Annual Blue Ridge Fall Trip

About 10 years ago EZ re-ignited my love of fishing with a trip to the Smokies.  Thereafter, we fished on a regular and frequent basis, with an energy that I think comes with youth and fewer obligations.  Doc joined the fray a few years later and we started doing 1-2 group trips a year to local streams.  Eventually Rod joined along on the trips. The trips generally involved camping, and usually an extra person or two came along for the fun.  Now, we all have kids, busy business lives, and as a result, the trips have become less frequent, shorter, and camping has become a thing of the past.

I had not fished with EZ in a couple of years, and hadn't fished with Doc and Rod in about a year.  I was looking forward to our annual Blue Ridge trip; however, the heavy rain early in the week put a damper on things.  We had planned to float Friday, but the rain derailed that plan. Doc and EZ had business obligations, so it was left to the Rod and I to find a place to fish on Friday. The only thing that came to mind was Noontootla.

Noontootla is tough fishing in my book. The water is clear, the brush is thick, and the fish are easily spooked.  I've known many a good angler to be skunked on Noontootla.  I figured we'd go up there and at least enjoy a beautiful day.  Much to my surprise, I caught a nice rainbow at the first hole.  I managed three in a few hours, and then we headed back to the cabin for some whiskey.  

  We met Doc and EZ at the Blue Ridge Brewery friday evening, and then finished up the night with darts at Fightingtown Tavern.  The next morning we woke up and took it easy - it was cold.  We went to Van Zants and ate the breakfast special, and then up to Noontootla.  EZ hasn't fished much lately, but he caught a brown right off the bat.  I caught a couple of bows as well.  The action was pretty good at the beginning, with Streamer Rod even catching a nice b
ow for good measure.  We worked our way downstream and fished hard. I missed a lot of fish.  At the end of the day Doc hiked up Lovinggood creek and caught three bows in short order.  We had a good day on the creek, and everyone managed to avoid the skunk!