After an intensely physical day of fishing high elevation streams in the Smokies I took Walt West and his son-in-law Michael for a day of fly fishing for smallmouth bass on the Holston River. As many of you know, this is a favorite pastime of mine in the hot summer months. I had the guys fish nothing but poppers and the fish met them with enthusiasm. We had a few slow spots, but overall it was a great day of fishing.
The boys did good; real good.
The fish in these pictures were pretty standard fare for the day. We caught one red breast sunfish and one redeye, but smallies made up the bulk of the catch. I’ve been a bit worried about water levels in Cherokee Lake and the temperature of the water coming out of the dam. However, water in the stretch we fished was still reasonably cold and downstream of the prime trout water. Furthermore, Walt caught two nice rainbow trout… on a popper! That’s not the first time I’ve ever seen that, but come on, trout on a popper.
Were there any doubts?
Many of you who have fished with us are aware of our unwaivering belief in rain jacket voodoo. The precept of our belief is simple. If you have a rain jacket handy you will not use it. If you or one of your companions doesn’t have a rain jacket there is a good chance it will rain. The more anglers who don’t have a rain jacket causes an increase in the chance of rain. Today we have undeniable proof for any infidels who refuse to believe. Michael and I (Walt wussed out) left the boat ramp without a rain jacket. As further insult to the forces of nature we publicy stated to bringing a rain jacket was foolish in such dry conditions.
Do I need to tell you what happened? We got rained on! We had a short, yet heavy, rain shower.