September

A day on the pond from last September. Looks pretty
warm and fully green.

September in Georgia feels a lot like August in Georgia. Weather and fish behavior alike remain distinctively summerish. Still, in my mind at least, September brings some sense of fall. Labor Day (today) in many ways marks an end of summer, schools are back in session, college football started last weekend, the month name ends in "ber"...  Lots of things about September hint at fall, and we even tend to get a few spells with cooler nights before the month is ends.

I suppose September also seems extra fallish to me because legitimate fall trip dates are near enough that I'm beginning to settle more plans: October trout in the Smokies; November crappie in Illinois and bass in Alabama...

 Some year, September travels give me a head start on fall because I travel north to places where September legitimately is a fall month. That's not the case with this year's plans, as of now. Looks like I may be staying in the South this month. However, when mid-September travels send me to Minnesota, that's a legitimate fall trip.

We've hit 80s already this morning, and the high for the day is supposed to find the 90s. No. Fall hasn't arrived. September lets me start pretending, though.

Smokies Surprise Catch

I sometimes say that I like to fish for everything that swims, but I have to admit that I have fish in mind when I make that statement. Not that I minded Mr. Crawfish latching on to my Ugly Bug, but a craw really wasn't what I had in mind when I drifted my little hair jig toward the base of a current-swept boulder.

Seemingly the craw really wanted my bug. It was never hooked, but instead grabbed the bait and never let go. I thought I'd caught a leaf or some other debris when I felt extra weight but no real wiggling and then saw something brown spinning as I pulled it from down deep. Eventually I figured it out to the delight of my 9-year-old son, Asher, who was fishing beside me.

Even when I grabbed the craw, it only tried to pinch me with it's free claw, not wanting to let go of that jig. I wanted the jig, too, though, so I pried it free before affording Asher a closer look at my catch and then slipping the craw back into the creek.

Thinking back and looking at the picture, I'm thinking maybe I should have been rigged with a larger olive and orange Ugly Bug!

Changing Gears (and Gear)

Today I'm trading 12-inch worms for 1/32-ounce hair jigs, 50-pound braid for 4-pound Nanofil, and a Revo Beast and heavy baitcaster for an ultralight spinning outfit. Last week's fishing was from a boat for jumbo largemouths in Mexico's Sierra Madre Mountains. This weekend, my boys and I are head for the Great Smoky Mountains, where we'll wade clear mountain streams and cast for trout and smallmouth bass.

I enjoy fishing for everything that swims, and variety in the gear, the techniques, the terrain and the fish themselves is part of what keeps every trip interesting. In Mexico's fertile lakes, my lure disappeared a foot or so down in the water column. In the Smokies, I'll be able to count rocks on the bottom of a 10-foot deep pool.

I actually haven't figured out our specific plan yet. We may do a little smallmouth fishing in the North Carolina mountains before we get to the national park. Within the park, we may fish bigger streams for browns and rainbows or visit some headwaters branch with wild brook trout in mind. If we do go for brookies, any fish we catch is apt to be smaller than most of the lures I used in Mexico!

We're staying two nights in Townsend, Tennessee, where Nathaniel will play music on the Pickin' Porch at Wood'n'Strings Dulcimer Shop on Saturday evening, and we'll fish our way there, spend some time in creeks on Saturday, and then fish our way home on Sunday.

First Trout Outing



Asher, 8, is pretty excited about the opportunity to join his brother and me for a weekend in Townsend, which will include a bit of trout fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In fact, he had to don the waders for a moment, just to see how the felt, before I could put them in the truck last night. Then he ran inside to start packing his other stuff. He had known for a while that Nathaniel and I were headed to the mountains, but he only learned late yesterday that he was coming along.

Wild Smokies trout can be tough customers, especially for an angler who isn't used to making natural presentations in moving water and moving with stealth. Of course, I know he's going to enjoy the beautiful mountain waters and time in the creek with us whether or not the trout cooperate. (We may also spend a little time casting right in Townsend, where the freshly stocked and are a little less fussy.)

Asher has done quite a bit of pond bassing with Nathaniel and me for a couple of years now and has gotten pretty proficient casting and working baits. So far, he's only caught largemouths, bluegills and channel cats, so anything he catches this weekend is likely to be a new species for him. Beyond rainbows, browns and brook trout, some park waters and the waters flowing through Townsend also have smallmouth bass and rock bass.

We're Townsend bound so Nathaniel can play music on the Pickin' Porch at Wood-N-Strings Dulcimer Shop tomorrow evening. However, we'll fish our way there today, will spend a bit of time fishing tomorrow morning and, weather allowing, will fish our way home. Sunday looks rainy, but that's not necessarily bad. Rainy days make big browns more willing to come out and play!

Welcome, "Southern Trout"

It's always fun to learn about a cool new resource. I just discovered Southern Trout, an electronic magazine and website devoted to trout fishing in the Southeast. The main site has a place for news, a blog and a cool photo gallery, so the content should be quite dynamic. The magazine has a clear focus on trout in the South, blending tradition and innovations, and covers everything from outfitters to fly patterns to destinations. The emphasis is on fly-fishing, but the content is not fly-exclusive.

Southern Trout is published by Don Kirk, a long-time Southern writer and trout fisherman and author of a classic book about trout fishing in the Smokies. The staff is made up of family member, each using unique skills to gather and deliver quality content. Contributors, based on the first issue, include many of many of the most knowledgeable trout writers in the region.

Living in Georgia, I often get blank stares returned when I mention trout fishing, waterfalls or mountains near home. Most folks picture peanuts, pine plantations, swamps or downtown Atlanta when they think of Georgia. Few think of rhododendron tunnels around tiny, tumbling branches loaded with spectacular-colored brook trout. I think much of the South shares similar stereotypes, so I'm thrilled to see a magazine that celebrates our Southern trout fishing tradition and provides good practical information to fishermen.

Welcome, Southern Trout!

Perfect Hot Day Plan

Yesterday's East Tennessee forecast included severe heat warnings, but Nathaniel and I stayed comfortable all afternoon by wading knee-deep in a tumbling Smokies stream. We caught neither big fish nor big numbers, but we did manage to fool a few wild browns and rainbows and had a wonderful time fishing together in the park.