Recent flooding rains have subsided in the Smoky Mountains and left us with stream levels that we typically see in March and April. Yesterday I took two anglers for a day of fishing on the Oconaluftee River in the park because Little River was still a bit too high for safe fishing. It fished superbly.
Little River is back to a fishable flow, but still at a level that some fly fishers will find intimidating. We’re big fans of high water though. Fish aren’t as skittish and are eager to eat. This should be a great week to fish in the Smokies. Even better when you consider it’s August.
We fired up the grill on the back deck last night when I noticed something big rustling in the brush. We have a monster blackberry patch out back that Charity is proud of. Not only do we have an abundance of berries, but we often have raccoons and a variety of birds that frequent it.
Last night we had the biggest visitor this season, a 175 – 200 pound black bear. We were quiet and he slowly worked his way through the patch over about 45 minutes. Once we got a little loud he disappeared into the woods and left.