Yellowstone - 9/23/17

September 23, 2017: After breakfast with the group, my dad and I headed up to the Firehole.  We started just below Fountain Flats. I caught 5-10 small bows and browns high sticking through the fast water.  We then headed up to Ferry Falls and I showed my dad a really good spot. The fish were rising like crazy, and a hatch of caddis hit the water.  My dad was able to get a nice brown to hand
on a caddis, plus a nice rainbow.  I caught a good bunch of fish. We then drove down to $3 bridge. We stopped at Slide Inn on the way, and were warned of tough fishing conditions.  It proved true. The wind was bad, no bugs, and we left after about an hour.  We headed to the Grizzly for a beer, and went back to West Yellowstone for dinner.

Yellowstone 2017 - 9/22

The following posts are journal entries for me to use in the future.   Brad, LL, John, Jimmy, and my Dad all arrived on September 22, 2017.  The following posts offer a brief recount of the trip.

September 22, 2017:  My dad and I drove to West Yellowstone and arrived around 3 p.m..  We unpacked and went to the fly shop.  None of the other guys wanted to fish. My dad and I decided to hit the Madison for an hour before dark at Mile marker 2 on the park boundary, just upriver from Baker's Hole.  The fishing was slow.  Lots of other anglers, and nobody catching fish.  Still, was nice to wet a line.  Best part was seeing 3 Moose up close and personal while hiking out.  Pretty awesome!

Pheasant Tail - quick tie with variations - Point Fly

I got to my cabin this weekend in Blue Ridge, and realized I forgot all of my fishing gear, with the exception of a reel and a rod I keep at the cabin.  I did, however, have my fly tying material, so I decided to tie up a couple of flies for a quick outing on Noontootla.  I knew the water would be stained and the flow a little heavy with the rain.  In those type of conditions, I've found you don't need to go too small, but you need to get your flies down.  The following is what I used and tied, and yes, I caught fish:

 I used pheasant tail natural for the tail, and body, some old peacock herls for the thorax, and on two of the flies, a brown partridge for the hackle.

An Hour in the Woods - Noontootla

It has been a while since I had one of those moments . . . . The beautiful quotes from the likes of Thoreau and Muir on the wonders of nature seem to resonate during these brief moments in time.  A feeling of peace and tranquility pass through your mind, body, and spirit during these moments - at least that is what it feels like to me. I don't go looking for these moments in life.  They come on unexpectedly, but when they "hit", it's a magical sensation.
I had one yesterday; a Sunday - at a time when I would normally be attending church services.   I tied a fly the night before, rigged up the 4 wt. bamboo I made about a year ago, and jumped in the truck to fish Noontootla for an hour.   The water was a little cloudy, which was perfect.  I didn't care if I caught a fish, I just wanted to get in the woods for an hour.
Noontootla is a free stone creek that hasn't been stocked in decades.  The fish are wild, and often quite challenging. It's easy to get skunked on Noontootla.
It is rare in the South to catch a truly wild trout in a freestone stream that is 12 inches or more that hasn't been fed. That's simply the reality of fishing in the South, and it's probably why people love to fish DH streams, tailwaters, and private "trophy managed streams" in this area.  Unlike fishing a small southern wild trout stream, DH streams, tailwaters, and trophy managed streams allow anglers to catch large fish, and sometimes, it's quite easy in those setting to catch fish that would rival the fish in Western streams and rivers.   In contrast, If you fish wild streams, for example, in the Smokies, a "trophy" is a 12-14 inch fish.
Noontootla has always appealed to me.  It's absolutely beautiful.  The stream is small, though it is large enough in some areas to cast a little line if you want to.  The fish are generally small, like most wild freestone trout streams in the South; however, Noontootla is unique insofar as there is a legitimate chance to catch a large trout.  And, if you like brookies, the feeder streams offer that opportunity as well.  Noontootla is regulated, so you'll mostly see people fly fishing, and it is rarely crowded on the creek.
I have never caught a large fish in Noontootla.  I would venture to say 9 inches is the largest trout I've caught in that watershed.  I met a guy fishing the creek a few years ago who had that look on his face, and we spoke.  He had just caught a 19 inch rainbow.  He said he had been fishing the creek for 20 years, and it was his first large trout caught and landed on Noontootla.
Yesterday was a good day. An hour of fishing, and 6 fish to hand.  Most were small, and none were big by typical standards.  I caught a beautiful 12 inch rainbow, and that was a "trophy" in my book.  A wild 12 inch bow on 6x tippet with a 4 wt bamboo - it's doesn't get much better. I took a quick picture, revived the fish, and stood watching the river for about 5 minutes.  I got that feeling, and there is nothing like it!

New Hampshire

I had a family vacation that took us on a long road from Tennessee to New Hampshire, with a number of stops along the way.  I brought my fly fishing gear just in case I got a minute or two to wet a line. Apparently, the fishing wasn't too fruitful in the area where we were staying, which was just a short distance south of the White Mountains.  We were right next to the "Pemi", but everyone I spoke with said it was "dead".  I decided to check out the Mad River, and as I was driving along the river, I saw fish rising in a large pool just above a dam.  The next morning I woke up and hit the Mad River for a few hours.  I caught about a half dozen brook trout in the pool of rising fish, and missed a great many more.  These were obviously stocked brook trout. I worked my way down river for about an hour and didn't see another fish.
A few days later I decided to try the Baker River.  I couldn't find much information on where to fish, so I just started following roads the ran along side the Baker.  I went over a bridge and spotted a good size fish.  I rigged up and put on a big bugger.  About 10 casts later, and a pretty good fight, I ended up with this strange looking fish:

I thought it was a carp, but apparently it was a huge minnow called a Fallfish.  I worked my way up river to a beautiful area with nice runs, deep pools, and lots of bends. I pounded the water hard for about an hour, and except for one chase by a small brook trout, I struck out.
Admittedly, I was disappointed by the fishing in New Hampshire. Of course, it could have been the time of year, my ignorance on fishing locations, etc.
Strangely enough, the highlight of the trip (in terms of fishing) was fly fishing for about 10 minutes on Walden Pond. We didn't catch anything, but my boys and I had a good time sharing the water with Thoreau.  

Great Day on the Caney Fork with David Knapp

 I owed Rob a float trip, so I booked one with David Knapp for April 14, 2017. I have been on about 5 guided trips in the past, and frankly, was always a little disappointed.  This trip would be different.  We started out with one generator, and David tied on a shad streamer pattern - within a few casts, I thought I had hooked bottom. Much to my surprise, the first fish of the day was this nice 17 inch bow.

We worked our way up to the discharge spot, and the fishing was good. Within about an hour of the float I had caught a good number of fish, including browns, bows, a brookie, and a skipjack.  We then worked our way down stream. Although we didn't hook into any pigs, the average fish was probably in the 14-15 inch range.  Rob had a slow day to begin with, but after lunch, he got into some nice fish, including the beautiful brown pictured at the top of the page.

I will definitely float with David again. He is not only a skilled angler and a good teacher, but more than anything, he has a genuine passion and enthusiasm for fly fishing.  He was always just as excited as we were when we caught a nice fish or had a good follow.  Thanks David!