RECAPPING 2009

What a marvelous year. Meeting new friends, reaquainting with old ones and continuing friendships that have lasted for years. I got started on an exercise program that will hopefully strenghten my lower back enough to allow me to do things I want to do. I sold my bass boat. Like the old saying- the two happiest days of a fisherman's life, the day he bought his boat and the day he sold it. I didn't want to sell but doctor's orders. The good thing was that I could now learn to fly fish with the help of Bill Bird. What a project! About the time I could finally cast in almost the direction I was aiming, the rains and the drawdowns started and have lasted for almost 10 weeks. The good thing- it got me started trying to tie my own flies. The verdict is still out on their usefullness. Along with the ones I got from Bill, I should be OK for a good while. To Wayne and Dan- I enjoyed the time spent fishing and drifting and to Buddy and Tommy ditto. I am looking forward to an even better 2010. Good Nite Ya'll and HAPPY NEW YEAR

Maybe Good News

I talked to a lady at the Corps yesterday; she said the winter elevation this year will be 624 which they will reach by the end of the week as long as the rains don't come. No sluicing? is anticipated. Of course, the releases will be determined by the rainfall throughtout the winter months. I haven't fished the Caney enough to know the flats,holes, etc. that usually hold fish but I would assume that with all the water flow a lot of erosion takes place on the bottom. Also, with all the tree branches,trunks,etc. flowing downstream new areas would be created over time and some of the old areas might not still be there. We'll see. Bye for now.

More of the Same

It's Sunday nite and the Predators' got beat by the Blackhawks in the last 16 seconds. I thought with the lack and rain and all the releasing going on that there might actually be a time to fish early this week. Nope. The Elk people decided to generate during the day on Monday and not during the nite-go figure. I guess at Center Hill, they must be expecting Moses and the Israelites to cross over soon. It's almost 625.00 and they are still running generators midnight to midnight. The fishes shoulders are going to be so strong, I want be able to get them headed toward the net. I am still tying some one of a kind flies that may gather a crowd of fish to have a good laugh. I'll let you know how they work if they don't fall apart before I have a chance to get them in the water. By for now.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas to both of you that check my useless postings-so far. I may try to go to the Smokey Mtn. and see if those streams are fishable. I'll call Little River first. They told me yesterday that if as much rain came as predicted fishing would not be good for a while. I'm going to continue to make some more flies to replace the ones I have already made in case they do fall apart when they hit the water. Again, Merry Christmas to all and hope we all have a Happy New Year!

Good Sunday

More rain,sleet,and snow has kept the waters at Caney Fork and the Elk Rivers to high and fast for a novice to even attempt a fish adventure. I think most of the regulars at Caney Fork are either working or staying at home tying. I haven't heard anything from Bill at TOP FLY DRIFT BOAT SERVICES or Wayne or Dan so it must be bad for everyone. Hopefully, after Christmas enough water will have been let out of the lakes where we can get rid of this cabin fever syndrome(CFS)that our wives don't seem to understand. This does give me more time to tie but unless I get to use the flies, I won't know how they perform or if they will even stay together once they hit the water. Oh by the way, the Titan's just now won in overtime 27-24. Merry Christmas to all and to all GOOD DAY.

More Fly Tying

According to the lake elevations, it's going to be a long time before any wading is done on the Caney Fork or the Elk. I guess I will continue to work on my fly tying "skills". Maybe the trout will see some of my offerings and just have to eat them to see what new specie of food is in their domain. If there is a such a thing as a colored blind fish, I can possibly catch him. I'll continue to post just to have something on my blog.

Too much water

Due to the amount of rain this week in Middle TN, the Center Hill Lake has risen more than 2 feet which means that the tailwaters below the dam will continue to stay high and swift which will make the fishing terrible at best. I guess I can spend more time learning more about the art of fly tying. Hopefully, the Elk will be fishable throughout the Christmas season.

Fly Tying

Haven't been able to fish since Sat. so I decided to tie some flies. I got tools and materials from Bass Pro about a month ago and added to it with some different thread from Fly South here in Nashville. Buddy, a friend of mine, wanted some Zebra Midges plus a few other things so I spent Wed. afternoon tying 8 different flies. You can tell by the looks of them that I am still learning but it's hard to mess up a Zebra. Nothing going on this afternoon so I'll probably tie up some more. I may try to go to the Elk River Sat. depending on the generation schedule after all the rain we had.

Dec. 5 2009

Fished the Caney Fork in Middle TN today with Wayne and super guide Bill Bird of TOP FLY DRIFT BOAT SERVICES in Smithville. The generators were running all day so the water was swift and high. Apparently, the fishing was slow for everyone on the river. We ran across no one the had more than a couple of fish. The day was beautiful and the camaraderie was excellent. Looking forward to testing the Fork again.