rhododendron hell, I popped out at the river where a small waterfall dropped into a small pool across the creek. I smiled!

I'm on my 3 wt today since it's 9ft. long It allows me to high stick more effectively, and cast into larger pools. I tied up a size 12 yellow EHCaddis and a harey moose(12) as the dropper. It was probably 30 minutes before I was able too hook my first fish. While casting to the back of a decent pool, I noticed a nice fish flash in front of me about 10 or 12 feet. A quick roll cast, and I dropped my combo two feet in front of where I saw the fish. A slow drift and I see the caddis submerge and I set the hook. FIsh on! A determined brown had taken the harey moose and was doing his best to throw the hook. Jumping and darting under rocks, I was able to bring him to hand after a good fight.

I continued up stream thoroughly working each pool and not getting many hits. The ones I did get were all solid and all on the dropper. Not a single fish too the dry, not even a bump. I actually extended my dropper to 3 ft so I could get a deeper drift through the larger pools, which was where I was catching a majority of my fish. A long dead drift though the pools turned up reliable hits from good sized brownies regularly. I continued moving along, marveling at the beauty of this stream and being somewhat disappointed that it didn't have higher catch rates. Coming to one of the last convenient places to exit, I decided to cut the day a little short. I fought my way through another rhododendron slick, a common occurrence on our steams, and headed up a draw back to the truck.


After a decent hike back down the road, I got in the truck and decided to hit the delayed harvest for a bit to kill some time. Now, fishin a DH stream is a whole world of different than a wild trout stream. I took off the earlier rig and tied on a big chartreuse stimulator with a red ass nymph hanging of the back, two of the bigger, uglier flies I carry with me. Instead of dead drifting the fly like a normal stream, the trout here wanted that stimulator skated across the current, resulting in vicious strikes where 14" fish were coming completely out of the water to hammer the dry or nymph. They didn't show much preference between the two, as long as it was hanging in the current.

I don't fish DH's much, particularly in the spring during when the wild streams are on fire. But, I was in the area and decided to see what was going on there. I caught quite a few fish, most over 12". I missed a submarine of a trout that tasted the hook but popped free. The largest fish of the day was a 16" brookie that destroyed the stimulator while it was hoping over the tailout of the pool. A nice fish, but a wild fish that size would pull me into my backing and is what fills my dreams at night! Getting bored, I decided to head home, satisfied at a great day of fishing.

The Elk Hair Caddis

The Elk Hair Caddis, a fly that every fly fisherman/ woman should have in their flybox, if not, you should maybe consider a new sport. Designed by Al Roth to fish the Caddis hatches in Montana, it was first published in 1978, although he had been using the pattern for years before this. An excellent imitation of an adult Caddis that has many variations.

hook: 8-18 standard dry fly hook
thread: 6/0
hackle: grizzly
body: tan/ gray synthetic dubbing
wing: elk hair


step 1: start the thread behind the eye of the hook and wrap the hook body to the back.
Prepare and tie in hackle at the back of the hook.















step 2: attach the dubbing to the thread, making a it tapered towards the head. Wrap the dubbing up to about an 1/8" behind the hook eye, leaving room for the head of the
fly.













step 3: wrap the hackle to the head of the hook, tying it off at the end of the dubbing and cut all the hackle off of the top of the fly. Cut a chunk of elk hair and remove it's under fur
and then place it in a hair stacker to even it.

















step 4: measure out the elk hair, I like mine a little bit longer than the hook. I wrap a loop
around the hair and then attach it to the hook. I make the first few wraps without
much tension to eliminate flaring and then tighten it up to minimize it spinning on the
hook.

















step 5: cut the excess hair off of the front of the hook to create the head. I tend to angle my
scissors so that there is more hair left on top than at the eye. Finish off the fly with a
whip knot. you are done!

















Here you have one of the most useful flies ever. A very buoyant and visible fly, it can be regularly found at the end of my leader. I tie this fly in a variety of colors and wing materials. It can be tied with or without hackle, with a wire ribbing, like I said, lot's of variations. One of my favorite ways to fish this fly is down current and allowing it to skip along the surface of the water. Some of the most vicious strikes I've ever had were trout trying to destroy this fly hopping across the current.

Rain, Rain, and more Rain

It's raining and has been for the last two weeks almost solid. As stated before, I'm not one to complain about it since we've been in a drought for the last 3 years, but holy cow! Is it ever going to take a break? Water volume in the streams is crazy, my garden is getting waterlogged, and I need to cut the grass.

I was able to get out and fish the other day on my local lake. Conditions were difficult, the lake had lost most of it's clarity and the bass we not very active. I beat the hell out of my usual spots with my fav, the zoom fluke, unweighted. I was able to manage maybe a 1/2 dozen bass before I got bored with it and rigged up the flyrod to see if any bluegill wanted to play. I checked most of the usual Miss Prissy popper with a bluegill spider as a dropper. All fish came off of the dropper to my disappointment!

