The Smokies with water this time

The club had our July outing in the GSMNP. The weather couldn't have been better and the water levels were great. Which was a nice change from the previous two years. However the fishing wasn't as easy as it normally is up there. I don't know if the lack of water the years before had reduced the fish numbers or if the cooler weather had slowed them down. We still caught fish and had a great time as you tend to do in the presence of good company no matter how the fishing is.

I shared a campsite with two of my buddies that love small stream trout fishing like I do; Woody and Jim.  I got there late Thursday night and they had already been enjoying the campfire for a few hours and even got some fishing in earlier that evening.

Woody stalking a Little River pool

The standard smoky mountain patterns worked well as they a normally do.  Woody and I used our Thramer DX bamboo rods.  His a 7 foot and mine a 7 1/2 foot, both 4 weights.  I also used my Don Recker "Dickerson 8013" on the West Prong of the Little Pigeon.   Other than that we normally fished the Little River above Elkmount where we were camping.
 

A little River brown

Some wildflowers were still hanging on

A rainbow from the Little Pigeon

Greenbriar rainbows and bamboo - April 2009

Back this past April my good buddy and guide Jeff Barrett and I went over the the Smokies to be river helpers for the CFR event. We left a day early to do a little fishing ourselves. Neither of us had ever fished Greenbriar so we decided it was about time. Weather was nice. A few bugs hatched - mostly small stoneflies - and the fish were taking dries. I fished my AJ Thramer 7 1/2' 4 wt DX taper.  I've come to love this rod for small stream fishing.  It can throw a dry/dropper combo without any problem and is just just a joy to cast. 

It was a great day. All we caught were rainbows but no complaints.  We never got up high enough to get into brookie water.  We saved that for next time.

Jeff working some pocket water

A colorful rainbow tricked with a parachute Adams