Jack Gotcher got the lifetime achievement award on our Hazel Creek campout a couple of weeks ago for this slab of a brown trout.
Charity and I have both been on the water. I’ve been primarily behind the oars of the drift boat and she’s been working the Smokies plus we had TroutFest in Townsend this weekend. This pattern will continue this week as I do a few smallmouth floats this week in addition to the trout floats I’ve been doing.
Flows on the Clinch have come down dramatically, but are still beyond what we’d call optimal for fishing. We’ll keep you posted.
Collin says
Good grief that thing was in a CREEK? Looks like a lake trout someone let loose…
Mark says
Why is he sticking his fingers in the gills on such a nice fish? That is criminal.
Ian says
That is one of only three photos of the fish taken over about a 10 second period. The priority was to keep the fish in the water as much as possible. It took a while to get in not to mention it was after an epic chase down the creek. We don’t advise or advocate anyone handle a fish by the gills, but the fish squirmed a bit as Jack lifted it and his fingers ended up behind the gill plate. The fish didn’t require more than a few seconds to revive and swim away and has been seen in the stream since.
Matt says
Wow. That’s all I can say.