Overall, the fishing was slow for this lake. Water temps have fallen a few degrees and the water was mucked up from all the rain. I usually have a visibility of 10ft or so, yesterday it was down to less than a foot and the lake was about a foot higher than normal. Tough conditions for someone who lives to sight fish!

The batteries were running low and I had had enough fun for the day, so Adicus and I headed for the ramp to load up the boat and get moving home to fix dinner. In his usual fashion, Adicus trotted up with a stick wanting to play some fetch. He had been a good boy on the boat, so I was willing to entertain him. Adicus loves fetch! He is a fetch junkie! If he had a broken leg and someone threw a stick, I honestly believe he would drag himself across the ground to get it. We spent 20 or so minutes throwing the stick in the lake, Adicus wearing himself out swimming.

A good day, but I'm starting to have withdrawal from trout streams and smallies. I like hanging out on the boat, but I really love to wade rivers and streams. I think it has something to do with the negative ions and the beauty if the streams around here. We need the rain, but I need my streams. I wish there was a little more sun intermingled with all this rain we've been getting.

Spring showers led to cleaning and some down time today to take some photos of what's going on around the house this week. After multiple years of dry weather, severe drought in some years, it's nice to see it raining somewhat regularly. Too often it seems I'm wishing we could get some later in the year as the summer lengthens, so I'll take what I can get. The irises in the front yard are blooming in all their glory. Purple petals with highlights of yellow peeking out, all standing above a forest of spiked green leaves. A wonderfully intricate plant, not a favorite, but one I always enjoying seeing.

While moving through the back yard, I marveled at the light on a dreary day. Making the green of the newly formed spring leaves and fresh grass, all that much more green. Accents of white dappling the background from a very large Dogwood in full bloom, doing it's best impression of still being in winter's snow. This time of the year always feels so natural to me, the renewal of life, a chance to do things again. I can never seem to get over the green, the intensity of it, the newness, a reminder of how things can rejuvenate themselves, waking from the slumber of of winter.

The azalea next to the creek is literally falling over with blooms. I really need to trim it back this year when it gets finished flowering. The rhododendron next to the bridge over the "creek" is on the verge of blooming, the very beginning of the opening buds can be seen. A sharp fuchsia poking out of the green encasing it. This is a nursery plant, so it tends to bloom a month or so earlier than the native rhododendron towering 30ft into the sky in the front yard. A beautiful plant non the less, always fateful reminder that spring is getting into it's rhythm and summer will be here in no time. Fishing is prime right now. Life is good.

Cat and I got the garden planted about as reasonably possible, with some of the late cold snaps we had. Most of the usual suspects are in the garden this year, although in some different proportions than last year. I really need to start getting the garden ready for the next year during the fall and not spend so much time chasing those last nice days in the woods before winter makes it's unwelcome return. Spring mix lettuce, black-seeded simpson , and some head lettuce are coming along nicely. The cabbage transplants are settling nicely into their homes as are the copious amounts of seed onions we panted, both Georgia sweet and red onions. We planted something like 10lbs of seed potatoes, an even split between yukon golds and .... some other type that I can't seem to recall at the moment. Almost all of them are above ground and doin their thing. For now, we're just mounding dirt up around them, but I'm hoping to make some 2ft tall tubes made out of chicken wire to grow more taters.

It's supposed to rain, which is good, but not so good. We've been really dry for the past two years, but I really need to get my summer crops started. I have an almost overwhelming desire to fry up some zucchini dredged in cornmeal and fried in Crisco. Squash and zucchini needs to get planted soon, but I need to rework the beds that will their home. Ditto with the peppers, beans, carrots and my beloved corn, that withered in the heat and drought last year. I did manage a bit of corn, but not much.

The grass needs to get cut, I passed up an opportunity to do it Friday to take a nap with Cat instead. I regret this at this moment, but not while I was in a nirvana of blissful nappiness! So, hopefully in all of this glorious life giving rain, it will take enough of a break that I can get a few things done. Like most things, I'm not that worried about it, but it passes the time to think about.

Ouch, My HIp Hurts

I started out today's trip a little different than most. I decided to leave the watershed I had dedicated myself to for this season and headed over to Cuhlowee and hit some of the feeders that run into the Tuckaseegee. Adicus was excited as usual, maybe a bit too excited. While heading down HWY 23, a something very malodorous began to pervade the truck. At first I had to think about how close I was to Canton, not close. That left one other option, Adicus! And boy let me tell you, he had the swamp ass like you wouldn't believe. I thought I was going to have to pull over it was so bad!

After dodging what seemed to be a near case of poisoning by gas we made it to our destination. Being somewhat tired from the past few days, I decided to fish along the road and forgo a hike to isolated water. A somewhat poor choice on my part, as the water was still somewhat stained from silt and very full of water. The problem with small streams and high water is that they just turn to foam making them difficult to fish. Logic would dictate fishing something big and heavy, but if I wanted to do that, I would just bring a spin rod! I have a high aversion to fishing deep with a fly rod for some reason.?

