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Moving Slowly

Started by rbphoto, July 06, 2021, 10:02:27 AM

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rbphoto



I hadn't fished since the day after Thanksgiving.  Way past due.  I was somewhat hesitant, because my right medial collateral is acting up again.  Ortho doc told me 5 years ago he didn't know how long the fix would last.  I figured this was the best way to find out if it was going to be OK or if I was going to have to think about another surgery.  Screw it.  I'm going fishing.

Work is stupid busy but every now & then I manage to get out just a bit early.  Couple that with the wife telling me her best friend was coming over Friday evening and all day Saturday to help her re-organize a whole bunch of stuff, so I had the perfect excuse to get out of town.  A simple, "Don't throw any of my stuff away!" and I was in the garage packing up fishing gear that was strewn from corner to corner. 

I overpacked (except for shoes), grabbed some clothes, checked the beer stash,  :cheers  kissed the wife goodbye and headed out.  Got to fishing buddy's house around 3pm and talked him into GSMNP vs bigger water  n!n and we hit traffic pretty soon:

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My truck was probably better suited to the trip, but full of stuff and he prefers to scare the everloving shit out of me drive.  So we have a comfortable, somewhat wild, if not a bit pretentious drive up.

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(NOTE: not the same pretentious snobby bastard that Wooly snapped a pic of on the Smiff - that's too damned far away!)

On the stream by 6:30 with enough daylight left to enjoy a peaceful evening.


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See that big green moss-covered rock on the left?  Just above that was an evening hatch with fish rising. In my hurry to get upstream to the rising fish, I slipped and popped my kneecap, so now it is hard to tell which is meniscus injury and which is a bruised kneecap  b';  Might be time for a beer.

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New growth everywhere.

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Fished until almost dark, catching punes along the way.

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Then I happened upon fishing buddy crawling around on his hands and knees in a riffle.  My first thought was, "If he lost the car keys, I'm gonna kill him."  Turns out he lost his phone . . . so we did this for another futile half hour.

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That was enough for one evening.

Woke up to 50* with a forecasted high of less than 70* for the day.  I'll take more July days like this!   'c;  'c;  'c;

Walked up a ways on a feeder stream to get away from what was a non-existent crowd.  Took fishing buddy's euro rig and no back up reel.  I figured I would satisfy his constant pestering to try this vs. tight line nymph fishing.  Having been a 35+ year veteran of doing things one way does not typically bode well when you change to less-than-ideal conditions (tight quarters, lots of overhangs, crystal clear water, a rod too long for the stream, etc), but I'm game to learn a few things.

I would have rather learned on bigger water, but those 35 years of learning to fish did not go to waste.

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We fished until we were both exhausted, realizing we needed dinner and he wanted to go to a phone store for a replacement, so we left with an intent to return in the Fall.

We had a stowaway for the ride home.

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I knew I had Monday off, so the discussion about where to fish was bandied about and I settled on a known Leroy stream.

Sunday to rest & relax.

Monday, the wife had to be at the hospital at 0700, which meant we were both waking up at 0500.

I was out the door by 0530 and off to the hills.

No euro rigs this time.

Bluebird skies, flashback nymphs, perdigons, green drake emergers and this was not what I expected.

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And this one shouldn't have even been there

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But this one was exactly where he should have been, along with many brothers, sisters, cousins and children. 

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Big boy put up a fight and nearly exhausted himself in the tussle.  I spent a few minutes reviving him, but he still hid behind a rock to recover upon release.



Until October . . .
"maybe procrastination is another word for fishing..." ben
"Just butchered my first silk kitty...." Wooly Bugger  January 26, 2018, 12:41:27 PM
You can't land an otter on 7x. Now I know - Dougfish

hcrum87hc

Looking good!  I'm glad you made it up there. As you know, I fished that first stream for the first time a couple weeks ago.  It's a wonderful area, and I would have liked to have more time on it.  I'll also try to be back in the fall. 
Jeremiah 17:7

Dougfish

Go Raymond!
Now, if I could find my Audi. :laugh:
"Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here?
 Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change? "
Kelly's Heroes,1970

"I don't wanna go to hell,
But if I do,
It'll be 'cause of you..."
Strange Desire, The Black Keys, 2006

rbphoto

Quote from: hcrum87hc on July 06, 2021, 10:35:30 AMLooking good!  I'm glad you made it up there. As you know, I fished that first stream for the first time a couple weeks ago.  It's a wonderful area, and I would have liked to have more time on it.  I'll also try to be back in the fall. 

You let me know when you want to go in the fall.  I could spend a lifetime fishing up there!
"maybe procrastination is another word for fishing..." ben
"Just butchered my first silk kitty...." Wooly Bugger  January 26, 2018, 12:41:27 PM
You can't land an otter on 7x. Now I know - Dougfish

greg


Woolly Bugger

#5
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ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

joe friday

hope your knee heals well.  thanks for sharing those pics.

Yallerhammer

Ye. It is good. Very good.
Women want me, doughbellies fear me. - Little Debbie Prostaff