Catfish Soundholes

Nathaniel's newest dulcimer merges two of his major interests, fishing and music, with its very cool fish-shaped soundholes. The bottom holes are catfish. The top holes are trout. Other fish are wood burned onto the sides and the back. The instrument was custom built by Mike Clemmer of Wood-N-Strings Dulcimers in Townsend, Tennessee. Nathaniel's especially excited about playing his newest dulcimer, which is also fully chromatic, with some of our friends in the outdoor writing business who are also musicians.

Smokies Stream Decisions

Some time today, my Expedition will start moving north, and eventually Nathaniel and I will be winding our way across the Great Smoky Mountains. We're bound for Townsend, Tennessee, where Nathaniel will teach dulcimer workshops and perform at Wood-N-Strings Dulcimer Shop on Saturday. Unless we get going really late (which I hope won't be the case), we'll have to stop a time or two or three or four on our way through the park to explore some trout waters. Tomorrow, we'll probably spend a good part of the day fishing.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a trout fishing wonderland with thousands of miles of fishable waters draining its steep slopes. Park waters, which range from remote to roadside and from fairly large to tiny trickles, provide opportunities for three kinds of trout, plus smallmouth bass and rock bass. What that means is that decisions about which streams to explore are never easy.

Since yesterday evening, I've had my nose stuck in Jim Casada's outstanding guidebook, Fly Fishing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and I've come up with a mental list of options that fit with our travel plans and available time and that take into account mid-summer, low water and a forecast for far more bright sun than I would prefer. Which options we'll choose depend in large part on when we get out the door today and exactly how open our schedule turns out to be tomorrow.

The good news is that there almost is no bad option when you're talking about wading up a beautiful mountain creek on summer day. Some choices will just produce more fish than others!

Tennessee Fall

As I survey my calendar and plans that are beginning to take shape, it appears I'll be spending quite a bit of time in Tennessee beginning in a couple of weeks and continuing through the fall. No complaints. If I have to be away from home, Tennessee destinations rank high on my list of choices.

Tennessee travels begin in Townsend at the edge of the Smokies. Nathaniel is performing on the "Pickin' Porch" at Wood-n-Strings Dulcimer Shop on August 25. He'll be teaching workshops throughout the day and doing a concert that night, but we'll almost certainly sneak in some Smokies trout fishing on Friday and maybe even on Thursday on our way across the mountains. Some streams are just too pretty to drive right past.

After that I might be headed to the Cumberland River to target  heavyweight cats and see the giants the pros bring to the scales during the Big Cat Quest National Championship, which is out of Clarkesvile. That plan isn't set in stone yet, but I love catching catfish, and I always have need for pictures of big cats.

Late in September, Nathaniel and I will be in Johnson City for the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association conference. Conference days are already full, but we're already scheming a mountain cast and blast for smallmouths and squirrels before the meeting officially begins.

Last stop (that I know about so far) will be at the the Museum of Appalachia, where Nathaniel will be performing as part of their annual Fall Homecoming celebration. Between the museum being almost on the banks of the Clinch River and there being a tremendous amount of other good water between here and there, it's hard to imagine that trip not including a little fall fishing as well.