The fishing was sporadic at best. I was catching fish, but not very consistently. Some would pop off, others would disappear right after hitting my dropper. I missed a lot of fish. Some pools held fish while others that should have didn't. Speaking of pools, special thanks to the electric company for laying trees over 8 or 9 good holes. And I don't mean like one tree, but multiple trees left in tangles. The ones that weren't in the stream were clogging the banks, making moving on the banks absurdly difficult. Thanks guys, really appreciate it!

Wildflowers were blooming all over the place to my surprise. There were lots of large trilliums, stonecrop, bluets, and I got to see another on of my early spring favorites, Jack in the Pulpit. One of the more unusual plants that grow around hear in my opinion. We have some that are of domesticated stock in the yard (from a nursery), so I always enjoy seeing it in the wild. It can be difficult to find because of it's coloring, but always of interest when I do!

I caught some really nice fish when I could find a hole that had fish and no trees. Most of them LDRed themselves, typically right as I was reaching down. The fun was still had. The flies of the day were a size 12 Thunderhead and a SHBH pheasant Tail(14) as the dropper. A majority of fish took the dropper. I had a few fish take the dry, but most takes were with little enthusiasm. This stream was full of loose chunk rock and smooth granite, making for sketchy footing. I was trying to work a pool while standing on a fairly steep angled granite rock and my feet lost all traction, and it was rod in the air (I've learned to get it away from me when I fall!), me in the water. A little bit of missing skin on one finger and a huge goose egg on my hip, which has the potential bruise nicely, and I'm learning I don't take hits like that quite as well as I used too. Lord, am I already starting to get there?

I fished multiple sections, and had pretty consistent results, mediocre! Don't misunerstand, I made contact with a lot of fish, I fought a good many of them, and even touched a few of them. But I can't remember a time that I had that many fish pop off on me. Just weird and frustrating! On the way out, I planned to hit a few sections of bigger water nestled between houses. The first hole I hit was fairly unremarkable, just a long, somewhat shallow run with troughs along both banks. Wide enough that I couldn't roll cast across, I made a few casts curious if I would catch anything. Moving up the bank, I noticed some movement ahead of me and saw a nice sized rainbow rise 10 ft away. I made a quick cast and to my amazement, he hammered my Thunderhead. Fish on!!! After putting up a nice fight, I landed a beautiful 12" wild bow. Since i was just screwing around, I didn't have my chestpack, and thus no camera. DAMN!!!

I decided to call it a day after that bad boy. It was getting late and I figured that Cat would be wondering where I was. She wasn't. My overall impression of this stream is that it will fish much better a little later in the season. High volume had a big effect on the fishability of the stream as did being dingy. The lower section.... I have a date with you for tomorrow! My hip is killing me while I write this!

It's all running together!

Fishing is at full swing here as spring has busted wide open. The fish are literally throwing themselves on hooks and I'm in the water 6 days a week. It's all starting to run together. I can't seem to get enough time to post reports, so I'm combining a few.

I met up with KYflyfisher on Sat in Greenbriar in the Smokies. This is an annual pilgrimage for Cat and I. Fishing for me, wildflowers for Cat. If you have never been to Smoky Mountain National Park in late April- early May, you are missing one of the most incredible things experiences in the world! We arrived around 8am and I met up with James. Thankfully, he decided to go buy some felt soled boots, which made me feel a lot better, knowing the chances of me preforming CPR on him for busting his head on a rock less likely. We chatted a bit about the day and headed out to catch some fish.

We started out fishing some of the larger water on Middle Prong, working on skills and casting. Not being a fan of large water, I was anxious to move into the smaller tributaries. KY and I fished together til about noon and then it was time for me to meet up with Cat, who had been tromping all over Porter's Creek taking wildflower photo's and talking to random people. (Remember to watch out for that one eyed rattler back in the woods!) We had an EXCELLENT picnic along the creek, enjoying be out with each other on a beautiful spring day.

After lunch, I continued fishing Middle Prong up to the Ramsey Cascade trail head. The crack of thunder could be heard and it looked like rain was on it's way. Knowing we had plans for the evening with friends (swine was being smoked!), I decided to call it a day. Overall, fishing was good, not great, but good. Lots of sweet little rainbows were brought to hand, but nothing large. Another great day in the Smokies!



Yesterday, Adicus and I headed out to the our favorite little smallmouth river. Fishing was great. Tons of dink smallies were caught, along with with a few larger ones. Nothing huge, but a great day on the water non the less. Surprise of the day was a 16" rainbow that took my chartreuse roostertail, my first bow in this river. He was hooked deep and bleeding, so Adicus got a snack! And yes, I was using my spinning rod, I'm a lazy smallmouth fisherman in the spring!

Adicus struggled some in a new section of the river that we fished. The current was fast and the water was knee deep, he couldn't touch the bottom and was losing ground quick! I had to actually back up, grab him by the scruff if the neck and drag him upstream. I have never seen the look of panic in Adicus' eyes, but it was there as he paddled as hard as he could, making no headway. I really have no idea how many fish were caught, but it was a lot. I was taking 7" smallies off the hook nonstop. Where were the big boys and girls? Maybe they are starting to settle into their spawn? I know I have no interest in food when it's spawn time for me!